Introduction:
This
course examines the experiences of people living in different cultures and
societies to 1500, their relations with each other, and the relationship between
those experiences and our own. You should come to appreciate that the world as it is today
has developed for specific, historically explainable reasons, and that one must
be able to understand the past in order to fully comprehend the present.
The course will offer a basic introduction to the geography of early
world history, the material conditions in which people lived, and the chronology
of states and empires. Awareness of
these aspects of world history provides a framework for our attempt to make
sense of the thoughts and feelings of people who lived in times and places other
than our own, even while they were creating the world in which we live today.
On a more practical level, the course also seeks to foster analytical skills
crucial to the examination, ordering, and evaluation of data and
interpretations.
Class Format:
Expect
a mix of lectures and discussion. You
are responsible for reading the assigned pages from the textbooks (Spodek and
Diamond) before every Tuesday class. On
Thursdays, I will lecture for part of the class.
The remainder of the class we will discuss texts out of the sourcebook
(Reilly).
In
addition, each week two groups of three or four students apiece will be
responsible for writing a two page summary (double spaced) of one of the two
conflicting views introduced in the readings for that week and making a short
presentation in class defending that position and refuting the other.
These are group activities and will require that you collaborate with the
other students in your group both in the writing of the summary and the staging
of the in-class presentation. Each
student will be expected to participate in a group ONCE during the semester.
We will determine the groups for the semester within the first week of
class.
The
group presentations are meant to encourage class-wide discussion, so be prepared
to participate in the Thursday discussions!
I am aware that some of you are shy, at times embarrassed to speak, or
might feel you don’t know as much as the person next to you.
Don’t worry! The objective
of in-class discussion is simply to make YOU think about how the readings and
the main themes of the course impact YOUR view of today’s society.
As you read the sourcebook readings throughout the course, I suggest that you underline the three sentences or paragraphs that you feel most clearly represent the author’s main argument(s) and write down how you feel they relate to the week’s lecture topics.
Course requirements:
Students are expected to attend all lectures. I will only allow two unexcused absences without penalty.
The written work for this course consists of a midterm examination, a
final examination, a 5-page paper on an assigned topic, and your group
presentation. Grading will be based
on the written work, exams, and participation in in-class discussions.
To encourage attendance, reading and participation in Thursday
discussions will make up 10 % of the final grade.
Grading:
Midterm
(20%), Presentation (20%), 5-page Paper (20%), Final (30%), and Participation
(10%).
Texts:
The
texts listed below are REQUIRED and are available for purchase at the
campus bookstore:
-
H.
Spodek, The World’s History. Volume I: to 1500, Prentice Hall, 2000.
-
J.
Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, Norton, 1999.
-
K.
Reilly, Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader Volume I: To 1550,
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
You will have to write a short paper for the course.
It will be on a topic related to those we discuss in class.
The paper should be about five pages in length, double-spaced, and typed
in a medium-sized font. I will give
you the paper topic a couple weeks before it is due.
I will base the grades for the papers on three equal parts: 1) Ideas: How
clearly they are presented, conceived, and argued, 2) Examples: How accurately
the details were given and how well they apply to the assigned topic, and 3)
Structure: How well written the paper is.
Advice on
Writing:
Good writing is extremely important.
With a little dedication, you can write clearly and persuasively.
Once you learn to write well, people will take notice or what you have to
say. One of the best and shortest
introductions to good writing is: Strunk & White, The Elements of Style.
More complex, but still quite helpful, is J. M. Williams, Style: Ten
Lessons in Clarity and Grace.
The Origins of Humanity
and Human Societies
Week
1
(Jan. 21 & 23) History, Theories of Existence, and Origins of Humanity
Readings:
Spodek: (4-28); Diamond: (9-11 & 35-52); Reilly: Sagan:
“From The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Origins of Human
Intelligence” (2)
Week
2
(Jan. 28 & 30) The Transition to Agriculture
Readings:
Spodek: (28-38); Diamond: (93-113); Reilly: 1)
Shostak: “From Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman” (25); 2)
Boulding: “Women and the Agricultural Revolution” (35); Lerner: “The Urban
Revolution: Origins of Patriarchy” (39)
Week
3
(Feb. 4 & 6) From Villages to Cities to States
Readings:
Spodek: (38-77); Diamond: (265-292); Reilly: 1)
“From The Epic of Gilgamesh” (58); “From Hammurabi’s Code”
(68); 2) “Setne Khamwas and Neneferkaptah” (71)
Week
4
(Feb. 11 & 13) Horses and Swords: Indo-European Migrations and Invasions
Readings:
Spodek: (77-85 & 120-134); Diamond: (239-264)
Week
5
(Feb. 18 & 20) Democracy and Trade: Greeks and
the Mediterranean Basin
Readings:
Spodek: (134-157); Reilly: 1) Aristotle: “From The
Athenian Constitution” (103); Thucydides: ”The Funeral Oration of
Pericles” (106); 2) Plato: “The Republic” (112)
Week
6
(Feb. 25 & 27) Imperial State and Cultural
Hegemony: Rome and Being Roman
Readings:
Spodek: (158-185); Reilly: 1) Plutarch: “Cicero” (146);
Cicero: “Against Verres” (149); 2) Suetonius: “Augustus”
Week
7
(Mar. 4 & 6) Fracture and Unification: the
Chinese Empire
Readings:
Spodek: (86-93 & 195-230)
***
Mid-Term Examination – Thursday March 6th ***
Week
8
(Mar. 11 & 13) Caste and Nirvana:
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism in India
Readings:
Spodek: (257-292); Reilly: 1) “From the Rig-Veda:
Sacrifice as Creation” (92); “From the Upanishads: Karma and
Reincarnation” (94); “From the Bhagavad Gita: Caste and Self” (97); 2)
“Svetasvatara Upanishad” (164); “The Buddha’s First Sermon”
(172); “Buddhism and Caste” (174)
Week
9
(Mar. 18 & 20) Monotheism and
Persecution: Judaism and Christianity
Readings:
Spodek: (293-321); Reilly: 1) St. Paul “Letter to the
Galatians” (194); “The Acts of the Apostles” (199); 2) “Pliny
Consults the Emperor Trajan” (206); Eusebius: “The Life of Constantine”
(209)
Week
10 (Mar.
25 & 27) Barbarian
Invasions and the “Middle Ages”
Readings:
Spodek: (185-194; 321-331; 394-405); Reilly: 1)
“Feudalism: An Oath of Homage and Fealty” (234); “Manoralism: Duties of a
Villein” (237); 2) “From the Magna Carta” (239)
Week
11
(Apr. 1 & 3) Spring Break (NO CLASS)
Week 12 (Apr. 8 & 10) The World of Islam: the Culture and the Sword
Readings:
Spodek: (332-371); Reilly: “The Koran” (244); “Sayings
Ascribed to the Prophet” (249)
Week
13
(Apr. 15 & 17) Silk Roads and Religious Crusades
Readings:
Spodek: (372-383); Reilly: 1) A. Maalouf: “The Crusades
Through Arab Eyes” (312); “Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson” (334); 2)
W. of Tyre: “Peter the Hermit” (328); Robert the Monk: “Pope Urban II’s
Call of the First Crusade” (331); R. of St. Giles: “The Capture of Jerusalem
by the Crusaders” (342)
Week
14
(Apr. 22 & 24) Mongol Invasions and Black Death
Readings:
Spodek: (383-389 & 405-406); Diamond: (195-214)
***
Paper Due – Thursday April 24th ***
Week
15
(Apr. 29 & May 1) Spice Trade and Age of Exploration
Readings:
Spodek: (402-407); Diamond: (67-81); Reilly: 1) Díaz:
“The Conquest of New Spain” (477); 2) “From The BrokenSpears:
The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico” (493); De las Casas: “The
History of the Indies” (499)
Week
16
(May 6 & 8) Guns, Germs, and Steel: Understanding the Western Takeoff
Readings:
Diamond: (405-425)
***
Final Examination – Thursday May 15 at 8:00 a.m. ***
Review Sheet, Final Examination