DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
HIS 304 | Spring 2008 | Dr. D. Zizwe Poe
HISTORY OF NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATION PART I (Pre 300 CE)
MWF 3 – 3:50 pm | DH 141
Professor D. Zizwe Poe | email: history304sp2008@gmail.com
OFFICE: Room 377, Dickey Hall | Extension: 7298
OFFICE HOURS: M W , Noon - 3pm
The course is a topical seminar that surveys the development of human civilization in the region of the Nile Valley from earliest times to the demise of the ancient Egyptian society. Geomorphologic phenomena are explored and their relation to human culture is assessed. The Sudanese and Saharan influence on the Nile Valley civilizations is examined. The core of instruction will focus on developments in ancient Egypt and the influence of Egyptian cultural on the ‘Abrahamic’ religions.

Learner Outcomes:

1. Ability to identify the impact of geomorphic change on social developments.
2. Ability to recognize hieroglyphic signs at an introductory level.
3. Demonstrate familiarity with Nile Valley historiography with a keen focus on ancient Egyptian historiography.
4. Development of critical thinking skills and presentation clarity.

Themes:

1. Our world is dynamic and that dynamism has a dialectical effect on human culture.
2. The civilizations in the Nile Valley are the earliest human civilizations in recorded history.
3. Human culture and political centralization flowed from the South and West to the North and East.
4. Ancient Egyptian society lasted for at least 3200 years.
5. Nile Valley civilizations influenced the dominant world religions.
6. Science, math and written language are thought to have evolved in the Nile valley.

Grading formula:

1. Prompt attendance (25%).
2. Quizzes, reading and audio-visual answer-sheet assignments worth a total of (25%) of your grade.
3. There will be 2 (two) tests worth 25 percentage points each for a total of (50%) of your grade.
4. A = 95-100%; A- = 90-94%; B+ = 85-89%; B = 80-84%; B- = 75-79%; C+ = 70-74%; C = 65-69%; C- = 60-64%; D = 55-59%; F = 0-54%

Texts for the class:

  • General History of Africa, V2 [GHA]
  • Nile Valley Civilizations [NVC]
  • Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization [NVCC]

Week 1 – Introduction to course

Week 2 – Introduction to Mdw Ntr

Week 3 – Geo-Morphology and Culture

Reading Material:
  • General History of Africa, Vol. 2, Editor: G. Mokhtar [GHA]. Chapter 1: Origin of the Ancient Egyptians; by C. A. Diop;
  • GHA. Annex to Chapter 1: Report of the symposium on ‘The Popling of Ancient Egypt and the Deciphering of the Meroitic Script’
  • View: Week 3 video clips.

Week 4 – The Itrw (Nile River) and its impact on African History

Reading Material:

  • Exploding the Myths Vol1: The Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization [NVCC], Anthony Browder. Chapter 1: The Nile Valley
  • View: Week 4 video clips.

Week 5 – Pre-KMT River Valley Civilizations

Reading Material:

  • NVCC. Chapter 2: The Peopling of Kemet and Egypt
  • View: Week 5 video clips.

Week 6 – Pre-Dynastic KMT

Reading Material:

  • Nile Valley Civilizations, [NVC] Editor: Ivan Van Sertima: The Lost Pharaohs of Nubia, by Bruce Williams.
  • View: Week 6 video clips.

Week 7 – Amazing achievements of KMT’s ‘Old Kingdom’ part 1

Reading Material

  • GHA. Chapter 2: Pharonic Egypt; by A. Abu Bakr;
  • NVCC. Chapter 3: The Historical Accomplishments of Kemet.
  • View: Week 7 video clips.

Week 8 – Amazing achievements of KMT’s ‘Old Kingdom’ part 2

Reading Materials

  • GHA. Chapter 2: Pharonic Egypt; by A. Abu Bakr;
  • NVCC. A. Browder. Chapter 3: The Historical Accomplishments of Kemet.
  • View: Week 8 video clips.

Week 9 – KMT’s Social Revolution: the First Intermediate Period

  • Reading Material:
  • GHA. Chapter 2: Pharonic Egypt; by A. Abu Bakr;
  • GHA.Chapter 3: Pharonic Egypt: Society, Economics, and Culture by J. Yoyotte.
  • NVCC. Chapter 3: The Historical Accomplishments of Kemet.
  • View: Week 9 video clips.

Week 10 – The Global Empire: KMT’s ‘Middle Kingdom’ part 1

  • GHA. Chapter 2: Pharonic Egypt; by A. Abu Bakr;
  • GHA.Chapter 3: Pharonic Egypt: Society, Economics, and Culture by J. Yoyotte.
  • GHA.Chapter 4: Egypt’s Relations with the Rest of Africa by A. H. Zayed.
  • NVCC. Chapter 3: The Historical Accomplishments of Kemet.
  • View: Week 10 video clips.

Week 11 – The Global Empire: KMT’s ‘Middle Kingdom’ part 2

Reading Material: View: Week 3 video clips.

Week 12 – KMT’s Second Intermediate Period and the ‘New Kingdom’

Reading Material: View: Week 3 video clips.

Week 13 – KMT’s Last Kingdom’s and the Greco-Roman Period

Reading Material: View: Week 3 video clips.

Week 14 – KMT’s Expansive and Enduring Legacy

Reading Material: View: Week 3 video clips.

Week 15 – Final Review and Final