STRAYER HUM111 week 1 to week 5 discussions [ 10 discussions ]

WEEK 1 DISCUSSION OPTION A

"Writing and Record Keeping in Mesopotamia" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Describe the "envelope”, seal, and the early Mesopotamian writing process, and discuss expectations of record-keeping. Identify the issue being kept "on file,” and comment on what this reveals about Mesopotamian society in 1500 BC and the primary ways it compares to modern society in these respects.

Explore

Mesopotamia

• Chapter 2 (pp. 34, 38-42), early Mesopotamian writing; seal
• University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute: Tablet and envelope at http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/highlights/meso.html; scroll down to the item called “Clay Tablet and Envelope”. Click on the color and black and white images and read the captions and information.

WEEK 1 DISS OPTION B

"Egyptian Love Poetry and Mummies" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• From the samples of Egyptian love poetry, identify one (1) or two (2) lines that you especially enjoy or find interesting, and compare this poetry to some aspect of modern life. Next, describe two (2) aspects of Egyptian mummification and the early Egyptians’ beliefs related to mummification that you find surprising or intriguing. These funerary practices were driven by certain Egyptian ideas of the afterlife; compare these to modern beliefs and practices.

Explore

Egypt

• Chapter 3 (p. 84), Egyptian music
• Egyptian love poetry at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/2000egypt-love.asp and http://www.humanistictexts.org/egyptlov.htm; as in the Old Testament’s “Song of Solomon,” the terms “brother” and “sister” are terms of affection and do not refer to a biological relationship

• Chapter 3 (pp. 72-3, 84, 87-9), Egyptian mummification and beliefs about afterlife
• Egyptian mummification and burial at http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/main.html
• Atlanta Michael Carlos Museum at http://carlos.emory.edu/COLLECTION/EGYPT/egypt01.html
• Egyptologist explains mummification at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/afterlife-ancient-egypt.html

week 2 diss option A

"China's Great Wall" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Describe two (2) specific aspects about the Great Wall of China, such as facts about its size, length, purposes, varied materials, labor force, and its phases of construction. Consider the various purposes of such a wall and its impact for good or bad, and compare the Chinese wall in this respect to some specific wall of more modern times.

Explore

China and Its Great Wall

• Chapter 7 (pp. 212-213, 220), early phases, (p. 605) later phase
• Explore wall interactively at http://www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/great-wall.html
• Video at http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/discovery-atlas-china-revealed-the-great-wall.htm
• UNESCO article at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/438
• “China’s Wall Less Great in View from Space” article at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html

week 2 diss option B

"Angkor Wat and Ancient Hinduism" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Identify two (2) specific aspects of Angkor Wat, and discuss the significant concepts about the history or beliefs of Hinduism that these aspects reveal. Provide a rationale for your response. Compare this temple complex and its symbolic functions to a specific modern day religious or political center.

Explore

Hinduism and Angkor Wat

• Chapter 11 (pp. 370-1), Angkor Wat (in Cambodia), history and connections to Hindu beliefs
• Video on Angkor Wat at http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/specials/ancient-mysteries/angkor-wat-temples/

WEEK 3 DISS OPTION A

"Ancient Greek Athletics" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Describe the main ancient Greek competitive character(s), and compare the ancient Olympics (as a festival featuring athletics) to the Olympics today, identifying any major differences. Explain what the Olympic rules regarding females and evidence, such as the "running girl" artifact, reveal about female status and Greek athletics in particular Greek city-states. Provide a rationale for your response.

Explore

Ancient Greek Athletics and Female Status

• Chapter 4 (p. 116), Olympics. Chapters 4 and 5 (pp. 111-112 and 137-8), women in Sparta and Athens
• British Museum’s Running Girl artifact at http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/b/bronze_figure_of_a_girl.aspx
• Philadelphia’s Penn Museum on Women and Greek athletics at http://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicsexism.shtml

week 3 diss option B

"The Athenian Acropolis and Greek Theater" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Identify two (2) specific aspects of the Athenian Acropolis and its Parthenon, and explain their significance to ancient Greek culture and the western heritage in the arts. Comment on one (1) feature of the ancient Greek theater that you find especially intriguing. Explain the manner in which audiences today might receive the plot of the comedy Lysistrata and compare Lysistrata to a specific modern work of stage or film.

Explore

Athenian Acropolis and the Greek Theater

• Chapter 5 (pp. 140-148) Athenian Acropolis and Art, (pp. 151-156), ancient Greek drama
• Video with article from British Museum’s Elgin marbles (from the Acropolis) athttp://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/ancient_greece_and_rome/room_18_greece_parthenon_scu.aspx
• Article with video of digital reconstruction of the Parthenon at http://arth251f11.blogs.wm.edu/2011/09/17/digital-reconstruction-of-the-parthenon/
• Theater at Epidauros (double click on images to enlarge) at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Epidauros%2C+Theater&object=Building

week 4 diss option A

"Rome’s Major Urban Structures" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Select one (1) of the following famous ancient Roman structures that you find most fascinating: Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Pantheon, insulae, or bath complexes. After exploring the related resource(s) below on Rome, describe one (1) structure that you found most fascinating. Identify two (2) specific aspects of the structure in question, and make a comparison to specific aspects of modern urban life.

Explore

Rome's Major Urban Structures

• Chapter 6 (pp. 174-5, 191-207), Roman architecture
• Colosseum images at http://www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/amphitheatrum-en.htm
• Circus Maximus images at http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html and http://romancolosseum.org/circus-maximus-in-rome/
• Circus Maximus article at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/circusmaximus.html
• Roman bath complexes at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/day.html Click on the numbers for a stroll through the Baths of Caracalla

week 4 diss option B

"Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• In considering Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia, describe the primary techniques that the architects used to keep such a large dome from collapsing. Explain the key aspects of the design that allow light inside of the Hagia Sophia, and speculate on the comments that Augustine might have had on the importance of this design feature. Of the Byzantine mosaics in Chapter 8 and in the Explore area, identify the one (1) that you enjoy most. Then, explain the message that it was intended to communicate to the medieval worshipper. Identify one (1) specific work of art in modern times that communicates in some similar way, whether for religious, political, or ideological purposes.

Explore

Constantinople's Hagia Sophia

• Chapter 9 (pp. 263-277)
• Images at http://www.livescience.com/27574-hagia-sophia.html
• Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng--WLT0Xjc
• Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, Italy at http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/byzantine-justinian.html

WEEK 5

"Muslim Structures and Pilgrimage" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Describe the main purpose of the Hajj in the Muslim faith, and identify two (2) specific aspects of the Hajj that you find fascinating or significant. Next, explain the association between Muhammad and the area of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Lastly, describe the sacred art of Islam’s key qualities, and explain the fundamental reasons why Muslim artists of sacred works are reluctant to include images of humans (i.e., at least in sacred areas). Think of a place of worship (of any religion) today, and explain which type of artistic tradition would be more conducive to worship: Byzantine art (chap. 8), Hindu art (chap. 7), or Muslim art (chap. 9).

Explore

Muslim Structures and Pilgrimage

• Chapter 9 (pp. 284-291, 303-4), Dome of the Rock, Hajj, calligraphy, art (pp. 270-3), Christian mosaics in Ravenna
• National Geographic on the Hajj at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM81wroj_MQ
• Walking tour of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock and structures around it at http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200901/al-haram/tour.htm. (Focus on what you wish; the entire tour is lengthy)

WEEK 5 DISS B

"Christian Structures and Pilgrimage" Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:

• Identify two (2) aspects of Romanesque cathedral architecture, and explain their significance. Discuss two (2) details one might encounter or experience on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (i.e., on the way and / or once there) that you think a medieval Christian pilgrim might find especially meaningful. In modern times, identify the place you would find the most meaningful to visit, and explain why. Write a pragraph from a letter you might send home about this "pilgrimage".

Explore

Christian Structures and Pilgrimage

• Chapter 10 (pp. 334-341), Medieval Christian pilgrimage and Romanesque cathedrals
• Video about Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDUl04lfLs
• Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez talk about a pilgrimage on film: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/05/141077667/father-and-son-take-a-spiritual-journey-in-the-way