HIS 111  Western Civilization I

Description
Students will focus on the development of civilization with considerable attention to the contributions of Greek, Roman, and Medieval European civilizations to the development of the modern world. This course serves as a framework for the integration and understanding of all other liberal arts.

Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Assess and analyze the significant political, socioeconomic, religious and cultural developments of Western Civilization from the origins of civilization in the Ancient Near East to the Scientific Revolution of Early Modern Europe; construct and order the chronological sequence of major historical moments of Western Civilization from the origins of civilization in the Ancient Near East to the Scientific Revolution of Early Modern Europe; and identify and label the important geographic locations of the Ancient Near East, The Greco-Roman world, the Byzantine and Islamic Empires, as well as medieval, Renaissance and Reformation Europe.
2. Identify and assess important documentary sources critical to an understanding of the above historical time periods.
3. Explain how a Christian approach to history and historical inquiry shapes the conclusions of historians and the interpretation of the events of the past.

Instructor

Donald Dean “Nick” Nichols holds a B.A. from Fresno Pacific College, an M.A. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and earned his Ph.D. in Medieval History at the University of Wales. During his more than ten years of teaching experience, he taught courses in worldviews, comparative religion, philosophy, history, literature, Bible, and music at Christian Community Schools and Westminster Christian Academy, where he earned the Teacher of the Year award. He has been listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and won the Bach society of St. Louis award. His work on the Augustinian canons and their parishes has been published in The Regular Canons in the British Isles in the Middle Ages and Catholic Review. Nick currently resides in Missouri , and continues his teaching at Westminster Christian Academy.