Egypt Syllabus

Class Syllabus

Some people find metaphors useful and helpful in finding ways to make intangible ideas more understandable. Perhaps you have a way of making your interests, your major or your passion understandable to others. For example, for me, history is a weaving, complex and meaningful. The evidence comes in many colors and textures; historians use that evidence to weave a story of the past for the use, entertainment or guidance of present and future generations. Each weaver has a favorite pattern, method, loom, material, color; some weavers can move into another creative space, use and combine methods, patterns, materials, colors. Any critical appreciation of the weaving moves beyond the complexity and beauty of the overall pattern to something that illuminates the intricacy of the micro-patterns, methods and fibers. Do you have a metaphor for your passion? Your life?

Course Description and Rationale

This class will work to develop skills that are needed across fields and majors: those of investigation, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The class will focus on texts (evidence) that illuminate the developments in Ancient Egypt, from the pre-dynastic period to the end of the great pharaonic period prior to the Persian invasion.

Learning Objectives: As we explore the issues, culture events and challenges of Ancient Egypt, students will, in written and oral forms, demonstrate their abilities to:

• Analyze, synthesize and evaluate (AS&E) the most important issues and changes of the periods;

• AS&E the impacts of domestic and international migrations, cultural developments such as architecture, writing and weaponry;

• AS&E the impact of the wealth, growth and decline of Egyptian power.

• AS&E the issues of periodization of the Egyptian past, and

• AS&E Egyptian religion, art, sculpture, architecture, social, cultural and political structures to produce a significant paper that evaluates the contributions of those forms to the development of modern understandings of Ancient Egypt.

Course Format and Approach: The class will be seminar in format. This means that students will assume the duties of leading and directing discussions. Students are required to actively engage the materials and issues, demonstrated by leading and contributing to discussions, debates and intellectual exchanges as they examine, analyze and discuss various texts. Students will prepare all materials prior to coming to class, as class time will be spent in discussion, analysis and synthesis of those materials. Failure to prepare diminishes all students; come to class prepared to ask and answer questions in the higher orders of learning (analysis, synthesis and evaluation), and ready to discuss issues, events and implications.

Prerequisites and Assumptions

There are no prerequisites for this class. The instructor does, however, hold certain assumptions:

• It is my job to guide students in their exploration of specific issues/subjects as they develop critical thinking and communications skills.

• Students are here to learn how to learn. Research shows that most undergraduate students will change their major field of study more than once during their undergraduate career. Other studies demonstrate that people tend to change their careers multiple times over their lifetimes. Thus, learning to learn is essential; it facilitates life at a very practical level.

• Students will come to class prepared. Lower-level learning (knowledge, comprehension and application; what I have called investigation) will occur from reading and preparing the materials before class; upper level (analysis and up) will be worked on in class.

• By every measure active, participatory learning is more meaningful than passive learning. Like any and every other activity, proficiency comes with practice.

• Most students in lower division history classes (and some in upper division classes) regard historical knowledge as something static and to be acquired. It is not.

• An unquestioning approach to history (frequently manifest as ‘a bump on a log’ approach) is counter-productive to all the goals of higher education.

• History is constructed by people for specific purposes. It is incumbent upon all to approach the study of history and the evidence on which it is based critically. Students must question the purpose, viewpoint and end use of any history. What the author intends may be completely different than how the text, evidence or argument is used by consumers (intent does not always match consequence).

• Communications skills are vitally important. Speaking and writing clearly are the skills most prized by employers. In history, the primary and most valued method of communication is the written word. Thus, the three (history, reading and writing) cannot be de-linked. Like any and every other activity, proficiency comes with practice.

• Critical thinking is a valuable skill no matter what the subject studied; developing CT skills is the primary task of higher education. This differs significantly from the purpose of primary and secondary education, which is to produce law-abiding citizens.

Assignments and Grading: All assignments are intended to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their abilities to critically evaluate evidence, to clearly and concisely communicate those findings in a variety of formats. Reading, writing and historical analysis/synthesis and evaluation are emphasized in these assessment measures. Students should use the appropriate rubrics to ensure compliance with standards and to ensure their work is of the highest caliber. All rubrics are available off the class webpage. Non-written submissions may be done in pairs or triads, with each member of the working group submitting a written evaluation of the group/individuals involved. Grades will be calculated as follows.

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Seminar Performance and Participation: 45%

o Full marks for participation can only be earned through active, consistent and quality participation in all seminar meetings. Students should be prepared to direct, support and lead discussions at the AS&E levels, present materials to their classmates, analyze diverse material and textual artifacts, and to create innovative and challenging ways to present those materials. All students are welcome and encouraged to produce pod casts, Power Point presentations and other technology-based presentations, but MUST adhere to the standards provided. Constant peer review will enhance student learning; all students will also evaluate each others seminar work using the Peer Eval worksheets provided.

♣ Leadership

⎥ Formal, informal

♣ Contributions to class discussions

⎥ Originality, risk taking

⎥ Appropriateness, relevance (NO lower level learning!)

⎥ Inclusion, development

⎥ Quality of analyses, both written and oral

⎥ Peer reviews of group/pair work

• Mid-Term Exam 25%

o The exam will cover Egyptian periodization, religious, social, cultural and political developments and identification and production of basic hieroglyphs. The Exam format will be essay and short answer. A study guide will be provided off the class web page.

• Research Paper 30%

o The paper will evaluate the contributions of typical Egyptian forms of religion, art, sculpture, architecture, social, cultural and political structures to the development of modern understandings and appreciations of Ancient Egypt. Students are required to submit drafts to the class for critique and development. No final paper will be accepted that is not accompanied by a minimum of two drafts which show the critique of at least one other reader from the class itself. Students are strongly encouraged to make use of the Papers Rubric(s) and LEC tutors to ensure their paper represents the strongest case for their learning. Deviation from the Paper Standards handouts (also available off the class website) will result in significant penalties. All papers are due the final week of classes; no late papers will be accepted.