Freshmen Seminar: Digging for Dragon Bones
Instructor: Rod Campbell rbc2@nyu.edu
Office: Room 401, 15 East 84th street, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
09/02 – Introduction – From the End of the Ice to the Rise of Empire
09/09 – Time and Space – the History, Geography and Chronology of Archaeology
in China
- Readings: Thorp (excerpt - 6pp), Liu and Chen chapter 1-2 (41), hand out
(TBD) – total pages: 60
09/16 – End of the Ice – Foragers, Collectors and Early Food Production
- Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 3 (33); Boaretto et al. (6); Barton (4);
Allan chapter; Formation of Chinese Civilization chapter 2 – total reading
~75 pages.
- Assignment: geography quiz
09/23 – Agriculture and Sedentism – or “Neolithic” what’s in a name?
- Readings: Larson et al. (8); Fuller (7); Bettinger (13); Cohen (13), Liu and
Chen chapter 4 (36) total: 77 pgs
- Assignment: chronology quiz
09/30 – “The Early Neolithic” – Growing Sedentism and Food Production70005000 BCE
- Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 5 (44); Formation of Chinese Civilization
chapter 3 (~30) total pages ~74
- Assignment: Short essay on early farming and the significance of the
Neolithic.
10/07 – Emerging Social Complexity – The Middle Neolithic 5000-3000BCE
Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 6 (41), Formation of Chinese Civilization
chapter 4 (~30) total pages ~71
Assignment: Group presentations on readings
10/14 – Fall Break – No Class!
10/21 – First Cities – Longshan 3000-2000 BCE
Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 7 (37), Formation of Chinese Civilization
(~30); selections (~20) ~90 pages total
- Assignment: Midterm Papers Due 10/28 –11/04 – The Chinese Bronze Age – Beginnings (2000-1400 BCE)
- Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 8 (41); Archaeology of the Chinese
Bronze Age chapter 1-3 (exerpts – 40pgs) total ~80 pages
- Assignment: 5 minute presentations on “the Chinese Bronze Age”
11/11 – The Early Bronze Age – Center and Periphery (2000-1400 BCE)
- Readings: Liu and Chen chapter 9 (48); Archaeology of the Chinese Bronze
Age chapters 2-3 (beyond the Central Plains traditions); Excerpts from
Ancient Sichuan ~ 80 pages
11/18 – The Great Settlement Shang and its World
- Readings: Campbell chapter 5 (30); Bagley Cambridge History of Ancient
China chapter (80)
11/25 – The Shang in history and inscriptions
- Readings: Excerpts from the Records of the Grand Historian (20); excerpts
from Keightley Cambridge History of Ancient China chapter (80) total pages
~ 100
12/02 – The Rise and Fall of the Zhou
- selections from China in the Age of Confucius (~100)
12/09 – Warring States and the Rise of Empire
- Cambridge History of Ancient China – Warring states chapter (~60);
selections from Ledderose on Terracotta army (~20)
12/16 – final paper due
Grading/Assignments:
Attendance and Participation: attendance is expected and participation in
discussion and other activities encouraged. 20% of grade
Map/Chronology Quizes: 5% of grade each
Short Essay 1: Length – 1000 words. Description: Write a short essay describing,
evaluating and critiquing the readings concerning the origins and developments of
agriculture and sedentism in China AND its larger historical meaning (ie. Why
should anyone care?). By describing, evaluating and critiquing I mean summarize
the main points of the readings, evaluate what you consider to be their merits and
then critique what you consider to be their faults coming to your own conclusion
about the subject matter through critical engagement with the reading. Assignment
to be emailed to me before class on the day it is due. 5% of grade
Presentations: each student must give a 10-minute presentation on a site, culture
or period of their choosing. Presentations will begin on the 3rd week of class and
there will be up to two presentations per class session. Presentations will be
scheduled on the day the class discusses the relevant time period/site/issues and
topics are first come first serve. Presentation topics must differ from final or midterm essay topic. 15% of grade
Midterm Paper: Write a medium (3000 word) essay on a theme or period touched
on in the first 6 weeks of class. Please contact me ahead of time to discuss paper
topics. No additional research is expected (although it is not discouraged either).
The goal is to critically think through what we have done so far in the course and to
write a response to it. 20% of grade
Final Paper: Write a research essay (5000 words) on a topic of your choosing. It
can be from any part of the course but must differ from the topic of the mid-term
paper or the presentation. Additional research is expected. Topic can be narrow and
focused or broad and synthetic. Contact me as early as possible concerning paper
topics. 30% of grade