FACULTY OF LIBERAL ARTS AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES HUMANITEIS DEPARTMENT AP/HUMA 1710.6A The Roots of Western Culture. The Ancient World (1000BCE-400CE) 2017-2018 Schedule of Readings and Assignments Course Director: Professor C Bigwood cbigwood@yorku.ca Office: Founders 224 Office hours: Thusdays after class, or by appointment Course Secretary: You can get administrative help at the Humanities Department Office: Vanier College 262. Telephone 416-736-5158. Email: lapshuma@yorku.ca The Coursekit and the Text : Both are essential readings for this course and are available in York Bookstore: 1) Immediately purchase the Coursekit: HUMA 1710 Volume One for this year with my name on it. You should have purchased this and finished your readings for Sept. 7 before attending our first class. Yes you do need to attend first class. Volume Two will be available in January which you will need to purchase at that time or second term. 2) also purchase The Classical Greek Reader by Achity within the next couple of weeks. I will put a copy of the Text on Reserve at the Library (although it is not very expensive). If I am able to get a second copy of the Coursekit, I will also put that on Reserve. Course Objectives -To introduce students to some of the rich, varied, and interdisciplinary, ancient works at the roots of Western culture including letters, treatises (historical, religious, scientific), poetry (epic, lyrical), fiction (fables, drama), artifacts, art and architecture. -To introduce students to these ancient primary texts by analyzing their historical, social and political context. -To introduce students to a critical appreciation of how ancient history is made from patching together fragments from a variety of disciples; of how Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and their myths fluidly emerge and transform over time; and of fascinating syncretisms between ancient cultures. -To introduce students to critical interpretations of ancient texts, cultures, and religions by examining some works by scholars in the relevant disciplines. -To encourage students to be critically self-aware of the assumptions and values they may be bringing to the texts, so that they can appreciate the vast distances between our modern world and the ancient world. -To give students ample opportunity through writing assignments and discussion to wonder, think, ask questions, and generally attempt to confront the fascinating, ancient past. Organization of the Course : Class Format (one three hour session) and Attendance: This course involves one three- hour class per week in which there will be a lecture (about two hours) as well as a portion of time for student presentations/participation (about one hour). You should think carefully about whether you want to take a course with this condensed format. There are classes that are taught in three one hour slots over the week as well as twice a week in one and a half hour slots. The advantage of the shorter length is that you don t have to focus for so long, and if you miss one class it is only one third or one half of that
week s course content. While only have one class per week is convenient, it also means that it is a long class and if you miss one class, you are missing out on the entire lectures for that week. We have one short ten to fifteen minute break after about one and a half hours. About half way through the term, some students tend to want to leave at break and not come back for the second half. Please be aware that by getting into this bad habit, you are setting yourself up to essentially miss half of the lectures and will likely do poorly in the course and especially on the exams. It is the student s responsibility to attend all classes. The lectures will enrich, clarify and gather crucial ideas and concepts from the readings and viewings. Students are expected to attend all lectures, pay attention, take notes, ask questions. In the lectures I will often give advice on what to study for the exams. Occasionally I give the exact question that will be on the exam for that week s readings and lecture. Such advice for the midterm exam and final exam will only be given out in lectures. On occasion, pop quizzes (five quizzes totaling 5% of final mark) will be given during lectures based on the readings/viewings assignments for that week. Students who are absent for a pop quiz cannot make up the mark (unless they have documentation such as a doctor s note to support their absence). It is each student s responsibility to come to the class with questions about the readings, and to engage with the course director and other students concerning the course material. Students should also feel free to ask questions during lecture if there is something they do not understand. Consistently active students can receive bonus marks (up to five marks each term added to boost the student s exam marks). I expect you to be mindful of your use of laptops, or tablets in lectures. Cell phones should be turned off during lectures. Laptops and Tablets should ONLY be used for taking notes. You should not be emailing, checking updates on various social media, watching other material while in class. This is distracting to other students and is not conducive to learning. Students using their computer for other purposes than taking notes will be asked to leave the lecture. Please also refrain from talking to your friends since it is disturbing to other students. But please do ask questions at any time during lecture. Preparation for Lectures : Students are expected to have spent a couple of hours reading all the required readings before each lecture for that week. You can see the complete Schedule of readings in this document. The readings are central to the course and it is highly unlikely you will pass the exams for this course if you have not put effort into absorbing the readings before lectures. I would strongly recommend that you highlight important statements in the articles so you can bring your questions to class. I would strongly recommend that you set aside TWO blocks of reading times since there are quite a few readings (usually about 20 to 30 pages per week) to complete each week and sometimes you also have a response paper due that class based on the readings. Sometimes you have articles in the Coursekit to read and sometimes in both the Coursekit and in the Textbook (The Classical Greek Reader). To keep track of your readings that are due for class, please follow the Schedule below. You need to become familiar with the Moodle website where lecture powerpoints, turnitin links for all assignments including response papers, and essay. I will also be sending out the occasional announcement through Moodle to your student email with which you signed up (for example, your yorku.ca email account). Make sure you check your email account that you have connected to Moodle so you do not miss announcements such as sudden class cancellations due to weather conditions for example. Preparation for Exams: The exams will cover the material fairly evenly from the beginning of each term. Thus, each class (readings and lecture) represents about 10 marks on the exam. The midterm is on the first term material and the final exam is on the second term s material.
Students are often ill prepared for exams. It is advisable that you begin preparing for the exams right from the first class. Some of the exam questions in advance are based on recognizing passages from your readings so you need to have carefully read your readings. I will be giving you advice during the majority of the lectures as to what to focus on for the exam so you need to be present every class in order to hear this valuable information. Students who have been present every class will be quite confident by the end of term as to what to study for the exam. Now and then I will be reviewing what we have learned, but since I am giving you critical advice as we go along, I will not hold a review class before the exam. Your exam will take place in the last class of each term and not during the formal exam period. I will always post my power points shortly after the lecture so that students can review the material, take further notes, and prepare for exams. These power points should not be considered a replacement for lectures. Students using only power points to prepare for exams (and not doing the readings or coming class!) are precisely those students who will most likely fail the exam since they will be overwhelmed with information and have little comprehension or critical thinking on the material. Course Grading: 7 Response Papers (4 in first term) 35 % Pop quizzes (5 X 1%) 5% 1 Group Presentation 10 % Midterm Exam (Nov 30): 15 % Essay (1500-2000 words) (in second term) 15% Final Exam 20 % Lecture and Reading Schedule: First Term These short excerpts have been carefully compiled to prepare you for the lecture and assignments. Please make sure you do all your readings every week. They are not compiled in order of importance. Note I do give you some indication as to how many pages you have to read for that week so you can organize your time accordingly. Lecture One: Sept 7 th Readings (5 pages) due on this date: Introduction to the Course; Critically Thinking about the Past In the CourseKit: NOTE: Please see Table of Contents for actual page numbers of all Coursekit materials 1) A map of early civilizations 2) What is History? by Hall *Lecture Two Sept. 14: Understanding the Background: Introduction to a few Bronze Age civilizations around the Mediterranean: Sumerians, Minoans, Mycenaeans *Response One is due. The Minoans and Mycenaeans Readings (11 pages) due on this date:
In Course Kit: 1) Early Mesopotamian History: The Sumerian Period 3100-2000BCE 2) Myths of Origins, Kramer This Sumerian sacred story is one of the oldest known in the world about Inanna and the Huluppa Tree of Life. It involves Gilgamesh, a strange Zu-bird and Lilith who through Jewish and Christian writings is known as Adam s first wife and the first vampire!). 3) The Minoan and Mycenaean Ages 4) Minos Lecture 3) Sept. 21 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and its Interpretation; Genesis 1-3 Readings (19 pages): Online (or hard copy if you have): 1) Holy Bible: Genesis 1-3. Find and read online or in any edition/translation of the Hebrew Bible oor Old Testament. Recommended is the website for The New International Bible at biblica.com. since it is written in a more modern language style. In Coursekit: 2) A Sumerian Paradise (Dilmun) story that parallels and predates Genesis. The story begins at bottom of the page Dilmun is a land that is 3) The Nature of the Tradition, Anderson. This readings introduces you to the Source Hypothesis concerning the possible sources for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament. It postulates four sources: The Yahwist group (J); The Elohist Group (E). These in combination are called Old Epic source by Anderson; The Deuteronomistic Group (D); and The Priestly Group (P); 4) Primeval History and The Paradise Story, Anderson *Lecture 4) Sept 28 Genesis 4-22 Cain and Abel; Noah and flood; Tower of Babel; The Covenants; Abraham; Hagar and Ishmael; Isaac *Response Two is due: The Great Flood; Cain and Abel Readings (25 pages): Your first readings are from the Bible again: Online: 1) Holy Bible Genesis 4 Cain and Abel; Genesis 6-8 The Flood; Genesis 9 Ham s Curse; Genesis 11 The Tower of Babel; Genesis 12: Abram goes to Egypt Genesis 16 and 17: Hagar, Ishmael, Abram/Abraha); Genesis 18 and 19: Sodom and Gomorrah; Genesis 20: Abraham s lie ; Genesis 21: Isaac; Genesis 22 Abraham is tested In Coursekit: 2) The Sumerians, 163-164 : Flood story; Here again are a couple of Sumerian myths to compare and contrast 3.) The Sumerians 218-220 Dispute between Brothers story); 4) Anderson on Cain and Abel, The Great Flood, The Temptations of Culture 5) Anderson on The Trials of Faith
Lecture 5) Oct 5: Introduction to the Ancient Greeks: Birth of the Archaic Age from the Dark Ages. Practical Farm Life; Greek Genealogy of Gods; The Titans; Olympians, Prometheus; Pandora; Readings (20 pages) : In Coursekit: 1) The Dark Ages 2) Practical wisdom from Hesiod s Works and Days 3): Graves, The Birth of Aphrodite In your textbook The Classical Greek Reader: 3) The Classical Greek Reader: pp. 20-27 excerpt from Hesiod s The Theogony, Pay attention to the honouring of the Muses and their capacities; The Creation Story: Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky) and Kronos (their son who castrates his father, and who will be Zeus s father), Aphrodite s birth;, Prometheus (son of Iapetus), and the creation of Pandora. Note, when you see three dots (...), large chunks of the text have been omitted. 4) The Classical Greek Reader: 28 introduction to Hesiod s Works and Days; second part of p. 30 from Son of Iapetus to end of page 31 for the Prometheus-Pandora story ; p. 33-34 from I mean you well Perses for all kinds of advice from Hesiod. *Lecture 6) Oct 12 Two Olympians: Hera and Zeus; Olympia (site of Olympic Games) Response Three is due: Hera and Zeus Readings (12 pages): In Coursekit: 1) Graves Hera and her Children 2) Graves, Zeus and Hera 3) Olympic Games ; Olympia ; Olympians 4) The Nature and Purpose of the Homeric Hymns 5) Hymn to Gaia (Homeric Hymns) 6) Hymn to Hera (Homeric Hymns) Lecture 7) Oct 19 th Epic Poetry: Homer: The Iliad Readings (29 pages): In The Classical Greek Reader: 1) First read the Introduction to Homer s Illiad pp 3-4. The Illiad is the story of the Trojan War. It begins when the war has already been going on for ten years. In Coursekit: 2) The Dark Ages: contextualizing Homer (and Hesiod) as a coming out from the Dark Ages 3) Then turn to your Coursekit to read small excerpts from Book 3: This describes the battle between Paris (Helen s lover) and Menelaus (Helen s husband) which could have prevented further war but Paris is losing and Aphrodite rescues Paris;
4) excerpts from Book 8: It is interesting to look at the war from the level of the Olympian Gods. Here is a scene where Zeus forbids Gods to interfere and take sides in the battle; 5) excerpts from Book 9: This is a central part of the Illiad. Achilles, the great Greek hero has refused to fight this whole time because he is angry that Agamemnon has taken his girl! Agamemnon sends representatives (including Odysseus, the hero of the second great epic of Homer s which you will be reading next week) with lavish gifts of compensation. Examine Achilles arguments why he won t be persuaded to fight 6) excerpts from Book 14: This is a delightful scene where Hera manages to deceive the great Zeus; 7) excerpt from Book 20: An interesting scene where Zeus assembles gods in fear that Achilles will go against Fate itself. Zeus changes his mind and now orders the Gods to take sides in the battle; Oct. 26 th No class Lecture 8) Nov.2 Homer: The Odyssey Readings (26 pages): In Coursekit. 1) This is a story that takes place after the Trojan War and focuses on Odysseus attempts to get home again to his waiting wife Penelope. Your readings are not concerning the many adventures with strange inhabitants (we will leave this for class presentations) but mostly what is happening on the homefront in his native Greece. Excerpt from Book One : The Goddess Athena in disguise tells Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, to drive his mother s suitors away and find out what he can about his father; In your. The Classical Greek Reader: 2) pp. 12-20 Excerpt from Book 13 of The Odyssey: Odysseus return from his adventures. *Lecture 9) Nov. 9 th: Spartans and Athenians; Two Important Heroes: Theseus Herakles and *Response Four is due today. Hero worship Reading in your Coursekit (26 pages) : 1) Pomeroy, Education. Athenians kept tight control of their women and were shocked by the freedoms of the Spartan women. This article explains some of the latest research on what we know about the education of Spartan girls. The poetry of Alcman (same as Alkman) is featured which was written for choirs of Spartan girls. 2) Hymn to Artemis (Homeric Hymns) 3) Theseus 4) Herakles 5) Hymn to Herakles (Homeric Hymns) Lecture 10: Nov. 16 th Two Important Archaic Writers: Sappho, the Poetess; Aesop and his Fables; Review of Greek Archaic Age Readings (12 pages):
1) In your Classical Greek Reader pp. 58-63 Sappho. Sappho is the oldest known female poetess in Western history; She was held in great renown in the ancient world,. Only about 200 fragments have survived. 2) In The Classical Greek Reader: Read pp. 78-83 (Aesop s Fables); Lecture 11: November 23: Introduction to Greek Classical Age: Apollo and The Oracle of Delphi ; Democracy and Law in Athens; The Acropolis; Readings (21 pages): 1) In The Classical Greek Reader: Read pp.51-53 just the Introduction to Solon (who he is and law making) 2) In The Classical Greek Reader: 97-105: (Eumenides by Aeschylus: Athena is the judge in this important play: what is worse: For a son to kill his mother or a wife her husband?! 3) ) In Coursekit: Apollo 4) In Coursekit: Excerpt from Hymn to Apollo (Homeric Hymns) 5) In Coursekit: Delphic Oracle 6) In Coursekit: Cleisthenes instituted important reforms in law and democracy *12) Class 12: Nov 30: Midterm Exam (in class). You are allowed a 200 word tip sheet but every word must be numbered (by hand or typed). No hyphenated words. No word counts at end. Any Tip sheets with words that are not numbered Three hours; 15% of final grade.