"Images seem to speak to the eye, but they are really addressed to the mind.
They are ways of thinking, in the guise of ways of seeing."
--William Duff
For each class, I will post links below to texts and videos introducing you to the literature, music, and culture of these civilizations. You are expected to complete the readings before coming to class on the date listed below.
Jan. 28:
Click the button above to view a Story Map about the Paleolithic. Contact me immediately if you have any trouble accessing the link. You do not need any special software to view the Story Map. Read before coming to class on Jan. 28.
Feb. 4:
Before coming to class on Feb. 4, please look at the following links:
Link 1 (Youtube video - Crash Course World History - Mesopotamia)
Link 2 (Khan Academy - Uruk, the first city)
Link 3 (Khan Academy - Standard of Ur - transcript available under the video if you prefer to read along)
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Have you ever listened to a piece of music that is 3200 years old? Music was very important and very common in the ancient Middle East, and there are actually examples of written music on cuneiform tablets, which scholars have tried to reconstruct into playable music. To hear a version of an ancient Mesopotamian hymn, click here. The music starts at 11:20 and lasts for about two minutes. The hymn is written from the point of view of a woman who is having trouble getting pregnant, and is singing to the goddess of the moon asking for help. If you're interested, you can watch the rest of the video which talks about how the scholars reconstructed the music that is being played from notations on a cuneiform clay tablet. For example, we know from various cuneiform tablets describing chords or the process of tuning a stringed instrument that the musicians of the ancient Middle East used an octave just like ours, with seven notes.
Feb. 6:
Before coming to class on Feb. 6, please look at the following links:
Link 1 - Overview of ancient Egyptian history (text)
Link 2 - William the Hippopotamus (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer)
Link 3 - Book of the Dead & Last Judgment of Hunefer (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer)
Feb. 11:
Before coming to class on Feb. 11, please look at the following links:
Link 1 - Overview of ancient Greek society (text)
Link 2 - Making Greek vases (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer) (while you're watching this, just imagine how much trial and error it took to figure out this process of production and firing!)
Link 3 - The Parthenon (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer)
For any gamers in the class, here's a video about the new Assassin's Creed: Odyssey game, and the process of designing the world the game inhabits. Link 4
Because music is also a form of self-expression, and because I'm sure a lot of you enjoy music, I thought I'd also include this video about reconstructing ancient Greek music and instruments. You don't need to watch the whole video, but you can get a sense of the music just from the first few minutes. Link 5
Feb. 20:
Before coming to class on Feb. 20, please look at the following links:
Link 1 - Overview of ancient Roman art (text)
Link 2 - Augustus of Prima Porta statue--a good example of imperial propaganda (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer)
Link 3 - Arch of Titus - Spoils of Jerusalem (Khan Academy video--transcript available if you prefer); this is another good example of Roman imperial propaganda in art, and also reminds us about the groups of people who may not have been entirely happy with Roman rule.
Link 4 - An introduction to Pompeii, which preserves a lot of amazing art that reflects everyday life for people of all classes (compared to the imperial art in the earlier links, which has an important propaganda agenda) - Youtube video, captions available
Feb. 25:
No readings for Feb. 25