| Fall Term 1998, History 120 | Professor Jennifer Fisk Rondeau |
| World History to 1700, Part I | Office Hours |
| CRN: 13214, 11:00-11:50 MWF | 138 GIL |
 | Link to Professor's website |
| Link to Course website |
| This course is the first of four chronological surveys of the history of the world, from ancient times to the present. History 120 deals with the ancient civilizations of the world as they were established and developed before they came into contact with one another. Since one larger purpose of the world history surveys is to help you understand how present global systems have come into being, History 120 focuses on the centers of civilization that came into significant contact with one another in the period covered in the following term (History 121), namely, the various civilizations of the Mediterranean and Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome), India, and China. We will consider the political, religious, economic, and social organization of these civilizations, in order to understand their cultural systems and the ways in which they were similar to and different from one another. | ||||||||
| Students will be graded on their class participation in discussion
sections and on their performance on a series of map exercises, a midterm examination, a
final examination, and two short (3-4 page) papers analyzing primary sources or
comparative historical issues. Please note that attendance at class discussion is
mandatory, and map exercises must be turned in to your GTFs in the discussion. More than
two unexcused absences from discussion sections will be considered failure to complete the
requirements for the course, as a result of which a failing grade for the entire course
will be issued. Furthermore, the paper topics will ask you to analyze the primary sources
that will be discussed in the sections; it will therefore be extremely difficult to write
adequate papers without adequate participation in the discussions. Grades will be
calculated as follows:
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| Reading assignments for the course are drawn from a textbook, Jiu-Hwa
L.Upshur et al., World History, vol. I (hereafter World History), from a
xeroxed reader, available for purchase at the bookstore, and from the following small
paperbacks, also available for purchase at the bookstore:
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| Reading assignments and map exercises are clearly marked below. You should complete the reading assignment in the textbook before the lectures for that week, so as to be able to follow lectures clearly; I will be lecturing on the assumption that you are already familiar with the material in the textbook assigned for that week. Most important to read and prepare in timely fashion, however, are the reading assignments in the primary sources, which will form the subject matter for the discussion sections. You will receive study questions each week to help you prepare these assignments, and you are expected to come to the discussion sections ready to discuss the sources in detail. To this end, be sure to bring the readings in the primary sources with you to the discussions. | ||||||||
| Schedule of Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments |
WEEK I. September 30 - October 4
Introduction to the course. Definitions of civilization; the earliest humans; the agricultural revolution; the earliest centers of civilization
Reading Assignment (textbook only): World History, introductory timeline and pp. 4-15
Map Exercise 1, Regions of the World
WEEK II. October 7 - 11
The Fertile Crescent: Mesopotamia and Egypt
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 18-49
primary source: The Epic of Gilgamesh, pp. 61-119
Map Exercise 2, Mesopotamia and Egypt
WEEK III. October 14 - 18
India I: From the Indus to the Ganges and beyond; Brahmanism and the caste system
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 52-67
primary sources: selections from the Vedas and Upanisads, in xeroxed reader (indicated under Week III)
Map Exercise 5, South Asia
TOPICS FOR FIRST PAPER HANDED OUT IN LECTURE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
WEEK IV. October 21 - 25
India II: Hinduism and Buddhism; social and political change down to the rise of the Guptas
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 111-119, 159-172, 246-255
primary source: The Bhagavad-Gita, pp. 3-81
WEEK V. October 28 - November 1
The Mediterranean: Israel: Cities of the Hill and the Plain
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 90-96
primary sources: selections from The Book of Genesis and The Book of Amos, from the Bible, in xeroxed reader (indicated under Week V)
Map Exercise 7, The Mediterranean
FIRST PAPERS DUE TO YOUR GTFS IN LECTURE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1
WEEK VI. November 4 - 8
The Mediterranean: Greek and Hellenistic Culture
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 36-43 (review), 96-110, 138-146
primary source: The Trial and Death of Socrates, entire
Map Exercises 4, Early Aegean and Persia, and 8, Ancient Greece
MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN CLASS, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8
WEEK VII. November 11 - 15
The Mediterranean: Rome, Republic and Empire
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 146-159
primary source: Plutarch, Life of Cato, in xeroxed reader (indicated under Week VII)
Map Exercises 10, Mediterranean Empires: Alexander and Rome, and 11, The Geography and Cities of Ancient Italy
WEEK VIII. November 18 - 22
China I: The Shang and Zhou dynasties; Confucianism
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 67-84, 119-135
primary sources: selections from Mencius and Hsun Tzu in xeroxed reader (indicated under Week VIII)
Map Exercises 6, East Asia, and 9, Asia (maps are the same; you may locate all the items listed on a single map if you choose)
TOPICS FOR SECOND PAPER HANDED OUT IN LECTURE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22
WEEK IX. November 25 - 27
China II: Legalism, imperial ideology, and the Han dynasty
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 172-190
primary sources: selections from Han Fei Tzu, Li Ssu, Discourses on Salt and Iron, in xeroxed reader (indicated under Week IX)
Map Exercise 12, Asia Empires (to be handed in during discussion the following week; you should try to complete the assignment this week)
WEEK X. December 2 - 6
Cultures in comparison; a case study: Christianity and the Mediterranean world
Reading Assignments: textbook: World History, pp. 194-201
primary sources: Sermon on the Mount, from The Book of Matthew, Acts of the Apostles, both from the Bible, in xeroxed reader (indicated under week X)
SECOND PAPERS DUE TO YOUR GTFS IN LECTURE, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6
FINAL EXAMINATION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 10.15 A.M. TO 12.15 P.M.
