Fall 2008 / Instructor: Matthew Kennedy
Wednesdays 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Arts Annex 181, Section 501, CCSF Main Campus, CRN 74162
Anthropology 5 satisfies CCSF Area D General Education, Area 4 IGETC, Area D1 CSU General Education, and UC Historical or Social/Behavioral Science Requirement.
“I’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion; mythology is an illusion that becomes reality.”
- Jean Cocteau
Office and Contact Information: Batmale Hall 340, phone 415/452-7107.
Email: mkennedy@ccsf.edu/ Website: www.ccsf.edu/mkennedy/
Office hours: Mondays and Fridays, 1 to 2 pm and by appointment.
Textbook and reading: Ancient Civilizations by Christopher Scarre and Brian M. Fagan, third edition. The book is on sale at the campus bookstore and at the usual outlets.
The reading is designed to compliment the lectures and should be completed during the week it is listed. There will be topics in the books we do not cover in class, so keep current! Some material from the readings that is not in the lectures will be on the tests. Material from films and slides shown during the semester will be on the tests as well.
Exams and Grading: There are four in-class tests each covering a section of the course. Each test will be worth 50 points and will be made up of short essay questions, multiple choice and true/false. The tests will be reviewed in class. Only three test scores will be counted; the lowest score will be thrown out. The final is worth 100 points and is scheduled for December 17.
Term Paper: There is a required term paper for Anthropology 5. It begins in small groups dedicated to one ancient civilization. Students concentrate on research for various aspects of these cultures (religion, technology, archaeology, agriculture, trade, etc.) and then present their research to the class. There should be sharing of research, books, photos, and other resources. Students will also turn in a term paper and be graded individually. Extra credit is available to students presenting their papers to the class on the due date of November 15.
The point breakdown looks like this:
September 17 test #1 - introduction, prehistory, and Mesopotamia
50 points
October 1 test #2 - Egypt 50 points
October 15 test #3 - India and China 50 points
October 29 test #4 - Greece and Rome 50 points
November 19 term paper 100 points
December 17 final - Maya, Aztec, Inca (comprehensive)
100 points
Total possible (3 out of 4 tests) 350 points
Tests will include multiple-choice, true-false and short answers using scantrons forms. There are no incompletes given and no make-up exams. Writing assignments are handed out far in advance, and early essays are always welcome, but late papers will not be accepted. Written assignments are to be three to four numbered pages, typed, double-spaced essays using MLA format. The course grade will be taken from these assignments that are a combination of point-system for the tests and film critiques and letter grades for the essays.
A Few Rules: I expect students to attend every class and to be on time, prepared, and attentive. If you have an emergency that prevents you from coming to class, you must contact me by phone, email, or in person or you may be dropped from the roster after two weeks of unexcused absences. You are responsible for all assignments whether you attend class or not. If you are absent, you should get missed assignments, notes, and handouts from a study partner or acquaintance in class, rather than asking me my least favorite question: “Did I miss anything important?” Keep in mind that in borderline cases, attendance, punctuality, and participation make a difference in the course grade.
To state the obvious, cell phones, iPods, etc., must be put away and silent during class. Repeat violations of this rule will result in disciplinary action though the Office of Student Services.
Personal integrity means, among other things, being clear about the origin and ownership of ideas. Taking credit for ideas and words that you did not generate is academic dishonesty. Typically, a student caught plagiarizing an essay or cheating on a test earns a failing grade in this course.
Extra Credit: There may be a special event or guest speaker that would involve a fieldtrip off campus. The American Anthropological Association is meeting in San Francisco November 19 to 23, and there may be opportunities to attend. We will review the options in class.
Course outline:
Human cultural invention is marked by a slow but unmistakable rise in the attempted control of nature. The domestication of plants and animals began one of our great epochs - from small-group hunters and gatherers to agrarian villagers to geographically extended state citizens who lived in what we consider the first civilizations. What were the circumstances that led us to make such fundamental changes in our way of life? What is the cost, to us and the planet, of population growth and mass consumption in huge permanent settlements? We will study the ancient past through archaeology and the first civilizations - from Mesopotamia to Egypt, China, India, Greece, and Rome to the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations of the Americas. Despite their great antiquity, They all have much to teach us about how civilizations rise and fall. Are we wise enough to read the messages of our forebearers?
The goals of this course are to give students a clear understanding of the conditions and origins of a distinctly modern way of life for the human species. By the end of the course, students should have specific knowledge of various civilizations as they evolved in different parts of the world and under different geographic, political, and ideological circumstances.
Class Schedule:
August 20 - Introduction and Syllabus Review
What is archaeology? What is civilization?
August 27 - The Village and Early Domestication
Jericho, Çatal Hüyük, Jomon, stone, metal, trade, religion, etc.
reading: Chapter 1 - The Study of Civilization and Archaeology and Chapter 2 - Theories of States
film: Guns, Germs and Steel (2005), R305
September 3 - The First Civilizations
Mesopotamia
reading: Chapter 3 - Mesopotamia: The First Cities (3500 - 2000 B.C.)
film: Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization (the Legacy series) (1991), R305
September 10 - The First Civilizations, continued
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Babylonian mathematics
September 17 - The First Civilizations, continued
Egyptian Civilization
reading: Chapter 4 - Egyptian Civilization
Test #1 (Introduction, Prehistory, and Mesopotamia)
September 24 - The First Civilizations, continued
The Rosetta Stone, the pyramids, The Sphinx
film: The Lost City of the Pyramids (2001), R304
October 1 - The First Civilizations, continued
South Asia, Mohenjo-Daro, the art and language
reading: Chapter 5 - Harappan and Later Civilizations
film: India: Empire of the Spirit (the Legacy series) (1991), R304
Test #2 (Egypt)
October 8 - The First Civilization, continued
The first Chinese civilizations, bronze, the great schools of philosophy
reading: Chapter 6 - The First Chinese Civilizations
slides: China, R304
October 15 - The Mediterranean World
The Minoans, Mycenaeans, and pre-Classical Greece
reading: Chapter 9 - The First Aegean Civilizations
Test #3 (India and China)
October 22 - The Mediterranean World, continued
The Etruscans, warfare, engineering, politics
reading: Chapter 10 - The Mediterranean World in the First Millennium (1000 - 30 B.C.) and Chapter 11 - Imperial Rome
film: Sinking Atlantis (Secrets of the Dead series) (2008), R304
October 29 - Early States in the Americas
The Maya
reading: Chapter 15 - Lowland Mesoamerica
Test #4 (The Mediterranean)
November 5 - Early States in the Americas, continued
Politics, the city-states, religion, Teotihuacán
reading: Chapter 16 - Highland Mesoamerica
film: The Lost Kingdom of the Maya (1993), R304
November 12 - Early States in the Americas, continued
The social order, the cosmos, and ritual sacrifice
reading: Chapter 17 - The Foundations of Andean Civilization
film: The Lost Pyramids of Caral (2002)
November 19 - Early States in the Americas, continued
“The Vertical Archipelago” and the Inca
reading: Chapter 18 - Andean States (200 B.C. - A.D. 1534)
film: Inca Mummies: Secrets of a Lost Empire (2002)
Term Papers Due
November 26 - Happy Thanksgiving!
December 3 - Term Paper Presentations
December 10 - Term Paper Presentations
December 17 - FINAL
Note: Changes made to this syllabus in class may not be made at this website.
