Here you'll find a copy of our course syllabus, as well as required primary source readings assigned to complement the chapters assigned in our official course textbook. :D Be sure to bookmark this site and come back regularly! Always make sure to refresh the page when you visit.

Please note that the assignments on this page may differ from those provided on the preliminary syllabus linked below. Go by the assignments on this page, please, as the syllabus schedule is tentative. :) If you read ahead, be aware that the assignments may be tweaked during the week for which they have been assigned. See the schedule below for precise assignments. Remember - website readings are REQUIRED.

Administrative Stuff:

* Course Syllabus (PDF) - includes course policies and general information on all assignments/exams, so MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND IT. This is a copy of the syllabus I pass out at the beginning of the semester, so be aware that the schedule listed on it may change. It's important that you check the detailed assignment list below, and stay tuned in class, for precise, updated assignments. Remember - website readings are REQUIRED.

Powerpoint Lectures:

The following HTML slides are being made available as study aids to students who are officially and currently enrolled in the course. Again, they are intended for currently enrolled Civ/Hum students only. The slides are NOT intended as a substitute for class attendance and discussion. They are password protected; the instructor emails the login information via the official Delta class email lists at the beginning of the semester. Check your official Delta student email for that message!

• To be posted as we finish each unit...
• Unit One - Mesopotamia/Gilgamesh
• Unit Two - Bronze Age and Archaic Greece
• Unit Three - Hellenic Greece
• Unit Four - Hellenistic Greece
• Unit Five - Pagan Rome
• Unit Six - Late Rome/Roman Heir Civilizations
• Unit Seven - Architecture of the Middle Ages - Review at home!
• Unit Seven - High and Late Middle Ages
• Unit Eight - Early Renaissance
• Unit Nine - Baroque Era/Scientific Revolution

Assigments:
(Assignments are listed in parentheses under the dates they are to be covered in class.)

January 19

Course Introduction

January 26

The Near East (Ch. 1 in text; Gilgamesh excerpts on website)

* Chapter 1 in text to be discussed in class.

* Gilgamesh Excerpts and Summary - to be discussed in class.

* The full text is not required, but is available here: Gilgamesh Full Text (For fun/reference)

* Please also review the first portion of these Gilgamesh and Odyssey study questions. You don't need to turn in your answers, but DO be prepared to discuss them in class.

February 2

Aegean Civilizations & Archaic Greece (Ch. 2 in text; Odyssey excerpts on website)

* Homer - The Odyssey - Please read the excerpts listed.

* Please complete the second portion of these Gilgamesh and Odyssey study questions. Answers are not due in class, but DO be prepared to discuss them.

* Sappho - Lyric Poetry - Not required, but an interesting comparison to the Homeric, epic poetry. How are they different? What do you think accounts for these differences?

*The Homeric Hymns - Not required, but offered for reference. Includes poetic summaries of the Gods' and Goddess' lives and deeds. This will help you "get to know" some of the divinities alluded to in the Odyssey.

* Images from Ancient Greece - Bronze Age and Beyond!

February 9 & 16

Classical Greece: The Hellenic Age (Ch. 3 in text; Sophocles' Oedipus full text on website, Plato's Republic excerpts on website)

* Oedipus Rex - Full text to be discussed on 2/9 & 16. Aristotle's Poetics is included on the unit assignment page but is not required.

* Study Questions 3 (Oedipus) will be discussed in class on 2/9 & 16.

* FILM: Greek Theatre/Oedipus Rex and In-class response 1 on 2/9.

* Paper One assigned on 2/9, due on 2/16 via Turnitin.com (check email for details - Paper prompt HERE.

* Plato's Republic - Excerpts listed to be discussed on 2/16. Aristotle's Poetics is included on the unit assignment page but is not required.

* Study Questions 4 (Plato) will be discussed in class on 2/16.

* Photos from Ancient Greece - Bronze Age and Beyond!

February 16 (Continued)

The Hellenistic Age (Ch. 4 in text; Epicurus letter on website)

* Epicurus - Letter to Menoeceus

* Study Questions 5 will be discussed in class on 2/16.

February 23

Pre-Christian Rome (Ch. 6 in text; Vergil/Virgil and Ovid excerpts on website)

* Vergil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphosis - Includes study questions 6, which will be discussed in class on 2/23 (also includes questions relating to Tertullian, below).

March 1 - Instructor illness, no class - pick up on March 8!

 

March 8

Christian Rome and Judaism (Ch. 5 in text; Tertullian excerpts on website)

* Tertullian - On the Apparel of Women, Books ONE and TWO - Continuing discussion of study questions 6.

Late Rome and Rome's "Heir Civilizations" 1: The Byzantine Empire and Early Medieval West (Ch. 7 in text; Augustine "Confessions" excerpts on website)

* Confessions excerpts and study questions 7 to be discussed on 3/8-15 (Includes questions relating to Beowulf, below).

March 15 - MIDTERM EXAM - Bring your notes, textbook, 8.5"x11" bluebook, and blue or black ballpoint ink pens!

Late Rome and Rome's "Heir Civilizations" 2:   The Early Medieval West and Old Islamic Empire (Ch. 8 in text; Beowulf excerpts on website)

* Confessions excerpts and study questions 7 to be discussed on 3/15 (Includes questions relating to Beowulf, below).

March 22

Late Rome and Rome's "Heir Civilizations" 3:   The Early Medieval West and Old Islamic Empire (Ch. 8 in text; Beowulf excerpts on website)

* Beowulf excerpts and study questions 7 to be discussed on 3/22.

* Rumi's poem "The Arab and His Wife," or "A Man and a Woman Arguing" (linked at the bottom of the page, under the Arabian Nights segment; these readings are not required)

* Photos of 20th century "Moorish" revival: Cairo's Mosque of Ibn Tulun vs. I House: http://ihouse.berkeley.edu/ & http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=334

High Middle Ages (Ch. 9 in text; Lancelot excerpts on website)

* Selections from Lancelot (Hildegard's poetry is not required) here.

* Study Questions 8 covering Lancelot (discussed 3/22) and Canterbury Tales (discussed 3/29).

* Hildegard von Bingen: Quia ergo femina mortem instruxit (a modern interpretation from Canticles of Ecstasy, by Sequentia). This .mp3 file works for some and not others; try downloading it to disk. If it still won't work, don't worry about it. :)

Medieval Architecture Lecture

March 29

Late Middle Ages (Chs. 10 in text; Chaucer excerpts on website)

* Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: General Prologue and Modern English Text of The Wife of Bath. More resources on the story available here.

* Study Questions 8 covering Lancelot (discussed 3/22) and Canterbury Tales (discussed 3/29).

Early Renaissance (Ch. 10 in text; Alberti excerpts on website)

* Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting: Book 2

* Study Questions 9 to be discussed on 3/29 (Alberti) and 4/12 (Castiglione & Machiavelli).

 

April - 5 - SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS

April 12

High Renaissance/Northern Renaissance (Ch. 12 & 13 in text; Machiavelli & Castiglione excerpts on website)

* Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, Books 1 & III.

* Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapters 15, 16, 17.

* Study Questions 9 to be discussed on 3/29 (Alberti) and 4/12 (Castiglione & Machiavelli).

* Not required: Sir Thomas More, Utopia. Read three sections of Book II - The sections headed "Of Their Trades, and Manner of Life," "Of Their Military Discipline," and the section on religion that follows.

*Weelkes, "As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending."

Baroque Age/Scientific Revolution (Ch. 14 & 15 in text; De la Cruz, Hobbes, and Locke excerpts on website)

* Sor Juana de la Cruz ~ Poem excerpt

* Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan - Part One, Chapter 13 (it's not very long :) )

* John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government - Chapters 9 and 19

* Study Questions 10 to be discussed in class on 4/12.

* Vivaldi - Spring from The Four Seasons

April 19

The Age of Reason/Revolution (Ch. 16 & 17 in text; Wollstonecraft, Austen, Jefferson, &Madison excerpts on website; Ch. 17-18 companion piece on website)

* Mary Wollstonecraft, Introduction from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Full text here.

* Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice Chapters 1-3.

* Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence (linked from main page)

* James Madison, The Federalist Papers, Federalist No.s 10 & 51

* Study Questions 11 to be discussed in class on 4/19.

* The Industrial Revolution and the Limits of Rationalism: Roots and Early Reactions

* Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Allegro

* Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique - March to the Scaffold

April 26 & May 3

* Study Questions 12 to be discussed in class on 4/26.

The Triumph of the Bourgeoisie/Early Modernism (Chs. 18 & 19 in text; my companion piece to the textbook chapters 17/18, Shelley excerpts, and Marx & Engels excerpts on website)

* The Industrial Revolution and the Limits of Rationalism: Roots and Early Reactions

* Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Ch. 4 and 5 here.

* Marx & Engels - The Communist Manifesto

* FILM: Fritz Lang's Metropolis on 4./26 & 5/3.

* In-class film response #2 on 5/3.

* Paper #2 assigned on 5/3 and DUE on 5/10 - based on Shelley, Marx, and Metropolis. To be submitted via Turnitin.com - PROMPT TO BE POSTED HERE.

May 10

* Study Questions 13 to be discussed in class on 5/10.

Modernism and Beyond (Chs. 20 - 22 in text; Lawrence, Orwell, Imperial Letters, and World’s Fair excerpts on website)

* Imperial Russian Letters, photos, and Olga's & Tatiana's "stories" at livadia.org: Grand Duchess Olga | Grand Duchess Tatiana---- Please note that the above "life stories" were not actually written by Tsar Nikolai II's daughters; they were written by me in first person using facts gleaned from my research. The letters included in the "works" and "letters" sections, however, are authentic, and of their own hands. See also alexanderpalace.org for more information about the last tsar of Russia and his family.

* D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Chapter 1. A story about adjusting to life after the Great War (understatement! understatement!). ;)

* George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapters 1 & 2 . Written in 1945, Animal Farm is an...interesting...allegory for the Russian revolution. The "Marx" figure and all the key Bolshevik figures are...you guessed it...pigs!

* 20th century America and the New York World's Fair (1964-65)

* FILM: Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair on 5/10.

* In-class film response #3 - on 5/10.

* Paper #2 DUE on 5/10 - based on Shelley, Marx, and Metropolis. To be submitted via Turnitin.com - PROMPT TO BE POSTED HERE.

May 17 - FINAL EXAM - 6-7:50pm.

* I'll email the class as soon as Paper 2 grades (available at Turnitin.com) and course grades (available via student portal pages on the official Delta site) are posted. *