January 9 th , 2012

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Syllabus on course website: www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/richardw/
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Course Summary
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Course Objectives (Not just facts; How to do ancient history; Critical thinking).
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Required Texts.
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Readings (To be done before class; Exams based on).
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Mark Distribution (Midterm – Take Home = 30%; Final = 30%;
Research Essay 30%; Annotated Bibliography 10%).

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Always to the readings.
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Prepare questions.
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Always come to class.
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Start assignments early; seek assistance.
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Actually do research and more than the minimum.
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Edit your work.

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History comes from the Greek ( historia = “inquiry”).
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The study of human action (social, political, economic, cultural etc.) in the past.
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The study of human actions in the past not to be confused with the actions themselves.
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We do not have direct access to the past, only access mediated through sources/evidence.
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Two kinds of sources: 1. Primary. 2. Secondary.

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Evidence originating in the time and place being studied.
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Written documents, material culture.
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All historical research must rest on primary source evidence.

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Works of modern scholarship (The interpretation of the primary source evidence by modern scholars).
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Acceptable Secondary Sources: 1. Online collections of peer-reviewed scholarly journals (i.e. JSTOR). 2. Scholarly monographs from the library or published electronically (i.e. e-books etc.).
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Unacceptable Secondary Sources: 1. Any and all websites except those specifically approved by the instructor. 2. General textbooks,
Encyclopaedias (electronic or otherwise), or Lecture Notes.
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NOTE: Arguments should never rest exclusively or mainly on secondary sources. Use secondary sources to: 1. Corroborate and confirm. 2. Support ancillary statements. 3. Position your arguments within the existing scholarship.

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Utilizing the writing of Plato and Aristophanes contained in West, Thomas
G. Four Texts on Socrates: Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, And Crito And
Aristophanes' Clouds ., write a 5 to 7 page essay (double-spaced, 12 pt. font), on why Socrates was brought to trial and executed. Be sure to address not only the immediate charges against Socrates, but the underlying social and political reasons as well. Also, make sure that your response displays an awareness of the problems and limitations with the primary source evidence. Be sure to use no fewer than 5 secondary sources
(i.e. articles published in peer reviewed journals or scholarly monographs) in your analysis (Note: Internet resources other than those available through the NU Library are not acceptable sources) in addition to the primary sources of Plato and Aristophanes. Feel free to employ any additional primary source evidence in support of your argument. Make sure that your response has a thesis (i.e. a main argument) and several supporting arguments resting upon primary source evidence.

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Utilizing the source documents in Crawford and Whitehead’s those in M.M. Austin’s
Font) in response to the following question:
Archaic and Classical Greece and
The Hellenistic World write a 10 to 12 page essay (double-spaced, 12 pt.
How significant were the conquests of Alexander the Great in reshaping the political, social, and cultural life of the ancient Mediterranean world?
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Be sure to use no fewer than 5 secondary sources (i.e. articles published in peer reviewed journals or scholarly monographs) in your analysis (Note: Internet resources other than those available through the NU Library are not acceptable sources) in addition to the primary sources from Crawford & Whitehead and Austin. Make sure that your response has a thesis (i.e. a main argument) and several supporting arguments resting upon primary source evidence. Before commencing this essay, students must first submit an annotated bibliography as outlined below.
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Annotated Bibliography Component (10%): Before proceeding to their essay, students must first submit an annotated bibliography containing five secondary sources that will be used in their research essay. Aside from the basic bibliographic information for each source (please use
Chicago style), the student must provide a summary of the thesis and main arguments for each of their chosen sources and a brief description of how each one will be useful for their research essay. The annotated bibliography must be submitted electronically and the students cannot proceed to the research essay until they have received written approval from the instructor that their annotated bibliography has been approved.

Introductory
Paragraph:___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________Thesis
Statement.
Argument 1:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________.
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Evidence A (Argument 1):_____________________________________________.
Evidence B (Argument 1):_____________________________________________.
Argument 2:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________.
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Evidence A (Argument 2):_____________________________________________.
Evidence B (Argument 2):_____________________________________________.
Argument 3:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________.
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Evidence A (Argument 3):_____________________________________________.
Evidence B (Argument 3):_____________________________________________.
Concluding Paragraph.

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Several ways to study the human animal: 1. Mechanically (i.e. human biology). 2. Ecologically (i.e. human interaction with their environment). 3. Behavior of the individual (i.e. Psychology). 4.
Evolution (i.e. Anthropology). 5. Material Survival (i.e. Economics).
6. Culturally (i.e. Art, Literature, Music etc.). 7. Socially in the present (i.e. Sociology). 8. Socially through time (i.e. History).
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All these disciplines engaged in the study of some specific aspect of human behavior and thus overlap.
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History is the study of this behavior through time (i.e. what changes and what doesn’t); Requires engagement with many other fields.
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Humanities, Ancient History, and the importance of what doesn’t change.

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Before 7000 BCE – Palaeolithic Period (Old Stone Age; Hunter-Gatherer
Societies; Pre Indo-European).
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7000 – 3000 BCE – Neolithic Period (New Stone Age; Agriculture; Pre Indo-
European).
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3000 – 2100 BCE – Early Bronze Age (Widespread use of Bronze; Increasing social complexity; Pre Indo-European).
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2100 – 1600 BCE – Middle Bronze Age (Arrival of Indo-European speakers in
Greece; Fl. Of Minoan Crete; Cross-cultural contact between Egypt, Near East,
Minoan Crete, Greece); Indo-European Migrations = Group of cultures speaking interrelated languages (i.e. Hellenic, Romantic, Germanic, Slavic, Gaelic, Indic etc.) and possessing similar religious/mythic traditions and material cultures.
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1600 – 1100 BCE – Mycenaean Greeks fl.
1100 – 750 BCE – Dark Age.
750 – 480 BCE – Archaic Period.
480 – 323 BCE – Classical Period.
323 – 30 BCE – The Hellenistic Period.

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Evolution of political structures (i.e.
Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny,
Democracy).
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Relationship between social life, political life, economic life, and cultural life.
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Political and cultural interaction between
Greek and non-Greek worlds.