Getting Started
Course Materials: CD-ROMs
Archaeology in the News
Class Discussions
Assessments and Grading
Module Overview
“Civilization" is not just a term applied to the past. It has relevance to our contemporary situation. The Discussion Forum for each module includes many "thought-provoking" questions to stimulate your reflection on the state of civilization. Feel free to submit comparable questions of your own.
Many of the issues raised in the Discussion Forum reflect the concern that Dr. Lancy has that we have failed to learn from the past. His personal view is that our leaders of the recent past and present have failed to stem the tide of decline. Overpopulation, pollution, and human-caused climate change all threaten the planet itself. Fundamentalism, sectarianism and unrestrained greed provide fuel for the every hotter fires of armed conflict. In the US, the excess of freedom over responsibility leads to homicide, accidental death and incarceration rates on a staggering scale. Anti-intellectualism, anti-science and demagoguery are becoming more popular while academic test scores, graduation rates and the health of the economy decline.
In short, it will be up to the current rising generation to take seriously the many threats to civilization and to begin to make the painful decisions that previous generations have failed to make.
Class Discussions are an important part of this class and one most students enjoy. Even though you are on a computer by yourself somewhere you have the opportunity to interact intensively with other students.
Discussion Tool
In this class we use the Discussion Tool for Introductions, for each Module Discussion, and for the writing assignment topic submission (See Archaeology in the News).
If you are unfamiliar with the Discussion Tool please see “Using the Discussion Tool” under “Start Here/Blackboard Support.”
You can access the Discussion Tool by clicking on the link in the navigation bar on the left (the blue pushpin).
Your first "discussion" assignment is to post a message introducing yourself to the class. Tell us where you are from, what you are studying, why you are taking this class, and any other interesting tidbits you would like to share.
Use this opportunity to get to know your classmates. You will be interacting with each other over the course of the semester in the Discussion Forums. This can be more enjoyable and successful when you are familiar with each other.
The Introduction Forum will only be available the first two weeks of class. Each “introduction” will earn 2 discussion points.
The focus of our discussions is civilizations of the past and their relevance to the present.
For each Module (1-8) there will be three discussion questions. Each set of questions is only available for the duration of the Module. Thus, for most modules, you have a two-week window in which to post (see the Calendar).
You can receive up to 10 points for each posting that meets the criteria below, earning up to 70 points over the course of the semester.
Students can post to all three questions and earn points in each Module. However, the maximum points awarded per Module=30.
If you post your Introduction and consistently participate throughout the semester, you should easily earn the full points. Points will not be given for comments posted after week 15.
To avoid bias, Dr. Lancy does not actually grade (although he reads and sometimes responds to) student postings. An independent grader, using criteria detailed below, will grade all discussion postings.
- 0 points if posting is brief, says nothing that hasn't already been said, is full of writing errors or errors of fact or fails to address the question or pose a related question. o No points for rehashing what someone else has already posted. You are responsible for reading all previous postings.
- 5 points for well-written, near error free, thoughtful postings that offers an original perspective on the question posed.
- 10 points for well-written, error free, thoughtful proposals that offer an original perspective on the question posed. The posting should include material drawn from trustworthy published sources, statistics and the like. Or, an original question comparable in structure to those already offered.
Excellent postings will:
- Address the issue squarely. If the topic is handguns, don’t talk about your family’s hunting trip.
- Introduce a broad historical perspective, or a cross-cultural or cross-national perspective.
- Justify and support your position with independent research, such as looking up definitions of the family.
- Make sure your assertions of fact or theory are drawn from literature in anthropology and history not from sacred or theological texts.
- Do not focus your responses only on your own experiences and opinions.
Full Point Posts:
1) The Role of Women:
I was surprised at the striking difference between the way a woman was viewed and treated in Egypt versus in Greece and Rome. From what I have read Greece seems to have been the worst place to be a woman, Rome in the middle and Egypt the best.
In ancient Athens a woman was almost seen as a piece of property, someone who had little intelligence and was too emotional and therefore was assigned a guardian to rule her life for her, to protect her from harming herself or others. Just as in ancient Rome, she was married just after puberty (from about 12-16) and all marriages were arranged, love or affection having nothing to do with it. Women were to bear the men's children and care for them silently in the home, never to be seen in public or interfere with the man's life.
In Rome things seemed to be a little better, especially by first century BCE. They still did not have political rights and couldn't vote, but men started valuing their wives more. Even though it still wasn't seen as respectable to be seen wandering outside, they managed to have a life outside the home.
Ancient Egypt was by far the best place to be a woman in the ancient world. Women still weren't seen as equal to men, but they weren't very different. They were definitely valued in society, and some became very powerful and even ruled (such as Queen Hateshput). Love and affection was very important to marriages, and men were very often depicted with their wives beside them showing they were an important part of their lives. Men and woman attended parties together (which was unheard of in ancient Greece) and a woman would always greet her husband's guests as the Mistress of the house.
2) Barbarians:
It seems like everyone is in agreement that the term "barbaric" is widely interpretive throughout history as well as throughout the world. Something that hasn’t been brought up is that historically the term is used as justification. In another class I learned about the “white man’s burden”. This is a term used throughout history to justify white, Europeans conquering other nations. They believed that because they (Great Britain for example) were white, educated, industrialized, and cultured it was their “burden” to educate the barbarians of the world, i.e. Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Southeastern Europeans. Labeling a people as barbaric justified the absolutely inhumane things that the European immigrants did to the Native Americans. When you read about the battles between the Native Americans and settlers is it clear today who the real “barbarians” were. The term really is relative and continues today to be used to justify actions.
Zero Point Posts:
1) Natural Family:
I think this is a hard subject. Yes there are many practices we read about from previous cultures that we view as not right. Does this mean they are right or wrong? I guess some it is hard to say. But I think as far as polygamy, this is obviously not a good way to live in my opinion. How could it be when there are groups and houses for refuge from people who have lived this way. I think the natural family should be taken from the example of Adam & Eve.
2) Material World:
all my stuff would say so much about me. i have stuff that shows just what i do in my everyday life like work and school. my stuff would show that i have a place in chicago and texas as well and go on probaly like ten vacations a year. i think that no matter how much stuff you really have says just as much about you. if you have very little that in its self shows a lot and how you were raised. as faqr as materialism i think me and the reat of the people in this country we are vary fortunatge to have what we do.