HS 186: The Ancient World. TR Syllabus, Spring 2008.
Instructor: Dr. Joseph Stumpf. Office
Hours: HU 274, MWF 9:55-10:55; TR 1:50-2:50. I may be reached by email
(joseph.stumpf@montgomerycollege.edu) or by phone (240-567-7280)
The class: A survey of the ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman societies and cultures in their unique
setting, exploring the path that led to the organization of cities; written
communication; forms of early science and technology; the artistic traditions
in Mesopotamia and Egypt; a golden age of art, literature, and philosophy in
Greece; and Roman accomplishments in politics, administration, law and
engineering. We shall discuss historical
and cultural trends as well as pinpoint specific events that shaped history in
this part of the world. I hope that the
legacies passed down from the ancient world to our own society will become
apparent. Because there is so much
material to cover, the format of the course will be primarily lecture.
Outcomes: On completion of this course, students will be able
to:
In other words, the student
is expected to gain familiarity with the broad trends of ancient history and be
conversant in the reasons, geographic, cultural and individual, that created
the Classical world. Students will be
responsible for a basic geographic knowledge, in addition to the key historical
figures and events, and will be expected to think critically about cause and
effect in history, and about the relative value of historical sources.
Attendance: Although much of the material can be had from the
books, I do not recommend skipping classes with the idea that you can simply
find all the subject matter in the books.
Much will be presented in class that is not found in the texts and vice
versa, and you will be responsible for all of it. In a
TR class, I consider more than two absences to be excessive and detrimental to
your grade. If you foresee missing
class for some reason, please talk to me beforehand and if I believe the excuse
legitimate I may excuse the absence. If
you are ill, I will excuse the absence provided you furnish a valid medical
excuse. I will not give out notes or
lesson plans to those who were absent, excused or not. You will have to make arrangements with a
classmate to get the class notes.
Lateness, especially chronic lateness is disruptive and will be
noted. If you anticipate problems in
arriving to class on time, come talk to me. Perhaps something can be arranged.
Classroom Conduct:
I expect a Civilization class
to be civilized. Be polite and courteous
and listen to the opinions of your classmates without interrupting them (even
if you violently disagree with what they’re saying). Insults or cursing are unacceptable: we may
be covering the barbarian invasions, but we don’t have to act them out. One other note: Please make sure your cell phones, pagers,
etc. have been turned off. Unless that’s
Moses or Socrates on the phone, we don’t want to hear it.
Academic Honesty:
It is expected that the work
you turn in as your own is your own. Cheating on exams or quizzes will not be
tolerated and will result in an automatic F on the exam or quiz in
question. Plagiarized papers will suffer
a similar fate. Not only are they
pointless, but they are often only mediocre work, which, with a little
application, you could easily surpass.
Moreover, they are very easy to detect.
Don’t try it. For more
information you may consult the Student Code of Conduct, Section IV.
Support Services: A student who may need an
accommodation due to a disability should make an appointment to see me during
my office hours. A letter from
Disability Support Services (
Those students who do not feel comfortable writing in the
English language may wish to avail themselves of the
service provided in the Writing and
Cancellation of Classes: Classes may be cancelled in the event of (very)
inclement weather, but only if the school as a whole closes. If you do not hear of this, assume that the
class is being held. If for some reason I am unable to hold class, I will do my
best to let you know in advance.
Grades: There will be a total of 300 points possible
in the course. Thus 270-300 points
received will be an A, 240-269 a B, 210-239 a C, 180-209 a D. There will be no curve. Grades will consist of a midterm examination
comprising identifications and essays (worth 80 points), a map quiz (10 points),
a paper (80 points) and a final examination including, again, identifications
and essays (100 points). There are no
make-ups for the examinations unless you can provide an authorized medical
excuse. Twenty points will be reserved
for short take home assignments or else a pop quiz. The remaining ten points are awarded at my
discretion and will reflect attendance and class participation. Late papers will be penalized one letter
grade. Papers more than a week late will
not be accepted.
The texts: There is only one text for the class, though
I may decide to provide additional readings.
This book will be found in the bookstore on campus.
Western Civilizations 16th edition Judith
G. Coffin and Robert C. Stacey (WC)
Provisional schedule of readings:
1. Jan. 27 (T):
Introduction. Sources.
2. Jan. 29 (R):
Neolithic Era
WC 8-17
Feb.
1 (S): Last day to drop class with
refund
3. Feb. 3 (T):
4. Feb. 5 (R):
5. Feb. 10 (T):
Near Eastern Empires WC 79-88
6. Feb. 12 (R):
Feb. 15 (S):
Last day to drop class without grade or switch credit/audit status
7. Feb. 17 (T):
Minoans and Mycenaeans. WC 64-70
8. Feb. 19 (R):
The Dark Ages. Homer. Greek Religion. WC 102-106
9. Feb. 24 (T):
Archaic
10. Feb. 26 (R):
11. Mar. 3 (T):
Herodotus and the Persian Wars. WC
118-121
12. Mar. 5 (R):
The Athenian Empire; The Peloponnesian
Wars. WC 127-130
13. Mar. 10 (T):
The Greek Cultural Legacy I. WC
121-127
Mar.
12 (R): Midterm Examination
Mar. 16-22:
Spring Break
14. Mar. 24 (T) The Greek Cultural Legacy II WC 116-118; 130-135; 139-142
15. Mar. 26 (R): Macedon and Alexander the Great. WC 138-139; 142-148
16. Mar. 31 (T):
The Hellenistic World. WC 148-162
17. Apr. 2 (R):
18. Apr. 7 (T):
The Conflict of the Orders.
19. Apr. 9 (R):
Roman Expansion. WC 173-180
20. Apr. 14 (T):
From the Gracchi to Sulla. WC
180-181
21. Apr. 16 (R):
Caesar and the Fall of the Republic. WC 181-183
Apr.
19 (S): Last day to drop class with “W”
22. Apr. 21 (T):
The Age of Augustus. WC 183-196.
23. Apr. 23 (R):
The Julio-Claudians.
24. Apr. 28 (T):
The Pax Romana and
the High Empire.
25. Apr. 30 (R):
The Rise of Christianity. WC
207-215. Papers are due
26. May 5 (T):
3rd century to
27. May 7 (R):
The Fall of the West. WC 198-201
Paper Assignment
Write a five to seven page
essay on one of the following topics.
The essay should directly address the questions at hand and provide as
many specifics as appropriate. This is
not a research paper and you are not required to use any sources other than
your textbooks and class notes, but, of course, I will permit you to use other
books (preferably) or websites (grudgingly), provided they are properly
credited and cited. Papers are due April
30. Paper assignments received late will
be penalized one letter grade. Papers
received more than a week later will not be accepted.
1. Discuss the impact of geography on three of
the civilizations we have looked at. How
has it affected their history, economy, religious outlook and society?
2. Compare the methods and outlook of the works
of three great ancient historians, Herodotus, Thucydides and your choice of
Livy or Tacitus. What was their chosen
subject? How didi
they approach their task and envision the role of their work? How did they organize their material? I will expect specific citations of
text. (I’ll put these men’s works on
reserve in the library).
3. Consider the phenomenon of propaganda in the
ancient world. What examples can you
produce of it? What messages were those
in power trying to convey and what means did they use to convey them? Were there such things as propaganda
programs? Be specific.
4. How did the ancients look at and feel about
their gods? Examine the relationship
between the peoples of
The paper is due April 30. It should be typed in 10 or 12 font, double spaced with standard one inch margins.
Professor Stumpf’s
Top Ten Grammatical and Stylistic Pet Peeves:
1.
Spelling! Spellcheck
is not sufficient! The English language
has an endless supply of homonyms and confusing words. Make sure your prose is saying what you want
it to say.
There and their.
The second marks a possessive.
“There
is a Redskins football game on tonight.
It is in their home stadium.”
Than and then. The first
marks a comparative. “More than...” “Greater than…” The second marks a change in time. “First she does this, then
she does that.”
Weather and whether. The second is
an adverb.
“I will go out whether
or not the weather is good.
2.
Possessives. Apostrophes are
used, among other things, for marking something as possessive. “John’s books.” “Graciela’s new car.” “The
3. Subjunctive
voice. Fairly rare in English, but you
should still know it. This is used in
sentences which do not state something as fact, but as a conditional
possibility. “If he gets an ‘A’ in Biology, then he would [not will] be able to
graduate.” Also note the use of “were”
instead of “was.” “If I were
a rich man….” “He’d be a basketball
star, if he were a foot taller.”
4. Split
infinitives. I’m an old fashion stickler
for these. With all due regard to “Star
Trek”, but the
5. Subject-verb
agreement. Make sure plural nouns get a
plural verb, singular nouns a singular verb.
“The death of millions of men, women, and children in
epidemics of contagious diseases causes [not cause] immeasurable stress on a
society.”
6. Appropriate
relative pronouns and modifiers.
Not “The girl that married me.” but “The girl who married me.”
Not “Kings which kill their own subjects” but “Kings who kill
their own…”
7.
Constructions which are not parallel.
Once you have started a clause using a particular grammatical
construction, you must maintain the construction through the entire sentence.
Wrong: “I love
swimming, hiking, biking, and to dance.”
Right: “I love swimming, hiking,
biking, and dancing.”
8. Avoid
contractions (“isn’t”, “doesn’t”, “won’t”, etc.) in formal writing.
9. As a general
stylistic rule, avoid starting sentences with “however.” This and other such words are “postpositive”, that is best placed after an opening clause.
“However, Napoleon soon realized his mistake” would be better as
“Napoleon, however, soon realized his mistake.”
10. Avoid
colloquial expressions. This means that
casual conversational phrases are best left out of formal papers.
Bad: “Caesar
was a little late crossing the Rubicon, but Pompey was pretty scared anyway cause he knew that Caesar was, like, crazy smart.”
Better: Almost
anything would be better. Perhaps something like “Caesar was delayed crossing the Rubicon,
but Pompey was fearful nonetheless, knowing Caesar’s abilities.”
A
note on plagiarism and proper citation.
In case anyone is unclear
on the concept, plagiarism is attempting to pass off another’s research, ideas
and writing as one’s own. If you write a
paper telling me that
It is not only obscure facts that require citation. If you decide that another author has expressed an idea better that you could, you may quote (with recessed margins and single spacing) that author, again providing a citation: (Robertson 75). Quoting an author without this acknowledgement is plagiarism. In any case, quoting is generally overdone, and it is better for you to “paraphrase” a source. In such a case, you put the ideas of your source in your own words.
Example:
It is thought that Cleisthenes may have acted in concert with the
Spartan king Cleomenes to overthrow the tyranny of
Hippias in
This might be paraphrased
Some think that Cleisthenes invited the Spartan ruler Cleomenes to help remove Hippias, the tyrant of
If the idea or hypothesis expressed is a novel one that the average reader probably would not have thought of for him or herself, then you should cite a source, regardless of whether you have quoted or paraphrased.
Simply cutting and pasting material from books or web sites does not count as original work.