HUMANITIES 110: INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES /
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Diablo Valley College
/ Spring 2006
Section 1040, MWF 8:00-8:50, Rm. H-106
Section 1036, MWF 10:00-10:50, Rm. H-108
Instructor: Mark Eades,
DVC Tel. Ext.: #1515, e-mail: meades@dvc.edu
Office hours/location: TBA
COURSE
DESCRIPTION / SYLLABUS
Introduction
As described in the DVC
catalog, Humanities 110 is an integrated course
dealing with with the visual arts, music, literature, drama, architecture,
philosophy, and history of the ancient world. Study is made of selected visual
works, films, and original texts of literature and philosophy from the time of
ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia through the Roman period.
Required Texts
The Iliad of Homer (Richard Lattimore, tr.). University
of Chicago Press, 1951.
Phaedo, by
Plato (David Gallop, tr.). Oxford
University Press, 1993.
Bakkhai, by
Euripides (Reginald Gibbons, tr.). Oxford
University Press, 2001.
Reader for Humanities 110, Section 2332 (Eades).
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria
Requirements for the course
include regular attendance and participation in class discussions, completion
of assigned readings, the mid-term exam, the final exam, and completion of a
semester research project on a topic of the student’s choice related to the material
covered in the course. Excessive unexcused absences (i.e., more than three)
will result in a loss of grade points, as will non-participation in class
discussions. Exams will be based on readings, lectures, and class discussions;
and each will include only that material covered since the preceding exam.
Exams will offer the student a selection of essay questions from which to
choose. The semester project, as stated above, will be a research project on a
topic of the student’s choice; and will include a topic proposal as preparatory
assignment. Beyond its role in grading for this course, the purpose of the
semester project is to help prepare the student for meeting the research and
writing requirements of further study at the four-year undergraduate level.
The mid-term exam, final
exam, semester project, and attendance and participation will each contribute
equally to the student’s final grade, as follows:
Mid-term Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
Semester Project: 30%
Attendance: 10%
For those in need, optional
projects for extra credit will be available.
Syllabus (subject to
revision)
Readings: To be provided..
Week 2: Jan. 23-27: Early
Civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant.
Art
of ancient Mesopotamia.
Readings: to be provided.
Week 3: Jan. 30-Feb. 3: Mesopotamia, Egypt,
and the Levant, cont’d.
Art
and architecture of ancient Egypt.
Readings: to be provided.
Week 4: Feb. 6-10: Crete and
Aegean Civilization (Lincoln’s
Birthday: Feb. 20).
Minoan
art and architecture: The Palace of Knossos.
Readings: To be provided.
Early
Greek art.
Readings: The Iliad, introduction; Hesiod in Reader.
Early
Greek art, cont’d.
Readings: The Iliad, cont’d.
Week 7: Feb. 27-Mar. 3: Homer
and Early Greek Civilization, cont’d.
Early
Greek art, cont’d.
Readings: The Iliad, cont’d.
Week 8: Mar. 6-10: Homer and
Early Greek Civilization, cont’d.
Early
Greek art, cont’d.
Readings: The Iliad, cont’d.
Week 9: Mar. 13-17: Mid-term
review and exam.
Mid-term
exam: Fri. 10/14 – Semester project proposals due.
Week 10: Mar. 20-24:
Classical Greece.
Art
and architecture of Classical Greece: Greek sculpture.
Readings: Sappho in Reader; begin Phaedo.
Week 11: Mar. 27-31:
Classical Greece
(Cesar Chavez Day: Mar. 31).
Art
and architecture of Classical Greece: The Greek temple.
Readings: Phaedo, cont’d.
Week 12: Apr. 3-7: Classical Greece.
Art
and architecture of Classical Greece, cont’d.
Readings: Begin Bakkhai.
Week 13: Apr. 10-14:
Classical Greece.
Art
and architecture of Classical Greece, cont’d.
Readings: Bakkhai, cont’d.
Spring Break: Apr. 17-21
Week 14: Apr. 24-28: Alexander
and the Hellenistic World.
Hellenistic
Greek art.
Readings: Fernand Braudel in Reader.
Week 15: May 1-5: Rome.
Art
and architecture of ancient Rome.
Readings: Virgil in Reader.
Week 16: May 8-12: Rome, cont’d.
Art
and architecture of ancient Rome,
cont’d.
Readings: Ovid and Catullus in Reader.
Week 17: May 15-19: Rome, cont’d; review for
final exam.
Early
Christian art.
Readings: from the Song of Solomon, the Book of Matthew, and St. Augustine in Reader
Week 18: May. 22-26
Final
Exam: TBA.
Semester
projects due at final exam.
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