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Western Civilization I. Prof. David Swartz. Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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WESTERN CIVILIZATION IProf. David Swartz
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.”
pre = before
pregame predictprevent
post = after
postscriptpostpone postdate
ÖTZI THE ICEMAN AND THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONSWeek One
Ötzi the Iceman
Ötzi’s demise Frozen corpse of a
Stone Age man discovered in the Alps
Died from a arrow shot while fleeing
“A Life in Ice”
Mono = one
monacle monopoly monochromatic
poly = many
Antidisestablishmentarianismpolygon polychromatic
polysyllabic
uni = one
unicellular
unicycle
unicorn
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
Tassili-n-Ajjer
I. The Emergence of Culture
I. The Emergence of Culture
I. The Emergence of CultureA. Sedentary Life
Fixed dwelling places
Domestication of plants and animals
Population growth
I. The Emergence of CultureB. Religion
Ritual Formal religious cults
replace bonds of kinship
Worship of fertility goddesses
I. The Emergence of Culture
Aztec goddess Bali goddess
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
MesopotamiaA “fertile crescent”
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
II. The Emergence of Civilization
A. Ramparts of Uruk
Forced into cooperation
Population quadruples to 40,000
Rigid social structures of urban life
II. The Emergence of CivilizationB. 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
II. The Emergence of CivilizationC. Gods and
mortals1. Divinities
Numerous impersonal gods, each with a responsibility
2. Temples and rituals Sacrifice Mortality
Ziggurat of Uruk made of mud bricks
co/com = with/together
committee combine cohesive
contra/counter = against
counterfeitcontraception contrast
sub = under/below
subway submarinesubdivision
II. The Emergence of CivilizationD. Mesopotamian
Expansion1. Akkadian Empire:
King Sargon, tolerance, and decline
2. Babylonian Empire: Hammurabi, codification of law, and mathematics
IV. Gift of the NileA. Ideal
conditions for an empire Geography:
fertile soil and security from invasion
Religion: God-Kings, pyramids and the afterlife
IV. Gift of the NileB. The Egyptian Empire
Cosmopolitanism: the Hyksos, Semites, military conquest, and economic exchange
Akhenaten: monotheism and plain style
Tutankhamen: retrenchment and the Battle of Kadesh
King Tut in 2007
Steve Martin, “King Tut” (1979)
V. The SemitesA. 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)
V. The SemitesB. 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
“City of David”
V. The SemitesC. Exile
Assyrians: Hebrew division; Tiglath-pileser III (722)
New Babylonians: Nebuchadnezzar II
V. The SemitesD. Second Temple Judaism
A new Judaism: text>temple; intention>ritual
Rebuilding the temple: Ezra and Nehemiah
Strands of Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes
Epilogue
• James Davison Hunter, To Change the World