Western Civilization I:
Ancient Near East to 1648
Description of the Examination
The Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648 examination covers material that is usually taught in the first semester of a two-semester course in Western Civilization. Questions deal with the civilizations of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East; the Middle Ages; the Renaissance and Reformation; and early modern Europe. Candidates may be asked to choose the correct definition of a historical term, select the historical figure whose political viewpoint is described, identify the correct relationship between two historical factors, or detect the inaccurate pairing of an individual with a historical event. Groups of questions may require candidates to interpret, evaluate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, or a picture to other information, or to analyze and utilize the data contained in a graph or table.
The examination contains approximately 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. Some of these are pretest questions that will not be scored. Any time candidates spend on tutorials and providing personal information is in addition to the actual testing time. This examination uses the chronological designations b.c.e. (before the common era) and c.e. (common era). The labels correspond to b.c. (before Christ) and a.d. (anno Domini), which are used in some textbooks.
Knowledge and Skills Required
Questions on the Western Civilization I examination require candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities.
- Understanding important factual knowledge of developments in Western Civilization
- Ability to identify the causes and effects of major historical events
- Ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate textual and graphic historical materials
- Ability to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant
- Ability to reach conclusions on the basis of facts
The subject matter of the Western Civilization I examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic.
| 8-10% | Ancient Near EastPolitical evolution Religion, culture, and technical developments in and near the Fertile Crescent |
| 15-17% | Ancient Greece and Hellenistic CivilizationPolitical evolution to Periclean Athens Periclean Athens through the Peloponnesian Wars Culture, religion, and thought of Ancient Greece The Hellenistic political structure The culture, religion, and thought of Hellenistic Greece |
| 15-17% | Ancient RomePolitical evolution of the Republic and of the Empire (economic and geographical context) Roman thought and culture Early Christianity The Germanic invasions The late empire |
| 23-27% | Medieval HistoryByzantium and Islam Early medieval politics and culture through Charlemagne Feudal and manorial institutions The medieval Church Medieval thought and culture Rise of the towns and changing economic forms Feudal monarchies The late medieval church |
| 13-17% | Renaissance and ReformationThe Renaissance in Italy The Renaissance outside Italy The New Monarchies Protestantism and Catholicism reformed and reorganized |
| 10-15% | Early Modern Europe, 1560-1648The opening of the Atlantic The Commercial Revolution Dynastic and religious conflicts Thought and culture |
