Civilization

Course Description

Learning Outcomes

Course Contents

Learning and Teaching Methods

Learning Resources

Learning Evaluation

Origins and evolution of human civilization from the prehistoric age to the present; interaction between society, economy, politics, thoughts, and artistic creativity in each period; aesthetic aspects of works which reflect the achievements of each period in human history.

-          Students will be able to explain the origin and progress of mankind from the prehistoric to the present.  -          Students will be able to differentiate interaction in each period among social, economic and political
conditions, wisdom and creative arts; aesthetic aspect of works reflecting the progress of man in each
period.
-          Students will be able to understand causes and effects of significant events at present by applying the
knowledge in the evolution of world civilization.

Week 1 : Introduction

·         What is “civilization”? 

·         Pre-historic and early complex societies

·         Mesopotamia

Week 2 : Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilizations 

Week 3 : Ancient India

·         Indus Valley Civilization

·        Indo-Aryan Civilization

Week 4 : Ancient Chinese Civilization

Week 5 : Western Civilizations (1) : The Greeks and The Romans

Week 6 : Western Civilizations (2) : The Greeks and The Romans

Week 7 : Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Week 8 : Midterm exam

Week 9 :  The Modern Period (15th - 20th C.)

Humanism and foundation of modern Western civilization (15th-17th C.) 

·       The Renaissance

·       The Reformation

·       The Scientific Revolution

Week 10 : H.M. the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Day

Week 11 :  European overseas expansion (16th-18th C.)

·       The Commercial Revolution

·       Overseas settlements

·       Cross-cultural exchanges

Week 12 :  Political ideologies and political revolutions (18th-20th C.) 

·       The Enlightenment vs. Romanticism

·        Liberalism (The American Revolution, the French Revolution)

·       Socialism, Marxism (The Russian Revolution) 

Week 13 : The Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C.)

·       The Industrial Age

·       Transformation of economy and society

·       Industrialization and the world

Week 14 :Imperialism and nationalism (19th-20th C.) 

·       The Age of Empires 

·       Transformation of Asia

·        The World Wars

Week 15 : Modern science and modern art (19th-20th C.)

·       Science and technology

·       Darwinism and Freud’s Psychoanalysis

·       Modern art 

Week 16 : The Cold War Era (Second half of 20th C.)

·       Capitalism vs. communism

·       Decolonization and nation building

·       Cold War and culture  

Week 17 : Final Exam

Lecture    100%

Dennis Sherman (et al.), World Civilizations: Source, Images, and Interpretations, 4th ed. (Boston, Mass.: McGraw-Hill, 2006).

Philip J. Adler, World Civilizations, 3rd ed. (Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2003).

William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, 9th ed. (Boston, Cengage, 2019)

Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-first Century (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011).

Marvin Perry, Western Civilization: a Brief History, 10th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013.

A = 85-100 
B+ = 80-84
B = 70-79
C+ = 65-69
C = 60-64
D+ = 55-59
D = 50-54
F = 0-49