Course Description
Emphasizing social history and archaeological evidence as well as primary written sources, this course traces the evolution of Egypt from the earliest evidence of the first kings through the Roman period.
Athena Title
ANCIENT EGYPT
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Most assignments will focus on primary sources. Students will learn to analyze sources and produce arguments from evidence. We will emphasize student responsibility, peer evaluation and group work. Students will each lead one class discussion and will participate in all discussions, and work together on a group project which they will present to the class at the end of term.
Topical Outline
On the scant strip of fertile ground near the Nile River, isolated in the harsh and nearly uninhabited Sahara Desert, Egypt is one of the world's oldest civilizations. -Sources and documents - Writing was invented early. Texts survive not only on tombs and temples, but the Egyptian habit of writing on papyrus developed under the early kings and the desert climate has preserved many documents -The City -Pyramids -Palace and Government -Death and the Afterlife -Religion -Literature and Folktales -The Ptolemies and Cleopatra -Economy and Slavery -Magic and Medicine
Syllabus