COURSE DESCRIPTION: Introduction to Classical and Modern History

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COURSE DESCRIPTION: Introduction to Classical and Modern History

INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL 
AND MODERN HISTORY

Course Description

This course will use modern historical methodologies to explore both classical and modern historians, ancient historical methods, the genre of history and how to apply modern methodologies to a variety of ancient texts and classical historians.

ON THURSDAY, PLEASE GO HERE AT ONE OF THE CLASS TIMES: http://www.stickam.com/profile/sapient

THAT IS WHERE THE CLASS WILL BE HELD.

HISTORIANS COVERED IN CLASS

Classical Historians (Free Online Resources at the Bottom)

1. Justin
2. Caesar
3. Tacitus
4. Suetonius
5. Josephus
6. Arrian
7. Eusebius

Modern Historians

1. H.G. Wells
2. Michael Grant
3. Richard Carrier
4. Bart Ehrman

RESOURCES USED (Textbooks)

I’ll be supplying a lot of the resources (all of the Classical Historian texts) used for this class, however additional resource material could be used, although will not be supplied by me. Here is a list of excellent books which will help understand this class, and promote better self-education in history and historical methodologies.

Richard Carrier, Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism
Michael Grant, Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation
Louis Feldman, Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian
Robert M. Price, The DaVinci Fraud: Why the Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Teresa Morgan, Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds
Robert Jones Shafer, A Guide to the Historical Method (Dorsey Series in History)
Martha C. Howell, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods 
Konrad H. Jarausch, Quantative Methods for Historians: A Guide to Research, Data and Statistics 
William V. Harris, Ancient Literacy (British Museum)

Although more expensive then the aforementioned resources, some additionally handy authoritative resources are:

• The Oxford Classical Dictionary
• The Cambridge Dictionary of Classical Civilization

COURSE DETAIL

Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 4pm & 11pm EST

The class will be two days a week for eight weeks, with two classes being taught each day (with the same course material being taught the same day).

If for some reason you cannot make an early class (4pm), for example, you can make the late class (IIpm EST) and receive the same material. It may be beneficial to try to keep the same schedule so you’re always with the same classmates, however we understand the factor of Life and how sometimes that is not possible, which is why we offer two separate times of attendance.

Here is the layout of the eight weeks:

Week 1
- Day 1: Introduction to Course (An Intro to an Intro)
- Day 2: Studies in Historical Methodology 1

Week 2
- Day 3: Studies in Historical Methodology 2
- Quiz on Historical Methodology
- Day 4: Studies in Classical Historians (Justin)

Week 3
- Day 5: Studies in Classical Historians (Caesar)
- Day 6: Studies in Classical Historians (Tacitus & Suetonius)

Week 4
- Day 7: Studies in Classical Historians (Josephus 1) 
- Day 8: Studies in Classical Historians (Josephus 2)

Week 5
- Day 9: Studies in Classical Historians (Arrian)
- Day 10: Studies in Classical Historians (Eusebius)

Week 6
- Day 11: Review and Quiz on Classical Historians 
- Day 12: Introduction to History

Week 7
- Day 13: Studies in Classical History (Hellenism & Diaspora)
- Day 14: Studies in Classical History (The Romans & The Rise of Christianity)

Week 8
- Day 15: Review
- Day 16: Exam

Homework should be expected, although it will not be very time consuming and may require some independent reading from a variety of free resources available online. All homework should be handed in ONE DAY PRIOR to your scheduled class to permit me the opportunity to review it all.

Upon completion of the course, a Course Evaluation Sheet will be given to all classroom enrollees and all enrollees are asked to fill it out and return it to give feedback on how they liked the course and how it could be improved for future attendees.

In the future there will be more in-depth courses specifically dealing with the Roman Empire, the Hellenistic Age, the Diaspora, and the Origins of Christianity. Since this is such an introductory course, the general history will be covered but not much more. The faculty asks that if you find this course interesting, you look into the later courses on the general topics covered in this course.

FREE RESOURCES

1. Josephus Online: http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/josephus.html

2. Arrian Online: http://websfor.org/alexander/arrian/intro.asp

3. Justin Online: http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/english/index.html

4. Caesar Online: http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/caesarx.html

5. Tacitus Online: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/tacitus.html

6. Suetonius Online: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/suetonius.html

7. Eusebius Online: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.i.html?bcb=0

Those who meet a level of proficiency after taking the course will be awarded a badge of honor to be worn on your RationalResponder.com account. You will also receive access to a special forum specifically for graduates of any class in the academy.

To Enroll go HERE:http://www.rationalresponders.com/forum/the_rational_response_squad_radio_show/rational_response_squad_academy/7734

ON THURSDAY, PLEASE GO HERE AT ONE OF THE CLASS TIMES: http://www.stickam.com/profile/sapient

THAT IS WHERE THE CLASS WILL BE HELD.

 


Rook_Hawkins
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If you wish to enroll in

If you wish to enroll in this class, I'll include another thread which will be specifically for enrollment.

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Cpt_pineapple
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Isn't 'Modern History' an

Isn't 'Modern History' an oxymoron?


Rook_Hawkins
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No, you're thinking of

No, you're thinking of "creation science."


American Atheist
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Rook_Hawkins wrote: No,

Rook_Hawkins wrote:
No, you're thinking of "creation science."

ROTF

 


MattShizzle
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"Christian Science" works

"Christian Science" works too.


djneibarger
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what is the start date?  

what is the start date?

 


Rook_Hawkins
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This Tuesday is the start

This Tuesday is the start date for the class

More details forthcoming. 


Teresa Nichols
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Signing up for this class

Where may I sign up for this class? 


Rook_Hawkins
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You can sign up here.

LunarShadow
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I only own Carrier's book

I only own Carrier's book and Price's book

 

well at least I own a couple of them Laughing out loud


22jesus22
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How will the lessons be

How will the lessons be taught?


Rook_Hawkins
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This question should be

This question should be answered by my Gnosis students, who took my Gnosis course.  They'll tell you I'm very interactive with my students and try to include everyone.  As for how I teach, specifically, you'll just have to enroll and find out. =D

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thingy
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Rook_Hawkins wrote: Hours:

Rook_Hawkins wrote:
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 4pm & 11pm EST The class will be two days a week for eight weeks, with two classes being taught each day (with the same course material being taught the same day). If for some reason you cannot make an early class (4pm), for example, you can make the late class (IIpm EST) and receive the same material.

So in my timezone that's 6am & 1pm.  Guess that's me out, I was really looking forward to this too. Sad

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Don't worry thingy, there

Don't worry thingy, there will be other schedules in the future that will incoprorate your time zones.  I'm sorry I couldn't incorporate it into this semester.  =(

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Mjhavok
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I own one of Carrier's

I own one of Carrier's books. Sense and Goodness Without God - A Defence for Metaphysical Naturalism. I haven't read it yet but I don't think it is about history as such.

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"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the


Rook_Hawkins
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Carrier isn't just defending

Carrier isn't just defending Naturalism scientifically, he also explains the historical methodologies and gives us great examples of how modern historians look at things in his book.

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LunarShadow
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Rook_Hawkins wrote: Don't

Rook_Hawkins wrote:
Don't worry thingy, there will be other schedules in the future that will incoprorate your time zones. I'm sorry I couldn't incorporate it into this semester. =(

 

Hey rook I was talking to a few people in the chat room and they were syin they would have signed up if they had the time but are interested I had a thought mabe you could record the classes like a podcast so they could maybe revisit the class at a later time on their own. Just a thought 


Rook_Hawkins
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That is the plan.

That is the plan. Eye-wink


22jesus22
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Rook_Hawkins wrote: This

Rook_Hawkins wrote:
This question should be answered by my Gnosis students, who took my Gnosis course. They'll tell you I'm very interactive with my students and try to include everyone. As for how I teach, specifically, you'll just have to enroll and find out. =D

 

Sorry I should have asked where are these classes going to be held? In a stickam room?


Rook_Hawkins
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Yes sir, in Sapient's

Yes sir, in Sapient's private Stickam room.


LunarShadow
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Rook_Hawkins wrote: This

Rook_Hawkins wrote:
This question should be answered by my Gnosis students, who took my Gnosis course. They'll tell you I'm very interactive with my students and try to include everyone. As for how I teach, specifically, you'll just have to enroll and find out. =D

 

Yes the Gnosis was very fun and enjoyable, it didn't feel like a class at all. that is why I am looking forward the class.   


HellyK
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For anyone who was planning

For anyone who was planning on starting the History class today, I just got informed that it will start this thursday (06/07/07) same time , same place.


LunarShadow
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Good to know

Good to know


Rook_Hawkins
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ON THURSDAY, PLEASE GO HERE

ON THURSDAY, PLEASE GO HERE AT ONE OF THE CLASS TIMES:
http://www.stickam.com/profile/sapient

THAT IS WHERE THE CLASS WILL BE HELD.

Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server, which houses Celebrity Atheists. Books by Rook Hawkins (Thomas Verenna)


LovE-RicH
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Will you guys later put the

Will you guys later put the video lectures on Google Video? To have something like the MIT OpenCourseWare - http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/OCWHelp/avocw.htm ? That would be extra cool - a RRS Academy archive of video lectures for everyone's free education! That would gain you lots of pluses!Smiling

 EDIT: Sorry, just saw you already answered that... Cool stuff, you guys rule!!!Smiling


REVLyle
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Before I sign up for your

Before I sign up for your class . . . I am still curious

What is your background as far as education and when it comes to historical documentation.  What are your qualifications?  In the world of academia, what are your qualifications?  What groups recognize you as an authority in the area of history, historical documents, or ancient cultures.  This is simply information that I would want before I signed up for any class, anywhere.  Any good student would want to know this, so I am sure that that information is important to all who want to attend your class.  Thanks

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HellyK
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RevLyle,   You don't

RevLyle,

 

You don't have to sign up in order to check out the class. In fact, there's one today at 11:00 pm et, go to the stickam and judge for yourself how knowledgable is Rook. For what ever is worth I think he is pretty good at teaching and fairly educated on the subject. Also, it's interesting how much enfasis you make in having Rook show you his credentials, would you still take the class if he happened to be very well educated on the subject but selftaught? I'm just curious Wink


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I'm probably going to have

I'm probably going to have to bail.  I am exhausted from strenuous troll-hunting today.  My mind isn't very functional. Sad

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