History 11

Students will study this era through its sources, occasionally comparing them against the judgments of modern historians, in order to form an impression that is marred neither by the pejoratives of progressives nor the sense of vindication often voiced by Catholics.  Students will be able to identify the greater themes of this era and to distinguish between the vagaries of life in this (or any) era, the anomalies of this era, and its ideals.  An over-emphasis on particulars—a trick of progressive and anti-Catholic historians—is misleading.  Similarly, the person who passes judgment on this era with reference to only the political formulations issued by popes and the recorded aspirations of saints will have obscured or overlooked a very complex culture.  In short, the goal is to let this era manifest itself to the student, while supplying occasional readings or glosses that put the readings in proper context.

For this reason, the Kolbe 11th Grade curriculum is entitled The Era of Christendom, rather than “Dark Ages Curriculum”, for the designation “Dark Ages” is shamefully derogatory and unscientific, as the historian Theodor Ernst Mommsen observed.  We feel it is important therefore that even something so seemingly insignificant as the title of the course suggest a fresh approach to this subject.

Students taking this course for Kolbe Core (K) credit will have four papers, a mid-term, and final exam each semester.  Additionally, core students should expect to have daily reading and minor weekly written assignments or quizzes.

Assignment due-dates and grades are established by the parent.  Optionally, a student may be enrolled in the Self-Paced Plus© grading assistance program to receive grading assistance from a Kolbe Academy faculty or staff member on designated assignments in the course.  In this case, parents will still submit final grades to Kolbe for the course, but may choose to incorporate the graded assignments into the student’s overall grade or use the Kolbe-graded assignments to assist in arriving at the student’s final grade.

• 11th Grade History: The Era of Christendom Reader, Kolbe Academy Publishing – Digital copy provided with self-paced course.  Optional physical copy is available for purchase in the Kolbe Bookstore.
• Byzantium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen through Contemporary Eyes, Deno Geanakoplos
• Viking Portable Medieval Reader, James Bruce Ross & Mary Martin McLaughlin
• Chronicles, Froissart, Jean
• MLA Handbook Eighth Edition

Self-Paced Plus courses include the following:

• Grading by a highly qualified teacher for selected assignments (listed below) in the course.
• Access to teacher through the course’s discussion board.
• Option to report grade given by the teacher, or to report a grade assigned by parent.
• The pacing is still established by the parent in conjunction with the student’s goals and academic calendar. 
• Assignments will be graded within 1-2 weeks of the submission date, excluding holiday breaks.  (For the quickest grading, students should turn assignments in incrementally throughout the year.  If a student turns in multiple assignments to be graded at once, expect a response time of 1-2 weeks per assignment submitted.)

Self-Paced Plus Assignment List:

*We developed a rubric to assist in grading the paper assignments.  Each paper assignment will have the rubric available for the student in the course.