The rationale underpinning Appalachian's World Civilization requirement is that educated persons around the world have a basic stock of knowledge which includes a general comprehension of humanity's past; educated Americans cannot be left out of this commonalty. In addition, I am convinced that people who know something of our history have a better chance of being a better citizens; that is, they are educated enough to participate intelligently in political discourse and in voting. The word intelligently may offend some of you, but I have become convinced over time that part of the reason that so many of us are so ill informed on many issues that face this country and the world, and that we are unable to force politicians to address those issues, is that in parts of the county 20% of the population is illiterate and that all too many additional people are swayed easily by TV and the popular press. I see my role as helping you to absorb this basic background. You may want to know that I thrive on dealing with the major trends and personalities that shaped the present and on giving you some idea of the ways in which our predecessors handled their most pressing personal, familial, and societal challenges.

As I am sure you have seen, the text for all history courses is Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment, and Turner, The Heritage of World Civilizations; we will keep volume one of it as a source, and I will give assignments from it. If you do not understand something as we go along, you may find this book a valuable aid to your inquiries. We will also read The Epic of Gilgamesh, transl. and intro. N.K. Sandars; The Canterbury Tales, trans. Nevill Coghill; and Tales from a Thousand and One Nights, transl. N.J. Dawood. Each of these reflects a different sort of travel, and I am sure that you'll enjoy them. Both from Canterbury Tales and Tales from Thousand and One Nights we will read selections only.

I would like very much to have you participate in this course as much as possible and at the same time to catch you up with what is being done at the forefront of history. I would like for you to do several things: one, read ahead for each class regarding the weekly topic, and two, let me have every day you come into class an admit card which tells me what you have read for this and other classes in the last few days (you are welcome to offer comments on your readings; I do not take admit cards for days you are absent).

Also, in order to test your skills, I am planning to have two essay examinations, the first one will be a short teaser to let you know how I do test and the final will be a major exam. Additionally, I would like very much for you to gain some ready use of computers and the Internet. Thus each of you will produce a short paper using both traditional sources (that means books and articles) and the net. To test your skills further, we will do short quizzes on each of the three outside readings, quizzes which will include a section on textbook reading that surrounds the book in question. We will talk about each of these things before they happen, so relax.

Your grade for the course will thus be made up of

1. the admit cards (which will total one full grade),

2. the three quizzes (which will together make up 1.3 grade), and

4. the essay exams (a full grade for the mid-term and 1.3 for the final),

5. the "technology" assignment.

Yes, I add + and - to all your grades and show your grades to you as the semester progresses.

I do not take attendance regularly; but when I do, you usually receive one point of credit for attending; this credit is a reward for attending, not a punishment for not attending. Let me alert you, though, students who do not attend regularly usually attain a poorer grade than those who do; also, we need your experience and insights in class discussions.

My office is in Whitener 216: my office hours are daily from about 8:15 to 17h; you are welcome to make appoints for you to see me at any time. The phone numbers are 262-6023 (office) and 264-5514 (home). Come see me and, if you cannot come to see me or if I am not around, call me; I have answering machines in both places. The e-mail address is PetschauerPW@AppState.edu and I am in the process of creating a web site for current stuff.

Week 1: History: What is it these days?

Week 2: 3.5+ million years ago/Villages and anthropology (Chap. 1)

Week 3: Goddesses to Gods/ The Transition from Villages to Cities

Discuss and quiz Gilgamesh

Week 4: The Emergence of Trade/ First Ways of

Destroying the Environment

Week 5: The Greek Cities and Democracy (Chap. 3)

Week 6: Alexander/The Emergence of a Mediterranean Culture

(Chap. 4)

Week 7: Early Roman Perspectives (Chap. 5)/ Exam

Fall Break

Week 8: The Roman Empire (Chap. 6)

Week 9: A Common World/The Han (Chap. 6/9)

Week 10: The Great Religious Teachers (Chap. 2/7)

Week 11: Feudalisms/ New Administrative Techniques (Chap. 14/15)

Discuss and quiz Canterbury Tales

Week 12: Silk, Swords, and Backwardness (Chap. 12/13)

Week 13: Whose Renaissance was it Anyway? (Chap. 17)

Week 14: The Reformation

Week 15: Non-European Empires (Chap. 8/10/11)

Discuss and quiz Thousand and One Nights

Week 16: A Common World Begins (Chap. 16)

FINAL: .