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READING AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, FALL 2004
You should consult this online syllabus regularly (rather than printing it out once) because some readings and assignments may change during the course of the semester. You should always bring the daily reading to class. Some readings are in pdf files and displayed as links and these should be printed out and brought to class. The following abreviations indicate questions connected to the daily reading: MQ = map questions, SQ = short questions, EQ = essay questions. In preparation for class you should be doing the assigned reading and completing a short response (roughly 1 handwritten page) to the essay question (EQ) this will frequently be collected. It will make exam preparation much easier if you complete the map questions and short answer questions at the same time that you do the reading. Be advised that on Tuesdays we meet in Banquet Hall Room B in the Student Center, starting at 8:30 AM, unless otherwise noted.
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Date
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Reading and Assignments
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ORIENTATION WEEK |
| S 9/3 |
Meet with advisees and parents |
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WEEK 1 |
| T 9/6 |
CII orientation lunch, 11:00 - 1:20 in Heritage Room |
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W 9/7
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Introduction to the course and the question "What is history?"
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F 9/09
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Reading: Gilgamesh (p.61-119)
- SQ: Describe the role and significance of: Gilgamesh, Enkidu, the harlot, Humbaba, Ninsun, Shamash, Ishtar, Utnapishtim
- EQ: From your reading of Gilgamesh, what values (concerning a variety of areas of human life for example, sex, friendship, love, civilization/nature, human mortality, the purpose of life, power, the gods, etc.) seem to have been important in Sumerian culture?
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WEEK 2 |
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M 9/12
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Reading: Spielvogel pp.1-29.
- MQ (Spielvogel pp.7, 22) Mesopotamia, Tigris river, Euphrates river, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Nile river, Egypt, Giza, Thebes, Palestine, Phoenicia, Anatolia.
- SQ What is the historical significance of: Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Revolution, ziggurat, Sumerians, Akkadians, Sargon, Hammurabi, cuneiform, pharaoh, pyramid, hieroglyph, 1085 B.C., Hatshepsut, Indo-Europeans
EQ Spielvogel lays out his definition of “civilization” on p.5; following this definition, compare and contrast Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.
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T 9/13
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Professor Dugdale will be lecturing on Greece in SSC Anderson Social Science Center 101, starting at 8:30 AM. Note that we will not be meeting in our regular classrooms.
Also, Professor Niederitter will be giving us a short introduction to the upcoming Nobel Conference.
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W 9/14
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Reading: Spielvogel pp. 43-63; poems by Solon PDF file
- MQ (Spielvogel p. 45) Persian empire, Susa, Persis, Sardis, Ionian coast. MQ(Spielvogel p. 53) Attica, Peloponnesus, Boeotia, Thessaly, Macedonia, Ionia, Lesbos, Crete, Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Delphi, Troy, Halicarnassus
- SQ (From Spielvogel) Briefly outline the historical significance of Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, satrapy, Zoroaster, Minoan civilization, Mycenae, arete, polis, hoplite, Cleisthenes, kouros
EQ Solon was an important political figure in the history of Athens. The sources in the PDF file include several poems by him as well as one later source, Aristotle, on Solon's rule. Using these sources answer 1 (ONE) of the following questions:
1. Using at least 2 of Solon's own poems and the excerpt from Aristotle, discuss Solon's view of Athenian society and the problems facing it. If you were writing Spievogel's textbook would there be anything you would add given your knowledge of these poems, or has Spielvogel's section on Solon and Athens captured the most important information and ideas that you found in the poems?
2. Using at least 2 of Solon's poems, what do we learn about Greek society? If you were writing Spievogel's textbook would there be anything you would add given your knowledge of these poems, or has Spielvogel's section on Solon and Athens captured the most important information and ideas that you found in the poems?
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F 9/16
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Reading: Herodotus 1.1-15 PDF file
EQ Answer the following question after reading today’s section of Herodotus. If Herodotus had been in class on the first day, how would he have answered the question, ‘What is history?’ (what stories should it tell and how should it tell them, what is its purpose, what is its relation to “reality”, etc.)?
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WEEK 3 |
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M 9/19
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Reading: Herodotus 1.26-92 PDF file
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Croesus, Solon, Pisistratus, Lycurgus
EQ How do riddles such as the question posed by Croesus to Solon in 1.30 help Herodotus write his history?
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T 9/20
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This class will be led by Professors Dugdale and Panciera in Heritage Room, starting at 8:30 AM.
Reading: Herodotus 3.61-87, 3.118-119 PDF file
The Behistun Text and Paper #1 Topic PDF file
Professor Dugdale's "Writing Strategies" PDF file
For this class, and in preparation for your papers, read through this selection from Herodotus about the rise to power of Darius. It is a complex story involving the Persian king Cambyses, his brother Smerdis whom Cambyses murdered, a man who impersonates Cambyses' brother Smerdis and takes power for a short time, and finally a group of Persians who, in conjunction with Darius, remove this impersonator from power. Darius then becomes king.
Try as best you can to know who does what to whom, when, and for what reasons -- untangle all the elements of this story and come into class with any questions you might have about the details of this story.
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W 9/21
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Reading: Herodotus 3.88-117 PDF file
EQ Choose your favorite fantastic story, and briefly explain why you chose it. Why do you think Herodotus includes these fantastic stories as part of his history?
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Reading: Spielvogel pp. 64-67 (on the Persian Wars); Herodotus 7.20-35; 138-145; 201-228 PDF file
- MQ (p.65) Miletus, Hellespont, Thermopylae, Attica, Athens, Salamis, Delphi, isthmus of Corinth, Peloponnesus
- SQ Describe briefly the historical significance of the following people, places, events, and terms: (from Spielvogel) Darius, battle of Marathon, battle of Salamis, battle of Plataea, Xerxes; (from Herodotus) Themistocles, Leonidas, Ephialtes
EQ What do you think Herodotus is trying to show his readers about the different nature of the Persians and the Greeks (what sort of people their leaders and soldiers are, how they think and act, etc.) in these sections from book 7 and why?
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WEEK 4 |
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We meet in the library today for a library orientation.
First draft of paper 1 is due!
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NOBEL No regular class, however . . .
We will meet at 7PM in SSC 101 for a reading of Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Print your part of the Lysistrata PDF file and bring it to our dramatic reading in the evening.
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NOBEL No class |
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Reading: Spielvogel pp. 67-71; The introduction to our text about Thucydides’ life (p.ix-xi), the beginning of Thucydides history of the Peloponnesian War, book 1, chapters 1-11 (p.3-9) and finally book 1, chapters 66-88 (p.37-49).
- MQ (p.5 of Thucydides) Attica, Peloponnesus, Crete, Cyclades, Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Troy
- SQ What is important to know about Thucydides' life in order to better understand and judge his history? Describe briefly the historical significance of the following people, places, events, and terms: Delian league, Pericles, strategoi, ostracism, Alcibiades, Parthenon, Sophists, Socrates, Plato
EQ Answer 1 (ONE) of the following questions:
1. How does Thucydides (1.1-11) differ from Herodotus (1.1-15) in the beginning of their histories: What do they say about the writing of history, and what sort of ancient stories about Greece do they choose to tell and for what purpose?
2. From your reading of Thucydides 1.66-88 what are the differences in character between the Athenians and the Spartans and who seems more likely to be able to win this war?
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WEEK 5 |
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M 10/3
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Reading: Thucydides 2.1-25, 2.34-54 (p.89-107, 110-121)
- MQ (Thucydides p.92, 102) Plataea, Thebes, Acharnae, Piraeus
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Parthenon, Pericles, plague
EQ What do you think is the most important point Pericles makes, during the funeral speech (2.35-46), in his optimistic analysis of Athens, and do you think that Thucydides intended to cast doubt on this optimism with his account of the plague?
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T 10/4
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Professor Carolyn O'Grady from the Education dept. will speak to us about meditation in Heritage Room, starting at 8:30 AM |
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W 10/5
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Reading: Thucydides 3.1-50 (p.159-184)
- MQ (Thucydides p.162) Lesbos, Mytilene
- SQ Briefly describe the historical significance of: Cleon
EQ Imagine that you are in the assembly at Athens and have just finished listening to the speeches of Cleon and Diodotus. You next will speak. You have been assigned to argue one side (for or against) of the proposition: "It is in the best interests of Athens to punish harshly any ally who revolts." I want you to build on the arguments of either Cleon or Diodotus (in other words you can refer to their ideas, but don't simply summarize what they say) by using things said in other speeches or events that we have already read about in Thucydides in order to help prove your side of the proposition. Outline in one page the sorts of arguments and proof (other events or ideas from speeches related earlier in Thucydides) you would use in your speech
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F 10/7
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Reading: Thucydides 5.84-116, 6.1, 6.6-52, 6.61 (p.350-357, 361, 365-390, 395)
- MQ (Thucydides p.349, 363) Melos, Sicily, Syracuse, Egesta
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: the Egestaeans, Nicias, the mutilation of the Hermae
EQ Who or what was most responsible (i.e. who/what played the most crucial role) for the Athenian invasion of Sicily?
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WEEK 6 |
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M 10/10
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Reading: Thucydides 7.10-17, 7.42-87 (p. 432-436, 451-478)
- MQ (Thucydides p.454) Epipolae, Syracuse, Athenian camp, Great Harbor
EQ Should Thucydides' history be read as a protest against the war? If so, is it more or less persuasive as a protest than Aristophanes' Lysistrata?
Final draft of paper #1 is due!
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T 10/11
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Discussion of Lillian Hellman’s play The Children’s Hour by Professor Robert Gardner, Chair of the Theatre Department. Also Raj Sethuraju, Assistant Dean of Multicultural Programs, will present on diversity in Heritage Room, beginning at 8:30 AM. |
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W 10/12
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Reading: Spielvogel p.71-104
- MQ (Spielvogel p.86) Macedonia, Pergamum, Issus, Gaugamela, Bucephala, Seleucia, Alexandria (in Egypt)
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Philip II, Demosthenes, battle of Chaeronea, Alexander the Great, Darius III, battle of Issus, battle of Gaugamela, battle of the Hydaspes river, 323 B.C., Antigonid dynasty, Seleucid dynasty, Attalid dynasty, Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexandria, Aristarchus of Samos, Euclid, Archimedes, Epicurus, Zeno, cult of Isis
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F 10/14
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EXAM 1 |
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WEEK 7 |
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M 10/17
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Reading: Livy, Preface to 1.26, 1.34-56 (p.3-33, 42-66)
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Aeneas, Mars, Romulus, the rape of the Sabine women, Numa, Tarquinius Priscus, Tanaquil, Servius Tullius, Tarquinius Superbus
EQ Choose 1 (ONE) of the following questions:
1. From Livy's preface and the stories in book 1, what would you say are the most important similarities and differences between his idea of history and that of his Greek predecessors?
2. Is Livy's story of the foundation of Rome surprising in any way? Has he left things out or included things which seem unusual for the legendary story of the founding of a country?
3. What role(s) do women play in these stories about early Rome?
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T 10/18
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Professor Panciera will be lecturing on Rome in SSC 101, starting at 8:30 AM.
Reading: Spielvogel pp.106-136
- MQ (Spielvogel p.108, 133) Appenine Mts., Alps, Tyrrhenian sea, Adriatic sea, Rome, Veii, Brindisium, Carthage, Latium, Etruria, Campania, Sabines, Samnites, Italy, Cisalpine Gaul, (Transalpine) Gaul, Spain, Africa, Achaea, Asia, Parthia
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Etruscans, 753 B.C., fasces, Lucretia, imperium, consul, praetor, senate, centuriate assembly, struggle of the orders, tribunes of the plebs, Hannibal, Cannae, the auspices, paterfamilias, nobiles, equites, Tiberius Gracchus, Marius, Sulla, Cicero, Julius Caesar, Antony.
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W 10/19
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Reading: Livy 1.57-60, 2.1-13, 2.28-40, 3.25-29 (p.66-85, 98-113, 166-171)
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Brutus, Horatius Cocles, Gaius Mucius, Cloelia, Cincinnatus, Coriolanus
EQ In today's reading we learn about many of the most famous heroes of the Roman republic: Lucretia (her death brings about the birth of the Republic), Brutus, Horatius Cocles, Gaius Mucius, Cloelia, Menenius Agrippa, Coriolanus, Cincinnatus. What character traits and virtues do the Romans associate with their heroes and what constitutes heroic action/behavior for them?
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F 10/21
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Reading: Livy 5.10-5.55 (p.292-341)
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Veii, Camillus, Gauls, sacred geese
EQ How would you characterize the religious beliefs and practices of the Romans and would you say they had any effect on historical events? Concentrate on today's reading in book 5 to answer this question, but feel free to refer to earlier readings in Livy.
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WEEK 8 |
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M 10/24
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Reading Day No class
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T 10/25
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Reading Day No class |
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W 10/26
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Reading: Spielvogel p.137-164
- MQ (Spielvogel p.146) On a blank map of the Mediterranean region, be able to draw the boundaries of the Roman empire in 117 A.D.
- SQ Octavian, 31 B.C, princeps, Res Gestae, praetorian guard, Virgil, Seneca, Pantheon, Colosseum, Diocletian, Constantine, 476 A.D.
- EQ Student reports on: Caligula (article, biography), Claudius (article, biography), Nero (article, biography), Domitian (article, biography), Trajan (article, biography), Hadrian (article, biography)
Each of you has been assigned to a group which is responsible for one emperor. Summarize the most important things you learned from the article on your emperor and then pick out 1 or 2 anecdotes from the biography that are both fun and illustrate an important historical truth about him.
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R 10/27
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Professor John Miller fomr the Classics Department of the University of Virginia will be speaking on Augustus ("Octavian's Divine Dinner Theater") in Confer 127 at 7:30 PM. |
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F 10/28
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First draft due on Paper #2 -- Topic and Instructions for Paper #2
Introduction to play and to the Cities trip.
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C2 trip to the Cities. |
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WEEK 9 |
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M 10/31
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Individual advising sessions No class |
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T 11/1
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Professor Dugdale will be lecturing on the Middle Ages in SSC 101, beginning at 8:30 AM.
Reading: Spielvogel p.165-192
- MQ (Spielvogel p.186) Constantinople, Milan
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Visigoths, Vandals, Theodoric, Franks, Clovis, wergeld, ordeal, Donatism, Arianism, Ambrose, Gregory I, Benedict, Augustine, Jerome, Cassiodorus, Justinian, Constantinople, Hagia Sophia
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W 11/2
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Reading: The Rule of St. Benedict (p.15-96)
- EQ Which rule (or part of a rule) is your favorite and why?
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F 11/4
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Reading: Spielvogel p.198-218
- MQ (Spielvogel p.202) Saxony, Papal States, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Brittany, Aachen
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Charlemagne, Christmas day 800 A.D., scriptoria, Treaty of Verdun, Vikings, vassal, serf
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WEEK 10 |
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M 11/7
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Sicily Day Comparison of Granada, Constantinople, and Sicily |
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T 11/8
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Professor Steve Haggmark from the Religion dept. will lecture on Islam in Banquet Hall Room B, beginning at 8:30 AM.
Reading: Spielvogel p.192-195, 222-224
- MQ (Spielvogel p.195) Medina, Mecca, Jersualem
- SQ Briefly outline the historical significance of: Muhammad, Qur'an, Five Pillars of Islam, hajj, Shari'a, jihad, Ummayad dynasty, Abbasid dynasty, Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
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W 11/9
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Reading: The introduction on Einhard (p.12-15) and Einhard's Life of Charlemagne p. 51-90
- SQ Briefly outline the facts about Einhard which are most important to know in evaluating his biography of Charlemagne.
EQ How would you evaluate Charlemagne as a leader?
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F 11/11
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Reading: The introduction on Notker (p.21-27) and Notker's Life of Charlemagne p. 93-172
- SQ Briefly outline the facts about Notker which are most important to know in evaluating his biography of Charlemagne.
EQ Most readers judge Notker's biography of Charlemagne as more fictional than historical. In what ways do you think Notker's biography could be viewed as historically valuable?
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WEEK 11 |
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M 11/14
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Final draft of paper #2 due!
Meet at the library for a session on research papers.
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T 11/15
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EXAM #2 in Heritage Room, beginning at 8:30 AM. |
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W 11/16
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Reading: Spielvogel p.227-253
- SQ Briefly describe the historical significance of: carruca, knights, chivalry, Flanders, scholasticism, Abelard, Aquinas, Romanesque architecture, Gothic cathedral
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F 11/18
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Reading: Spielvogel p.254-282 + 5 different medieval sources (#1, 2, 4, 5, 6) on the speech of Pope Urban II at Clermont in 1095.
- SQ Briefly descibe the historical significance of: William of Normandy/1066, Henry II, Magna Carta, parliament, Philip II, Frederick I, Frederick II, Pope Gregory VII, Concordat of Worms, Pope Innocent III, Cistercian order, Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Catharism, Pope Urban II, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saladin
EQ Compare closely the five sources on Pope Urban's speech and come up with those aspects and details of the speech which you feel are most historically reliable (think about how and why you decide a certain aspect or detail is historically reliable). Then consider the following question: What was the most important cause of the First Crusade?
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WEEK 12 |
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M 11/21
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Reading: Abelard and Eloise (begin towards the bottom of p.64 where Abelard describes how he returned to Paris and began teaching in the university there)
EQ How would you evaluate Abelard’s responses to Eloise’s anxieties?
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T 11/22
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Presentation on Vocational Reflection by Chris Johnson, Spiritual Life by Brian Johnson, and a presentation by the Community Service Center in Heritage Room, beginning at 8:30 AM. |
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W 11/23
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Tell us your topic for Paper #3.
Reading: Spielvogel, p.283-312
- SQ Briefly describe the historical significance of: Black Death, flagellants, Jacquerie, Hundred Years War, battle of Crecy, battle of Agincourt, Joan of Arc, Edward III, condottieri, Pope Boniface VIII, papacy at Avignon, Catherine of Siena, Great Schism, Meister Eckhart, William of Occam, Dante, Chaucer, theory of the four humors
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F 11/25
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THANKSGIVING BREAK |
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WEEK 13 |
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M 11/28
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Reading: Herlihy, The Black Death and the Transformation of the West, p. 1-81
- EQ After the introduction there are 3 main chapters in this book. Which chapter do you find most persuasive and compelling (most sound argument, best use of evidence, most interesting) and why? Which chapter do you find the least persuasive and compelling (shakiest argument, questionable use of evidence, least interesting) and why?
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T 11/29
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Professor Panciera will be lecturing on the Renaissance in SSC 101 at 8:30 AM.
Reading: Spielvogel p.313-345
- SQ Medici family, Isabella d'Este, Machiavelli, Petrarch, humanism, printing press, Donatello, Michelangelo, Jan van Eyck, King Louis XI, Henry VII, Ferdinand and Isabella, John Wyclif, John Hus, Pope Julius II
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W 11/30
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Reading: This short biography of Petrarch, a selecton of his letters (The Ascent of Mont Ventoux, Defense of Quotations, Life at Vaucluse, His Dog and Canine Fidelity, His Brother Gherardo's Heroic Conduct during the Plague, A Fanatic Admirer of Cicero, A Letter to Cicero), and a few sonnets.
EQ In what ways do Petrarch's letters display the new spirit of the Renaissance as was discussed in yesterday's lecture.
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F 12/2
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Optional first draft of research paper due!
Reading: This short biography of Machiavelli and selections from his work, Discourses on Livy.
EQ Do you think that Machiavelli has anything to teach us about our own human nature, society, or government (i.e. do you agree with any of Machiavelli's analysis of human nature, society or government and do you think any of it could be applied to our own circumstances)?
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WEEK 14 |
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M 12/5
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Reading: Selections from the letters of Marsilio Ficino
- EQ One of the great virtues of Renaissance writers, artists, and intellectuals is that they used their rediscovery of the Greeks and Romans as a foundation for the creation of new art, literature, and ideas. Your assignment for today is as follows: Read through these letters of Marsilio Ficino (a Renaissance philosopher, scholar of Plato and Greek Philosophy, translator and commentator of Plato's Symposium, teacher and intellectual in Florence during the rule of the Medici family) and react to one of them IN ANY WAY YOU WANT. At the top of the page write "This is in response to/ inspired by/takes off from letter # _____of Ficino and THEN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT. You can do something conventional like an analysis of the way Ficino fits in with the spirit of the Renaissance OR create something completely different like a poem, painting, song, portion of a play, idea, advertisement, you can make a tape, ETC. -- ANYTHING GOES (so long as it is something inspired, even in the smallest way, by the Ficino letter).
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T 12/6
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Presentation on the Careers Service by Jeff Stucco, on Grants by Assistant Dean Mark Braun, and on Study Abroad by John Cha + student(s) in Heritage Room, beginning at 8:30 AM. |
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W 12/7
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Reading: Selections from Boccaccio's Decameron
EQ: Develop your own essay question for this reading and answer it.
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F 12/9
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Final draft of research paper due!
Presentations of student research (everyone must participate either in this presentation or the presentations next Tuesday, or both if you wish)
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WEEK 15 |
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M 12/12
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Reading: Selections from Boccaccio's Decameron; Petrarch's letter to Boccaccio about the Griselda story |
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T 12/13
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Review Revue Humorous student skits/performances on something from Historical Perspective I |
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W 12/14
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Last day |
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FINAL EXAM in SSC 106 and 107 |
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