Course Expectations for Classics 383B/Africana Studies 383C/Anth 380P: Race and Ethnicity in Ancient North Africa, Spring 2010

John Starks, Binghamton University SUNY

Required Texts:

1. Herodotus. The Histories (tr. R. Waterfield). Oxford. 1998.

2. B. Watterson. The Egyptians (Peoples of Africa Series). Blackwell, 1998.

3. F.M. Snowden, Jr. Blacks in Antiquity. Harvard. 1970.

4. J.M. Modrzejewski. The Jews of Egypt. Princeton. 1995.

5. Polybius. The Rise of the Roman Empire. (tr. I. Scott-Kilvert). Penguin. 1980.

SPECIAL NOTE: This last book was ordered BUT WILL NOT BE USED this semester. My apologies, but I had to adjust the syllabus around this – return this book to the Bookstore before the end of this week for any refunds.

[6. M. Brett, E. Fentress. The Berbers (Peoples of Africa Series). Blackwell, 1997]

The texts of several additional works are linked directly on your syllabus under daily assignments, especially significant portions of Alan Bowman’s Egypt after the Pharaohs now out of print, and smaller portions of ancient texts in translation. Download these to your personal computer or print out a copy for reading BEFORE the reading date. Bring texts with you to class. Laptop computers are always welcome.

Course Requirements:

Syllabus on the Web and in Blackboard: please check the syllabus often; every class day is preferable. I will update the syllabus frequently, adding upcoming readings, illustrations, maps, resources, and, most important, discussion questions that you should consider as you read and prepare that material for class.

Attendance and Reading:

    ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Most of the work of the class can only be completed by regular attendance and disciplined, consistent adherence to the syllabus. In this course meeting twice a week, you will average 40-50 pages of reading per session, with some sessions requiring a bit more reading time than average and some a bit less. Be prepared to spend 3-4 hours outside class for every hour in class to complete the assignments for this course.

    Please look ahead on your syllabus. Some of the readings are very dense, and you will need to take notes as you read. Do NOT wait till the last minute to do all readings. Many of the readings lend themselves to note taking as outlines or highlighting of significant passages. Use outlining to your advantage for understanding and later studying. The prepared discussion questions are intended to focus your reading and our discussion sessions around topics we have all considered. Please print out these prepared questions ahead of class for use in class.

    In-class activities in this O course for proficiency in Oral Communication will include lecture, web resources, student oral presentations, group work, and LOTS OF DISCUSSION of readings. Your class participation grade will rest on your contribution to class through questions and discussion. You will receive a daily grade for this work which will reflect my general assessment of your performance in class: A, B, C, D or 0. An absence for any reason must be counted as a 0 for discussion since you cannot participate if you are absent. For sickness or other personal reasons, I will excuse two absences (1 week of class time) at the end of the term when computing your grade. In general, I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences for purposes of daily participation grades, but PLEASE always contact me by email or phone before class if you MUST be absent on a given day. I want to know when and why you need to miss class, and make sure that you don't get too far behind. After you have totaled 4 absences from class, I reserve the right to drop you from the class or leave you on the rolls and allow your grade to be affected by your failure to attend.

    It is important to understand that participation can include informed questions, requests for further explanation, offering to answer specific questions, or any contributions that foster learning in the classroom environment.

Exams: You will take a midterm exam to be completed with resources outside class. The midterm will include comprehensive objective and/or essay questions on Egyptians, Nubians, and the Jewish community of Egypt.

Oral Projects/Papers: This is, as I said above, an O-course, and as such will involve writing of multiple papers, most of them for oral presentation, as follows:

1) ethnic self-identity (non-oral), exploration and accounting of your own ethnic heritage (10%, 3-5 pp.)

2) selected topic in African ethnicity written for up to 10 minute oral presentation to the class – visual aids and original presentation methods will be possible, though not required –please inform me well in advance of you’re a-v needs  (20%, 3-6 pp.)

3) text of a 2-minute speech to be delivered in a debate as a member of an assigned faction of the Carthaginian senate on whether to go to war with Rome (15%, 1 1/2 pp).

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND WRITTEN WORK – I cannot stress enough (and you will see more mentioned about this below) that every piece of work you turn in for a grade must be yours and yours alone. Cheating, whether in class or out of class, is a punishable offense at Binghamton University, and will be addressed very seriously in accordance with university policy.

Grade Distribution:

30% = Take-home midterm exam
35% = Oral Projects - Report on Ancient Ethnic Topic 20%, Carthaginian Debate Speech 15%
10% = Ethnic self-study paper
25% = Class Participation/Discussion/Attendance

I must insist on a firm grade scale as follows: 93-100 A, 90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B-, 77-79 C+, 73-76 C, 70-72 C-, 60-69 D, 0-59 F. I especially reserve the right to consider borderline grades as falling on either side of the divide that seems most appropriate given all grading circumstances (i.e., a 92.5 or even a 92.9 cannot automatically be assumed to round up, though I may determine that a student's overall performance may warrant such rounding). Consult me about your progress in seemingly nebulous areas such as class participation, etc. I am always available for questions about your grade, even though you may not see it posted in the Blackboard grading system.

Improvement in writing and discussion will be considered in determining your final grade.

Suggestions for Success:
    1) ALL written work to be turned in for a grade must be pledged with an affirmation of your adherence to the Student Academic Honesty Code as described at this site.
    2) Make sure that you regularly consult your binghamton.edu email [I recommend that you link that email address to your preferred email] and Blackboard, as these are the most efficient ways for me to disseminate information to everyone enrolled in this class.
    3) My only real pet peeves in classroom demeanor are CELL PHONES (turn them off), chronic tardiness, sleeping in class and not informing me and others affected if you have a schedule problem.
    4) I guess the next closest thing to a peeve is my frustration with being unable to read the minds of completely silent students.  Part of the joy of the classics is sharing what you think about it - whether good or bad. There's always something that deserves discussion, and the whole class can benefit from your insights. And (this is the lesson I've had to learn over time), if you're a natural talker, know when to balance your contribution with that of those around you. Be sensitive to the silences that sometimes occur - someone may be thinking deeply. I have toyed with the idea of using email chat rooms to help out those who are more inclined to silence, but I continue to believe that oral human communication is a most valuable gift and tool for all aspects of modern life, just as it was for the even more orally oriented cultures of the ancient world.
    5) Keep on your syllabus. This class will allow little time for catching up if you fall behind. The syllabus daily assignments are a guide and a goal. If you find yourself unable to get through the assigned readings and exercises, let's discuss it as a group or individually - work with others, divide the load and then make sure you teach each other. I prefer to have a plan, and try to find the best way to get there. CHECK YOUR SYLLABUS FREQUENTLY FOR ANY CHANGES I MAY NEED TO MAKE ALONG THE WAY.
    6) PLEASE organize before you come to class and bring ALL the appropriate books each day they are required by the syllabus. For the most part, you will need 1 or 2 books for any given session, plus an occasional extra text from online. Be prepared to mark up your books with a proper number of notes that will help you recognize key points and sectional breaks in the texts – like a self created outline. BIG REMINDER – if discussion questions are posted online for a given day, please print them out or have them available for use in class
    7) Extra Credit - fuhgedaboutit!! (Someone burned me long ago abusing extra credit. I'm afraid there is no antidote for my allergic reaction to requests for extra credit). On the other hand, you get personal extra credit for every thing you learn above and beyond the call of absolute duty, so look at the bigger picture.
    8) Final Grades are an assessment of your whole performance. I like to create many components to a grade as an evaluation of a complete student. I tend not to curve (unless something is clearly wrong with the grading apparatus) in order to preserve my overall sense of student performance and aptitude for the assignment of the more important final grade. I do consider improvements in problem areas as part of what shows your increased aptitude.
    9) Enjoy learning about the ancient world using many types of ancient and modern materials and the community of learners around you. Let's make our time in class productive, but also, as often as possible, interesting, enjoyable and thought-provoking. We will talk frequently about the ways that ancient peoples thought and lived to try to understand what they are saying to us or what outside observers tell us about them. We will change exercises and engage in discussion of ideas EVERY DAY.
     Pursuant to this end, please feel free within reason to bring coffee or other legal stimulants for these afternoon sessions.
    10) One day there may be a suggestion 10, but right now, I don't have one and there were 9 Muses, so we will leave an ennead of sage Starks suggestions for student success - maybe suggestion 10 should be to practice saying that 10 times fast.