HCIV101
History
of Civilization 101
This page includes information about the
HCIV101 course which I am teaching during the Spring Semester. Please scroll
down for the Course Outline,
General Bibliography,
and Course Assessment,
and follow the links for individual bibliographies for each topic.
For some help with preparing and writing
your HCIV101 essays, please see my essay guide!
For an introduction to online and printed
resources for the course, see the Library’s HCIV Subject Room
and also the Delicious
page.
Course
Outline
This course will be divided up into four
topics, and each ‘topic’ will last three weeks. The
structure of the course will be as follows:
In this topic we will examine some of the
earliest civilizations and empires of the
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Sumerians: the Epic
of Gilgamesh
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Babylonians: Enuma Elish
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Hittites: the ‘Kumarbi Cycle’
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Greeks: Hesiod’s Theogony
2: The Classical World:
Greeks and Romans
In this topic, we will examine the earliest
'philosophical' societies in the West, as well as
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Aristotle's Ethics
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In this topic, we will examine the
development of religious thought and especially the idea of One God:
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Zoroasterianism: the Avesta
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Judaism: the Torah
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Christianity:
the New Testament
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Islam: al-Qur’an
4: The Middle
Ages and the Renaissance
In this topic, we will read a number of ‘cycles’
of stories and examine what they can tell us about the different medieval
societies and cultures which produced them:
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Western Europe:
Chaucer's
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General
Bibliography
For historical background, use the standard
textbook for HCIV101:
KISHLANSKY, Mark,
Patrick Geary and Patricia O’Brien, Civilization in the West,
2 vols., 3rd edition (New York: Longman, 1997): vol. I, chapters 1 – 11.
FF Copies of the textbook are available in the
university’s bookstore, and there is also a copy on ‘reserve’ in the library.
In addition, a separate bibliography will be supplied every
week: this will include the relevant page- or chapter-references for each
‘topic’, plus a fuller bibliography for each individual text we will be
reading.
Course
Requirements and Assessment
The academic assessment of this
course will be divided into five parts:
Written Papers
Each student will be required to submit two
written papers during the course of the semester. These papers should be about
6 pages in length. The essays will be submitted to Turnitin
via Moodle
and not directly to me.
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These papers
will account for 20% of the total final-grade (ie., 2 х 10%)
Oral Presentation
Each student will be required to make one
‘oral presentation’ during the course of the semester: that is, a paper which
he or she will read out in class.
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This
presentation will account for 20% of the total final-grade.
Mid-Term Exam
On Thursday 27 March there will be a mid-term
examination. This will be a 2-hour ‘in class’ exam relating to topics 1 and 2.
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This final exam
will account for 20% of the total final-grade.
End-of-Term Exam
At the end of the semester, there will be a
final examination. In order to take the Final Exam, students should have
completed all course-requirements to-date and
have no more than 10 unexcused hours’ absence.
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This final exam
will account for 30% of the total final-grade.
Attendance
Students must attend at least 75%
of the course (that is, you will be permitted up to 10 absences our of the 42 total teaching hours for this semester).
Anyone who has over 10 absences (without presenting a medical note) will
automatically be awarded an F as the final grade. You have been
warned!
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Attendance and
participation will account for 10%
of the total final-grade.
Cheating and Plagiarism
The University has strict rules concerning
students who cheat or plagiarize. A student who reproduces exactly the
words, opinions or ideas of someone else without giving the appropriate
source (eg., the textbook) will receive ‘F’ for that
piece of work and may be liable to further disciplinary action (eg., suspension from the university for between one week to
one month); and, in cases where a student submits work which was composed by another
student, both students are liable to suspension of between one or two
semesters. Again, you have been warned!