HIST1017 Ancient World Civilizations
MWF 10:40-11:50
Dr. Kevin Kaatz
Office Hours: W 2:50-3:50; F 9:30-10:30 (MI 4029)
Course Description:
In this course we will study the history from the Neolithic Period through to spread of
Islam in the West. We will cover a number of civilizations and will be focusing on a
number of different themes—forms of government, economy, daily life, and cultural
contacts. The special topic we will be focusing on is the Individual and the State. We
will study this by examining the archaeological remains of ancient cities and this will be
the primary focus for this course. You will be producing an exhibit on the Digital
Ancient City for the joint cluster meeting at the end of the quarter. I am expecting you to
be very active in this course and to be thinking about how the ancient world affects your
life today.
Required Books/Materials:
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William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel, Cengage Advantage Books: World History,
Volume I, 7th Edition, (Boston: Wadsworth, 2013). (ISBN 1-111-83766-X)
There is a website, published by Cengage, which is very similar to the material found in
our World History textbook by Duiker/Spielvogel. It contains key
words/concepts/crossword puzzles/practice quizzes and you can use it to help you study:
http://www.wadsworth.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=9780495902270&disc
ipline_number=21&token=

Charles Gates, Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East
and Egypt, Greece and Rome [Paperback] 2nd Edition, ISBN-10: 0415498643
Companion Website http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415498647/

The Primary Textbooks that you will need to download as a Word Document at our
Blackboard site or read online at
http://issuu.com/kkaatz/docs/primary_text_reader_part_1_for_issu (you can download
this version, but it will not contain the videos). I will put up the Word document on
Blackboard. You can see the videos in this copy.

Also—please see and use my World History timeline I created at
http://www.dipity.com/kkaatz/World-History/ There are links to videos, blogs, and
podcasts on the ancient world. Click the ‘plus’ sign at the bottom of the timeline to see
more entries or use the zoom capability (the + or - ). You will be creating your own so
please become familiar with the setup.
Grading:
Team-Based work (25% Total) (three times during the quarter)
You will be quizzed on some of the readings. The Team-Based work involves:
taking an Individual quiz (5%)/taking a team quiz (10%)/ and doing a team
project afterwards (5%)/along with two peer assessments (5%).
Essay: (10% Total) 1 Essay with hyperlinks/videos within the document: 1500
words—about 6 pages
Quizzes will take the place of the midterm and final exam 15% total
We will have three, 30 minute quizzes during the quarter. These will be shortanswer quizzes. The material will come from the lecture material and the
Duiker/Spielvogel readings.
Digital History Projects (50%) (descriptions below)
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1 ThingLink page (2%)
Group Wiki Bibliography page (3%)
1 Scoop.it page: Two topics and four scooped entries per week (5%)
Blog: Two substantial entries (2 paragraphs, 150 words) each week on something
related to ancient history. You must also comment on two other blogs. I’ll have a
wiki page where everyone can upload the link to their blog (15%)
Editing Wikipedia (5%)
Create a Dipity Timeline (5%)
(1) 2 minute Video (5% total)
Final Team video projects (2 2-minute videos) (10% total)
Digital History Project Description
Your ThingLink Page (2%)
Each student will need to create and maintain a ThingLink page
(http://www.thinglink.com/learn). You will use this site to showcase the
scholarship you create in this course. I will be examining your ThingLink
page continually throughout the course and will use it to grade your digital
history assignments. Please see my ThingLink page for instructions on
how to set up your ThingLink account
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/422048456287191040 This page has
directions for setting up your blog, podcast, video, get into JSTOR, make a
footnote, make your Scoop.it! page, setting up your ThingLink page and
how to edit a wiki page on Blackboard. When you create your ThingLink
page, please put the URL up at the ThingLink wiki page in our Blackboard
section. This must be set up and entered by Sunday, Sept. 29th (NO
LATER)
Group Wiki bibliographies (3%)
Each student will be contributing eight annotated sources
(Books/Journals/videos/websites/podcasts) to the course wiki that can be
found on Blackboard during the semester. Four will be due by the middle
of the semester and four will be due by the end. Please do not add all
eight at the beginning (I will not grade the extra four entries). Everything
must be under Headings (which you should create if you do not see them
there) and then everything under the headings must be alphabetized by the
last name of the author or the name of the website. I will not grade it if
you do not keep everything in the correct order and space. Please see my
ThingLink page for instructions on how to make entries into the wiki
page.
A Scoop.it! Page (5%)
You will need to create a Scoop.it! page (www.scoop.it) with two topics
that are related to ancient cities. You will need to curate these pages every
week and scoop and read at least 4 websites/week. Please see my
ThingLink page for instructions on how to set up your Scoop.it! page.
You will need to link this to your ThingLink page. You can see my
Scoop. It! Page here: http://www.scoop.it/u/kevin-kaatz Please “follow”
me and I will do the same for you. This must be set up and entered by
Sunday, Sept. 29th.
Individual Blog (15%)
Please see my ThingLink (given above) on instructions for creating your
own blog. We’ll be using www.WordPress.com for this. Be creative in
the way your blog looks. You will need to provide the link for your blog
under the course Wiki ThingLink page. You will need to make weekly
blog posts AND interact with the other class blogs by leaving comments
and having conversations through the Comment section, so you will need
at least one substantial blog posting/week throughout the quarter (2
paragraphs—250 words) and make one substantial comment on another
blog—if you blog less, your grade will reflect this. You must blog every
week—you cannot wait until the last week to do all of your entries. For
ideas you can look at other blogs. You can put up images, videos,
podcasts, etc, but you still have to write 2 full paragraphs and you must
cite your sources. Treat these blog posts as small research essays. You
must have your entry up by Sunday night at 11:59 pm every week. I will
be grading these twice during the semester but I will be looking at
them/commenting every week. I will not be grading retroactively
(meaning if you blog everything in the last week, I will only count the
entry as Week 10). If you do not blog in Week 3, you cannot post two 2paragraph blogs in Week 4 to make up for it. You can find my blog here:
http://digitalancienthistory.com/ and under the “The World of Ancient
History Blog” tab. You can leave comments on my blog as well. You
must also link your blog on your ThingLink page. This must be set up and
entered by Sunday, Sept. 29th.
Editing of Wikipedia (5%)
Each team will be editing a Wikipedia article. See here for instructions on
editing of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Introduction
Try out the sandbox (instructions below). Also see “Learn More about
Editing” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Introduction_2
You will need to write/edit at least two paragraphs and enter proper
sources using footnotes (very important!). When finished, you will need
to send me the link to the topic you edited. You must check and recheck
your entries since people all over the world will be using the information
you provide. You must also link your entry on your ThingLink page.
A Dipity Timeline (5%)
You will need to create an interactive timeline at http://www.dipity.com
See mine here (http://www.dipity.com/kkaatz/World-History/). You will
need to insert three sources into your timeline each week. These can be
websites, podcasts, videos, or anything with a URL. After you created
your initial timeline, please put the link on your ThingLink page. This
must be set up and entered by Sunday, Sept. 29th.
Video Project: Individual (5%).
You will need to produce a 2 minute video on some aspect of the course
(The Ancient City). Directions for creating a video can be found on my
ThingLink site. The transcript needs to be uploaded into Turnitin. You
must also link this video on your ThingLink page. We may watch these in
class.
Final videos: Team Project: (10%)
Each Team will make two, 2 minute videos on two parts of an ancient city.
I will assign the parts. If there is narration within your videos, you need to
upload your transcripts into Turnitin. These videos need to be linked into
your ThingLink page. We will be presenting our Digital ancient city
during the Joint Cluster meeting towards the end of the quarter—so make
your videos visually appealing, creative, and instructional!
Essay:
There will be a number of topics that you can research that deal with ancient
cities. I will put these topics up on our Blackboard section. The essay will be
interpretive, meaning that you will not be totally writing about what happened in
World History, but why such things happened. I do not want a blow-by-blow
account of what happened. You will need to have a clear thesis statement and
then you must defend this in the body of your essay. We will go over this in
class. They will need to be between 1500 words. This word count must not count
the footnotes or the bibliography. You will need to put the word count on your
title page. The essay needs to be double-spaced, 12 pt. font and you must you
the Chicago style for your footnotes and bibliography. I will not be accepting
any other style. You can find the directions for writing a paper in the Chicago
style here (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html). See
the instructional videos on my website on how to properly insert a footnote
(http://www.digitalancienthistory.com/instructional-videos.html ).
You should also include hyperlinks and you can also insert videos—make it
interactive.
I have also put an Essay Writing Folder up at our Blackboard Site. This contains
a few documents to help you with the Chicago Style and essay writing in general.
You should have at least ***5 secondary sources. ***You must make use of
the primary source in your paper by specifically mentioning it and using it to
make your argument. Four of these secondary sources MUST be books or journal
articles. One source can be an academic website. Be extremely careful with the
website you use. Your primary source can be a piece of archaeology or a
document. These you may certainly find on the internet.
To find journal articles I highly recommend using JSTOR (a database accessed
through our library website).
You will need to upload your paper to the Blackboard site on the day that the
essay is due and this will be the copy that I grade. This means that you will not be
handing in a paper copy. You will also not receive a graded paper copy. I will
grade it electronically and email it back to you. Your grades can be accessed
through the Blackboard gradebook. There is a late fee if it comes in after this date
(see below).
***Be sure to do a self-diagnostic on your essay! Check off the “Self-Check On
Writing the Essays” document. This document can be found in Blackboard under
the Essay Writing materials. Everyone will be required to do this and to copy and
paste it into Blackboard in the Self-Diagnostic folder in Course Materials. I won’t
grade your essay without this.
Late Policy:
All assignments (Chicago style exercise; ALL Digital History assignments) are
due by the due date. I will not be accepting any late work for these. They will be
due at 11:59 pm on the due date. If you are late in turning in your research essay,
I will take off 10% of your grade for each day it is late. This includes the
weekends. If you miss the midterm or final exam and do not contact me before
the date of the exam, I will not be allowing a makeup. Teamwork cannot be
made up. If you are having difficulties (illness, death in the family) please contact
me as soon as possible.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. If you skip a class, please do not email me to find out
what you missed. Please see the syllabus, ask your classmates, or post your
question on the Coffee Shop discussion section on Blackboard.
The Course Outcomes are:
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To obtain a good understanding of what history is and the general outline of some of the
world’s first civilizations through Charlemagne.
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To critically analyze history through literature, art, digital media, and secondary sources
and to understand how the ancient world impacts the modern.
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To create, use, and understand digital history.
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Improve Communication skills
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Improve Research skills
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Improve Problem-solving skills
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To think creatively about these issues and to form your own opinions
Weekly Schedule and Readings:
***The readings should be finished by the date they are listed on the syllabus. You are
responsible for knowing the content of these books, even if we don’t go over the material in
class. You will also be responsible to your team members since you must do the reading before
coming to class. Remember that you will also be graded by your peers.
DS= Duiker/Spielvogel
PTR=Primary Text Reader
G=Gates
There are also readings for the Team Project day besides those listed below. Please see
Blackboard for the list of readings and any other instructions.
Remember you must add to the group bibliography—at least four entries in the first half
and four in the second half; and every week you must: blog 2 substantial posts (with
citations); scoop four webpages on your Scoop.it! page, and put 3 sources into your
Timeline. I did not list these on the syllabus. They must be completed by Sunday
nights, 11:59 pm. I will grade these Monday morning and I will not be grading
retroactively—so if you do not have entries on Monday morning for the previous week,
you will not receive credit, even though you might add the material Monday afternoon.
**Make a section on Blackboard for the uploading of rough drafts—or do this at
Turnitin.
Day/Week
Topic
Readings
Class Introduction
Practice team quiz
Other Class
Activities
Week 1
Wed Sept 25
Fri Sept 27
Intro to Historical
Research; Chicago Style;
Creation of Permanent
Teams
DS xiii-xxx; R xxxi-6; Gates Introduction,
Chapter 1; Banning, E.B., “Housing Neolithic
Farmers,” Near Eastern Archaeology, Vol.
66, No. ½, House and Home in the Southern
Levant (Mar. –Jun., 2003): 4-21; Childe, V.
Gordon. “The Urban Revolution.” The Town
Planning Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Apr., 1950),
pp. 3-17.
Week 2
Mon Sept. 30
1st Joint Cluster
Meeting
1 Joint Cluster Meeting
Wed Oct. 2
Team Work #1 on
Neolithic. See list of
Readings at Blackboard
Team Work #1: read and understand the
Banning and Childe articles listed above.
You will be quizzed on this material.
The Neolithic Revolution
DS xiii-xxx; DS1-14; Neolithic, in
PTR;
Friday Oct. 4
st
1st Joint Cluster
Meeting
Week 3
An explanation of the
History of the World in 1
Object assignment.
Mon Oct. 7
W Oct. 9
Neolithic (2);
Mesopotamia (1)
Gates Chapter 2-3; Bring your computer to
class so we can practice making videos and
work on your blog/digital history
assignments.
DS 14-21; R 3-13;
Bring your
computer to class
so we can practice
making videos and
work on your blog.
F Oct. 11
Mesopotamia (2)
Week 4
M Oct. 14
Egypt (1)
DS 21-33 and Chapter 8; R 13-22; Gates
Chapter 5
W Oct. 16
Egypt (2)
Gates Chapter 6
Friday Oct.
18
Team Work #2 on India
Team Work #2 on India
Mon Oct. 21
Early India
DS Chapter 2 and 9; R 42-66; Gates Chapter
4
Wed Oct. 23
China (1)
DS Chapter 3, 10, 11; R 22-28, 66-77, 169185;
Friday Oct.
25
China (2)
R 254-260, 265-268;
Week 5
QUIZ #1
Week 6
Monday Oct.
28
Bring Your Computer
to Class Day/Peer
Assessment #1
Bring Your Computer to Class Day
Bring Your
Computer to Class
Day; Peer
Assessment #1
Minoans/Phoenicians
Wed. Oct. 30
Friday Nov. 1
DS 33-39; R 29-42; Gates Chapter 7 and 11
Teamwork #3 on
Greece
Teamwork #3
Teamwork #3
Early and Classical
Greece
DS Chapter 4; R 77-80, 87-119, 122-130,
246-8; Gates Chapter 12 and 15 (I
recommend reading chapters 13-14
Second Wiki
entries due
Week 7
Monday,
Nov. 4
Bring Your
Computer to Class
Day
Wed Nov. 6
Bring Your Computer
to Class Day
Friday, Nov.
8
Greece continued.
Bring Your Computer to Class Day
***Pompeii web
exercise due
QUIZ #2
Week 8
Mon Nov. 11
Veterans Day NO
CLASS
Veterans Day NO CLASS
Veterans Day NO
CLASS
Wed. Nov. 13
Rough draft workshop
day
Rough draft workshop day
Rough draft
workshop day
Fri. Nov. 15
Roman history through
the end of the Republic;
Pompeii, Herculaneum,
Rome
R 119-122; Gates Chapter 16-17; DS Chapter
5; R 132-146-160; 217-219; Gates Chapter
19-21;
***Essay Due
Editing of
Wikipedia article
must be completed.
Please send me the
link to the article.
Week 9
Mon Nov. 18
Roman history through
Constantine
Wed. Nov. 20
Late Antiquity and the
New Roman Empire;
Gates Chapter 22; DS Chapter 12 (first part)
and Chapter 13 (to page 425); R 161-167,
189-195, 204-208, 323-327; Gates Chapter
24-25
Fri. Nov. 22
Teamwork #4 Roman
Teamwork #4 Roman
Teamwork #4
Roman
Week 10
Monday,
Nov. 25
Late Antiquity
Wed Nov. 27
Bring your computer to
work on your final
videos.
Bring your computer to work on your final
videos.
Bring your
computer to work
on your final
videos.
Friday, Nov.
29
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
NO CLASS
Week 11
Mon Dec 2
Work on finalizing your
videos and creating the
Tags.
Wed Dec 4
Joint Cluster Meeting
#2
Joint Cluster Meeting #2
Joint Cluster
Meeting #2
Fri Dec 6
Joint Cluster Meeting
#3
Joint Cluster Meeting #3 We will be
presenting our Digital Ancient City to the
rest of the cluster.
Joint Cluster
Meeting #3
QUIZ #3
Academic Dishonesty
Academic Dishonest, in any form, will not be tolerated in this class. CSU East Bay has an
excellent site devoted to plagiarism and the consequences if you are caught
(http://www20.csueastbay.edu/academic/academic-policies/academic-dishonesty.html). The
penalties are serious. If you are found to be guilty of plagiarizing or cheating, you WILL
PROBABLY FAIL the ENTIRE class. I will also be turning in an official report to the
university and you will be required to take a course on plagiarism. I will attach your original
paper to this report. If it is found that you have plagiarized in two courses, you will be required
to attend a hearing. If you have any questions on this matter, please do not hesitate to ask.
Use of Electronics In Class
I am actively encouraging you to bring and use your smartphones and your computers during
class. I will ask you to look up material, take instant polls, and work on your projects during the
lecture period. However, please do not surf the net or chat/text during this period.
Alternative Testing
Students who need to arrange alternative testing through the Student Disability Resource Center
(SDRC) should talk to me at the start of the course to make plans.
Student Center for Academic Achievement (SCAA)
The SCAA is as a useful resource for students seeking further assistance with writing. They can
provide free tutoring, workshops, and other programs. They are located at University Library
UM (Upper Mall). Tel: (510) 885-3674
Email: scaa@csueastbay.edu