Rosemary Moore (moorerl)
Holland Hall 508
x3168
Office hours: MW 1-3, or by appointment. I’m also usually available right after class.
I check my email regularly. If you have questions concerning course content or administration, I strongly suggest that you ask me in person rather than by email. It is likely that your question will be asked by other students, and this will give me a chance to broadcast my answer, so to speak, as well as guarantee you a response.
Another option is to use the class email address, history-210@stolaf.edu. I will moderate this list, so to speak. I’ll let students have first shot at answering questions, but I will step in as needed. Feel free to use this list to discuss course issues, arrange study groups, etc.
Description:
In this survey course we will survey very broadly three major Mediterranean cultures: Mesopotamian (as a cover term for several subgroups such as the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Assyrians), Egyptian, and Greek. All three of these cultures are conventionally identified as the beginnings of civilization.
But rather than use this course as an opportunity simply to glorify Western culture, let us instead study these societies to understand what “civilization” consisted of in their own world-views, and how we define the term today. Why did they become so influential in their own periods, and why do we continue to study them today?
The period we will cover is far longer than that studied in many history courses. We will only be able to study select events in detail. Nevertheless, we will make extensive use of primary sources and material culture, supported by modern secondary accounts. I hope that over the term these will help develop your critical reading and writing skills.
Class will consist of both lecture and discussion. I will provide weekly study questions, so expect to talk about them in class. Be prepared to use course materials to support your opinions. Other non-lecture sorts of activities will be liberally sprinkled throughout. As you might guess, this means that attendance and participation is essential to success, so feel free to bring your coffee (or other legal stimulant, if you so desire) into class to maximize your early-morning performance. If you’re a morning person anyway (unlike me), then you have little to worry about, as you are sure to outperform the rest of us in all regards at that hour.
Assignments and Grading:
Midterm Oct. 17 (covering Mesopotamian and Egyptian topics) (30%)
Final Dec. 18 2:30-4:30 (on Ancient Greek topics) (30%)
Each exam will have a map portion, short discussion of passages from primary sources, and a longer essay.
2 essays (5-7 pp. each) on your choice of a set of topics I will provide (15% each).
First essay due Oct. 8
Second essay due Dec. 5
Participation (come to my office hours once this term for a free 1%) (10%)
I will take attendance for every class. You have 2 freebies, that is, unexcused absences that will not count against your grade. ALL OTHER ABSENCES will reduce your participation grade UNLESS you inform me prior to class or have a valid medical or family emergency. Sometimes of course things happen unexpectedly. Let me know as soon as possible if you have a personal or academic problem that is affecting your performance. These situations are usually far easier to resolve early on.
Books:
Georges Roux Ancient Iraq
Erik Hornung History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction
Matthew Dillon Ancient Greece
Herodotus The Histories
Sarah B. Pomeroy, Ancient Greece
Thucydides The History of the Peloponnesian War
Plutarch The Age Of Alexander
All are available in the St. Olaf Bookstore.
I will also hand out primary source readings every week along with questions to check comprehension as well as stimulate interpretive approaches.
Lecture and Discussion Schedule with assigned readings:
Please note that later portions of the course will have readings assigned as we get closer to them. Don’t worry – this will be updated as we get there. Keep your eye on email and the course web page. I expect that class topics will shift as we progress through the term.
Please read the assignments prior to class.
Sept. 5 Course Introduction
Sept. 10 Beginnings: Mesopotamia and Sumer (Roux 1-32, 66-84)
Sept. 12 The Sumerian (and Akkadian) world-view (Roux 85-114, handout. Also browse www.mesopotamia.co.uk for more information on Mesopotamian religion and a handy guide to the pantheon.)
Sept. 17 Gilgamesh and other heroes: hymns, king lists and writing one’s own history (Roux 114-121, handout)
Sept. 19 Sumer, Akkad and the increasing influence of the Amorites (Roux 122-75, handout)
Sept. 24 The rise of Babylon: law-codes and the scribal culture (Roux 179-224, 355-371, handout)
Sept. 26 The Neo-Assyrian empire – conquest, continuity and change in Mesopotamian culture (Roux 282-354, handout)
Oct. 1 Egypt: landscape and civilization (Naqada and pre-dynastic Egypt) (Hornung xiii-12)
Oct. 3 The Old Kingdom (Hornung 13-47, in class space – Autobiography of Weni, Instruction of Ptahhotep, excerpt from Pyramid Texts)
Oct. 8 The Middle Kingdom (Hornung 49-75, in class space – Instruction of Merikare, Story of Sinuhe, Instruction of Amenemhet I, Satire of Trades)
FIRST ESSAY DUE
Oct. 10 The New Kingdom (Hornung 76-106, in class space – Autobiography of Ahmose, Great Hymn to Osiris)
Oct. 15 The New Kingdom cont., review for midterm (Hornung 106-47, in class space – excerpt from the Book of the Dead, Report of Wenamun, Inscription of Ramesses II)
Oct. 17 MIDTERM
Oct. 22 FALL BREAK
Oct. 24 So what was Greece anyway? The Minoans and Mycenaeans; encounters with Egypt and the Near East (Pomeroy 1-40; Dillon 1.27-28; Herodotus 2.1-120)
Oct. 29 In search of the Trojan War: Troy, the Achaeans, and Homer (Pomeroy 41-65, Homer handout)
Oct. 31 The Dark Ages – how dark is dark? Colonization, or at least how lots of Greeks ended up in rather unexpected places. (Pomeroy 66-81, 95-98; Dillon 1.7-1.26, 10.35-10.45)
Nov. 5 Archaic Greece and the emergence of the polis; tyrants (Pomeroy 82-89, 95-102, 106-109, Dillon 2 (all except 2.17-18 and 2.37-38), 10.23-10.34)
Nov. 7 Social structures: hoplites and wives, athletes and oracles (Pomeroy 103-106, 109-130; Dillon 6.8-6.9, 13 (entire), 9.37, 12.19-12.23, 10.46, 2.17-2.18, 2.37-2.38, 7.41, 12.24-12.27)
Nov. 12 Helots and democracy (Pomeroy 131-177; Dillon 4 (entire), 5.intro-5.20, 11.27-11.31, 6.intro-6.6, 6.15-6.24)
Nov. 14 The Persian Wars (Pomeroy 178-211; Dillon 7.1, 7.10-7.17, 7.21; Herodotus 6.101-117, 6.120-124, 7.19-59, 7.201-234, 8.70-98)
Nov. 19 Athens and Sparta; the Athenian empire (Pomeroy 212-286; Dillon 8 (entire), 10.1, Thucydides 1.89-117)
Nov. 21 The Peloponnesian War(s) (Pomeroy 287-304; Thucydides 1.66-88, 2.34-55, 3.36-50; Dillon 9.intro-9.19)
Nov. 26 The Peloponnesian War(s) continued; the fall of Athens (Pomeroy 305-329; Thucydides 5.84-116, 6.6-32, 7.42-87; Dillon 9.20-9.31)
Nov. 28 THANKSGIVING
Dec. 3 The fourth century BCE and the rise of Macedon (Pomeroy 371-394, 332-339; Dillon 6.27, 6.30, 9.32-9.41; Plutarch Demosthenes)
Dec. 5 Alexander the Great (Pomeroy 395-426; Plutarch Alexander)
SECOND ESSAY DUE
Dec. 10 Final class – Alexander ends up where we began (Pomeroy 441-470)
The final exam will be held Dec.
18, 2:30-4:30