As its title suggests, the purpose of this course is to give you a broad background in world historical events that unfolded from the emergence of human beings as a species to the early 15th century, the era in which human societies began to link the globe together using the world's oceans. I intend the course to familiarize you with the big picture while at the same time giving you the opportunity to look at some societies in depth.

Obviously with a task so large at hand and only one semester to work with, we will need some organizing principles and main themes to guide us. The most central concept in this course is that of culture. Rather than nations or peoples (though we will use these terms as well), this course emphasizes thinking about societies in terms of what people at all levels of all societies have done and do every day to get on. Thus while we must not and cannot ignore events, we will look at events in the context of a culture's development, rather than simply studying the events for their own sake. To understand past cultures in this course we will do two things: 1) look at how they developed practices and institutions to sustain themselves (traditions) and 2) examine their response to problems and their relationships with other cultures and peoples (i.e. their place in the world). Though we will quite literally cover the world in this term, we will give most of our attention to the places where most of the world's peoples were interacting: Eurasia and Africa.

In addition to learning about past societies and how they worked, the purpose of this course is also to teach you some skills that historians (and many who are not historians such as lawyers, doctors and computer scientists) use all the time: First and foremost, this course will expose you to the skills involved in analytical interpretation, which include 1) being able to recognize and retrieve different types of information from different sources 2) being able to organize a set of disparate information into categories 3) having the capacity to interrelate concepts across cultures and fields of endeavor and 4) possessing the skill to reason through a problem. The main way in which we will develop these skills is through source analysis, which will involve you in retrieving information from primary and secondary sources in printed and electronic form and then breaking that source material down in a manner that allows you to build a complete picture of a phenonomenon and even answer questions concerning the significance of that phenomenon. Next this course stresses critical thinking and critical reading, which in the context of this course means that you will learn to make use of the knowledge gained through your analyses to draw conclusions based on sound argument. This in turn implies that you will be exercising two further faculties: 1) your capacity to make judgments about an argument or idea and any inherent biases associated therewith and 2) that you will develop your awareness of the ethical contexts in which an idea or argument exists, with respect to the past and the present. The main way we will practice critical thinking and reading is through the in-class exercises and discussions that form a major component in this course. These will naturally also incorporate elements of source analysis and you will have a chance to test your master of both of these skill-sets on quizzes, papers, and a comprehensive final examination. Finally, this course will teach writing and effective oral communication.

Ideal Environment:

The heart of the class-room environment (for me) rests in enthusiasm, respect and openness. This may sound general, so I will elaborate. Enthusiasm means a persistent willingness to tackle the problems that come up in the readings and assignments for each week. It does not mean that everyone always has to show up happy and cheerful, but readiness to make a contribution to class is a must. Respect in the classroom means valuing each person's participation, not because their ideas are the best (although you might think so), but because they are trying to make a contribution to the group. Openness lies in the freedom for people to express their thoughts and opinions, which includes scope for debate and disagreement with me or anyone else. The closer we approach this ideal environment, the more the classroom will be an effective space for clarifying, making manageable and even experimenting with the issues confronted in the course. This ideal may not always be achievable, but in my view we should always strive for it.

Textbook: Jerry Bentley and Herbert Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global
Perspective on the Past, Volume I: From the Beginnings to 1500 (Boston:
Macgraw Hill Publishers, 2000) Primary Sources and Other Materials: Sima Qian, Historical Records, translated by Raymond Dawson
(Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1994)

The Poem of the Cid, translated by Lesley Byrd Simpson (Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press, 1957)

Supplementary Readings (indicated with the following phrase and symbol:
Supplementary Reading*)

Finally I will link sources and helpful web sites to the online syllabus and ask
you to analyze these. Please note, that where a ** appears next to a web-site
address (URL) the site in question may not be in the public domain and you may
be in violation of copyright if you download and print off pages from the site.
Online readings are not optional but rather an integral part of the course.

All of the above readings will be required for the course and (with the exception of the online materials and the supplementary readings) are available at the CU bookstore. The textbook by Bentley and Ziegler will give an overview of course themes and is essential reading to gain a sense of the basics. The three longer source readings, which are primary sources, will be central to the short formal essays that are an essential part of this course. With a few exceptions all other source materials will be available at the following web-site: www.fordham.edu/halsall, an internet site that provides a variety of internet source-books. Feel free to explore the site if you wish.

b. Discussion: This may seem like a small thing and something unrelated to the real stuff (passing the exams e.g.). I want to stress, though, that participation in discussion will count in your grade. I will gauge participation on a daily basis with a check, check-plus, check-minus system.

c. Informal Writings: Occasionally I may assign short writing exercises to help focus our discussions. Informal writing will also be graded with a check, check-plus, check-minus system and include comments.

d. Reading Questions: Every other week one half of the class will be responsible for submitting 2 questions to me via e-mail at the beginning of the week. These questions should be based on the readings for that week and I may sometimes structure some of our class time around them. If you want to know what group you are in for submitting questions or what weeks you are meant to submit questions click on the hypertext at the beginning of week two here. Each question set will be worth 2 participation measurements or 20 points, which is the equivalent of 2 days of class.

e. Credit for Participation: Informal writing(s), class discussion etc. will be worth 20% of the final grade. I will count each set of e-mailed questions, each day you show up in class and each informal writing as two participation measurements for which you can receive up to 20 points. To have a fair shot at an A in participation you must have a minimum of 40 measurements or a potential to recieve 400 points. If you have less than 40 measurements, then your participation grade will naturally suffer.

Reaction Papers:

You will have to write three reaction papers in this course on the following works: Sources on Ancient Babylonia (web-based selections), Historical Records, and The Poem of the Cid. Each of these papers will count for 15% of your grade for a total of 45%. General guidelines for the papers will be available by clicking the hypertext in this sentence. You can access specific guidelines for each of the three projects by clicking the hypertext highlighted titles you see immediately above.

Examinations and Quizzes:

There will be four quizzes worth 15% of the final grade in total and a final examination worth 20% of the total grade. The quizzes, which will entail analytical writing, will increase in complexity and in value as the term progresses (quiz 1: 3%, quiz 2: 4%, quiz 3: 4% & quiz 4: 4%) and will prepare you for the final examination, which will be an essay-based examination and will be held over two days on Thursday, December 13, and on Friday, December 14 during the regular class time, 11:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. I will drop the lowest score of your three quizzes, so only three of the quizzes actually "count" in the final balance. Grading Standards: General guidelines for my grading standards for all written work (including the formal writings listed above) are available by clicking the hypertext in this sentence. Guidelines specific to a given writing assignment or examination are available in the on-line descriptions/review sheets of the assignments and examinations.

Guidelines for Academic Work:

Late Papers:The following policy applies to all late papers for this course that will receive a letter grade. All papers submitted at any time on the day that the paper is due will be considered on time. Papers submitted after that date, no matter what the reason may be, will be automatically marked down one grade. You will then have ten days from the original due date to turn in the paper. If in that time you are unable to complete the work, the paper will receive a zero. NO PAPERS MAY BE SUBMITTED VIA E-MAIL!!!

Late Informal Writings: No late informal writings will be accepted, so don't ask. Remember, though, that your participation grade is a composite of your performance in class, your e-mailed questions and your performance on informal writings. As long as you manage to achieve a total of 40 measurements, it will not matter to me how you do so. Although I will obviously keep track of what you do by way of participation I would advise you to remain aware of where you stand for yourself so that you know whether or not you are achieving the necessary minimum level of participation. Missed

Examinations and Quizzes: As noted above, there are a number of quizzes and a final examination for this course. There will be no make-ups for quizzes. I will, however, drop your lowest quiz score, so if you happen to miss a quiz, I will only count the scores on the other three quizzes that you do take. Make-ups for the final examination will be allowed only under extraordinary circumstances and the nature of any make-up final given will be determined at my discretion.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the representation of the work of another as your own. In all of the writing you do for this course you must make clear to me which ideas in a paper are your own and which come from someone else. This is especially important for any formal essays you write. In these such essays you must cite all primary and secondary sources you use in accordance with the proper conventions. I will hand out a sheet explaining the basics of citation before any formal essays come due. If for some reason you do not receive a copy of this hand-out, do not assume you will be exempt from following its guidelines. In cases of plagiarism, the Department of History and Government at CU follows the plagiarism policy in the 2000-2001 "Student Handbook," pp. 207-211. Please heed this warning.

Schedule of Readings, Lecture Topics, Assignments and Activities

Please note, the syllabus is subject to change if I judge that this is necessary.

From Prehistory to History: the Emergence of Human Societies

Week 1

(10/16) Introduction and Get Acquainted

(10/17) Prehistory I: The First Humans and the First Human Societies

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 1-16.

(10/18) Fall Break

(10/19) Fall Break

(10/22) Prehistory II: Paleolithic Culture

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 16-19.

Further Paleolithic Reference Materials for the Interested:
http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?mod=1&ti=761566394&page=6#s31**
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761555928#s1**
http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vwsu/gened/learn-modules/top_longfor/lfopen-index.html**

(10/23) Prehistory III: The First Agricultural Revolution and the Emergence of Neolithic Societies

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 19-29.

(10/24) Prehistory IV: Geography, Ecology and the Origins of the First Human Societies I

Re-Examine: Traditions & Encounters, 10-11, 22-23.
Read: Traditions & Encounters, 31-37, 79-82, 103-105 and 429-433.

(10/25) Prehistory V: Geography, Ecology and the Origins of the First Human Societies II

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 57-62.
Examine and Take Notes on One Topic (excluding the topics, "resources," "Harappa Walk," and "Mohenjo daro") on: Harrapan Web-Site
at: http://www.harappa.com/har/har0.html**

The Indus Valley Region

(10/26) Early Societies in India to 400 B.C.E.

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 62-77.

(10/29) The Caste System in India

Read: The Laws of Manu, Chapter IV at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.html
Take: Quiz #1

(10/30) External Threats, Empire and Expansion in Egypt and Mesopotamia

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 37-40, 50-55 plus either
http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/history/War/Classical/Egypt/1294-Kadesh.htm,**
http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/history/War/Classical/Egypt/1469-Megiddo-Egypt.htm,**or
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1326khita.html.

(10/31) Comparing Law and the State in Egypt and Mesopotamia

Read: Excerpts from the Precepts of Ptah-Hotep:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/ptahhotep.html
and Mesopotamian legal anthology at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/2550mesolaws.html

(11/1) Economic and Social Structure in Egypt and Mesopotamia

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 40-46 and the following selections:
On Babylonia: excerpts from Hammurabi's Code at:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/hammurabi.html**
and some sample contracts at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/mesopotamia-contracts.html;
and for comparative information on Egypt see: http://www.anthro.mankato.msus.edu/prehistory/egypt/dailylife/dailylife.html.**

(11/2) Religion and Writing in Ancient Babylonia

Read: either Babylonian Proverbs: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1600ashubanipal-proverbs.html; Babylonian prayers:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1600babylonianprayers.html; and the primer at:
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/assyrbabyl-faq.html.**

(11/5) Religion and Writing in Ancient Egypt through the New Kingdom

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 46-49 and the
hymn to Aten: http://kate.stange.com/egypt/hymn.htm.**
compare this selection to Psalm 104; and the optional background material at:
http://www.anthro.mankato.msus.edu/prehistory/egypt/religion/religion.html.**

(11/6) Death in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

Read: Excerpts from the Book of the Dead: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/ra-ani.html &
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/EGYPT/BOD125.HTM** and optional glossary of terms on Egyptian religion: http://members.aol.com/tokapu/02resource.html.**

(11/7) Early History

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 82-99.
Turn In: Informal Writing on Babylonian or Egyptian Religion

China to 220 C.E.

(11/8) Philosophies of Order and Conduct in Classical China

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 153-161.

(11/9) Overview of the Qin Dynasty There will be class today, training holiday notwithstanding.

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 161-166

(11/12) Veteran's Day Celebrated, No Class

(11/13) Sima Qian's Approach to and Chronology of the History of the Qin Dynasty

Read: Historical Records, vii-xx, 63-107.
Turn In: Formal Writing #1

(11/14) The Biographies of Lu Buwei, Jing Ke , Li Si, and Meng Tian

Read: Historical Records, 3-61.

(11/15) The Han Dynasty and the Life of Sima Qian

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 166-177.
Historical Records, 109-140.
Take: Quiz #2

(11/16) Classical Indian Society

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 177-187
The Arthashastra at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/kautilya1.html

(11/19) Religion in Classical India

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 187-197.
Web Selections:
Selected Indian Tales at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/hindutales.html

(11/20) Greek Society and the Emergence of the Polis

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 199-217.

(11/21) Thanksgiving, NO CLASS

(11/22) Thanksgiving, NO CLASS

(11/23) Thanksgiving, NO CLASS

(11/26) Greek Politics and the Greek Mediterranean

Read: Greek View of India: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/greek-india.html

(11/27) The World of the Greek Polis and the Roman World Compared

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 225-237.
Third Punic War: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/polybius-punic3.html
Cicero, On the Laws: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/cicero-laws1.html
Praise of the First Roman Emperor (focus on Virgil): http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/augustanencomions.html
Turn In: Formal Writing #2

(11/30) The World of the Greek Polis and the Roman World Compared, II

Read: Traditions and Encounters, 249-272.

(12/3) Roman Society, Roman Religion and Christianity

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 237-247.
Satire on Roman Women: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/juvenal-satvi..html
and one of the following web-sources:
Immigrants in Rome: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/martial9-3.html
The Gentleman of Leisure: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/plinyyoung-letters3-1.html
Stoicism: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/persius2.html
Jesus: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/JewishJesus/josephus.html**
Take: Quiz #3

(12/4) Integration and Disintegration in the Late Classical Era

Read: Traditions and Encounters, 249-272.

Week 8

(12/5) The Establishment and Spread of Islam I

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 303-325 and
1) Surahs 1 & 47: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/koran-sel.htmland
2) Conquest of Egypt: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/642Egypt-conq2.html
or the Conquest of Spain: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conqspain.html

Look At: Islam in West Africa: http://web-dubois.fas.harvard.edu/dubois/baobab/narratives/islam/WestTrade.html**or Islam in East Africa: http://baobab.harvard.edu/narratives/islam/EastTrade.html**

(12/6) The Establishment and Spread of Islam II

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 355-376 and
Muslim Policy for Non-Muslims: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html
or Life in Baghdad: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1000baghdad.html

(12/7) Christian Societies in Western Europe: An Overview and Some Evidence

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 379-396 and
1) Slavery and Serfdom in Europe: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/549Orleans.html or
Early Inheritance Laws: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/450allods.html or
Early Inheritance Laws II: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/475Visisucc.html or
Early Justice: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ordeals1.html and
2) Conversion of Clovis of the Franks: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gregory-clovisconv.html

(12/10) The Spain of the Cid

Read: The Poem of the Cid, Canto 1-3.

Week 9

(12/11) European Culture in the High Middle Ages

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 451-470, and one of the internet modules below:

Rural and Urban Life:
1) Rural Life in England: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1086Winchestermanor.html or
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/manor-marr1.htmland
2) Town charter: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1127stomer.html or
Craft Gild Rules: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1233Weavers4.html or
Merchant Gild Rules: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/guild-sthhmptn.htmland
3) Trade Regulation: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1249butchers1.html or
Business Contract: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1242barcelonabusagreement.html

Church:
Cluniac Monasticism: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1143clairvaux.html
The Franciscan Order: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stfran-test.html
Illuminated Manuscript of Dominican Prayer: http://www.op.org/DomCentral/places/stjude/NineWays.html
Confession: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tales-confession.html

Heresy:
Heresy: http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/jfournhm.htm(choose one confession)**

Gender and Sexuality:
1) Duties of Husband and Wife: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/bernardino-2sermons.htmland
2) Marital Suit: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/hyams-wifesues.htmland
3) Sexual Deviancy: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1395rykener.html or
Thomas Aquinas on Sexual Deviancy: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas-homo.html

(12/12)How Europeans, Africans, and Asians Saw the World c. 1350-1500 + Review

Read: Traditions & Encounters, 469-475, 501-521
either An Arab View of Africans: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/860jahiz.html or
or Account of Ghana: http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/reader/ghana.htm** and
either John of Montecorvino http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/corvino1.html or
the legend of Prester John http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/mandeville.html or
Columbus at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
Examine:Mansa Musa's Kingdom (map): http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/images/jpeg/i8_0000m.jpg**

(12/13) Review

Turn In: Formal Writing #3

(12/14) Final Examination