York Country Day School

World Civilization I

Mr. Gyenes

 

Course Description:  This course is a political, social, and cultural survey of the world’s population from pre-history to the 18th Century.  The tremendous story of world history, which is founded upon the continuous struggle and tension between continuity and change in an ever-shrinking world will be studied.

 

Textbook:  Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor and Anthony Esler.  World History:  Connections to

Today.

 

Grading: 

  1. Daily Homework
  2. In-class assignments/projects
  3. Quizzes (Quizzes will be given to reinforce content and aid in greater understanding of the material.  Quizzes will typically be multiple choice and short answer.
  4. Tests (Tests are larger and more comprehensive than quizzes.  Tests normally consist geography questions, document based questions, short answer, identification, and essay.)
  5. Small essays (normally 2-3 pages)
  6. Mid-Term and Final Exam.
  7. Final Project

 

*The final course grade will be commutated as follows:

Mid Term Exam= 10%

Final Exam = 10%

Final Project = 10%

Homework = 20%

Quizzes= 20%

Tests/Essays = 30%

 

Final Project: The final project is an Historical Summary about a topic you find interesting.  By an assigned date the student will notify me about their particular topic and begin to find TWO (2) secondary sources about that topic.  Each source will be read, evaluated, and reported upon in one 3-5 page paper.  Additionally, the student will give a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on their topic.  (More specific guidelines will be handed out in class.)

 

Academic Honesty:  Academic dishonesty refers to actions such as cheating, plagiarism, sharing homework, etc. and includes all situations where a student makes use of the work of others and claims such work as their own.  Academic dishonesty WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

 

If you ever become overwhelmed by the amount of work, do not fully understand the material, or have problems and/or concern please talk with me.

Tentative Course Schedule

 

      I.      Introduction:  What is History and Why Study It?

 

  II.      Toward Civilization:  Pre-historical Society

 

III.      First Civilizations:  Africa and Asia (3200-500 BCE)

 

      I.      Early Civilizations in India and China (2500-256 BCE)

 

  II.      Empires of India and China (600-550 BCE)

 

III.      Ancient Greece (1750-133 BCE)

 

IV.      Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity (509 BCE-476 CE)

 

   V.      Civilization of the Americas (1400 BCE-1570 CE)

 

VI.      Europe in the Early Middle Ages (500-1000 CE)

 

VII.      High Middle Ages (1000-1300 CE)

 

VIII.      The Byzantine Empire and Russia (33-1613 CE)

 

IX.      The Muslim World (622-1650 CE)

 

  X.      Kingdoms and Trading States of Africa (750 BCE-CE 1586)

 

XI.      Spread of Civilization in East Asia (500-1603 CE)

 

XII.      Late Middle Ages in Europe (1300-1500 CE)

 

XIII.      European Renaissance and Reformation (1300-1600 CE)

 

XIV.      First Global Ages: Age of Exploration (1400-1700)

 

 

*This schedule/syllabus may be altered at the teachers’ discretion.