Chapters

1. History’s Story
2. Wanderers and Settlers: The Ancient Middle East to 400 B.C.
3. The Chosen People: Hebrews and Jews, 2000 B.C. to A.D. 135
4. Trial of the Hellenes: The Ancient Greeks, 1200 B.C. to A.D. 146
5. Imperium Romanum: The Romans, 753 B.C. to A.D. 300
6. The Revolutionary Rabbi: Christianity, the Roman Empire, and Islam, 4 B.C. to A.D. 1453
7. From Old Rome to the New West: The Early Middle Ages, A.D. 500 to 1000
8. The Medieval Mêlée: The High and Later Middle Ages, 1000 to 1500
9. Making the Modern World: The Renaissance and Reformation, 1400 to 1648
10. Liberation of Mind and Body: Early Modern Europe, 1543 to 1815
11. Mastery of the Machine: The Industrial Revolution, 1764 to 1914
12. The Westerner’s Burden: Imperialism and Nationalism, 1810 to 1918
13. Rejections of Democracy: The InterWar Years and World War II, 1917 to 1945
14. A World Divided: The Cold War, 1945 to 1993
15. Into the Future: The Contemporary Era, 1991 to the Present

• Epilogue: Why Western Civilization?

Primary Sources for Chapter 1
History’s Story

Study Guide | Extras | Links

There's Method

Research Plan: A suggested process for writing research papers.
Content Question: How does this plan compare to the outline of the Historical Method?
Analysis Question: How are the writing process and research interconnected?
Evaluative Questions: How would following the various steps promote a quality finished product?

 

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What is Truth?

What is History?:  Short quotes from famous people and historians trying to describe the art and practice of history.
Content Question: Which quotes match your own view?
Analysis Question: Which quotes seem mutually contradictory?
Evaluative Questions: Given the diversity of descriptions of history, how should we define it?

First use of "lies" and "falsehoods" and "not facts" replaced by the term "alternative facts."

Other Sources:

Other short quotes describing history; and and yet a few more.

Alun Munslow, "What History is": an essay discussing the practice of history after the "linguistic turn" of postmodernism.

"Why do People Fall for Fake News?": an essay by two psychologists who suggest it is because people are mentally lazy.

History Myths Debunked: blog which does what it says.

Media Bias/Fact Check: website that provides resources to help get at the truth in modern media.

Media Bias Chart: evaluates where different media sources are biased on the political spectrum.

"The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science": article about how emotions and values shape people's acceptance of facts.

How to Spot Fake News: various approaches to avoiding lies and misinformation. Poster version of How to Spot Fake News.

Argument about what to teach concerning police violence.

 

Primary Source Project Links

1. Thucydides versus von Ranke about the Aim of History

1alternate. Voltaire versus Macaulay