Western Civilization I: Enroll Anytime Online Course

Study ancient civilizations, medieval Europe, and the roots of the modern West in UND’s self-paced HIST 101 course.

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Why Take Western Civilization I Online?

HIST 101: Western Civilization I offers an interpretive survey of the peoples, cultures, and historical traditions that shaped the ancient Near East, classical Mediterranean, and medieval Europe. Covering events from early civilizations through the 15th century, this course helps you connect the origins of Western society with issues that continue to shape the modern world. With a flexible, self-paced online format, this 3-credit course is ideal for general education students, history majors, and those seeking transfer-friendly humanities credit.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Identify key events, figures, and cultural traditions in pre-modern Western history

• Build historical timelines and analyze primary sources

• Connect medieval and ancient developments to modern issues

• Develop stronger critical thinking and civic awareness through historical analysis

Students have 3-9 months to complete 16 lessons. Each lesson consists of a required reading from the textbook, a supplementary chapter or article, or both depending on the lesson. Within each lesson is a lecture or series of lectures introducing the main themes and topics of that lesson. Finally, there are a variety of assessments used throughout the course, which include:

• creating geography flashcards
• building historical timelines
• taking quizzes
• completing two country presentations
• writing primary source short essays
• writing a critical book review

This course does not have any exams.

Course Organization

Part 1: The Ancient World

Lesson 1: Prehistoric Revolutions & the Rise of Civilisations

Lesson 2: Riverine Civilisations in the 3rd and 2nd Millennium

Lesson 3: A Wider View - The Ancient Near East to 1200BCE

Lesson 4: Age of Iron and Empires

Part 2: The Greek World

Lesson 5: From Wanex to Polis - The Hellenic World 1200-500BCE

Lesson 6: Classical Greece to 350BCE

Lesson 7: The Coming of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and the Beginnings of the Hellenistic World

Lesson 8: The Hellenistic World

Part 3: The Roman World

Lesson 9: The Western Mediterranean and Rome to 500BC

Lesson 10: Rome and the Republic

Lesson 11: The Pax Romana: Imperial Rome to 284CE

Lesson 12: The Late Antique World

Part 4: The Mediaeval World

Lesson 13: Transformation of the Early Mediaeval World

Lesson 14: Western Europe and Byzantine Roman Empire in the Mediaeval World

Lesson 15: Mediaeval World in the Era of the Crusades

Lesson 16: The Waning of the Mediaeval World

Who Should Enroll?

• General education students seeking a history or humanities elective

• History majors beginning their survey sequence

• Transfer students needing a Western Civilization or World History credit

• Learners preparing for careers in teaching, law, public policy, or global studies

Meet the Instructor

What is the required textbook for HIST 101?

Michael Burger, The Shaping of Western Civilization Vol. I: From Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-1442607569.

You may use either the hard copy or the e-text of the book.

How will the course appear on my transcript?

You may enroll at any time and have up to 9 months to complete this online course. The credits earned will be recorded on your UND transcript based on the date you registered for the course. It will appear on your transcript in the same way as a course taken during a regular semester. There is no indication that the course was taken online or that you completed it at your own pace. 

Consult the table on our How Enroll Anytime Courses Work page for a current listing of Enroll Anytime Registration Dates and the semester information that will appear on a UND transcript.

Why Take Online Classes at UND?

Here are a few reasons why you should take an online enroll anytime course at UND:

• Great customer service – Our registration team is ready to answer questions quickly so you can focus on your coursework.
• Affordable – UND's enroll anytime courses are priced at North Dakota's affordable, in-state tuition rate.
• Accredited – UND is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
• Easily transfer credits – Transferring credits is always at the discretion of the institution to which the credits are being transferred. In general, credits from schools/universities that are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission transfer to other regionally accredited institutions. UND's online courses appear on your UND transcript in the same way as other courses.

Flexible 100% Online Course

You'll take this online course at your own pace. Some students thrive in this environment, while other students may struggle with setting their own deadlines. If you have successfully taken an independent study or correspondence course previously, UND’s enroll anytime courses may be right for you. Still not sure? Take our online quiz to help determine if online enroll anytime courses are right for you.

Course information including tuition, technology requirements, textbooks, lessons and exams is subject to change without notice.