CLEP Western Civilization I cheat sheet

Integrated humanities foundations: CLEP Western Civilization I

• Distinguish communities, political forms and periods.

• Ancient citizenship does not imply universal modern political rights.

• Compare written, material and archaeological evidence.

• Cultural contact does not make all communities identical.

• Define a relationship rather than assuming one uniform feudal system.

• Separate a written norm from observed enforcement.

• Examine overlapping religious, political and economic roles.

• Renaissance and Reformation changes involved continuity as well as conflict.

• Identify provenance, audience, genre and transmission before judging evidentiary value.

• A normative text does not by itself establish actual compliance.

• Chronological sequence alone does not prove a causal mechanism.

• Periodization is an interpretation with explicit criteria.

• Different perspectives remain subject to evidence and contextual evaluation.

• Humanism centered on classical texts, rhetoric, and civic virtue

• Italian vs. Northern Renaissance differ in religious emphasis

• Patronage by wealthy families and popes funded art and learning

• Printing press accelerated diffusion of ideas and criticism

• Exploration driven by trade, religion, and state competition

• Columbian exchange transformed diets, populations, and economies

• Justification by faith and scripture alone were central Protestant claims

• Printing spread reform ideas rapidly and fueled vernacular debate

• Calvinism added predestination and strict moral discipline

• English Reformation began with dynastic politics under Henry VIII

• Council of Trent clarified doctrine and reformed clergy training