Course: History of Civilizations to 1500 |
Class Hours and Room: Monday, Wednesday,
Friday 9-9:50 A.M. Rm. H-507 |
Course Number: HIS 1-002 |
Semester: Spring 2010 |
Credits/Hours: 3 credits, 3 hours |
Instructor: Nicol‡s Agrait |
|
Contact Information: History Department Rm. H-838 Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 3-4:30 and by
appointment. Tel. 718-488-1357 e-mail: nicolas.agrait@liu.edu |
I.
Course
Description: This class covers the evolution of civilization in Africa, the
Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Europe until the voyages of discovery.
Emphasis is placed on the growth of independent cultural traditions and
diffusion of ideas, institutions and peoples. Students shall tackle the subject
matter through lectures, assigned readings and discussion. (from L.I.U. Brooklyn Bulletin 2007-2009)
II.
Course
Goals and Objectives:
1)
Diligent students will be able to
articulate a definition of History as a professional field through lectures,
readings and discussions, and continue to understand how the past is relevant
to the present and future.
2)
Diligent students will develop analytical
skills by reading both secondary and primary sources.
3)
Diligent students will further develop
writing and critical-thinking skills through the completion of at least two
term papers.
4)
Diligent students will be prepared to
move on to more advanced History courses.
III.
Resources:
1)
Textbook:
The required
textbook is Judge, Edward H. and John W. Langdon. Connections; A World History. Volume 1to 1650. 1st. Ed.
New York: VangoBooks, 2008. (ISBN-13: 978-0321107961; ISBN-10: 0321107969) I have asked the L.I.U. Bookstore to
stock copies. You may get it there
or on your own.
2)
Students need to bring a notebook, paper
or other material with which to take notes.
3)
Students absolutely need to have access to a computer with Internet access
to complete reading assignments and papers.
4)
Extra Source Readings: see below under Course Calendar.
5) Web Links:
a)
L.I.U. Prof. AgraitÕs His. 1, His. 2 Web
Site (nagrait.tripod.com/history)
This is the instructorÕs personal and
academic web site. You can find information regarding his schedule, specialty
and office hours. Most importantly, you
can get copies of the course syllabus if you need it.
b)
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html
c)
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
d)
Internet Modern Sourcebook: www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
e)
L.I.U. Brooklyn Electronic Reserves: http://breserves.liu.edu
6) How to access ERES:
a)
Whenever a reading has the letters (ERES)
right behind it, it means that it is in the Electronic Reserves section of the
library and not on the public Internet.
b)
Go to L.I.U. Brooklyn Electronic
Reserves: http://breserves.liu.edu
and then click on ÒElectronic Reserves and MaterialsÓ
c)
Look for the course in the main index or
using my name.
d)
Enter
the course password: 002AGR.
e)
Click on the text you need and you will
be able to view and/or print a .pdf version of the readings. You may not be able to save it to your
computer because it may copyright protected.
7) L.I.U. Attendance and Tardiness Policies:
(from L.I.U.-Brooklyn Bulletin)
a)
Attendance: All students are expected to attend classes and to participate
in classroom activities. Instructors have the right to weigh attendance and
class participation in determining grades. Consequently, excessive absences may
negatively affect the evaluation of a studentÕs performance. Freshmen and
probationary students are allowed no more than two class-hour absences per
credit hour. All students enrolled in science laboratory courses may not be
absent for more than 20 percent of laboratory time. Instructors are urged to
record attendance in all classes for counseling purposes.
b)
Tardiness: Students are expected to be present from the beginning of a
class until the instructor dismisses it. If students arrive late, they may be
denied admission or marked absent.
8)
Additional Course Policies:
a)
Cell Phone, Text-Messagers, Wireless E-mail:
these are strictly prohibited during class. Turn cell phones and pagers off (off, not vibrate, not silent). Any student caught surfing the web
or checking e-mail in class will be expelled. Furthermore, any use of
electronic devices during quizzes or tests will result in the student failing
the test and possibly being referred to the proper L.I.U. authorities for
further disciplinary action.
b)
Academic
Dishonesty: All dishonest behavior (cheating, plagiarism,
disruption) will be subject to severe punishment including grade reduction,
expulsion from the class, or other disciplinary action.
IV.
Course
Requirements/Assignments
1)
Grading
Breakdown
Quizzes |
20% |
Midterm Examination |
20% |
Papers |
20% |
Final Examination |
30% |
Class Participation |
10% |
2) Tests/Quizzes
a)
Quizzes:
there will be nine quizzes
throughout the semester starting on Friday,
February 5, 2010. These shall be administered on the first ten minutes of class on Fridays. If you are not in class within the first five minutes, you
will not be given the quiz. These
will be based strictly on the
textbook (Judge and Langdon). The
quizzes are already scheduled so look in the Course Calendar for which chapter
you are responsible.
b)
Midterm
Examination: this will be a 50-minute test that will take
place on March 1, 2010. It will have
two sections: an I.D. section with items taken from the quizzes and a discussion
question. The professor will let
the class know which material the students are responsible.
c)
Final
Examination: this will be in class test scheduled for the
end of the semester and will consist of long discussion questions. As soon as the final examination
schedule is set, the instructor will let the students know when it will take
place.
Students under no circumstances get make
ups for quizzes (never, no way, no how, do not even
bother asking). Any quizzes missed
will simply not count toward the studentÕs overall grade. However, missing too
many quizzes will result in the studentÕs decreased grade. Students
may request a make up examination for the midterm or final examination, granted
at the discretion of the professor, with a legitimate excuse.
3) Papers: all papers are to be handed into
my mailbox in the History Department or to me personally in my office or in
class.
Students are required to write at least two 2-3-page typewritten, double-spaced
essays (handwritten papers will be ignored) on topics provided by the
instructor. There will be two
opportunities to write papers: Friday, February
19, 2010 and Friday, April 9, 2010.
Students
have to hand in at least two papers to pass the course, but may write as many
new papers (no rewrites) as they
want until they get the grades they want. The instructor will only count the
highest grades. Students who do
not hand in two papers will automatically receive an ÒFÓ for the paper segment
of their grade. These deadlines are final and essays will
be downgraded one half-grade per day the paper is late. It is the studentÕs responsibility
to make the instructor aware of any potential problems at any stage with the
papers. Students are also required to
hand in a printed copy of the essay AND an electronic copy (floppy disk, e-mail
attachment, e-mail message text, CD-Rom, USB flash drive, etc.). The
electronic copy will be used to check against plagiarism. Any
papers handed in without an electronic copy will not be graded until the
electronic version is received. Remember,
that for your second paper you may not write on any of the papers topics slated
for the first due date, even if it is an extra paper.
Anyone caught cheating (misrepresenting information copying
papers, buying papers off the web, using cliff-notes, Wikipedia, etc.) will
receive an ÒFÓ in the first offense.
If the student cheats again, he or she will automatically fail the
course and will also be referred to the proper L.I.U. authorities.
4)
Paper Topics:
Other
than language dictionaries absolutely NO outside sources are required or
permitted for the completion of these papers.
a.
Read the different creation myths for the
Hebrews (http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/Genesis1.html),
the Chinese (http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_chinese_full.htm)
and the Maya (http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_maya_full.htm). In what ways are these stories
similar? In what ways are they
different? (You can download a Word version of the Chinese and Maya creation
stories if the presentation is too tedious).
b.
Buddhism: read Buddha: First Sermon - The
Middle Path (c. 6th Century BCE) (http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/bud-ser1.html),
The Buddha: Sermons and Teachings (6th century B.C.E.) (http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/bud-ser.html),
and The Buddha: Basic Teachings (from Bussagli, 5,000 Years of the Art of India [New York, 1971]) (http://web.archive.org/web/20000519140345/http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/buddha/buddhawd.htm).
What are the four Noble Truths? What is the ÒMiddle PathÓ? What is the
ultimate goal for humans and how do they achieve it?
c.
Read the excerpt from Aristotle, Politics, c. 340 (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/aristotle-politics1.html).
What are the three forms of government delineated by Aristotle? What are their
potential problems?
d.
Read Ann Macy RothÕs, ÒBuilding Bridges
to Afrocentrism: A Letter to my Egyptological ColleaguesÓ (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Articles_Gen/afrocent_roth.html). According to the author, what is
Afrocentrism? How can it come into conflict with Egyptology?
e.
Read Ann Macy RothÕs, ÒBuilding Bridges
to Afrocentrism: A Letter to my Egyptological ColleaguesÓ (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Articles_Gen/afrocent_roth.html). How does the author feel that
Afrocentrism and Egyptology can best help each other?
Pick one of the topics
listed above (a, b, c, d or e) and write a 2-3 page papers due in class or in my office on or
before Friday, February 19, 2010.
f.
Read Petronius Arbiter, ÒThe Feast of
TrimalchioÓ in his Satyricon (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/petronius-satyricon-feast.html). To which social class does Trimalchio
belong? Please choose specific
examples from the text to support your answer.
g.
Read the excerpts from the Song of Roland (ERES). Exclusively using this text, what kind of attributes were
valued by this culture? What were
some of the most reviled?
h.
Read Giovanni BoccaccioÕs Introduction to The Decameron (ERES, any
complete version in print or on the web, or get .pdf file from professor). According to the author, what was the
pestilence that afflicted Florence? What were its effects? How did the citizens
cope? Use specific examples from the text to back up your arguments.
i.
China: Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism
Read the following Powerpoint (http://www.fsus.fsu.edu/Academics/SocialStudies/Cuccio/APWorldHistoryPowerPoints/Chapter2/Confucianism-Legalism-Taoism.ppt)
and the following web sites:
History World: History of China (Zhou and Qin) (http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=bew)
Imagine that you walk out of LIU and find a large political protest going on in
the
intersection between DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues. The gathering is
getting raucous
and perhaps out of hand. Write three one-page essays delineating how a
Confucian,
Daoist and Legalist would respond (one page for each philosophy) and why you
think
this would be so.
Pick one of the topics
listed above (f, ) and write a 2-3
page papers due in class or in my office on or before Friday, April 9, 2010.
V.
Course
Calendar (Classes, Topics, Reading Assignments):
remember that computers are supremely stupid things. Therefore, it is best to
go to nagrait.tripod.com/history, find your syllabus and then click on the
reading assignments web sites. If
you do not type them perfectly your
computer (dumb thing) will not know where to send you.
Jan. |
|
Wed. 20 |
First day of Classes |
Fri. 22 |
Human Civilization: What is required? Readings Due: Edward H. Judge and
John W. Langdon, Connections; A World
History, chap. 1 (Hereafter, Connections). |
Mon. 25 |
Human Civilization: What is required? (cont.). |
Weds. 27 |
Asia/Middle East: Sumerians Readings Due: Connections, chap. 2. |
Fri. 29 |
Asia/Middle East: Sumerians (cont.) Readings Due: ÒThe Creation of the
Pickax by Enlil or Babylonian Holy SpiritÓ (www.piney.com/BabPickax.html), Sumerian Beer:
Banquet Image (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2169/2273254240_ea480c468f_b.jpg), and ÒHymn to
Ninkasi-Making BeerÓ (http://www.piney.com/BabNinkasi.html). |
Feb. |
|
Mon. 1 |
Africa: Egyptians Readings Due: Check out these images
on the web: Nile Delta from Space (http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/680/Egypt.A2000060.0855.900x1175.jpg), Hymn to the Nile,
c. 2100 BCE (www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hymn-nile.html), King Tut Exhibit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJX-qvsE26g), The Court of
Amonhotep III at the temple of Luxor (http://shop.discoveringegypt.com/images/court1024.jpg), The Sphynx (http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/25/gallery/sphynx-540x380.jpg), Pyramid of Cheops (http://k53.pbase.com/u43/paddchas/large/33579980.IMG_0043.jpg). |
Weds. 3 |
Africa: Egyptians (cont.) Readings Due: Connections, chap. 3. |
Fri. 5 |
Asia: India/Harappan (Quiz
#1, chaps. 2-3) |
Mon. 8 |
Asia: Vedic India |
Weds. 10 |
Asia: China Readings Due: Connections, chap. 4; (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/neolithic.html) : click and read the
ÒXia Dynasty,Ó ÒShang Dynasty,Ó and ÒZhou Dynasty.Ó |
Fri. 12 |
Asia: China (cont.) (Quiz
#2, chap. 4) |
Mon. 15 |
PresidentsÕ Day (NO
CLASSES) |
Tues. 16 |
(Monday Schedule) Americas: Olmecs Readings Due: Connections, chap. 5; Olmec Culture Images (http://www.ddbstock.com/olmec1.html), Civilizations in
America: The Olmecs (http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAMRCA/OLMECS.HTM), Seated Figurine (http://www.mesoweb.com/features/jpl/12.html), Olmed Colossal Head
(http://www.mesoweb.com/features/jpl/01.html). |
Weds. 17 |
Americas: Andean Societies Readings Due: Connections, chap. 13, pp. 299-305; Thomas H. Maugh II,
ÒCelestial Find at Ancient Andes Site,Ó Los
Angeles Times (http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/14/science/sci-observatory14); Find ÒTerracesÓ
scroll down and read ÒSouth AmericaÓ
(http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/terraces). |
Fri. 19 |
Africa: African Societies 1,000-500 B.C.E. (Quiz #3, chap. 5) Readings Due: ÒNubia through the
AgesÓ(http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/nubiac1.htm); Herodotus, The Histories, Book III (c. 430 B.C.E.
(excpt.) in ÒAncient Accounts of ArabiaÓ (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/arabia1.html). |
Mon. 22 |
Africa: African Societies 1,000-500 B.C.E. (cont.) |
Weds. 24 |
Asia/Middle East: Persian Empire Readings Due: Connections, chap. 6. |
Fri. 26 |
Asia/Middle East: Persian Empire (cont.) (Quiz #4, chap. 6) |
March |
|
Mon. 1 |
Midterm Examination |
Weds. 3 |
Europe: The Greeks: Polis Readings Due: Connections, chap. 7 |
Fri. 5 |
Europe: The Greeks: Sparta (No Quiz) |
Mon. 8 |
Europe: The Greeks: Sparta (cont.) |
Weds. 10 |
Europe: The Greeks: Athens Readings
Due: Aristotle
from Politics, books III and VII only. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/aristotle-politics1.html). |
Fri. 12 |
Europe: The Greeks: Athens (cont.) (Quiz #5, chap. 7) |
|
Spring Break, March 13-21, 2009 |
Mon. 22 |
Europe: Alexander the Great and the
Hellenistic Period Readings
Due: Alexander
at Issus: (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/images/mosaic.jpg). |
Weds. 24 |
Europe: Alexander the Great and the
Hellenistic Period (cont.) Readings
Due: Connections, chap. 8. |
Fri. 26 |
Europe: Roman Republic (Quiz
#6, chap. 8) |
Mon. 29 |
Europe: Roman Republic (cont.) |
Weds. 31 |
Europe: Augustus and the Roman Empire Readings
Due: Connections, chap. 9. |
April |
|
Fri. 2 |
Europe: Augustus and the Roman Empire
(cont.) (Quiz #7, chap. 9) |
Mon. 5 |
Asia: China Qin Shi Huangdi Readings
Due: Portrait
of Qin Shuangdi (http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/picts/firstemperor.gif), Qin ShuangdiÕs
Terra Cota Warriors (http://archaeology.about.com/od/figurinesandclaypipes/ss/terracotta.htm), Great Wall of
China, (http://theeulobby.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/great_wall_of_china.jpg); Map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Map_of_the_Great_Wall_of_China.jpg). |
Weds. 7 |
Asia: China Qin Shi Huangdi (cont.) |
Fri. 9 |
Asia/Middle East/Europe: Rise of
Christianity (No quiz) |
Mon. 12 |
Asia/Middle East/Europe: Rise of Christianity (cont.) |
Weds. 14 |
Europe/Middle East: Decline of the
Roman Empire Readings Due: Connections,
chap. 10. |
Fri. 16 |
Europe/Middle East: Decline of the
Roman Empire (Quiz #8, chap. 10) |
Mon. 19 |
Asia/Middle East: Rise of Islam Readings Due: Connections, chap. 11. |
Weds. 21 |
Asia/Middle East: Rise of Islam Readings
Due: The QuÕran, Surahs 1 and 47
(excerpts) (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/koran-sel.html). |
Fri. 23 |
Asia: Mongol Empire (Quiz #9, chap. 11) |
Mon. 26 |
Asia: Mongol Empire (cont.) Readings
Due: Connections, chap. 15. |
Weds. 28 |
Asia/Europe: Black Death Readings
Due: Connections, chap. 16. |
Fri. 30 |
Asia/Europe: Black Death (cont.) (No Quiz) Readings Due: Boccaccio, The Decameron: Introduction (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boccacio2.html) or ERES. |
May |
|
Mon. 3 |
Last Day of Class The World in the Year 1500 Readings
Due: Maps:
Africa(1500) (http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/willow/history-of-africa2.gif), Asia (1500) (http://www.worldmapsonline.com/UnivHist/30362_6.gif), Europe(1500) (http://www.euratlas.com/history_europe/europe_map_1500.html), North America(1500)
(http://go-passport.grolier.com/atlas?id=mh00100&tn=/atlas/printerfriendly.html), Central and South
America (1500) (http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/resource/americas.htm), Pacific(1500) (http://www.worldmapsonline.com/UnivHist/30320_6.gif). |
Final
Examination Period May 6-12, 2010.
Time and place to be announced.