I. Required Texts

(Texts that are underscored are accessible on the Internet. For offcampus access to the E-books, click here and download the VPN software, and then log on subsequently via the VPN)

1. Selections from P.A. Brunt, Roman Imperial Themes (Oxford: Oxford UP) -- Americal Council of Learned Societies E-Book

2. Selections from Walter A. Goffart, The narrators of barbarian history (A.D. 550-800) Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Paul the Deacon (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988).

3. Michael Hughes, Early Modern Germany, 1477-1806 ( Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).

4. Otis C. Mitchell, Two German crowns: monarchy and empire in medieval Germany ( Bristol, Ind. : Wyndham Hall Press, 1985)-- American Council of Learned Soceties E-Book.

5. The Nibelungenlied, trans. A.T. Hatto (Penguin Classics)

Numerous other Internet-based texts are indicated in the syllabus below

II. Syllabus
(In the case of field trips, the instruction time, indicated parenthetically, does not include travel time to and from the destination)
(Texts that are underscored are accessible on the Internet. For offcampus access to the E-books, click here and download the VPN software, and then log on subsequently via the VPN)

Week #1: Romans and (other) Barbarians: the Migration Period

day #1: Introduction: P. A. Brunt, Chapter #6: "Reflections on Roman and British Imperialism," pp. 110-133; Sidonius Apollinaris, A Civilized Barbarian and a Barbarous Roman ; the Roman past on the upper Rhine; Walter A. Goffart, Chapter #1: “The First Major Historians of Medieval Europe,” (3-19) (2 hours)

day #2: Field Trip: The Empire and Church in Trier (ca. 3 hours in Trier + travel time)

day#3: Otis Mitchell, Introduction, pp.1-9 and Chapter #1: "Prelude to Germany: Frankish Ascendency and Legacy," pp. 10-17; discussion and review (2 hours)

Week #2: The early Middle Ages and Carolingian Culture

day #1: Carolingian culture: The Preface to Otfrid's "Gospel Harmony", The Hildebrandslied; the Annals of Lorsch; Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne (2 hours)

day #2: Field trip: The Carolingian Royal Hall (Königshalle) and the cloister museum (in the Museumszentrum) in Lorsch (3 hours in Lorsch).

day #3: Otis Mitchell, Chapter #2: "Civil Conflict, Partition, and Disintegration," pp.18-22, Chapter #3: "From Shadow King to German Dynasty," 23-32, and Chapter #4: "The Investiture Controversy," pp.33-46; The Annals of Xanten; Three sources on the Ravages of the Northmen in Frankland, ca. 843-912; Discussion and Review (2 hours).

Week #3: The High Middle Ages and the Hohenstaufen

day #1: Otis Mitchell, Chapter #5: "The Revival and Decline of Imperial Power," pp. 47-70; Paul Crawford, "Crusades and Counter-Crusades" (The ORB Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies); Paul Crawford, "The Military Orders: Introduction" (student read the introduction, the hyperlinked section on the Templars and the Teutonic Knights, and the treatise; Albert of Aix and Ekkehart of Aura, "Emico and the slaughter of the Rhineland Jews" (2 hours); The Nibelungenlied, trans. A.T. Hatto (Penguin Classics). (2 hours).

day #2: Fieldtrip: The Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral) in Speier (3 hours).

day#3: Midterm (2 hours)

Week #4: The Reformation and Luther

day #1: Michael Hughes, Chapter #2: “Germany on the Eve of the Reformation,” pp. 10-29 and Chapter #3: “The Reformation in Germany” (pp. 30-60); texts by Martin Luther, the 95 Theses and an Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, and The Freedom of a Christian. (2 hours).

day #2: Field trip: Worms, sites associated with Luther’s appearance at the Imperial Diet in 1521. (3 hours)

day#3: Michael Hughes, Chapter 4: “Peace and Polarization,” (pp. 61-84) and Chapter 5: “The Thirty Years War and its Consequences,” (pp. 85-113); discussion and review. (2 hours)

Week #5: The Empire in the Age of Absolutism

day #1: Michael Hughes, Chapter 6: “Absolutism and Particularism” (pp.114-138) and Chapter 7: “Dualism and Reform: Germany after the Seven Years' War.” (pp.167-189) (2 hours)

day #2: Field trip: Exploration of the Mannheim Palace and the Jesuit Church (2 hours).

day#3: Travel to Vienna.

day#4: (Friday) Vienna: Morning: Schönbrun Palace; afternoon: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (6 hours)

day #5: (Saturday) Vienna: Morning: Austrian Gallery Belvedere (3 hours); Afternoon: Free.

day #6: (Sunday) Return from Vienna.

Week #6: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the End of the HRE

day #1: Michael Hughes, Chapter 7: Chapter 8: “The End of the Empire: Germany and the French Revolution.” (pp.167-189); discussion and review (2 hours)

day #2: Immanuel Kant, “What is Enlightenment” and Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell (2 hours)

day #3: Final Exam (2 hours)

III. Assessment

The final exam is comprehensive, including short answer, identification, and short essay responses. Besides the final, students will be expected to keep a journal in which they make observations about the places visited in the field trips, connecting experiences made during the field trips with the course readings and noting other interesting facts and observations. These journals will provide the basis for classroom discussions. Information gathered during field trips and discussed during review discussions will form part of the material tested in the exams. Participation means an active engagement on the part of students to learn as much as possible about the places visited on the scheduled fieldtrips.

Midterm                30%
Final         30%
Journal              20%
Participation          20%