Course Outline/Assigned Readings
World Civilizations to 1500

    I.  Prehistoric Culture (Prehistory - 4,000 BC).
        [World Civilizations, Chapter 1]

    A. The Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages.

    B. The Breakthrough to Civilization: The Four River Valley Civilizations.

    II. The Rise of Civilization in the Near East (4,000-300 BC).
        [World Civilizations, Chapters 1 & 4]
    A. Mesopotamian Civilization.

    B. Egyptian Civilization.

    C. The Diffusion of Near Eastern Civilization, 1750-800 BC.

    D. The Assyrian and Persian (Iranian) Empires, 800-300 BC.

    E. Ancient Near Eastern Culture.

    III. The Rise of Civilization in India (2500 BC-AD 535).
         [World Civilizations, Chapters 1, 2, & 4]
    A. The Civilization of the Indus Valley, 2500-1500 BC.

    B. Aryan Civilization and the Vedic Age, 1500 BC-1000 BC.

    C. The Development of Hinduism and Budddhism.

    D. The Rise and Fall of Empires: The Maurya and Gupta Empires, 322 BC-AD 535.

    E. Ancient India Civilization.

    IV. The Rise and Spread of Civilization in China, 2500 BC-AD 589.
        [World Civilizations, Chapters 1, 2, & 7]
    A. The Early Dynasties: The Xia and the Shang.

    B. The Development of Traditional Chinese Civilization: The Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties.

    C. Chinese Thought: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Legalism, and Other Chinese Ideas.

    D. Chinese Culture.

    V. Mediterranean Civilizations and the Origins of the Classical and Christian Traditions, 2000 BC-AD 500.
        [World Civilizations, Chapters 3 & 6]
    A. Hellenic (Greek) Civilization, 2000-336 BC.

         1. The Origins and Failure of the City-state.

         2. Greek Culture and Thought.

    B. Hellenistic Civilization, 336-31 BC.

    C. Roman Civilization, 751 BC-AD 476.

         1. The Rise of Rome and the Early Republic, 751 BC-265 BC.

         2. Roman Expansion and the Failure of the Republic, 265-31 BC.

         3. The Pax Romana:  The Early Empire, 31BC-AD 180.

         4. The Crisis of the Roman Empire, AD 180-284.

         5. The Rise and Triumph of Christianity.

         6. Late Antiquity and the Fall of the Roman Empire, AD 284-7th century.

         7. Early Christian Art and Architecture.

    VI. The World in Transition, AD 395-1600.
    A. The Byzantine Empire Preserves the Roman Heritage, AD 395-1589.
         [World Civilizations, Chapter 12]

         1. The Byzantine Empire and its Culture, AD 395-1453.

         2. Kievan Rus and its Culture, AD 882-1240.

         3. The Mongol Empire in Eastern Europe and its Aftermath, AD 1240-1480.

    B. The Rise and Spread of Islam to Spain and India, AD 570-1761.
         [World Civilizations, Chapter 11]

         1. The Origins and Character of Islam, AD 570-

         2. Islamic Civilization.

         3. The Spread of Islam into India.

    C. The Early Middle Ages in Europe, AD 500-1000.
         [World Civilizations, Chapter 12]

         1. The Germanic West, AD 500-750.

         2. The Carolingian Empire and its Aftermath, AD 750-1000.

         3. Feudalism and Manorialism.

         4. Early Medieval Culture.

        D. The High Middle Ages in Europe, 1000-1300.
        [World Civilizations, Chapter 15]

    1. Economic and Social Revival and the Medieval Urban Revolution.

         2. The Holy Roman Empire.

         3. The Medieval Monarchies: England and France.

         4. The Crusades and the First Overseas Expansion of Europe.

         5. The Triumph of the Universal [Catholic] Church.

         6. Intellectual and Cultural Achievements.

         7. Art and Architecture During the High Middle Ages.

    E. The Late Middle Ages in Europe, 1300-1400/1500.
           [World Civilizations, Chapter 15]
        1. Political, Economic, and Social Tensions.

        2. The Crisis within the Late Medieval Church.

        3. Europe Recovers.

VII. Asian, African, and American Civilizations Before the Encounter with European Civilization.
        [World Civilizations, Chapters 5, 8, 9, 14,  & 17]
    A. China During the Sui, Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties, ca. 100-1644.

    B. The Development of Japanese Civilization to 1647.

    C. African Civilizations Before 1500.

    D. American Civilizations Before 1500.

    X. The Beginning of the Modern Age in Europe, 1300-1700.
        [World Civilizations, Chapters 15 & 16]
    A. The Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe, 1300-1517.

    B. The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, 1517-1648.

    C. The First Scientific Revolution, 1543-1700.

    Approximate Test Dates:

    Test 1: 01 February 2008

    Test 2: 29 Feb 2008

    Test 3: 04 April 2008

    Final Examination: 02 May 2008@8:00am

    Essay Due Dates

    Essay 1: 15 February 2008

    Essay 2: 26 March 2008

    Extra Credit Essay: 25 April 2007 (Optional)

This page is Maintained by Robert W. Brown
Last update:  15.XII.2008
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