Course Description:

This is an introductory, inter-disciplinary course on the peoples and cultures of Africa, designed for students with a limited background in African studies as well as those who want to improve their understanding of this huge continent. The course is divided into two parts, one on a survey history and the other on aspects of culture. The subjects cover the long historical era known as the precolonial, which terminated at the turn of the twentieth century when Africa came under European rule. Among the main themes are: early history, kingdoms, interactions with external agencies, and various institutions and customs of society. Readings are drawn from two textbooks, two monographs. The books deal with essential outline histories and dense interpretive literature on a few issues. Films provide visual illustrations and additional perspectives.

Goals:

1) To use a combination of films, lectures and reading materials to introduce students to a number of themes in African history and cultures. 2) To enable students to reflect on a number of issues in order to reach independent conclusions. 3) To provide an adequate background that will prepare students for other courses on Africa. 4) To improve the writing and analytical skills of students, by introducing them to the craft of history writing.

“Premodern World” is a lower-division, lecture course that provides an overview of global development from roughly 30,000 BCE to 1500 CE. It introduces students to the main political, social, and cultural trends in a variety of societies while at the same time stressing the global perspective. Considerable emphasis is thus paid to comparative history and the study of cross-cultural encounters. While covering the content of the human past, we will also investigate methods of historical study to discover how history is constructed from both material remains and written sources.  This entry-level course aims to teach historical thinking as well as historical content, impart a basic grasp of the premodern past, and stimulate the development of large-scale frameworks for historical analysis.

Texts:

-- textbook, to be determined

-- numerous essays and book chapters provided on course website

Grading:

Exams (3 x 25% each) = 75%; digital history project (3 x 5% each) = 15%; map quizzes = 5%; attendance & participation = 5%.

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"Ancient Mediterranean World" surveys the major civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Italy from the dawn of the city around 3000 BC through the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s AD. Beyond providing a basic historical framework, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various civilizations of the area influenced one another culturally. We will examine interactions between Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans, among others. Students will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. There are two lectures and one discussion section per week.

Carries the Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought course area requirement.

This course focuses on essential developments in Greek history (social, cultural, and political) during the Archaic and Classical Periods (ca. 750-338 BCE): from the rise of the Greek city-states in the eighth century BCE to the subordination of Greece by Philip II of Macedonia in 338 BCE. We will devote roughly equal time to covering major events and personalities, exploring key developments in culture and society, and examining the various types of evidence available for the era (both written and archeological). We will begin (Weeks 1-3) with a brief look at the geography and climate of Greece and its prehistory, including the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 1600-800 BCE). Then (Weeks 3-5) we will consider the major developments of the Early Archaic Period (ca. 800-600 BCE), including the rise of the city-state (or polis) and the first forms of (small “d”) democracy, the invention of the Greek alphabet, the introduction of massed infantry (or hoplite) warfare, and the diaspora of Greeks across the Mediterranean. Thereafter (Weeks 6-15), we will focus on the two most famous city-states of Greece, Athens and Sparta, and follow their trajectories from their foundation in the Bronze Age, through the Persian War period (490-478 BCE), the Peloponnesian War (430-404 BCE), and the complex period of unstable hegemonies in the first half of the fourth century BCE, culminating in 338 BCE when Philip II of Macedonia established his control over Greece.

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Great Works in the History of Medicine

This course is part of the Thomas Jefferson Center’s Core Texts and Ideas (CTI) program. In keeping with the spirit of Mortimer Adler's Great Books of the Western World and Charles William Eliot's Harvard Universal Classics, this course will thematically examine signature works in the history of medicine. There are numerous reasons for using the great books approach to teaching the history of medicine. In addition to providing professional inspiration, sense of continuity with the past, and an awareness of medicine's unique role in society, this approach can foster a healthy sense of skepticism about the content and durability of medical dogma allowing students to think more critically about the principles and practices of medicine. The great books in the history of medicine provide numerous examples of why one should be prepared to question long-standing views for the sake of progress. Furthermore, the history of medicine can be a "kindly, useful mentor" which not only provides a forum for meaningful exchanges between physicians and historians, but also allows both groups a means to link historical knowledge to contemporary issues in order to reform medicine and bring about change in public policy. The approach taken in this class will be of great use to pre-med students and to students interested in international and public health.

To better understand the unique implications of the different areas of medicine, each week will entail reading a signature work that is representative of a key topic in the history of medicine (e.g. pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, surgery). After performing an analytical reading of the text with respect to its historical context, students will focus on discovering ethical principles in the text that can be used for modern applications.

Flags: The course carries an Ethics Flag and a Writing Flag. Assessment: One long and two short research papers, graded in-class writing activities. No final. Readings: Jacalyn Duffin, History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction, 2010 ISBN 978-0802095565; all other readings will be available on CANVAS or through the library’s electronic resources.

What were the crusades? Was a crusade an armed pilgrimage, holy war, or a war of conquest? What motivated those who fought and those supported these expeditions? What were the political, cultural, and religious developments that led to the crusades and what were their legacies both in Europe and in the eastern Mediterranean? This class explores these questions by examining both accounts of crusades written by medieval authors and modern historians' interpretations of these documents. In the process, we will investigate religious encounters between eastern and western Christians, Christian heretics, Jews, Muslims, and polytheists; political, military, and cultural changes of the high middle ages; and the ways that crusading ideas and symbols have been reused in contemporary politics and popular culture.

TEXTS:

• Susanna Throop, The Crusades, An Epitome (Leeds: Kismet Press, 2018)
• The Crusades:  A Reader  ed. S. J. Allen and Emilie Amt (Toronto:  University of Toronto Press, 2014)
• Selected documents and articles in a reader.

GRADING:

Class attendance, preparation and reading worksheets, discussion, and in-class work: 30%

Research paper on a topic of a student's choice (15 pages): 70%

•  Library Assignment/ Annotated bibliography 5%
•  Source analysis 5%
•  Draft 20%
•  Oral presentation 10%
•  Peer Review of others 5%
•  Final draft 30%

Prerequisites:  Upper-division standing and admission to the Classics Honors Program.

Supervised conference course for honors candidates in classics. Three conference hours a week for two semesters.

Majors who plan to seek special honors in Ancient History and Classical Civilization, special honors in Greek, special honors in Latin, or special honors in Classics should apply to the honors adviser for admission to the honors program at least one full academic year before they expect to graduate. A University grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average in the coursework required for the major of at least 3.50 are required for admission. The requirements for graduation with special honors, which are in addition to the requirements of the major, are (1) AHC 679HA and 679HB, Greek 679HA and 679HB, Latin 679HA and 679HB, or Classical Civilization 679HA and 679HB, Honors Tutorial Course, with a grade of A in each half; (2) a University grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average of at least 3.50 in the coursework required for the major and an “A” in each half of the honors tutorial course; and (3) completion at the University of at least sixty semester hours of coursework counted toward the degree.

Requirements for the Honors Thesis

(1.) The student must discuss the Honors program option with the Faculty Academic Advisor.
(2.) The student must fill out and have signed a Conference Course form for the 679HA and 679HB-W courses.
(3.) The student must spend one semester enrolled in 679HA for directed reading and research under a faculty mentor.
(4.) The student must spend one semester enrolled in 679HB-W writing the Honors Thesis. Students should consult a semester academic calendar and consult with their faculty mentors to determine a schedule for completion of the Thesis. A second faculty reader must also review the Thesis.
(5.) The College of Liberal Arts expects a Thesis to require at least 20 pages of reviewed and revised text. Although there is no other required minimum, the Thesis should consist of more substantial output.
(6.) The final version of the Thesis must be turned in to the Department of Classics Undergraduate Advisor in an electronic (PDF) format or bound copy.

This course carries the Independent inquiry flag.

Prerequisite: AHC 679HA.

Supervised conference course for honors candidates in classics. Three conference hours a week for two semesters.

Majors who plan to seek special honors in Ancient History and Classical Civilization, special honors in Greek, special honors in Latin, or special honors in Classics should apply to the honors adviser for admission to the honors program at least one full academic year before they expect to graduate. A University grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average in the coursework required for the major of at least 3.50 are required for admission. The requirements for graduation with special honors, which are in addition to the requirements of the major, are (1) AHC 679HA and 679HB, Greek 679HA and 679HB, Latin 679HA and 679HB, or Classical Civilization 679HA and 679HB, Honors Tutorial Course, with a grade of A in each half; (2) a University grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average of at least 3.50 in the coursework required for the major and an “A” in each half of the honors tutorial course; and (3) completion at the University of at least sixty semester hours of coursework counted toward the degree.

Requirements for the Honors Thesis

(1.) The student must discuss the Honors program option with the Faculty Academic Advisor.
(2.) The student must fill out and have signed a Conference Course form for the 679HA and 679HB-W courses.
(3.) The student must spend one semester enrolled in 679HA for directed reading and research under a faculty mentor.
(4.) The student must spend one semester enrolled in 679HB-W writing the Honors Thesis. Students should consult a semester academic calendar and consult with their faculty mentors to determine a schedule for completion of the Thesis. A second faculty reader must also review the Thesis.
(5.) The College of Liberal Arts expects a Thesis to require at least 20 pages of reviewed and revised text. Although there is no other required minimum, the Thesis should consist of more substantial output.
(6.) The final version of the Thesis must be turned in to the Department of Classics Undergraduate Advisor in an electronic (PDF) format or bound copy.

This course carries the Independent inquiry flag.