Teaching Enhancement Award

This course is novel in a variety of ways: it will be the only ancient history survey; the only team-taught survey; the only HIS survey that fulfills the Social Science requirement; and the course will utilize an Open Educational Resource textbook via Pressbooks (students will not have to purchase any textbooks). The course is divided into three five-week themes, each taught by a different member of the History Department. The course explores the history of the world from pre-historic times to 1300 C.E., paying specific attention to the interconnections (or disconnections) between peoples and regions. Students are encouraged to think beyond their experiences with western civilizations to recognize the widespread impact of historical events and trends, including how they helped shape the world today. Touching upon each world region, we will investigate the impact of environment, economics, politics, and religion on diverse societies. Key topics are sites of change and integration such as the rise of cities, religion, technology, migration and trade, the spread of disease, gender relationships, warfare and social movements. Students will learn to develop their own analytical arguments and interpret written, oral, and material sources over the course of the semester. This course covers three themes: Asia & Americas, Africa, and Europe. Each theme will address five main categories of analysis: Society & Daily Life, Religion, Economics & Trade, Politics & Governance, and Military & Conflict.