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Western Civilization I

Western Civilization I. Prof. David Swartz. Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose.

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Western Civilization I

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  1. Western Civilization I Prof. David Swartz

  2. Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose “In the past men were handsome and great (now they are children and dwarfs), but this is merely the one of the many facts that demonstrate the disaster of an aging world. The young no longer want to study anything, learning is in decline, the whole world walks on its head, blind men lead others equally blind and cause them to plunge into the abyss, birds leave the nest before they can fly, the jackass plays the lyre, oxen dance. Mary no longer loves the contemplative life and Martha no longer loves the active life, Leah is sterile, Rachel has a carnal eye, Cato visits brothels, Lucretius becomes a woman. Everything is on the wrong path. In those days, thank God, I acquired from my master the desire to learn and a sense of the straight way, which remains even when the path is tortuous.”

  3. pre = before pregame predict prevent

  4. post = after postdate postpone postscript

  5. Ötzi the iceman and The First civilizations Week One

  6. Ötzi the Iceman

  7. Ötzi’s demise • Frozen corpse of a Stone Age man discovered in the Alps • Died from a arrow shot while fleeing

  8. “A Life in Ice”

  9. Mono = one monopoly monacle monochromatic

  10. poly = many polychromatic polygon Antidisestablishmentarianism polysyllabic

  11. uni = one unicellular unicorn unicycle

  12. I. The Emergence of Culture • Ötzi: a transitional figure representing the trajectory from Stone Age culture to civilizations • Stone-Age Culture • Not just about survival • Ways of living built up by a group and passed on from generation to generation • Abstract, symbolic thought

  13. Tassili-n-Ajjer

  14. I. The Emergence of Culture

  15. I. The Emergence of Culture

  16. I. The Emergence of Culture A. Sedentary Life • Fixed dwelling places • Domestication of plants and animals • Population growth

  17. I. The Emergence of Culture B. Religion • Ritual • Formal religious cults replace bonds of kinship • Worship of fertility goddesses

  18. I. The Emergence of Culture Aztec goddess Bali goddess

  19. II. The Emergence of Civilization • Civilization: a form of culture in which many people live in urban centers, have mastered the art of smelting metals, and have developed a method of writing • Mesopotamia A “fertile crescent” between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

  20. II. The Emergence of Civilization A. Ramparts of Uruk • Forced into cooperation • Population quadruples to 40,000 • Rigid social structures of urban life

  21. II. The Emergence of Civilization B. Tools 1. New tools: especially the harder alloy of bronze 2. Pictograms: innovation of writing the greatest of all 3. Cuneiform: conceptual; multiple meanings; served to stratify society

  22. II. The Emergence of Civilization C. Gods and mortals 1. Divinities • Numerous impersonal gods, each with a responsibility 2. Temples and rituals • Sacrifice • Mortality Ziggurat of Uruk made of mud bricks

  23. co/com = with/together committee combine cohesive

  24. contra/counter = against contraception contrast counterfeit

  25. sub = under/below submarine subway subdivision

  26. II. The Emergence of Civilization D. Mesopotamian Expansion 1. Akkadian Empire: King Sargon, tolerance, and decline 2. Babylonian Empire: Hammurabi, codification of law, and mathematics

  27. IV. Gift of the Nile A. Ideal conditions for an empire • Geography: fertile soil and security from invasion • Religion: God-Kings, pyramids and the afterlife

  28. IV. Gift of the Nile B. The Egyptian Empire • Cosmopolitanism: the Hyksos, Semites, military conquest, and economic exchange • Akhenaten: monotheism and plain style • Tutankhamen: retrenchment and the Battle of Kadesh

  29. King Tut in 2007

  30. Steve Martin, “King Tut” (1979)

  31. V. The Semites A. The Hebrew Alternative • Mesopotamian origins • Familiar stories, yet Abraham rejects polytheism; makes a covenant with Yahweh • Journeys to Palestine • From Ur to Haron to Hebron (Genesis 11-12) • Egypt and Exodus • Hebrews reenter the promised land • Receive a new ethic and legal code (Ten Commandments)

  32. V. The Semites B. Kings like all the nations • Judges: A loose confederation of tribes that unified armies in times of danger • Davidic kingship: monarchy • Prophets: Calling the people back to Yahweh

  33. “City of David”

  34. V. The Semites C. Exile • Assyrians: Hebrew division; Tiglath-pileserIII (722) • New Babylonians: Nebuchadnezzar II

  35. V. The Semites D. Second Temple Judaism • A new Judaism: text>temple; intention>ritual • Rebuilding the temple: Ezra and Nehemiah • Strands of Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes

  36. Epilogue • James Davison Hunter, To Change the World

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