World History I

Of what significance was Timbuktu?What great civilizations grew in Africa?Why was Socrates put on trial?Why did two of Julius Caesar's best friends betray him?Of what significance was the signing of the Magna Carta?Students will find answers to these and other questions by accessing textbooks, primary sources and computerized information.
Textbook: Wallbank, T. Walter, and Schreier, Arnold, and Maier, Donna, and Gutierrez-Smith, Patricia, History and Life. [Fourth Edition].Glenview, Illinois:Scott, Foresman and Company, 1993

COMPETENCY GOAL 1: The learner will develop a general understanding of the flow of events in world history, and the language used in the study of history. Objectives:
The learner will

• develop and demonstrate an awareness of the importance of history and its impact on the world today.
• develop and demonstrate an awareness of the cause and effect relationship in history;i.e.: how the individuals making bad choices and actions of people in history, as well as the circumstances of the natural world, have affected outcomes in history and ultimately had an impact on the lives of people today.
• become familiar with the sequence of important events in world history and be able to communicate this knowledge.
• develop an awareness of the interaction of peoples throughout history and understand how, while this interaction often has led to problems such as war, it has been generally beneficial to the progress of human civilization.
• understand and demonstrate an ability to use the basic terms used in the study and analysis of history, including the following:
• civilization
• culture
• society
• age, era, period
• government
• state
• nation
• colony
• develop an appreciation for various cultures throughout history.
• be able to compare and contrast the various forms of government which have existed throughout history, and the ways in which they have hindered or promoted human achievement.
• develop a general understanding of geographic conditions and how they have affected human development from earliest times.
• become familiar with world geography, being able to identify the continents, oceans, major rivers and mountain ranges of the world, and have a general understanding of how these features as well as climatic factors have affected people throughout history.
• be able to read maps and locate continents, regions, nations, boundaries, cities and towns, roads, canals, harbors, fortifications and trade routes.
• recognize how the regions, cities, cultural centers and political entities of the ancient world correspond to those of the modern world.
• develop an appreciation for the work of archaeologists and anthropologists in helping us to understand the world.
• develop a general understanding of the basic tenets of the world’s major religions and how these tenets have supported ethical behavior, including justice and respect for human rights.In this, the World History course and the first-year curriculum of the Religion Department mutually reinforce each other.
• become familiar with the major ancient cultures of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Western Hemisphere, and be able to communicate this knowledge.
• develop an appreciation for the specific contributions of the ancient world’s cultures to the advancement of civilization.
• think about the problems encountered by human beings throughout history, including those directly caused by human beings; they should appreciate the efforts of people throughout history to overcome these problems.

COMPETENCY GOAL 2: The learner will be able to discuss and write about world history competently. Objectives:
The learner will

• present a general overview of pre-history through discussion of the findings of archaeology and anthropology.
• present a general overview of world history from early Mesopotamian societies through the Late Middle Ages in Europe, including a survey of pre-Columbian American civilizations, as well as Asian and African civilizations to about 1500 AD
• present the history of the following in some depth:
• Mesopotamia
• Early peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle-East
• Egypt
• Greece
• Rome
• the Indus Valley and Early India
• China through the Tang Dynasty
• the Byzantine Empire
• the Rise and Spread of Islam
• the Empires of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Kush, Axum, Ghana and Mali
• the development of Europe in the Middle Ages, from feudalism to the formation of early nation-states.
• the revival of trade in Europe, and the resulting cultural exchanges and conflicts with the peoples of the Middle-East
• the events that led to the European Renaissance
• the Age of Exploration and Discovery
• present a general overview, through a combination of lecture and research assignments, of the early history of Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Mesoamerica and South America.
• develop and demonstrate research skills in projects that encourage the use of the Internet as well as the print resources available in our library.
• Use maps effectively, and understand the various types of maps, including
• physical maps
• historical maps
• political maps

COMPETENCY GOAL 3: The learner will recognize how the particular civilizations studied in this course have influenced the world at large, and appreciate the contributions they have made to humankind. Objectives:
The learner will

• trace the development and assess the achievements of early river civilizations, including but not limited to those around the Huang, Nile, Indus, and Tigris-Euphrates rivers.
• describe the impact of the early Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern civilizations and their inventions on the later history of the area and the world
• identify the roots of Greek civilization and recognize its achievements from the Minoan era through the Hellenistic period.
• describe the developments and achievements of Roman civilization and analyze the significance of the fall of Rome.
• examine the importance of India as a hub of world trade and as a cultural and religious center during its Golden Age.
• assess the distinctive achievements of Chinese and Japanese civilizations.
• describe the rise and achievements of the Byzantine and Islamic civilizations.
• describe the rise and achievements of African civilizations, including but not limited to Axum, Ghana, Kush, Mali, Nubia, and Songhai.
• evaluate the achievements of the major civilizations of the Americas during the pre-Columbian epoch including, but not limited to, the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas.
• describe the social arrangements of Europe in the Middle Ages and how they changed
• describe the rise of the modern nation state and the reasons for it
• describe and discuss the events, inventions, and conflicts that led to the European Renaissance and the Age of Exploration and Discovery

Technology Learning Outcomes
The student can

• Identify and use letter and number keys.
• Manage the return/enter and delete /backspace keys.
• Utilize informal keyboarding skills to type words and phrases.
• Open saved files from the default location.
• Choose print options.
• Demonstrate the ability to use the Help system to locate information on a particular topic.
• Define the terms plagiarism, copyrighting, and software piracy.
• Synthesize information for appropriate use in a research report or project.
• Compare and contrast the content offered on two different web sites of the same topic.
• Develop a project using both printed and online sources.