Instructor: Prof. Britt Hartenberger
Department of Anthropology, WMU

Why is Mesopotamia called the "cradle of civilization"? What is unique about this civilization and how did it emerge amidst developments in Egypt and the rest of the Near East? This course will examine cultural development and the rise of complex society in the ancient Near East as a case study of the rise of 'civilization' worldwide. It will primarily focus on Mesopotamia but also include Egypt, since these two civilizations developed quite differently despite being in the same general part of the world and both being on major rivers. The course will have one required text and also include a coursepack with current articles on topics such as cities, households, and political ideology.

Required Text
Pollock, Susan. 1999. Ancient Mesopotamia. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521575680.
And Coursepack of articles available in WMU bookstore.

Resources

Open syllabus in pdf format

Go to WebCT/Vista page for course: https://vista.wmich.edu/webct/logon/131095708031

Below: web version of syllabus

Syllabus

AN5010 / Spring 2008
W 6:00–8:30 pm
Moore Hall 01115
Questions? Office Hours: Monday 3:15-4:30, Tuesday 1-2 and other times by appointment

Since the course will examine the Mesopotamian civilization in-depth, you will learn how some of the major features of this civilization developed, such as its early writing, cities, and socio-political organization. One important goal of the course is to understand current theories about the emergence of social complexity and critically evaluate how these may explain its development in the Near East. We will compare Egypt with Mesopotamia to see how these contemporary societies developed in different ways. The course will also acquaint you with several different varieties of complex societies that are found world-wide.  

Other required readings will be available in a coursepack ("CP" below), available in the WMU Bookstore.
The readings listed below should be completed before that class date so that they can be discussed in class.
* The first few weeks will laying out the timeline for the periods we'll be discussing in Mesopotamia and review theories of the origin of 'civilization.' After this, each week's class will be organized into half lecture and half discussion of the readings and concepts. It is expected that since class meets only once a week, attendance will be a priority and students will be well prepared to talk in class about the readings.
* The final grade will be based on a map quiz (5%), midterm (25%), final exam (20%), and final paper (30%), as well as class participation in discussion (20%). Students will be asked to each summarize one of the Topics readings in a short class presentation as half of their discussion grade. You may wish to expand on your or someone else's presentation topic reading for your final paper. The final paper itself is worth 30%, and of this grade, 2/3 is the paper itself and 1/3 is the title and bibliography on the topic, due earlier in the semester.

Schedule

Week 1: January 9     Introduction to 'civilizations'
What is a complex society? Outline of research in Mesopotamia

Week 2: January 16     Current Theories of Complexity
Current debates and theories of development
Reading: Archaic States, Introduction (CP)
    Yoffee's Myths of the Archaic State, Chapter 2 (CP)

Week 3: January 23     The ancient Near East
Environment and cultural history of early periods
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, chapter 2
   Brewer and Teeter's Egypt and the Egyptians, chapter 2 (CP)

Week 4: January 30     Settlement patterns
Adams's survey and site hierarchies
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, chapter 3
   Adams's and Nissen's The Uruk Countryside, pages 9-27 (CP)
*Map quiz on sites in Mesopotamia*

Week 5: February 6     Economic development
The tributary economy and the Uruk expansion
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, chapter 4
    Stein and Ozbal in Settlement and Society (CP)

Week 6: February 13     Economics at the household level
'Great households' and household production in the third millennium
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, chapter 5
    Keith in Social Construction of Ancient Cities (CP)

Week 7: February 20
Midterm

Week 8: February 27     Administration and labor
Writing, bureaucracy and the peoples' councils
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, chapter 6
   Postgate in Early Mesopotamia, chapter 10 (CP)

SPRING BREAK

Week 9: March 12     Kingship and power legitimization
Ideology and images of power, using religion and monuments
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia Chapter 7
*Paper title and bibliography due*

Week 10: March 19     Pharoah's rule in Egypt
Kingship in Egypt vs. Mesopotamia, uses of "high culture"
Reading: Brewer and Teeter's Egypt and the Egyptians, chapter 5 (CP)

Week 11: March 26     Urbanism and early cities
City planning and organization of space
Reading: Stone in Settlement and Society (CP)

Week 12: April 2   Urbanism in Egypt
Egypt's own form of urbanism
Reading: Bard in Emergence and Change in Early Urban Societies (CP)

Week 13: April 9    Empire-building and political cycles
Cyclicality and fragmentation in later Mesopotamian history
Reading: Marcus in Archaic States (CP)

Week 14: April 16    Linking theory and data
Why southern Mesopotamia? Comparisons with Egypt
Reading: Ancient Mesopotamia, Chapter 9
   Algaze in Settlement and Society (CP)

Week 15: Wednesday, April 23 FINAL EXAM (take-home)