MELIKSAH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
(POLS 103) HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS I COURSE SYLLABUS
FALL 2015
OFFICE HOURS: 1: 15 – 2: 15 Monday
OFFICE: School of Economics and Administrative Sciences Building, Room: 308
CLASS DAY AND HOUR: Monday / 9: 30 – 12: 15
INSTRUCTOR: BULENT UCAR
EMAIL: bucar@meliksah.edu.tr
Description of the Course:
This two-semester course will introduce students to the history of civilizations
in perspective of political science study. It is intended to provide the students
with the “knowledge of, appreciation for, and understanding of the
contributions to society of major world civilizations and their histories.” The
course reviews the birth and diffusion of world civilizations from pre-history
up to about 1000, the Byzantium Empire and monastic culture. Attention is
given to the major cultural, social, economic, and political aspects within each
civilization.
All students should study the subject with one important point in mind: History
of civilizations is not about memorizing the sequence of events, facts and dates,
but it is about critically examining continuity and change over the time. This
approach needs to lead learning from past, understanding the current events
and societies and being able to make predictions about the future of societies,
countries, cultures and civilizations.
Weekly Course Topics:
Week 1: Introduction: Definitions, Evolution of Humans
Week 2: Neolithic Era and Birth of Civilization: First Cities and States
Volume I, PP: 3-14 (Till Egyptian Civilization)
Week 3: Egyptian Civilization, Ancient near East Empires and beyond
Volume I, PP: 14-38 (Till the End of Chapter)
Week 4: Four Great Revolutions in Thought and Religion
Volume I, PP: 40-49 (Till Religion in India)
Week 5: From religion in India to Greek Philosophy
Volume I, PP: 49-61 (Till Greek Philosophy)
Week 6: Greek and Hellenistic Civilization
Volume I, PP: 74-91 (Till the Persian Wars)
Week 7: The Persian Wars
Volume I, PP: 91-114 (Till the End of Chapter)
Week 8: Africa: Early History to 1000 C.E.
Volume I, PP: 148-174 (The Entire Chapter)
Week 9: Republican and Imperial Rome
Volume I, PP: 175-191 (Till Civilization of the Ciceronian and
Augustan Ages)
Week 10: Civilization of the Augustan Ages
Volume I, PP: 191-210 (Till the End of Chapter)
Week 11: The Formation of Islamic Civilization up to 1000
Volume I, PP: 290-301 (Till the Caliphate)
Week 12: The Caliphate
Volume I, PP: 301-311 (Till the End of Chapter)
Week 13: The Byzantine Empire and Western Europe to 1000
Volume I, PP: 313-328 (Till Monastic Culture)
Week 14: Monastic Culture
Volume I, PP: 328-343 (Till the End of Chapter)
Required Text Book:
Albert M Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan and Steven
Ozment, The Heritage of World Civilizations: Volume 1 and
Volume 2, Ninth Edition. 2012.
Supplementary Text
Books:
J.R. McNeill, William H. McNeill, The Human Web: A Bird's - Eye
View of World History, 2003
Jerry H. Bentley and Herb F. Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters
-A global Perspective on Past - 5th Edition, 2010.
Student Evaluation:
There will be one midterm exam and one final exam. Group studies,
class participation and attendance will affect students’ final grades.
Midterm exam will be a take home exam. A short essay of 500 – 750
words for this test is required. Students will be given few short essay
questions to choose one from. The paper will be assessed on the basis of
its clarity, relevance to the chosen question and critical thinking.
The paper needs to be double spaced, 12 font size, times new roman
style.
Final exam will be a in-class exam. The test will seek to evaluate your
knowledge and understanding of the subjects discussed in the class.
Making connections between topics reviewed and drawing conclusions
is an important part of this test.
Participation in Class Discussions is important part of learning
process for this class. All students are expected to read the assigned
readings every week for discussions, and to be ready to contribute to the
conversations. Group studies, presentations and discussions are
important part of each class.
Assessment Methods:
Midterm Exam: % 40
Final Exam:
% 40
Group Studies
and Class Participation: % 20
Grading Scale:
Final grades will be awarded on a 100-point scale as follows: A=100 - 91; BA=
81 - 90; BB= 71 - 80; CB = 65 - 70; CC= 61 - 64; DC = 55 - 60; DD = 51 - 54;
FD = 36 - 50; FF = 35 or below.
Classroom Rules:
All students must carefully read and follow the Meliksah University Student
Handbook and have a complete understanding of what they are expected as a
student at Meliksah. Attendance is required. Students need to attend at least 70
percent of classes. Students should always remember that they are in a
university environment and show respect to their classmates, instructors and
the other university personnel. The students are expected to keep basic
classroom etiquette. They should also need not to talk to one another during
class, and not connected to the internet. Also, cell phones should be turned off
at all times during the class sessions. Students should come to class as prepared
and are required to do readings and finish assignments before coming to the
class.
Late Assignments:
Those students who do not come to class on exam/assignment/student
presentation days will automatically receive an ‘F’ for that specific grade item.
A 10 point / day will be deducted for late assignments; and no assignment will
be accepted if it is late more than three (3) days.
Academic Misconduct:
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Examples of misconduct include
violating rules stated in this syllabus, cheating, plagiarism (please learn in
detail and precisely what amounts to plagiarism; not knowing is not an excuse),
and dishonesty. All of the work you hand in within this course is expected to be
your own. Moreover, instances of cheating and plagiarism will be handled
according to the university disciplinary rules.
Important Notes*:
*The instructor reserves the right to make changes in this syllabus if needed. If
a change takes place, the instructor will notify students about the change - in
class, through e-mail or Moodle - in advance.
*You can reach class notes and slits at: