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

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

January 17

Course Introduction

January 19, 24, & 26

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

* Chapter 1 in text to be discussed on January 19.

* Gilgamesh Excerpts and Summary - to be discussed on January 24 & 26.

* 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 study questions. You don't need to turn in your answers, but DO be prepared to discuss them in class.

January 31 & 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 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 7, 9, 14, & 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 February 7, 9, & 14. Aristotle's Poetics is included on the unit assignment page but is not required reading.

* Study Questions 3 (Oedipus) will be discussed in class on February 9 & 14.

* FILM: Greek Theatre/Oedipus Rex and In-class Response 1 on February 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 February 16. Aristotle's Poetics is included on the unit assignment page but is not required reading.

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

* Photos from Ancient Greece - Bronze Age and Beyond!

February 21

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

* Epicurus - Letter to Menoeceus

* Study Questions 5 will be discussed in class on September 20.

February 23 & 28

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 2/28 (also includes questions relating to Tertullian, below).

March 1

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.

March 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 3/6 (Includes questions relating to Beowulf, below).

March 8

Late Rome and Rome's "Heir Civilizations" 2:   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 3/8.

* 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

March 13

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 3/13) and Canterbury Tales (discussed 3/20).

* 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. :)

March 15 - MIDTERM EXAM

- Bring your textbook and notes, at least one 8.5"x11" bluebook, and blue or blackballpoint ink pens!

March 20

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 3/13) and Canterbury Tales (discussed 3/20).

March 22

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

* Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting: Book 2

* Study Questions 9 to be discussed on 3/22 (Alberti) and 3/27 (Castiglione & Machiavelli).

March 27

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 3/22 (Alberti) and 3/27 (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."

March 29& April 10 ( NO CLASS April 3 & 5 - SPRING BREAK)

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 3/29 & 4/10.

* Vivaldi - Spring from The Four Seasons

April 12 & 17

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 4/12 and 4/17.

* 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 19, 24, 26 and May 1 & 3

* Study Questions 12 to be discussed in class on April 19 & 24.

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 DOCUMENTARY on 4/24.

* FILM: Fritz Lang's Metropolis on April 26 and May 1 & 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 8, 10, & 15

* Study Questions 13 to be discussed in class.

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)

* Paper #2 DUE on May 10- based on Shelley, Marx, and Metropolis. To be submitted via Turnitin.com. Prompt to be posted HERE.

* FILM: Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair on May 10 & 15.

* In-class film response #3 - on May 15.

May 17 - FINAL EXAM - 10-11:50am.

- Bring your textbook and notes, at least one 8.5"x11" bluebook, and blue or blackballpoint ink pens!