UCL - Historical Foundations of Western Civilisation

[FLTR1410]

[60h + 10h] 5 credits

This course is taught in the 1st semester.

Teacher(s): Paul Servais, Françoise Van Haeperen, Laurence Van Ypersele, Jean-Marie Yante(coord.)

Language: French

Level: First

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

To master a panoramic chronology of the history of Western civilization and to deepen the mastery of the main spatio-temporal frameworks of Western history.
To acquire a mastery of the principal concepts developed in the history programs of secondary schools.
To master the skills introduced in the history programs of secondary education and thus to discover how historical knowledge is elaborated.
To discover one or more problems of current historical research.

Main themes

Content :
The lecture course will be divided into two "sections" of around 30 hours each: the first will cover Antiquity and the Middle Ages, while the second will cover the Modern and Contemporary periods.
Each "section" will be organized around the notion of an"inter-period." This will be:
· Introduced and situated in the general context of Western history during the lecture course;
· Explored further during the tutorial sessions.
The lecturers will see to it that the two themes developed during the year will address two different areas (political history, economics, demographics, social, cultural, and religious history).

Content and teaching methods

This panoramic timeline approach to the history of Western civilisation presents the main frameworks of history of the West and basic historical concepts linked to them. It will also enable you to discover specific issues for historians and focus on specific research problems. The course is made up of two terms of 30 hours each (antiquity, the Middle Ages, modern era, contemporary period) set around different themes. Each lecture is followed up by a tutorial session.

Method :
· Lecture course for 4 hours a week, taught by a team of lecturers specializing in the different historical periods and led by a coordinator.
· Five two hours tutorial sessions (maximum 20 student per group), organized by a group of assistants and pedagogical collaborators, and led by the coordinator.
· The tutors ensure pedagogical aid to prepare the students for the final evaluation.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

assessment:
Assessment will be based on the work produced by the student in one of the four workshops. The lecturer will evaluate:
- the quality of the students work and the quality of its transmission;
- the mastery of the essential aspects of the "inter-period" theme dealt with in the chosen workshop;
- the mastery of the main spatio-temporal frameworks and concepts of Western history.

Course material:
- With respect to the main spatio-temporal frameworks of Western history, students will be able to rely on at least some resources (course notes and/or textbook, website, CD-ROM).
- For the tutorial sessions, students will have at their disposal: reading folders, methodological documents, tools for the self-assessment of their work.