Pharoah History 101

Western Civilization to 1600
Northern Virginia
Community College
Greek Helmet

Dr. Doug Campbell, Office: LC- 320
Office Hours
docampbell@nvcc.edu

The best way to get in touch with me outside of class is through email, which I check several times a day during business hours. If you need to meet with me in person, making an appointment is always a good idea, even if you want to meet during my office hours. While I am usually in my office during office hours, sometimes I may briefly be away from desk to make copies, check my departmental mail, meet with colleagues, etc.  Making an appointment is the most effective way to ensure you won't have to wait.

Welcome
Themes
Readings
Grading and Due Dates
Expectations
Description of Course Elements
Course Schedule

Welcome to History 101

You just happen to be lucky enough to have enrolled in a class on the history of western civilization.  Seriously. History is enormously interesting, and I love teaching it.   If I do my job correctly, you will love learning about it.  And of course, not only is history fascinating, but it's also valuable in an intellectual sense.  Learning about how people lived in the past can help broaden your horizons, making your outlook less parochial and more cosmopolitan.  It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country without the discomfort of a long, uncomfortable plane ride. History, of course, can also inform your understanding of the present by showing you the deeper roots of problems and trends in the contemporary world.  And finally, a well-taught history course is chock full of practice in all sorts of useful skills that employers are interested in, such as critical thinking, analyzing documents, and crafting well-written arguments based on evidence.  So history can be interesting, can enrich your intellectual life, and make you more money.  What could be more awesome?


One thing to keep in mind with this course, however, is the fact that learning is not a spectator sport.  You can't just sit back passively and expect to get anything near the full benefit of this class.  You need to be actively engaged in your own education.  I certainly have to play my  part, and I promise to do my best to present an interesting and dynamic class which offers you all sorts of opportunities to learn cool stuff.  The actual learning is your job, though.  To put it another way, I can cook the most delicious banquet imaginable, and set the table in the most attractive way possible, piling it high with all sorts of fabulous delicacies.  But in the end, you're the one who actually has to eat the meal.  So if you're going to take this class, I'll ask you to make a conscious decision to engage in all of the opportunities available to you, and to commit to coming to all of the class sessions, to participating in an active and thoughtful manner in all of our class discussions, to completing all of the assigned readings, and to submitting all of the required assignments.  If you do, I promise it will be worth your while.  Your place at the table is set, and you are invited....

Stuff the College makes me include:

Course Description

Examines the development of western civilization from ancient times to the present. Part I of II. Lecture 3
hours per week.

General Course Purpose

Surveys the general history of the Western world from about 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and allows students to
reach a basic understanding of the characteristic features of the Western world's early historical development
in that span of time. Students will learn about some of the important political, economic, social, intellectual,
cultural and religious changes that shaped the development of the West from earliest times.

Course objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Course Prerequisites: None

Themes

Our primary goal is to investigate what it means to be human by looking at what humans were like in the past. To that end, this class is going to use several themes as "lenses" through which to examine the human past.  The themes are:


Religion: What is religion? What role does it play in human societies? Is religion an essential part of being human?

Government: What are the origins of human governments?  What are the various forms that government has taken over the centuries? Which forms work best? Which are worst?

Gender: Are different social roles for men and women essential or arbitrary? How have human opinions on gender, marriage, and sexuality changed over time?

Social Class: Are inequalities in wealth and power inherent, appropriate parts of human life or evils to be overcome? On what basis should wealth and power be allocated?

There are of course plenty of other lenses through which to look at the past, but these are a good start and should give plenty of interesting questions to examine for one class.

Readings

There are no books you need to purchase for this class. We will be making use, as much as possible, of Open Educational Resources (OER) which are available online for free.

Even though we have left the more traditional paper textbook-oriented model of a history class behind, however, this course still requires you to do a great deal of reading, writing, and, above all, thinking.  You should take the course readings seriously, and make sure to keep up with the reading assignments described below in the Class Schedule.  You will especially need to make sure to complete all of the readings labeled as "Primary Sources" in the schedule for a given week before you come to class that week, because we will usually be discussing those.

It doesn't matter whether you choose to complete the readings using an internet-enabled electronic device or you prefer to print them out and read them the old fashioned way. No matter how you do it though, you should consider all of your readings carefully. Taking notes on them, marking  the most important passages, and jotting down any questions you might have is highly encouraged.

Grading and Due Dates

Your overall grade for the class will consist of the following elements.  No work for the course will be accepted after June 30-- No exceptions!

Scores will be posted on Canvas, and will be accompanied by general comments about the strengths and weaknesses of your work.  If you would like a more detailed description of aspects of the assignment which could be improved, just ask me and I will be happy to provide one.

Course Element Percentage of Course Grade Due Date
Attendance and Participation 150 Points Every Class
Introduction Assignment 25 Points May 22
Hammurabi Paper (2 pages) 100 points May 24
Plato and Deuteronomy Paper (2 pages) 100 Points June 2
Midterm Exam 100 Points June 6
Source Criticism Paper  (2 pages) 100 Points  Proposed source due as part of the Prospective Bibliography for the Research Paper:  June 9
Finished Paper: June 16  
Book Review Paper (2 pages) 100 Points Proposed source due as part of the Prospective Bibliography for the Research Paper:  June 9
Finished Paper: June 23
Research Paper (4 pages) 200 Points Topic Proposal: May 29
Prospective Bibliography: June 9
Thesis Statement Draft: June 26
Finished Research Paper: June 28
Reflective Paragraph 25 Points June 30
Final Exam 100 Points June 27

You may also complete any of the 6 Extra Credit Paragraphs, for up to 10 points a piece.



Grading Scale

Points
Final Course Grade
900-1000 A
800-899 B
700-799 C
600-699 D
599 and Below F

NOTE: The Grade Center in the course's Canvas page may indicate that your point total is "out of" a certain number of points, or that your grade is equivalent to a certain percentage. Please pay no attention to any of that!  The only thing that matters in determining your grade for the class is the total number of points you have earned in comparison to the grading scale listed above.

Expectations


Guidelines for Conduct During Class Meetings


Disruptive Behavior
: Please be considerate. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.  Private conversations during lecture or class discussions, ringing mobile phones, texting, sleeping, or walking into class late or out of class early all distract and disturb your instructor and your classmates, and will count against your participation grade.  Repeated instances of rude behavior may result your removal from the classroom.   If you have a question or a comment on the course material, please raise your hand and share it with the class.


Electronic Devices: The use of electronic devices is permitted in classes only with the approval of the professor, and with the understanding that such devices are to be used only for class-related purposes.  Class is not the time to browse the internet, send or read email, use social media or game. Electronic devices may be stored by the professor at his discretion at the front of the room for the duration of the class meeting if it seems like they are becoming an obstacle to student learning.

Abuse: Any student who seems to be under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating drugs, or who is abusive or violent will be referred to campus police immediately.

Make-Ups: For exam sessions, make-ups will not be given other than in the case of a genuine emergency with appropriate documentation (ie, emergency room documents, court summons, etc.)  Missing class due to "not feeling well," not being able to get a ride, having to work, and the like are not genuine emergencies. Please plan ahead!

Accommodations: Students requiring special accommodations for assignments or exams should have the appropriate forms from the Disability Support Service (DSS).  Forms should be given to me no fewer than 7 days before the date the assignment or exam requiring the accommodation is due, and preferably at the very beginning of the semester.

College Closings: If the College is closed because of inclement weather or some other emergency on a day on which class normally meets, I may substitute some sort of online assignment for that particular class session. It is the your responsibility to check the course's Canvas page and your College email account in a timely manner in order to receive information on the substitute assignment and when it is due.


Guidelines for Written Work


Formatting: Papers should be double spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font and one inch margins.  All papers must be word processed and submitted through Canvas as files in .doc, .odt, .pdf, or .rtf format (No .pages format submissions, please!).  E-mail submissions will not be accepted.  See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

Style and Grammar: All of your work for this class must present a main argument or thesis which addresses the question(s) posed by the assignment, should support that argument with evidence, and should be written in grammatical and stylistically correct English.  Make sure to proofread and use spell-check. For information on writing papers for this class, make sure to read my Tips for History Papers page.  You also might want to consult the following handy websites:

        NVCC Loudoun's Writing Center       
        Patrick Rael, "Avoid Common Mistakes In Your History Paper"
        Steven Kreis, "Writing the Short Essay"



Citations:  You MUST include a formal citation any time you refer to a specific passage in a text, even if you do not quote the text directly.  The required method for citing sources in this class is the Chigago Manual of Style's format, which is the standard for the discipline of history.  According to this format, at the end of any sentence or paragraph drawn from a specific part of a source, you insert superscript number which corresponds to a footnote at the bottom of the page with the appropriate bibliographic information.  Number your footnotes consecutively. Consult the previous web link for more detailed information on citations in this format.  You also might find this video on "Inserting Chicago Style Footnotes and Endnotes Using Microsoft Word"  helpful. EVERY PAPER you complete for this class should include a bibliography at the end listing all of the sources you consulted (even if the list includes only one source).  You bibliography page does not count toward the page length of your assignment.

Plagiarism:  Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating in this course will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including at a minimum no credit whatsoever for the assignment or exam in question (No exceptions!!!).   Particularly flagrant instances of cheating or multiple instances of plagiarism will result in a grade of "F" for the course. Procedures for disciplinary measures and appeals are outlined in the NOVA Student Handbook.

Please note that even copying a sentence or two from another source without citing it is enough to trigger a plagiarism penalty.  Likewise, changing a word here or there from content which you copy is still plagiarism.  Your work should be entirely in your own words except for the passages which you quote and appropriately cite.

For a bit more discussion on why you will probably get caught if you try to use the web to plagiarize, see "How Dumb Do They Think We Are?" by Jonathan Malesic.  All of your papers for the class will be checked for plagiarism by TurnItIn software.

Late Work: Late papers and projects will be accepted for one week after the due date with a one letter grade penalty. After one week, late papers and projects will no longer be accepted.  Late extra credit paragraphs or exams will not be accepted at all.


Guidelines for E-Mail Communication


The easiest way to contact me outside of class is through e-mail.  In order to receive a response to your message, however, your e-mail must contain the following elements, which are all part of the basic etiquette for professional correspondence:


Messages sent using "text-ese" or rude or abusive language will be ignored (b/c it makes u look ignorant d00d)!


I have on average between 150-200 students a semester, so you need to provide me with as much information as possible if you want a timely answer to your message.  Please allow at least 48 hours before following up.  If you haven't received a response within a couple of days, however, feel free to nag me.

You should be using your NOVA email account for this class, and checking it regularly to see if you have any messages.

Description of Course Elements


Attendance and Participation


Attendance Policy: Given the fact that participation is part of your grade, your attendance is expected at every class meeting.  You are allowed one unexcused absence for the semester.  You will only receive credit for attending a class session if you are present when I take roll at the beginning of class.  More than one absence without a valid excuse will affect your grade for the course.  Students who miss more than 2 consecutive weeks of class without notifying the instructor with a valid and documented excuse will be administratively withdrawn from the course.

Preparedness: You should make sure that you have completed the assigned readings and any required assignments before you walk into the first class meeting that week, especially the readings labelled as "Primary Sources."  You may be asked to discuss both readings and assignments, so you should have access to them during class either by bringing hard copies or through the use of any appropriate electronic device (NOTE: Smartphone screens are too small to really be useful for this purpose-- use a laptop or a tablet).

Participation: A portion of your grade will be determined by the degree to which you participate in the class discussions on the discussion readings (see Course Schedule).  You should come to class each session having completed all the required readings and ready to discuss them.  I reserve the right to give unannounced  quizzes on any reading material for the week.  Please make sure to adhere to the guidelines for class conduct. Behavior which distracts me and your classmates will count against your participation grade.

Hammurabi Document Analysis Paper


Read the Code of Hammurabi, and then write a paper at least two double-spaced pages long which answers the following question: "What does this document tell us about attitudes toward gender and social class in ancient Babylon?"  

You should make sure to refer to or quote specific examples from the document in order to support your arguments, and to cite them using Chicago-format footnotes.  

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.



Plato and Deuteronomy Comparative Analysis Paper



Read the Excerpts from the Book of Deuteronomy (5, 9, 12-13, 21-22)  and Plato's Euthyphro, and then write a paper at least two double-spaced pages long which answers the following question: "According to Socrates in Euthyphro, what is the nature of piety (ie, holiness, religious ethics) ?  What do you think Socrates would have to say about the vision of religious ethics in the Book of Deuteronomy?  In what ways did Greek philosophy and ancient Jewish monotheism seem to have approached religious ethics differently?"  Make sure especially to reference the famous Euthyphro Dilemma: "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”  

You should make sure to refer to or quote specific examples from the documents in order to support your arguments, and to cite them using Chicago-format footnotes.  

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.



Source Criticism Paper


You should select a website dealing with the topic you are using for your Research Paper and compare it to an article on the same basic subject  from a history-focused scholarly journal (see below for more detailed information on how to find a scholarly journal article). Websites should contain original content, and cannot be primary source documents, encyclopedia/Wikipedia articles, or reprints of articles published elsewhere.
These two sources must be approved by the professor before you can proceed any further with this assignment.  Your proposed sources for the Source Criticism Paper should be uploaded as part of the Prospective Bibliography for the Research Paper using this form. Make sure to check the professor's feedback on your Prospective Bibliography to see if your sources were approved, or if you need to resubmit the form.

Once your sources are approved, you should read them and then, in a paper at least two double-spaced pages long, write a comparative analysis with a main argument which answers this major question:  "Which of these two sources would be most useful to scholar researching this topic?"  Your analysis also ought to consider the following secondary questions:

You should mention the title of the website and the title of the article, the name of the journal, and the name of the author of the scholarly journal article in the introduction of your paper. You should also include the full bibliographic citations for each in a bibliography page.

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  You do not need to include footnotes for this assignment unless you quote either of your two sources directly, or you consult some source other than the sources you are analyzing. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.



How To Find A Scholarly Journal Article:

A scholarly journal is a periodical which contains research-based articles and reviews by established scholars in a given field.  These sorts of journals are geared towards a professional or academic audience, and are intended to serve as an intellectual resource rather than to earn a profit for the publisher.  In order to have an article published in a scholarly journal, an author must submit it to the editorial board of the journal first.  The editors then will have the prospective article reviewed by other scholars in the field.  Only an article which passes through this process of evaluation by recognized experts ("peer review") can be published in a scholarly journal.  All scholarly journal articles meticulously document their sources of information and contain ample foot or endnotes.  While some scholarly journals make some or all of their content available on the web, a genuine scholarly journal is also always published in paper form so it can become part of the collections of research-oriented libraries.  Consult the NOVA Library's page on scholarly journal articles for more information on what distinguishes a scholarly journal from other sorts of periodicals.

Just a few examples of some of the most prominent scholarly journals dealing with ancient or medieval history include The American Historical ReviewThe Journal of Ancient History, The Journal of Roman Studies, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, Classical Antiquity, Clio, The Medieval Review, Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, Renaissance Quarterly, The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and Past and Present (This is not a complete list-- there are many, many more!).  Please note that magazines like History TodayNational Geographic Magazine, and American History certainly contain interesting material, they are intended for a popular audience rather than a professional academic one, and hence do not qualify as scholarly journals.

Not too terribly long ago, the only place one could go to access a scholarly journal was an academic library.  These days, however, many journals allow readers to access their contents online. The best place to start is JSTOR, a service which provides the full text of articles from several hundred different scholarly journals.  You can use JSTOR for free by accessing it through the NVCC Library's site.  

You can access JSTOR from the NOVA library's homepage.  Go to http://www.nvcc.edu/library/

Click on the "Articles" tab;
then click "Databases by Subject";
the click "History (HIS)";
then click "JSTOR" and login with the same id you would use to access My NOVA.

Once in JSTOR, you should select the "advanced search" option, scroll down to "Narrow by Item Type" and click the "Articles" box, and then scroll down again to "Narrow by discipline and/or publication title:" and click the "History" box.

Then plug in your search topic and see what comes up.

You also might want to consult the Research Guide for this class prepared by the College research librarians.




Book Review Paper

You should select a scholarly monograph (ie, a book written on a specialized topic by a recognized scholar) dealing with the topic you are using for your Research Paper.  This book cannot be an encyclopedia, a sourcebook, a children's book, or a collection of essays or historical documents.  The book you have chosen must be approved by the professor before you can proceed any further with this assignment Your proposed scholarly monograph should be uploaded as part of the Prospective Bibliography for the Research Paper using this form. Make sure to check the professor's feedback on your Prospective Bibliography to see if your scholarly monograph was approved, or if you need to resubmit the form.

Once your scholarly monograph is approved, you should read it and then, in a paper at least two double-spaced pages long, write book review with a main argument which answers this major question:  "How useful would this book be to scholar researching this topic?"  Your analysis also ought to consider the following secondary questions:

Please note that you should definitely not comment on whether you found the book entertaining or boring.  I certainly hope you enjoyed the book, but whether you did or not is not actually relevant to a consideration of how useful the author's work might be to scholars and researchers.

The title of your paper should be the full bibliographic citation of the book you are reviewing (author, title, publisher, year, pages) in Chicago format. See the following links for more infromation on how to write a scholarly book review.

How to Write a History Book Review
Writing a Book Review

To find an appropriate scholarly mongraph, I would recommend that you consult the NOVA library's website.  You can easily order any book from any NOVA campus' library and have it delivered to the campus of your choice.  There are also quite a few books available as e-books as well.As a NOVA student you have borrowing privileges at GMU’s libraries.
To check items out you must have a valid NOVACard and a copy of your registration for the current semester. For more information, visit the GMU Circulation webpage.  Visit the GMU Library website to search for titles.  You also might want to consult the Research Guide for this class prepared by the College research librarians.

Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  You do not need to include footnotes for this assignment unless you quote the book directly, or you consult some other source. See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.


Research Paper


As the capstone of your work in the course, you will complete a Research Paper which is at least 4 double-spaced pages long, and which draws together all of the skills you have acquired over the course of the semester.  

Research Question:

 Your paper should attempt to answer a specific question relevent to the subject matter of the coursewhich deals with one or more of the themes of the course (religion, government, gender, and social class) and discuss how it/they have changed over time.  

The themes themselves are too broad to be the focus or your paper, so your topic should narrow the focus down in some way (For example, the topic, "Religion in Western Civilization" is too broad).  On the other hand, I would like you to pick a topic that allows you to examine changes over a considerable span of time and across several different historical societies. Here are some sample research questions as examples.  You are free to pick one of these or suggest your own.  As a reminder, you will also have to pick two of the ancient or medieval societies listed below to examine for the question.

In addition to selecting a research question, your paper should also deal with at least two of the following ancient or medieval societies:

Proposed paper topics should be sent to the professor.  Any topic changes later in the semester must likewise be approved by the professor.
 
Sources:

 In terms of evidence, you should feel free to draw from sources you have already considered for your other course work.  At a minimum, however, your paper must refer to and correctly cite:

Here are a few links to online collections of primary source documents which might help you with finding sources for your Group Projects and Research Papers:


You should make sure to refer to or quote specific examples from the sources in order to support your arguments, and to cite them using Chicago-format footnotes.  Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.

The relevant due dates and point worth of the various elements of the Research Paper are as follows:

Research Paper Element Description Points Due Date
Topic Proposal You should fill out and submit this form describing the research question which you would like to examine, which theme(s) you will be examining, and the two ancient or medieval societies on which your paper will focus. 5 Points May 29
Prospective Bibliography You should fill out and submit this form, which includes a list of all of the sources which you intend to use in your paper.  40 Points June 9
Thesis Statement Draft You should submit a draft of your thesis statement for the paper.  The statement should answer your research question, and clearly state the main argument(s) which you intend to make in your research paper. Your thesis draft does not need to be any longer than a single sentence.  5 Points June 26
Finished Research Paper You should submit a final draft of at least 4 double-spaced pages which advances a clear main argument which answers your research question, and which supports that argument with specific, correctly cited evidence drawn from the primary and secondary sources listed in your bibliography. 150 Points June 28


Exams

There are two exams for this course which are each worth 10% of your total grade.  The Midterm Exam deals with material from the first half of the course and the Final Exam deals with material from the second half.  Each exam will feature a 10 item Map Quiz, 4 term identifications, and an essay.

You must bring a blue book (they can be purchased at the bookstore or the vending machines on campus) to the exam.


For the Map Quiz, you will be given a list of ten locations from the following list and asked to place them on a blank map of the Western World.   

Baghdad Nile River Sumer Constantipole Athens Sparta
Aachen Florence Rome Greece Mediterranean Sea Alexandria
Carthage Jerusalem Babylon Persepolis Danube River France
Black Sea
Mecca Italy London Judea Spain
Arabia Rhine River Norway Paris Vienna Scotland
Volga River Flanders Hungary Tunisia Medina Russia

For the midterm exam's  term identifications, you will be given a list of 8 terms taken from the following list, and asked to write a paragraph identifying 4 of them, including their approximate timeframe and significance to understanding world history.

Neolithic Revolution  "civilization" Epic of GIlgamesh Akhenaten
Sargon paganism monolatry documentary hypothesis
First Temple (Temple of Solomon) Sparta Pericles Persian Empire
Peloponnesian Wars Socrates Alexander the Great hellenistic culture
Roman Republic Julius Caesar Punic Wars Pax Romana

For the final exam's  term identifications, you will be given a list of 8 terms taken from the following list, and asked to write a paragraph identifying 4 of them, including their approximate timeframe and significance to understanding world history.


Paul of Tarsus New Testament Constantine The Gospel of Thomas
Augustine The Fall of Rome Muhammad The Qu'ran
Abbasid Caliphate "Peoples of the Book" 5 Pillars of Islam Sunni-Shia Split
Byzantine Empire Charlemagne 3 Medieval Orders Monasticism
feudalism The First Crusade The Black Death Lorenzo di Medici
humanism Martin Luther Nicholas Copernicus Christopher Columbus


Extra Credit Paragraphs


Over the course of the semester, you will have the opportunity to complete up to 6 short extra credit assignments.  You will receive up to 10 points for each one you complete.  Late Extra Credit Paragraphs are not accepted.


There are complete descriptions of each of the assignments in the Course Schedule, but each should be about 100 words long, should present a main argument or thesis which addresses the question(s) posed by the assignment, should support that argument with evidence, and should be written in grammatical and stylistically correct English.  Please follow the guidelines for written work in this class.  See this rubric for a more detailed description of how you will be graded.


Assignment Due Date
Paleolithic Paragraph May 22
Flood Narrative Paragraph May 29
Sappho Paragraph June 5
New Testament Paragraph June 12
Qu'ran Paragraph June 19
Margery Kempe Paragraph June 26

Course Schedule


Class 1. May 21:  Why Study History?/  The Prehistoric Era

Primary Sources to Read: Look at some of the Paleolithic art from Chauvet Cave;
Secondary Sources to Read or View: On Cognitive Biases: Confirmation Bias, The Backfire Effect (This contains salty language.  Feel free to read the classroom version if you prefer to avoid that), The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy, The Dunning-Kruger Effect.

LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 1: "Splitting History;" "Dates and Calendars;" "The Imperfect Historical Record;" "The Evolution of Humans;" "The Neolithic Revolution."

"
The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1."
Assignments to Complete: Read through the entire syllabus, and submit the Introduction Assignment by 11:59 pm on May 22 using the appropriate link under "Assignments" in the class Canvas page. You must get a perfect score on this assignment, but you may take it as many times as you want.


Class 2. May 23: The Dawn of Civilization and the Bronze Age

Primary Sources to Read: The Code of Hammurabi (c. 1754).
Penitential Prayer to Every God;
Secondary Sources to Read or View: LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 2: "River Valley Civilizations,"  The Sumerians," "Ur," "The Akkadian Empire," "Babylon," "Hammurabi's Code," "Babylonian Culture," "Nebuchadnezzar and the Fall of Babylon," "The Assyrians," "The Hittites," "The Phoenicians," "The Minoans,"

Kreis, "What is Civilization?;"

Damen, "The Origins and Invention of Writing,"

Mesopotamia: Crash Course World History #3;

Assignments to Complete: Paleolithic Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, May 22: After thoughtfully examining the art from the Chauvet Cave, write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions.  "What do these paintings reveal about the people who produced them?"  Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument.
Hammurabi Paper on The Code of Hammurabi due by 11:59 pm, May 24.


Class 3. May 28: Paganism and Monotheism

Primary Sources to Read: "The Flood Story" from The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Excerpts from The Book of Genesis (1-3, 6-8, 22);
Excerpts from the Book of Deuteronomy (5, 9, 12-13, 21-22).
Secondary Sources to Read or View: Campbell, "Ancient Religion," "Evolution Toward Monotheism, "Israelite Religion;"

Damen, "Akhenaten and Monotheism," "The Old Testament and Its Authors."

LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 3: "The Rise of Egyptian Civilization," "The Old Kingdom," "The First Intermediate Period," "The Middle Kingdom," "Ancient Egyptian Culture," "The Second Intermediate Period," "The New Kingdom," "Hatshepsut," "The Third Intermediate Period," "The Decline of Ancient Egypt," "Ancient Egyptian Religion," "Ancient Egyptian Art," "Ancient Egyptian Monuments," "Ancient Egyptian Trade," "Nubia and Ancient Culture."

Ancient Egypt: Crash Course World History #4.
Assignments to Complete: Topic Proposal for the Research Paper due by 11:59 pm, May 29 using this form.  Make sure to check the professor's feedback on Canvas to see if your topic has been approved, or if you need to resubmit this assignment.

Flood Narrative Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, May 29: Compare the flood stories in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis 6-8, and write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions. "What specific similarities between the two stories were you able to find?  What might account for these similarities?"  Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument.
 
Class 4. May 30: Classical Greece

Primary Sources to Read: Plato, Euthyphro.   
This is not the easiet source to read.  You might also wish to consult this outline, which does a good job of succinctly summarizing some of what is discussed in the dialogue.
Secondary Sources to Read or View: Damen, "Archaeology: Troy and Heinrich Schliemann;"

LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 4: "Greek Dark Ages," "Archaic Greece," "The Rise of Classical Greece," "Sparta," "Culture in Classical Sparta," "The Persian Wars," "Effects of the Persian Wars," "Athens," "Athenian Society," "Classical Greek Philosophy," "Classical Greek Poetry and History," "Classical Greek Theater," "Classical Greek Architecture," "Scientific Advancements in the Classical Period," "Introduction to the Peloponnesian War," "Effects of the Peloponnesian War," "The Rise of the Macedon," "Alexander the Great," "Alexander's Empire," "The Legacy of Alexander the Great."

The Persians & Greeks: Crash Course World History #5Alexander the Great and the Situation ... the Great? Crash Course World History #8.

Assignments to Complete: Plato and Deuteronomy Paper due by 11:59 pm, June 2.


Class 5. June 4: The Roman Republic

Primary Sources to Read:  Excerpts from the poetry of Sappho of Lesbos, c. 630 BCE;
Aristotle on the Good Wife  BCE
Polybius, "An Analysis of the Roman Government (Excerpt from Histories);
Texts on Slavery in the Roman Republic
Secondary Sources to Read or View:  Damen "Women and Historical Biography."

LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 5: "The Origins of Etruria," "Etruscan Artifacts," "Etruscan Religion," "The Founding of Rome," "The Seven Kings," "Early Roman Society," "The Establishment of the Roman Republic," "Roman Society Under the Republic," "Structure of the Republic," "Art and Literature in the Roman Republic," "Republican Wars and Conquest," "Crises of the Republic."

The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It?: Crash Course World History #10. 

Assignments to Complete Sappho Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, June 5: Read the excerpts from the poetry of Sappho of Lesbos, c. 630 BCE; Aristotle on the Good Wife  BCE), and write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions. "How do you think Sappho might respond to Aristotle's description of the appropriate role for women?  Why?" Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument. 
   
Class 6. June 6The Pax Romana/ Midterm Exam

Primary Sources to Read: Selections from "The Acts of the Divine Augustus."
Secondary Sources to Read or View: LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 6: "Julius Caesar," "Founding of the Roman Empire," "The Pax Romana," "The Julio-Claudian Emperors," "The Last Julio-Claudian Emperors."
Assignments to Complete: Midterm Exam, June 6. You must bring a blue book (they can be purchased at the bookstore or the vending machines on campus) to the exam.
Prospective Bibliography for the Research Paper due by 11:59 pm, June 9 using this form. Several of the sources you propose here will also be used for the Source Criticism Paper and the Book Review Paper. Make sure to check the professor's feedback on Canvas to see if your sources have been approved, or if you need to resubmit this assignment.


Class 7. June 11: The Origins and Growth of Christianity

Primary Sources to Read: Excerpts from the Letters of St. Paul
Excerpts from the Gospel According to Luke 
Secondary Sources to Read or View: Kreis, " Christianity as a Cultural Revolution," "The Church Fathers: St. Jerome and St. Augustine,"

Damen, "Early Christianity and the Church."

Campbell, "Early Monotheism."

LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 6: "The Flavian Dynasty," "Military Achievements of the Flavians," "Eruptions of Vesuvius and Pompeii," "Flavian Architecture," "Fall of the Flavian Emperors," "The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty," "Military Successes of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty," "Art and Culture Under the Nerva-Antonines," "Crises of the Roman Empire," "Diocletian and the Tetrarchy," "The Rise of Christianity," "Constantine," "The Shift East," "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: Crash Course World History #11
Assignments to Complete: New Testament Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, June 12.   Read the excerpts from St. Paul's Letters and the Gospel of Luke, and write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions. "What do these documents reveal about the early Church's stance concerning the approriate relationship between the various social classes?"  Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument.


Class 8. June 13: The "Fall of Rome"

Primary Sources to Read: Excerpts from the Gospel of Thomas;
The Nicene Creed, a.D. 325
Secondary Sources to Read or View: LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 7: "Naming of the Byzantine Empire," "The Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine the Great, and Byzantium," "Justinian and Theodora," "The Justinian Code," "Emperor Heracluis," "The Theme System," "The Isaurian Dynasty," "Iconoclasm in Byzantium," "The Emperor Irene," "The Macedonian Dynasty," "The Great Schism of 1054," "The Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars," "The Double Disasters," "Crisis and Fragmentation," "The Last Byzantine Dynasty," "The Fall of Constantinople," "Byzantium's Legacy."

Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash Course World History #12.
Assignments to Complete: Source Criticism Paper due by 11:59 pm June 16 (Your sources MUST be approved by the professor before you turn this in).

NOTE: June 14 is the last day you may withdraw from the course.

Class 9. June 18:The Origins and Growth of Islam

Primary Sources to Read or View: Excerpts from the Qu'ran.
Kreis,  "Islamic Civilization;"

Damen, "The Nature and Triumph of Islam;"

Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without a Flamewar: Crash Course World History #13.
Assignments to Complete: Qu'ran Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, June 19.  Read the Excerpts from the Qu'ran, and write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions. "What do these documents reveal about the relationship of Islam to Judaism and Christianity, and of Muslims to Jews and Christians (ie, Peoples of the Book)?"  Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument.
 

Class 10. June 20: The Early Middle Ages

Primary Sources to Read: Excerpts from Beowulf, (c. 11th c. CE);
Gregory of Tours, Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves, (c. 575);
Carolingian Capitularies on Serfs & Coloni, (803-821).
Secondary Sources to Read or View:
LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 8: "The Germanic Tribes," "Odoacer and the Fall of Rome ,"  "Theoderic the Great," "The Vikings," "The Catholic Church," "The Development of Papal Supremacy," "The Rise of the Monasteries," "The Western Schism," "The Coronation of 800 CE," "The Rise of Charlemagne," "Charlemagne's Reforms," "Charles Martel and Pepin the Short," "The End of the Carolingians," "Rise of the Holy Roman Empire," "Administration of the Empire," "The Investiture Controversy," "The Anglo-Saxons," "The Norman Invasion of 1066 CE," "William the Conqueror's Rule," "The Magna Carta," "The Hundred Years' War," "The Crusades," "The First Crusade," "The Second Crusade," "The Third Crusade," "The Fourth Crusade," "Feudalism," "The Manor System," "Trade and Commerce," "Daily Medieval Life," "Intellectual Life," "Arts and Sciences," "The Black Death."

The Dark Ages...How Dark Were They, Really?: Crash Course World History #14.
Assignments to Complete: Book Review Paper due by 11:59 pm June 23. (Your sources MUST be approved by the professor before you turn this in).



Class 11. June 25: The Crusades and the High Middle Ages
Primary Sources to Read: Urban II Call the FIrst Crusade at Council of Clermont, as reported by Fucher of Chartres (1095);
Excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe (15th c.): The Birth of Her First Child and Her First VisionHer Pride and Attempts to Start a BusinessMargery and Her Husband Reach a Settlement.
Secondary Sources to Read or View: LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 10: "Introduction to the Renaissance," "Italian Trade Cities," "Italian Politics," "The Church During the Italian Renaissance," "Petrarch," "Humanism," "Education and Humanism," "The Italian Renaissance," "Art and Patronage," "Leonardo da Vinci," "Michelangelo," "Mannerism," "The Rise of the Vernacular," "Renaissance Writers," "Christine de Pizan," "Machiavelli," "Erasmus," "Flemish Painting in the Northern Renaissance.

The Crusades - Pilgrimage or Holy War?: Crash Course World History #15.
Assignments to Complete: Thesis Statement Draft for the Research Paper due by 11:59 pm, June 26.  You should submit a draft of your thesis statement for the paper.  The statement should clearly state the main argument(s) which you intend to make in your research paper. Your thesis draft does not need to be any longer than a single sentence.

Margery Kempe Extra Credit Paragraph due by 11:59 pm, June 26.  Read the excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe (15th c.): The Birth of Her First Child and Her First VisionHer Pride and Attempts to Start a BusinessMargery and Her Husband Reach a Settlement., and write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions. "What do these accounts reveal about gender relations during the Middle Ages? How independent a life was Margery Kempe able to live?" Make sure that your paragraph begins with a sentence which clearly states your main argument, and that it refers to specific evidence from the sources in order to support that argument.


Class 12. June 27: The Renaissance and Reformation/ Final Exam

Primary Sources to Read: Niccolo Machiavelli, Excerpts from The Prince (1513);
Galileo Galilei, " Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615."
Secondary Sources to Read or View: LumenLearning, Western Civilization, Chapter 11: "Discontent with the Roman Catholic Church," "Luther and Protestantism," "Calvinism," "The Anabaptists," "The Anglican Church," "The French Wars of Religion," "The Witch Trials," "Religious Divide in the Holy Roman Empire," "Bohemian Period," "Danish Intervention," "Swedish Intervention," "Swedish-French Intervention," "The Peace of Westphalia."

The Renaissance: Was it a Thing? - Crash Course World History #22.Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners. Crash Course: World History #21
Assignments to Complete: Final Exam in class June 27. You must bring a blue book (they can be purchased at the bookstore or the vending machines on campus) to the exam.
Research Paper due by 11:59 pm June 28. You should submit a final draft of at least 4 double-spaced pages which advances a clear main argument which answers your research question, and which supports that argument with specific, correctly cited evidence drawn from the primary and secondary sources listed in your bibliography.

Reflective Paragraph due by 11:59 pm June 30: Write a paragraph of at least 100 words answering the following questions: "Describe one thing that you think was helpful about the course, and one thing that you think could be improved.  Then describe one thing that you did well in your work for the class, and one thing about your work that you would like to improve in the future."


No work for the course will be accepted after June 30-- No exceptions!