Syllabus for:
History 344: Ancient
Call# 69141
Room 209 MWF
Department
of History Office
Phone: 777-6379
william.caraher@und.nodak.edu Office
Hours: M 3-4 T 2-3
Introduction
and Welcome:
Hello! And I hope you all had a pleasant and
relaxing winter holiday. The following
syllabus outlines the philosophy, procedures, and standards for this
class. The attached reading list will provide
you with the readings for the course which are from either the textbook or from
primary source reader. In addition to
these readings there will be supplemental readings which I will post from time
to time on the class’s web site. This
class is very reading intensive, and will require you to read carefully and
thoroughly.
It is
important to stress up front that this course will have an ESSENTIAL online
component. So, it is crucial that you
become familiar and comfortable with the class web site in Blackboard where
course material, class discussions, and supplemental material will be posted
daily. The web page can be accessed by going to “My UND (Blackboard)” on the
University’s main web site (www.und.nodak.edu),
and then clicking on the “My UND (Blackboard)” tab under the FOR STUDENTS
heading on the left side of the webpage.
It will be essential for you to become comfortable with the course’s
website and check it daily.
The
class reading list and syllabus is on the website now!
Consult
it today!!
Course
Goals:
The
primary goal of this course is to explore the history and legacy of the
The
goals of the class, therefore, can be summarized as follows:
Required
Course Material
Attendance
at one showing of
Assignments
and Grading:
Midterm
25%
This
will be an in class essay exam administered during the 7th or 8th
week of the semester.
Paper
25%
This
paper will be based on a more intensive reading and analysis of two or more of
the primary sources assigned in the class.
The paper will be relatively short 5-7 pages, but I will expect it to be
well written and draw heavily upon the primary documents. It will be due the 15th week of
the semester.
Final
35%
The
final will be a midterm covering the final third of the class (25%) plus a
cumulative question. It must be administered and taken
during the scheduled exam period.
Participation
15%
Participation
will be awarded based on in class and online discussion.
Discussion
and Participation:
Each
week there will be time set aside in class when we will discuss the primary
source readings in some depth. To focus
and facilitate discussion, I will post questions on the class web page each
week in order to help guide your reading.
Occasionally
I will encourage online discussion board prior to and following in class
discussion. Participation on the class
discussion board will count toward your overall participation grade and
provides an opportunity for students who are less comfortable participating in
discussions conducted in class to receive credit and influence their fellow
students. Even if you decide not to discuss
the sources online, it will remain absolutely necessary for all
students to follow the online discussion.
It goes without saying that the in class and online discussions will
produce material that will appear on tests and in your papers. Moreover, all discussion provides you with
opportunities to test ideas, explore your own understanding of the material,
and become comfortable participating in an educated and informed discourse.
Reading
List:
This
is the reading list for the semester. It
may appear pretty daunting, but I can give you some tips on tackling it. First, reading the primary sources should be
your top priority. You can use the
textbook as a resource. Second, I will
regularly offer direction for your reading either in class or online. Read the entire assignment, but focus your
attention on the issues which I raise.
Finally, get started early. You
will notice that some readings are assigned for multiple weeks. This is to encourage you to get reading
early. If you try to leave any of this
to the last minute, you will really struggle.
Be sure to note that some of the readings are on the class web site and
some remain TBA (to be announced!). TBA
readings will be posted on the web and are every bit as important as readings
from the primary source reader!!
The
Romans = Boatwright et al., The Romans from
Village to Empire.
The
Historians = Mellor ed., The Historians of
Ancient
Week
1 January 12th-14th :
Introduction and Early
The
Historians, 1-15, 147-150.
The
Romans, 288-298.
Week
2 January 19th-21st :
Monday
Martin Luther King Day No Classes
The
Historians, 147-246
The
Romans, 1-31.
Week
3 January 24th-28th : Early
The
Historians, 147-246
The
Romans, 32-96.
Week
4 January 31st-February 4th :
The
The
Historians 15-59 especially 47-53, 246-322
The
Romans, 97-135.
Week
5 February 7th-11th : The
The Historians 15-59, 246-354, especially 322-354.
The Romans,
136-150.
Week
6 February 14th-18th : The
Challenges of Empire
The
Historians, 322-354.
The
Romans, 136-150.
Week
7 February 23st-February 25th : The Late Republic
Monday
Presidents’ Day No Classes
The
Historians, 61-112.
The
Romans, 153-224.
Week
8 February 28th-March 4th : Caesar and Civil War
The
Historians, 113-146.
The
Romans, 225-266.
Week
9 March 7th-11th :
The Age of
The Historians, 355-478, especially 355-364.
The
Romans, 267-352.
[March
14th-18th Spring Break No Classes]
Week
10 March 21st-23rd : The Flavians
The
Historians, 478-491.
The
Romans, 353-364.
Good
Friday No Classes
Week 11 March 30th-April 1st :
The High Empire
Easter
Monday No Classes
The
Historians, 493-512.
The
Romans, 365-405.
Week
12 April 4th-8th : The Severans
Texts
from
The
Romans, 406-430.
Week
13 April 11th-15th : The Crisis
of the Third Century and Late Antiquity
Texts
from
The
Romans, 431-446.
Week
14 April 18th-20th : The Age of
Eusebius,
Life of
The
Romans, 447-454
Week
15 April 25th-29th : The
Successors to
TBA
Paper
Due
Week
16 May 2nd-4th : The End of
Antiquity and the Legacy of
TBA
Final
Exam During Regularly Scheduled Exam Time.