HIST2005 Introduction to World History: Antiquity
[not for students who had taken HIST4391]

The ancient Mediterranean world (c. 800 BCE-250 CE) is often seen as the fountainhead of “Western” culture, but what was it really like? This course will have two aims: to understand the core contributions (philosophical, political, literary, etc.) of the ancient Mediterranean world to later periods of “Western” history, and to understand its relationship to the rest of the world (Han China, India, ancient Near East, etc.). To do so, we will focus on a series of “moments” (and the related sources), which either had a particular influence on later periods or display the interconnectedness of the ancient world. It will also include a visit to the University Library to examine reproductions of ancient Western material culture.

Week 1 (Sep 6): What is the “West”? The Key Questions of the Course Readings: Anthony Appiah, Western Civilization; Frank Jacobs, Where is Europe?

Week 2 (Sep 13): Archaic Greece: Linear B and the East Face of Helicon Readings: The Greek Alphabet part 1, part 2 (section 14 only); Homer Iliad (bk 1 only). 

Week 3 (Sep 20): The Greek Polis, Warfare and Democracy Readings: Pericles’ Funeral Oration; Old Oligarch, Constitution of the Athenians.

Week 4 (Sep 27): Greece and the World: The Persian Wars and Alexander Readings: Herodotus Bk. VII.138-239 (Thermopylae); Portrait of Alexander the Great.

Writing Greek words quiz.

Tutorial 1 on Week 3 Reading.

Week 5 (Oct 4) Holiday

No class

Oct 6, 2:30-4:00PM – Visit to UL Special Collections Room to view museum objects. Students who cannot attend should watch video tour.

Week 6 (Oct 11): Greek Philosophy, The Many Paths to Happiness Readings: EITHER Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Books 1&2; OR Plato, Meno (all). Mapping the Mediterranean Quiz.

Week 7 (Oct 18): The Etruscans Readings: Etruscan Art; Herodotus & Livy; Polybius, II.17-25.

Week 8 (Oct 25): Rome: Foundation, Growth and the Clash with Carthage Readings: Livy, Ab urbe condita, Bk 1; Vergil, Aeneid Book 1, lines 1-33.

Tutorial 2 on Week 8 Reading

Week 9 (Nov 1): Rhetoric and Cicero. Readings: Rhetorica ad Herennium (All of Bk 1; Bk 4.28-40 only [on memory]) (required); Cicero, Pro Caelio (optional). Public Speaking Workshop.

Week 10 (Nov 8): Rome: Republic to Principate. Reading: Polybius, Histories, Bk 1, ch. 1-4; Bk 6, ch. 1-18.

Tutorial 3 on Week 11 Reading

Week 11 (Nov 15): Rome, India and China Readings: Pliny, Natural History, VI.20-39; Chinese sources on Rome.

Tutorial 4 on Week 12 Reading

Week 12 (Nov 22): Roman Law, Slavery and Empire. Readings: XII Tables, Justinian, Institutes, 1,1-6 (persons); Institutes, 2,1-6 & 10-12 (property); Institutes, 3,23-25; Institutes, 4,3-5 (obligations – contract and delict); Digest 40.1-4 (manumission); “Imperium” in Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World [online through library website].

CTE at beginning of class.

Week 13 (Nov 29): Religion: Christianity, Judaism and Roman Religion. Readings: Pliny the Younger, Letter on the Christians; Josephus, Jewish War, Book 1 (preface only) & Book 6 (all).

20% attendance and participation in lecture Each student is required to attend the weekly lecture and the tutorials, as well as participate in class exercises, discussions, etc. (5%). Students must also ask at least two questions over the course of the semester (you must announce your name before you ask the question) (15%) with half the grade given for asking the questions (7.5%), then the other half given for the quality/relevance of the questions (7.5%). From time to time, I will also cold-call students on students.

Students will also be expected to attend at least three meetings of the world history seminar (advertised on the departmental website), as well as office hours on at least one occasion.

30% Participation in tutorial, including 10-minute individual oral presentation on reading (10% for presentation part) Active and engaged participation in tutorial. In each tutorial, one or several students should give a 10-minute presentation (with PowerPoint) consisting of 5-minute summary of one reading/image of your choice followed by 5-minute argument about why it is relevant to the key questions of the course. Please keep to 10 minutes total! This should not overlap substantially with the text/topic of your digital essay. If you refer to Greek terms and names, please write them in the Greek alphabet. There will then be 5 minutes for the TA and other students to ask questions; each student must ask at least one question during one of the four tutorials. You must email the PowerPoint presentations to the TA at least 1 hour in advance of class. You will receive a grade and comments based on ideas (40%), structure (20%), style (20%) and oral/gestural delivery (20%). The sign-up sheet for individual texts/images will be passed around in week 3.

20% 2 In-Class Quizzes There will be two short quizzes: writing Greek words (Week 4) and mapping the Mediterranean (Week 5) [see week 1 PP].

30% 2000-Word Final Project Either Write a 2000-word research paper on one of the museum objects we look at during the workshop. You will need to go to study the object (arrange this with professor), and probably do a small amount background research on the materials, production, use, historical context, etc. The instructor can provide additional reading. Due on Friday of Week 13 at 5pm via email to Professor.

Or Write a traditional 2000-word argument driven essay on a topic of your choice. Here is some inspiration: · Was the ancient Mediterranean ruled more by rhetoric than law? · Did Rome/Athens develop in isolation? · Was Plato or Aristotle a better guide to a good life? · Was Stoicism a better philosophy for the Roman Empire than Platonism? · Any other question of your choice… · Due on Friday of Week 13 at 5pm via email to Professor.

Or Answer an essay question of your own choice in the form of a 2000-word digital Story Map. This “illustrated digital essay” should be in the form of a Story Map of around 10 pages using https://storymap.knightlab.com/ and include relevant maps (generated by Story Map). The main task of the Story Map is explaining and making an essay-style argument about the events, topic or development (80-100-word paragraphs per slide), and include any images (from Wikicommons, lecture PowerPoints or elsewhere making sure to quote your source), and at least 3 relevant short quotations from sources you have read for class. Use Watercolor background. You must discuss your ideas with the TA or instructor before Week 11. Due on Friday of Week 13 at 5pm via email to instructor (email the Knightlab internet link to the instructor and submit a Word Doc. of the text only via Veriguide).

All readings will be primary sources. However, students looking for a textbook may refer to the relevant chapters in Norman Davies, Europe: A History. 2014 (copies in UL). More detailed treatments are found in J. Boardman, J. Griffin, and O. Murray, Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World (2002) and D. Potter, Ancient Rome: A New History (2014, etc.), which are available for purchase in various locations. For the class, however, you need only attend the lectures and do the provided readings for full credit.

Students should also look up the authors they are presenting on in The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World [available online through library catalogue].

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.