Ancient Middle Eastern Cities

Transcription

1 Ancient Middle Eastern Cities HI Department of History North Carolina State University Fall Semester 2017 Monday-Wednesday 10:15 11:30am 243 Withers Hall Instructor Dr. Tate Paulette Office location: 460 Withers Hall Office hours: Monday and Thursday, 3:00 4:30pm Phone: Course Description For more than a century, archaeologists have been working to uncover and resurrect the urban centers of ancient Mesopotamia, where the very idea of the city was first envisioned and put into practice. This seminar offers both a general introduction to urban history and a detailed examination of the archaeological and historical evidence for cities in Mesopotamia from Uruk and Ur to Babylon and Baghdad. We will explore a range of topics, including urbanization, urban economies, urban landscapes, urban space, urban planning, and the urban experience, as well as the social, political, and cultural dimensions of urbanism. Chronologically, we will begin with the Urban Revolution of the fourth millennium BC and end with the founding of the first Islamic cities during the later part of the first millennium AD. This is a writing-intensive course. Alongside our collective exploration of urban history and the archaeology of urbanism in Mesopotamia, you will be tasked with producing an original research paper of 4,800 6,000 words (approximately pages, double-spaced). A significant proportion of your time, both in and out of class, will be devoted to this paper, and the course is designed to guide you through the research and writing process. Credit hours: 3 Prerequisites: Undergraduate standing in history GEP category: None Learning Outcomes You will leave this course with a broad theoretical grounding in urban history and the archaeology of urbanism and with a detailed, deep-time perspective on the long history of urbanism in ancient Mesopotamia. You will also leave with a renewed appreciation for historical argumentation and with a clear understanding of the distinct challenges and potentials involved in working with historical and archaeological source material. A series of writing assignments, in-class discussions, and course readings will guide you through the nonlinear and sometimes chaotic process of producing a piece of original historical research. As a result, you will emerge from the course with a robust set of research, writing, and organizational skills that will prove invaluable any time you are called on to manage a complex, open-ended, and multi-stranded project in the future. Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 1

2 Readings There is one textbook for the course. All other readings will be posted on the course website. All readings should be completed before class on the day indicated (see schedule below). Abbott, Andrew Digital paper: A manual for research and writing with library and internet materials. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Requirements (available for purchase at NC State bookstore: used, $15.00) Class participation You are expected to be present and prepared for all class meetings and to participate fully in all discussions and peer review exercises. You will be graded on preparation for class, participation in class discussions and peer review exercises, discussion leading (see below), and your research paper presentation (see below). Leading discussion (date to be assigned) You and one (or two) of your classmates will lead an in-class discussion revolving around the assigned readings. You are required to meet outside of class in order to prepare for the discussion. At a minimum, the in-class discussion should include an effort to engage with the key concepts and perspectives introduced by the assigned readings, as well as an effort to explore common themes and points of agreement and disagreement among the readings. You are encouraged to spend some time outside of class investigating any difficult (or particularly important) concepts that appear in the readings, as well as the academic biographies of the authors. You are also encouraged to think creatively about ways of generating discussion and engaging with the issues under discussion. You will be graded (as part of your class participation grade, see above) on your level of preparation and your in-class efforts to generate and guide discussion. You will be asked to lead a discussion twice during the semester. Journal (see below for dates) You will complete a series of brief, informal journal entries dedicated to the following topics. You will be graded on your level of engagement with each journal assignment. Journal 1: Potential research topics ( 8/28) Journal 2: Potential research focus ( 9/11) Journal 3: Potential paper topics ( 9/18) Journal 4: Reading reflections (Exploring your topic) ( 9/27) Journal 5: Reading reflections (Assigned readings for 11/15) ( 11/15) Design document ( 9/25, 10/2, 10/30) You will create and periodically update a design document that specifies the key questions driving your research project (see Abbott 2014). You will be graded on your efforts to identify and explore probing research questions and on your efforts to revisit, update, and adjust the design document as your project changes shape. Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 2

3 Research paper proposal ( 10/9) You will produce a brief ( words, approximately 2 pages, double-spaced), formal, research paper proposal that succinctly articulates the questions driving your research project, the primary sources that you will analyze, and the analytical methods that you will employ, while also situating your project within a broader historical context and a broader history of academic discussion. Your proposal should include a preliminary title that both grabs the reader s attention and hints at the research paper s eventual argument. You will be graded on clarity, organization, argumentation, and the overall quality of your proposal. Annotated bibliography ( 10/23) You will produce an annotated bibliography that includes at least eight academic references that are of direct relevance to your research project. Each reference should include an informal paragraph that summarizes the content of the reference and its relevance to your project. You will be graded on choice of references (i.e., sources that are appropriate for your project), on the formatting of references, and on your level of engagement with these references. Research paper draft ( 11/20) You will submit a rough draft of your research paper (4,800 6,000 words, approximately pages, double-spaced). You will be graded on content, argumentation, and use of sources rather than style, grammar, and formatting (which must be carefully tailored for the final submission of the research paper). Research paper presentation (date to be assigned, either 11/27 or 11/29) You will deliver a minute, in-class, illustrated (e.g. PowerPoint) presentation that summarizes the argument presented in your research paper. You will be graded (as part of your class participation grade, see above) on the organization, clarity, and content of your presentation, as well as your ability to succinctly articulate the key components of your project within the specified time range. Research paper ( 12/11) Grading You will submit an original research paper of 4,800 6,000 words (approximately pages, double-spaced) on a topic of your choice within the broader domain of ancient middle eastern cities. Formatting guidelines will be provided. You will be graded on style/grammar/formatting, on the clarity of your argumentation, on your use of primary and secondary sources, on your engagement with the themes explored in the course, and on the overall strength of your argument. Assessment Class participation 15% Journal 10% Design document 10% Research paper proposal 10% Annotated bibliography 10% Research paper draft 15% Research paper 30% Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 3

4 Grading Scale A % A 93 96% A % B % B 83 86% B % C % C 73 76% C % D % D 63 66% D 60 62% F 00 59% Attendance Attendance will be taken during each class meeting. You will not be penalized for your first two unexcused absences. After two unexcused absences, each subsequent unexcused absence will decrease your final grade for the course by 2 percentage points. All excused absences must be cleared with the instructor prior to class or, in the case of unanticipated absences, within one week of the absence. It is your responsibility to contact the instructor with the required documentation and to arrange for any necessary make-up work. Please see the NC State policy on attendance at the following website. Late Assignments Assignments submitted after the date will result in an automatic reduction of 10 percentage points (i.e. one whole letter grade) per day late. Use of Online Sources Your writing assignments may include references to online sources, subject to the following restrictions. You may not cite Wikipedia.org as a source. You may cite online books and academic journal articles, but these must be referenced as books and journal articles, not as websites. You may also cite web content hosted by academic institutions (web addresses usually end in.edu,.org, or.gov), but each citation must be accompanied by a footnote explaining why the source in question qualifies as a reputable academic source. Use of Laptop Computers and Tablets You may use a laptop computer or tablet to take notes in class, but this privilege may be revoked at any time (for the class as a whole) if it is being abused. Policy on Academic Honesty Regardless of discipline, honest and rigorous scholarship is at the foundation of a Research I institution. Students are bound by the academic integrity policy as stated in NCSU Code of Student Conduct: Students are required to uphold the university pledge of honor and exercise honesty in completing every assignment. Instructors may require students to write the Honor Pledge on every exam and assignment and to sign or type their name after the pledge ( I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this test or assignment. ). Violations of academic integrity will result in referral to the Office of Student Conduct with a recommendation of a failing grade for the assignment, and they will be reported to the department head. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with the Disability Services Office at Suite 2221, Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, For more information on NC State s policy on working with students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG ). Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 4

5 Schedule (Note: Schedule is subject to change with appropriate notification to students.) Week Topic Date Readings Assignments 1 Introduction 8/16 Urbanism 2 Urbanism 8/21 Urban history Introduction to research and writing 8/23 Cronon 1991 (Prologue) Kostof 1991 (Intro) Calvino 1972 (Ch. 1 2) Clark 2013 Mumford 1961 (Ch. 1:1, 4, 18) Abbott 2014 (To the Reader; Ch. 1) 3 The archaeology of urbanism Student-led discussion 1 8/28 Yoffee 2015 Marcus and Sabloff 2008 Journal 1 Urbanism in Mesopotamia 3 Mesopotamia: Environment, geography, chronology The nonlinearity of research 8/30 Polk and Schuster 2005 (Ch. 3, 5, 7 9) Abbott 2014 (Ch. 2) NO CLASS: Labor Day 9/4 No assigned readings 4 Primary sources: Historical Locating and using sources 9/6 Van De Mieroop 1999 (Intro, Ch. 1) Postgate 1992 (Ch. 3) Abbott 2014 (Ch. 3) Primary sources: Archaeological 9/11 Matthews 2003 (Ch. 1 2) Journal 2 5 Urbanism in Mesopotamia Getting started on your research project 9/13 Van De Mieroop 1997 (Ch. 1, 3, 4) Abbott 2014 (Ch. 4) 6 Urbanism in Mesopotamia Student-led discussion 2 9/18 McMahon 2013 Adams 1981 (Preface; Ch. 6) Journal 3 Research and writing 6 Research and writing strategies Discussion: Abbott /20 Abbott 2014 (Ch. 5 12, one chapter assigned to each student) Readings chosen by student Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 5

6 7 Argument construction: Audience, style, structure Discussion: Examples of argument construction 9/25 Readings chosen by student Design Document 1 Reading into your topic Design document: Peer comments 9/27 Readings chosen by student Journal 4 Urbanism in Mesopotamia through time 8 Late Chalcolithic period ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urbanization Student-led discussion 3 10/2 Jacobs 1969 (Ch. 1) Smith et al Pournelle and Algaze 2014 Design Document 2 Late Chalcolithic period ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urbanization 10/4 Algaze 2013 Nissen et al (Ch. 4 8, 14) Lawler Early Bronze Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban economies Student-led discussion 4 10/9 Scott 1998 (Ch. 1) Adams 2004 Research paper proposal Early Bronze Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban economies 10/11 Steinkeller 2007 Stein 2004 Writing workshop 10/16 No assigned readings 10 Writing workshop Discussion: Roadblocks, challenges, possibilities 10/18 No assigned readings 11 Middle/Late Bronze Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban space Student-led discussion 5 10/23 Smith 2003 (Ch. 5) Smith 2010 Annotated bibliography Middle/Late Bronze Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban space 10/25 Keith 2003 Stone 1981 Stone and Zimansky 1995 Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 6

7 12 Iron Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban planning Student-led discussion 6 Iron Age ( BC) Theoretical focus: Urban planning 10/30 11/1 Scott 1998 (Ch. 4) Le Corbusier 1987 (Ch. 1 2, 7) Smith 2007 Otto 2015 Finkel and Seymour 2008 Design Document 3 13 Individual meetings with instructor 11/6 No assigned readings 11/8 No assigned readings 14 Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanian, and Early Islamic periods (330 BC AD 1258) Theoretical focus: The urban experience Student-led discussion 7 11/13 Kenny 2014 (Introduction) Abu-Lughod 1987 Kennedy 1985 NO CLASS 11/15 Research paper: Final phase Grajetzki 2011 (pp ) Micheau 2015 Journal 5 15 NO CLASS 11/20 No assigned readings NO CLASS: Thanksgiving 11/22 No assigned readings Research paper draft 16 Research paper presentations 11/27 No assigned readings 11/29 No assigned readings Research paper presentation 18 RESEARCH PAPER 12/11 Research paper Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 7

8 Readings Abu-Lughod, Janet L The Islamic city Historic myth, Islamic essence, and contemporary relevance. International Journal of Middle East Studies 19, no. 2: Abbott, Andrew Digital paper: A manual for research and writing with library and internet materials. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Adams, Robert McC Heartland of cities: Surveys of ancient settlement and land use on the central floodplain of the Euphrates. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Preface; Ch. 6, Conclusion) Adams, Robert McC The role of writing in Sumerian agriculture: Asking broader questions. In Assyrian and beyond: Studies presented to Mogens Trolle Larsen, ed. J. G. Dercksen, 1 8. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. Algaze, Guillermo The end of prehistory and the Uruk period. In The Sumerian world, ed. Harriet Crawford, London: Routledge. Calvino, Italo Invisible cities. Orlando: Harcourt. (Ch. 1 2) Charpin, Dominique The history of ancient Mesopotamia: An overview. In Civilizations of the ancient Near East, ed. Jack M. Sasson, New York: Scribner. Clark, Peter Introduction. In The Oxford handbook of cities in world history, ed. Peter Clark, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cronon, William Nature s metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. (Prologue: Cloud over Chicago) Finkel, I. L., and M. J. Seymour (eds.) Babylon. With contributions from J. E. Curtis, A. R. George, J. Marzahn, J. E. Reade, and J. J. Taylor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (The city; The site of Babylon today) Grajetzki, Wolfram Greeks and Parthians in Mesopotamia and beyond: 331 BC 224 AD. London: Bristol Classical Press. (The archaeology of the region; Seleucia-Ctesiphon; Babylon; Uruk) Jacobs, Jane The economy of cities. New York: Random House. (Ch. 1, Cities first rural development later) Keith, Kathryn The spatial patterns of everyday life in Old Babylonian neighborhoods. In The social construction of ancient cities, ed. Monica L. Smith, Washington: Smithsonian Books. Kennedy, Hugh From polis to madina: Urban change in Late Antique and Early Islamic Syria. Past and Present 106: Kenny, Nicolas The feel of the city: Experiences of urban transformation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (Introduction: The body urban) Kostof, Spiro The city shaped: Urban patterns and meanings through history. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. (Introduction) Lawler, Andrew North versus South, Mesopotamian style. Science 312: Le Corbusier The city of to-morrow and its planning. New York: Dover Publications. (Ch. 1, The pack-donkey s way and man s way; Ch. 2, Order; Ch. 7, The great city) Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 8

9 Marcus, Joyce, and Jeremy A. Sabloff Cities and urbanism: Central themes and future directions. In The ancient city: New perspectives on urbanism in the Old and New World, eds. Joyce Marcus and Jeremy A. Sabloff, Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research Press. Matthews, Roger The archaeology of Mesopotamia: Theories and approaches. London: Routledge. (Ch. 1, Defining a discipline: Mesopotamian archaeology in history; Ch. 2, Tools of the trade: Scope and methods of Mesopotamian archaeology) McMahon, Augusta Mesopotamia. In The Oxford handbook of cities in world history, ed. Peter Clark, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Micheau, Françoise Baghdad, an imperial foundation ( CE). In Early cities in comparative perspective, 4000 BCE 1200 CE, ed. Norman Yoffee, The Cambridge World History, Vol. 3. With Nicola Terrenato. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mumford, Lewis The city in history: Its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. San Diego: Harcourt. (Ch. 1:1, The city in history; Ch. 4, The nature of the ancient city; Ch. 18, Retrospect and prospect) Nissen, Hans J., Peter Damerow, and Robert K. Englund Archaic bookkeeping: Early writing and techniques of economic administration in the ancient Near East. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Ch. 4, Prehistoric means of administration; Ch. 5, The emergence of writing; Ch. 6, Archaic numerical sign systems; Ch. 7, The archaic bookkeeping system; Ch. 8, The administrative activities of Kushim; Ch. 14, The Titles and Professions List) Otto, Adelheid Neo-Assyrian capital cities: From imperial headquarters to cosmopolitan cities. In Early cities in comparative perspective, 4000 BCE 1200 CE, ed. Norman Yoffee, The Cambridge World History, Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Polk, Milbry, and Angela M. H. Schuster (eds.) The looting of the Iraq Museum, Baghdad: The lost legacy of ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (Ch. 3, Dawn of Civilization; Ch. 5, From Village to Empire: The Rise of Sumer and Akkad; Ch. 7, Babylonians and Assyrians; Ch. 8, In the Wake of Alexander: Parthians and Sassanians; Ch. 9, The Coming of Islam) Postgate, J. N Early Mesopotamia: Society and economy at the dawn of history. London: Routledge. (Ch. 3, The written record) Pournelle, Jennifer R., and Guillermo Algaze Travels in Edin: Deltaic resilience and early urbanism in Greater Mesopotamia. In Preludes to urbanism: The Late Chalcolithic of Mesopotamia, eds. Augusta McMahon and Harriet Crawford, McDonald Institute Monographs. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Scott, James C Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. New Haven: Yale University Press. (Ch. 1, Nature and space; Ch. 4, The High- Modernist city: An experiment and a critique) Smith, A. T The political landscape: Constellations of authority in early complex polities. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Ch. 5, Regimes) Smith, Michael E Form and meaning in the earliest cities: A new approach to ancient urban planning. Journal of Planning History 6, no. 1: Smith, Michael E The archaeological study of neighborhoods and districts in ancient cities. Journal of Anthropological Anthropology 29: Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 9

10 Smith, Michael E., Jason Ur, and Gary M. Feinman Jane Jacobs cities first model and archaeological reality. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38, no. 4: Stein, Gil J Structural parameters and sociocultural factors in the economic organization of North Mesopotamian urbanism in the third millennium B.C. In Archaeological Perspectives on Political Economies, ed. Gary M. Feinman and Linda M. Nicholas, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. Steinkeller, Piotr City and countryside in third-millennium southern Babylonia. In Settlement and society: Essays dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams, ed. Elizabeth C. Stone, Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Stone, Elizabeth C Texts, architecture, and ethnographic analogy: Patterns of residence in Old Babylonian Nippur. Iraq 43: Stone, Elizabeth C., and Paul Zimansky The tapestry of power in a Mesopotamian city. Scientific American April 1995: Van De Mieroop, Marc The ancient Mesopotamian city. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (Ch. 1, City and society in ancient Mesopotamia; Ch. 3, City and countryside: The Mesopotamian view; Ch. 4, The urban lanscape) Van De Mieroop, Marc Cuneiform texts and the writing of history. London: Routledge. (Introduction; Ch. 1, The first half of history) Yoffee, Norman Introduction: A history of the study of early cities. In Early cities in comparative perspective, 4000 BCE 1200 CE, ed. Norman Yoffee, The Cambridge World History, Vol. 3. With Nicola Terrenato. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ancient Middle Eastern Cities (HI ) 10