Modern Western Civilizations [HIST 110]
My Modern Western Civilizations class was one I took in order to meet the seventh general education goal every Longwood student must meet. To learn more about my experience with my American Literature class, visit the Goal 7 – Modern Western Civilizations page under my General Education Courses tab.
The most unique aspect of my Western Civ. course was that the students did not use a traditional textbook. Instead, while we did study some historical fiction, we primarily focused on primary sources. Primary sources can be anything from census records to journal entries to paintings that date back to the time period one is studying. In my Western Civ. class, we used all of the above and more when it came to primary sources. By using primary sources, I was able to gain different perspectives about history. It was important for us as students, however, to take what knowledge we gained via these primary sources with a grain of salt. One must always consider source when studying things of this nature. It is important to take into account who wrote or created the source, what his or her political affiliation might have been, what the purpose behind the creation of the source was, etc. The more primary sources one studies, the more reliable and the conclusions he or she draws will be.
Never before had I taken a class that focused so heavily on studying real-world historical artifacts rather than just a textbook with summaries of the information gathered from said artifacts. Learning how much judgement goes into interpreting what the sources mean was an extremely valuable experience. To get an idea of how I studied primary sources, take a look at one of my primary document analysis assignments below:
