Ancient Technology: Archaeology, science, design

Transcription

1 Course Syllabus CLAS Ancient Technology: Archaeology, science, design Fall 2014 Basic Information 1. Instructor: Ms. Ashley Maloney Office: FL 257 E- mail: Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00-11:50 AM 2. Course Description This course is an examination of the technology, science and engineering of the ancient societies with emphasis on the achievements of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans through archaeological remains and literary sources. Fulfils Core Technology and Applied Science Requirement. Aims and Scope From the banks of the Nile to the shores of the Aegean; from the fields of Mycenae to the streets of Rome; this course explores relationships between people, technology and science over the long term. How are achievements translated into technology? How do technologies move? In what ways do technologies shape ancient societies? While this course places emphasis on the achievements around the Mediterranean between 2500 BCE and 250 CE, it probes technological connections which crosscut these spatial and temporal frames within our own everyday lives. 3. Expected Learning Outcomes and their Assessments This course partially satisfies the Texas Tech University core curriculum requirement in Technology and Applied Science. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to (Note: the Technology and Applied Science learning outcomes are italicized): Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between society, environment and technology in antiquity. o Assessment: command of issues as addressed in project papers. Students will have a broad knowledge of ancient technological achievement over the long term. o Assessment: in class exchange and discussion Will be cognizant of theories of technological change and transfer. o Assessment: in class exchange, discussion and project papers. Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

2 Develop a practical knowledge of construction methods, obstacles and solutions facing ancient craftsmen and engineers. o Assessment: Building a working model in class or developing a digital project portfolio. This will include the documentation of the design process. 4. Prerequisites: None 5. Class Meeting Time(s) & Location(s): M/W/F 9:00-9:50 AM, FL Text(s) & Other Materials /Supplies Recommended but not required (PDFs will be available on the course Blackboard site) Oleson, J.P. 2009: The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Oxford: OUP. All readings are available as PDF s on the course Blackboard site (URL to follow). These readings are subject to change, should more appropriate material surface. We will discuss this material in class discussion. I reserve the right to change readings as needed. 7. Course Requirements Course Requirements & Policies This course emphasizes project- based learning. Project- based learning involves the creative and critical integration of the topics discussed (concepts, ideas, approaches, questions, etc.) and skills developed throughout the course within the study of a thing chosen by each course member. Collaboration among course members is welcome and encouraged. Class members are required to develop their projects over the course of the semester by meeting a number of milestones at set dates from specifying a thing to writing a project proposal to completing the final assignment. Attendance will be taken regularly. You should inform the instructor promptly if you anticipate being absent, or immediately after an unanticipated absence. Any unexcused absence will count against your participation grade for every absence, ten percentage points will be deducted from the final score (this is equivalent to two percentage points from your overall course grade). 8. Grading Policies Class participation = 30% Meeting milestones =40% o 1. Project selection and bibliography (September 12) o 2. Project idea and abstract (October 6) o 3. Project procedure/out- line (October 27) o 4. Presentation (November 19, 21, 24 and December 1, 3 ) Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

3 Final project paper = 30% (December 10) 9. Class Attendance & Preparation Regular attendance, prompt arrival, preparation for, and participation in class are expected. Attendance See the policy regarding attendance in the Course Requirements section (Section 7) above. Reasonable excuses for missing class: Illness: As stated above, verifiable documentation will be needed for absences due to illness. Absence Due to Religious Observance: A student who intends to observe a religious holy day should make that intention known in writing to the instructor prior to the absence. A student who is absent from classes for the observance of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence. Absence Due to University Approved Trips: Department chairpersons, directors, or others responsible for a student representing the university on officially approved trips should notify the student s instructors of the departure and return schedules in advance of the trip. The instructor so notified must not penalize the student, although the student is responsible for material missed. Students absent because of university business must be given the same privileges as other students (e.g., if other students are given the choice of dropping one of four tests, then students with excused absences must be given the same privilege). Effects of Absences on Grades: See "Participation" under #7 above. 10. Preparation The Bulletin of Texas Tech states that students are expected to spend approximately two hours in preparation for each hour of lecture. 11. Participation in Class Regular, active participation in class is vital to success, and is expected of all students. 12. Make- up Policy No make- ups are permitted, except for excused absences. 13. Civility in the Classroom Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Students are also expected to respect and uphold the TTU Code of Student Conduct at all times. Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

4 Help maintain a positive learning environment by arriving on time, turning off cellular phones and beepers before arriving in class, and avoiding distracting behaviors. Any student whose behavior disturbs our learning environment may be asked to leave. For more details, please see the official TTU public information on the Code of Student Conduct, found at Student Use of Personal Technology The use of a notebook computer or similar electronic or digital device in class is subject to the approval of the instructor. No personal electronic device should be used during quizzes, examinations or other testing or assessment situations without the authorization of the instructor. Authorized devices meant to be adaptive or assistive in nature, and which are incorporated as part of a documented disability or medical condition, are exempt from this policy. 15. Students with Disabilities Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor s office hours. Please note: instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office in 335 West Hall or Academic Honesty It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work that they have not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to the student (such as, but not limited to, submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor) or the attempt to commit such an act. Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

5 Monday, August 25: Syllabus review CLAS 2305 Ancient Technology FALL 2014 SCHEDULE Introduction: People, things and technology Wednesday, August 27: Approaches to the history of technology Latour, B 'Pragmatogonies: A Mythical Account of How Humans and Nonhumans Swap Properties'. The American Behavioral Scientist 37: Friday, August 29: The Blade Leroi- Gourhan, A Gesture and Speech. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Monday, September 1: Labor Day, NO CLASS Wednesday, September 3: Bibliography lesson (Milestone 1) Friday, September 5: The Wheel Bulliet, R.W [1975]: The camel and the wheel. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Monday, September 8: Bibliography research day, NO CLASS Wednesday, September 10: Glass, metallurgy, high- temperature technology and the very long term Stern, E.M Glass Production. In Oleson, J.P. The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, September 12: Megaliths Chippindale, C. 2004: Stonehenge Complete. New York: Thames & Hudson. Introduction. MILESTONE ONE: Project selection AND Bibliography DUE Monday, September 15: The case of Stonehenge Tilley, C The Materiality of Stone. Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology. Oxford: Berg. Introduction and Chapter 2. Wednesday, September 17: The pyramids at Giza Kemp, B.J Ancient Egypt: anatomy of a civilization. London; New York: Routledge. Friday, September 19: The Mega- machine Mumford, L The Myth of the Machine: Technics and Human Development. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. Monday, September 22: Building cities Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

6 Hall, P.G. 1998: Cities in Civilization. Fromm Intl. SELECTIONS to follow. Wednesday, September 24: Quarrying and sculpting: working with stone Fant, J. C. 2009: Quarrying and Stoneworking. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, September 26: Abstract lesson Monday, September 29: Movement: Water McGrail, S. 2009: Sea Transport, Part 1: Ships and Navigation. In Oleson, J.P. The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Wednesday, October 1: Movement: Roads Quilici, L. 2009: Land Transport, Part 1: Roads and Bridges. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, October 3: Ceramics Jackson and Green, S. 2009: Ceramic Production. In Oleson, J.P. The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Monday, October 6: The design of a perfume jar Shanks, M. 1999: Art and the early Greek state, Cambridge. MILESTONE TWO: Project idea AND Abstract DUE Wednesday, October 8: The machines of ancient democracy Lang, M The Athenian Citizen: Democracy in the Athenian Agora. American School of Classical Studies. Friday, October 10: Time! Hannah, R. Timekeeping. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Monday, October 13: Media and measures Netz, R. and W. Noel 2009: The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing the True Genius of Antiquity's Greatest Scientist. Da Capo Press. Chapter 4: Visual Science. Wednesday, October 15: Money Meadows, A. 2009: Coinage. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, October 19: Procedure/Outline lesson Monday, October 20: Individual student conferences Wednesday, October 22: Individual student conferences Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

7 Friday, October 24: Individual student conferences Monday, October 27: Fluvial tech: Drainage, dams, mills and waterwheels Cresswell, R. 1993: Of Mills and Waterwheels: The hidden parameters of technological choice. In P. Lemonnier (ed) Technological Choices: Transformations in material cultures since the Neolithic. London: Routledge. MILESTONE THREE: Project procedure or out-line DUE Wednesday, October 29: Fluvial tech: Aqueducts Wilson, A.I. 2009: Hydraulic Engineering and Water Supply. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, October 31: Presentation lesson Monday, November 3: Agriculture and fishing: land and sea I Margaritis, E. and M.K. Jones 2009: Greek and Roman Agriculture. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Wednesday, November 5: Agriculture and fishing: land and sea II Kron, G. 2009: Animal Husbandry, Hunting, Fishing, and Fish Production. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, November 7: Roman- Built Environment Lancaster, L. 2009: Roman Engineering and Construction. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World Monday, November 10: Castles and fortifications Johnson, M Behind the castle gate: from medieval to Renaissance. London: Routledge. Chapter 3. Wednesday, November 12: Military bodies over 3000 years De Souza, P. 2009: Greek Warfare and Fortification. In Oleson, J. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Friday, November 14: We have always been cyborgs Latour, B. 2002: Body, Cyborgs and the Politics of Incarnation. In. S. Sweeney and I. Hodder (eds) The Body. Cambridge: CUP. Monday, November 17: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Wednesday, November 19: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Friday, November 21: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Monday, November 24: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall

8 Wednesday, November 26: Thanksgiving, NO CLASS Friday, November 28: Thanksgiving, NO CLASS Monday, December 1: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Wednesday, December 3: Presentations of Final Projects (MILESTONE FOUR) Project paper DUE Monday, December 10, 2014 NO LATER THAN 12:00pm Syllabus Ancient Tech Fall