Course Summary

This course is designed to give students an in-depth exploration of the major ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Students will explore the key historic events, art, philosophy, literature, archeology, military history, burial customs and other details of life in each of these major civilizations. The course will trace the evolution of communities from nomadic tribes to some of the greatest and most influential empires to have ever existed, exploring their many contributions to the modern world in navigation, calendars, science and technology, architecture, and many other areas.

Assignments

Students will receive weekly writing/reading/research/critical thinking assignments and projects related to the topic, which will be marked and returned with analysis and customized feedback.

Materials

Students will be provided all materials and texts for this course.

Sessions:

1 Introduction: What is History?

2 Prehistory

3 Mesopotamia and Sumer

4 Ancient Egypt I – Predynastic Egypt

5 Ancient Egypt II – Understanding Hieroglyphs

6 Ancient Egypt III – The Old Kingdom

7 Ancient Egypt IV – The Middle Kingdom

8 Ancient Egypt V – The Late Dynasties

9 Burial Rituals of Ancient Egypt

10 Spotlight: Ancient Egypt’s the Book of the Dead

11 Ancient Greece I – Bronze Age to Greek Polis

12 Ancient Greece II – Sparta

13 Classical Greece III – Athenian Empire

14 Classical Greece IV – The Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

15 Greek Mythology

16 Greek Rhetoric and Philosophy

17 Spotlight: Plato’s Republic

18 Ancient Rome – Founding of Rome

19 Ancient Rome II – the Res Publica

20 Ancient Rome III – The Roman Empire

21 Ancient Rome IV- The Fall of the Roman Empire

22 Ancient Rome IV- Early Christianity

23 Daily Life in Ancient Rome

24 Art in Ancient Rome

25 Ancient Roman Philosophy/Stoicism

Note: This syllabus is a general outline, and subject to change as the needs and pace of the class dictate.