California State University, Fresno

Department of History

Course Schedule:         This schedule is based on a typical 14-week Monday/Wednesday/Friday semester. It accounts for 42 class meetings.

Day 1       Introduction

— Welcome
— Policies & Requirements

Assignment

— Visit our BlackBoard site and confirm access by completing the mock assignments listed.

Module #1

Days 2-3       Regional History #1 – Mesopotamia: The Land between the Rivers

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 9-14 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The Epic of Gilgamesh and "The Code of Hammurabi" (Links available through BlackBoard)

Days 4-5       Regional History #2 – Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 16-23 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The Book of the Dead (Link available through BlackBoard)

Days 6-7       Thematic Bridge #1 – Ancient Migration and Acculturation: The Case of the Hebrews

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 23-28 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The Book of Genesis (Link available through BlackBoard)

— Comparative Assignment #1: Analysis of the Ancient Stories of the Flood
Due: Day 9

Day 8       Discussion: Pedagogical Discrepancies, I

Module #2

Days 9-10       Regional History #3 – Ancient India: Conquest, Religion and the Caste System

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 37-61 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The Bhagavad-Gita (required purchase)

Days 11-12       Regional History #4 – China from the Shang to the Yuan: Dynasty, Tradition and Empire

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 64-92 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Selections from Confucius' Analects (Link available through BlackBoard)

Days 13-14       Thematic Bridge #2 – Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange: The Silk Road

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 241-247 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Richard C. Foltz's "Buddhism and the Silk Road" (Available through BlackBoard)

— Comparative Assignment #2: Visual Comparison: Statues of the Buddha
Due: Day 16

Module #3

Days 15-16       Regional History #5 – Ancient Greece and the Mythical Tradition

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 96-114 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from Homer's The Odyssey (Available through BlackBoard)

Days 17-18       Regional History #6 – The World of the Romans: From Kingdom to Empire

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 126-150 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from Virgil's The Aeneid (Available through BlackBoard)

Days 19-20       Thematic Bridge #3 – Bridging East and West: The Mediterranean in the Hellenistic Age

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 117-123 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from Plutarch's Life of Alexander (Link available through BlackBoard)

— Comparative Assignment #3: Literary Comparison: Ancient Western Heroism
Due: Day 23

Day 21       First Term Exam (To be completed on BlackBoard)

Module #4

Days 22-23       Regional History #7 – Ancient African Kingdoms: Ghana, Aksum, and Mali

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 217-222 and 230-239 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from Al-Bakari's Descriptions of Ghana and Al-Umari's Description of Mansa Musa's 1324 Visit to Cairo (Links available through BlackBoard)

Days 22-25       Regional History #8 – The Arab World and the Rise of Islam

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 188-206 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The Q'uran and Abû Ûthmân al-Jâhiz's The Essays (Links available through BlackBoard)

Days 26-27       Thematic Bridge #4 – The Politics of Religious Expansion: Islamic Africa

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 223-229 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500

— Comparative Assignment #4: Map Analysis: Pre- and post-Islam West Africa
Due: Day 29

Day 28       Discussion: Pedagogic Discrepancies, II

Module #5

Days 29-30       Regional History #9 – Medieval Christendom: Feudalism and the Latin Church

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 323-342 and 345-350 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from The New Testament and The Song of Roland (Available through BlackBoard)

Days 31-32       Regional History #10 – The Byzantine Empire

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 207-213 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500

Days 33-34       Thematic Bridge #5 – Bridging East and West… Again: The Crusades

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 343-345 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Excerpts from "A Christian/Moslem Debate of the Twelfth Century" (Link available through BlackBoard)

— Comparative Assignment #5: Analysis of "A Christian/Moslem Debate of the Twelfth Century"
Due: Day 36

Day 35       Discussion: Pedagogical Discrepancies, III

Module #6

Days 36-37       Regional History #11 – The "New" World: Pre-Contact America

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 162-184 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500

Days 38-39       Regional History #12 – Renaissance Europe: Crisis and "Rebirth"

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Pages 351-355 in Duiker and Spielvogel's World History to 1500
·       Leon Battista Alberti's "Self-Portrait of a Universal Man" (Available through BlackBoard)

Days 40-41       Thematic Bridge #6 – The Age of Exploration

Assignments

— Readings:

·       Excerpts from Columbus's Journal of the First Voyage to America, Amerigo Vespucci's Letters, and The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Links available through BlackBoard)

— Comparative Assignment #6: Comparative Analysis: Views of the Conquest
Due: Final Examination Week

Day 42       Second Term Exam (To be completed on BlackBoard)