This course covers medieval Japanese society and culture from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries, when political power rested largely in the hands of feudal warriors. Topics include religion (especially Zen Buddhism); changing concepts of "the way of the warrior;" women under feudalism; popular culture; and protest and rebellion. Presentations include weekly feature films. Assigned readings include many literary writings in translation.

This course explores the political, social, and economic factors commonly offered to explain the fall of the Roman Republic: growth of the territorial empire, increased intensity of aristocratic competition, transformation of the Italian economy, growth of the city of Rome and dependence of the urban plebs, changes in military recruitment and dependence of soldiers on their generals. There is an emphasis on the reading of ancient sources in translation, including Cicero, Sallust, Caesar, Augustus, Appian, Plutarch, and Suetonius.

Focusing on the emperors Augustus and Nero, this course investigates the ways in which Roman emperors used art, architecture, coinage and other media to create and project an image of themselves, the ways in which the surviving literary sources from the Roman period reinforced or subverted that image, and the ways in which both phenomena have contributed to post-classical perceptions of Roman emperors. Material studied will include the art, architecture, and coinage of Augustan and Neronian Rome, the works of Suetonius and Tacitus, and modern representations of the emperors such as those found in I, Claudius and Quo Vadis.

This course examines the ways in which people in ancient and contemporary societies have selected, evaluated, and used materials of nature, transforming them to objects of material culture. Some examples are: glass in ancient Egypt and Rome; sounds and colors of powerful metals in Mesoamerica; cloth and fiber technologies in the Inca empire. It also explores ideological and aesthetic criteria often influential in materials development. Laboratory/workshop sessions provide hands-on experience with materials discussed in class. This course complements 3.091.

This course will survey the conditions of material life and changing social and economic conditions in medieval Europe with reference to the comparative context of contemporary Islamic, Chinese, and central Asian experiences. Subject covers the emergence and decline of feudal institutions, the transformation of peasant agriculture, living standards and the course of epidemic disease, and the ebb and flow of long-distance trade across the Eurasian system. Particular emphasis will be placed on the study of those factors, both institutional and technological, which have contributed to the emergence of capitalist organization and economic growth in Western Europe in contrast to the trajectories followed by the other major medieval economies.

The course explores the literary masterworks of three of the most celebrated authors of the Middle Ages in their original literary and historical contexts. The various themes they take up - the importance of writing in the vernacular; the discourse of love as a form of discipline practised upon the self; the personal and political aspirations of the self in society; the constitution of ideal forms of social organization; the role of religion in the life and works of lay authors - transformed the course of much of Western literature for the next five centuries. Readings will include the entire Divine Comedy, generous selections from the Decameron, and all of Troilus and Criseyde in the original Middle English, together with samplings from the Troubadour tradition and the dolce stil nuovo.

As a quasi-historical, quasi-legendary figure of consistently great popularity, King Arthur has been subject to an extraordinary amount of reinvention and rewriting: as a Christian hero and war-leader; as an ineffective king and pathetic cuckold; and as a tragic figure of noble but doomed intentions. As we trace Arthur's evolution and that of principal knights, we will ask what underlies the appeal of this figure whose consistent reappearance in western culture has performed the medieval prophecy that he would be rex quondam et futurus: the once and future king.

This survey provides a general introduction to medieval European literature (from Late Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century) from the perspective of women writers from a variety of cultures, social backgrounds, and historical timeperiods. Though much of the class will be devoted to exploring the evolution of a new literary tradition by and for women from its earliest emergence in the West, wider historical and cultural movements will also be addressed: the Fall of the Roman Empire, the growth of religious communities, the shift from orality to literacy, the culture of chivalry and courtly love, the emergence of scholasticism and universities, changes in devotional practices, the persecution of heretics, the rise of nationalism and class consciousness. Authors will include some of the most famous women of the period: Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise of Paris, Marie de France, Christine de Pizan, Joan of Arc, Margery Kempe, along with many interesting and intriguing though lesser known figures.

This online textbook contains short articles on each major deity, hero, monster, etc., in Greek mythology. The text is supplemented with color photographs and maps to enhance the learning experience.

Short Description:
Written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC, Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus, as it is referred to by Aristotle in Poetics. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus Rex is the first in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the second to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.

Long Description:
Written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC, Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus, as it is referred to by Aristotle in Poetics. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus Rex is the first in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the second to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.

Word Count: 13604

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically as part of a bulk import process by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided. As a result, there may be errors in formatting.)

Short Description:
Written shortly before Sophocles's death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC, Oedipus at Colonus (also known as Oedipus Coloneus) is one of the three Theban plays. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus at Colonus is the second in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the last to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.

Long Description:
Written shortly before Sophocles’s death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC, Oedipus at Colonus (also known as Oedipus Coloneus) is one of the three Theban plays. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus at Colonus is the second in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the last to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.

Word Count: 14987

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically as part of a bulk import process by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided. As a result, there may be errors in formatting.)

This sourcebook offers a carefully-honed selection of Latin authors, predominately from classical antiquity, and supplemented by texts from later periods. The sourcebook purposefully includes both prose and poetry, and a range of genres, including epic, epigram, history, oratory, the letter, and the philosophical essay. Most of the core texts include supplemental notes that will elucidate key grammatical and cultural information for intermediate-level Latin students, as well as provide questions to guide their reading and contextualizing essays on the authors, texts, and ideas with which students are engaging. The book will also include a range of pedagogical resources for students at this level that have been developed and tested through over 15 years of educational practice.

Overview: Royal History is an educational hub. We'll study British history, starting with the monarchy and moving forward to the twenty-first century.
From the monarch, we shall expand to include every century's hero and villain. in addition to each and every decade's worth of imperial and political scandals.
We intend to build our centre gradually over a number of years, beginning with the fourth cemetery.
We will also study each nation in turn as we investigate world history.

Additional: We will also examine international history by taking a turn researching each nation.

Attribution link: Royalhistory.site

A Sourcebook

Short Description:
This is a collection of primary sources on Roman games and spectacles in their various forms, created for a second-year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome at the University of British Columbia. This book is intended for use in upper-level academic studies. Content Warning: The content of this book contains animal cruelty and animal death, blood, classism, death, sexual assault, violence, and other mature subject matter and potentially distressing material.

Long Description:
This is an anthology of primary sources on Roman games and spectacles in some of their various forms, created for a second-year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome (CLST 260; this book covers the Roman section of that course) at the University of British Columbia.

The sources are grouped thematically, although there is overlap between the sections. The sources come from a wide range of periods, genres, and individuals and not all are equally reliable, in that many report on things they haven’t seen or are (like some of the Christian authors) deeply hostile to because they were often connected with the worship of various pagan deities. But taken together, along with the images and other information provided, they will give some picture of the importance and complexity of spectacle for the Romans and many of the peoples they conquered or interacted with. Footnotes are used to provide information and context for those that know little about either Rome or the ancient Mediterranean.

Word Count: 87566

ISBN: 978-0-88865-459-5

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This seminar examines the global history of the last millennium, including technological change, commodity exchange, systems of production, and economic growth. Students engage with economic history, medieval and early modern origins of modern systems of production, consumption and global exchange. Topics include the long pre-history of modern economic development; medieval world systems; the age of discovery; the global crisis of the 17th century; demographic systems; global population movements; the industrial revolution; the rise of the modern consumer; colonialism and empire building; patterns of inequality, within and across states; the curse of natural resources fate of Africa; and the threat of climate change to modern economic systems. Students taking the graduate version complete additional assignments.

Short Description:
UnRoman Romans is a reader on socially stigmatized groups in ancient Rome: actors athletes, dancers, sex workers, and sexual non-conformists. This reader was created as part of a class and uses student-scholars who contributed parts of the reader as a course assignment. It contains out of copyright and original translations of ancient texts, along with introductions, glossaries, images and other explanatory material. This book is intended for use in upper-level academic studies and contains a number of very disturbing passages.

Word Count: 182077

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

A three-volume textbook covering the history of Western Civilization from c. 8000 BCE to the recent past. Written to be compatible with most existing Western Civilization courses at American colleges and universities, Western Civilization: A Concise History rejects the triumphalist narrative of western progress while still providing an essential overview of the histories of the ancient Mediterranean, Europe, and the global connections of the modern era. The "version 2.5" edition was released in September 2021 and further revisions are planned by the author.

World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. Authored by six USG faculty members with advance degrees in History, this textbook offers up-to-date original scholarship. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India’s Classical Age, the Dynasties of China, Archaic Greece, the Roman Empire, Islam, Medieval Africa, the Americas, and the Khanates of Central Asia.

It includes 350 high-quality images and maps, chronologies, and learning questions to help guide student learning. Its digital nature allows students to follow links to applicable sources and videos, expanding their educational experience beyond the textbook. It provides a new and free alternative to traditional textbooks, making World History an invaluable resource in our modern age of technology and advancement.

This is the first volume of a reader for a course covering mythology around the world. This part covers gods and creation myths.

This is the second volume of a reader for a course covering mythology around the world. This part covers heros of mythology.