Unit+1+++8,000+BCE+-+600+BCE

= __UNIT 1 - FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETIES (APPROX. 8,000 BCE - 600 BCE)__ =

The first chapter of //Traditions and Encounters// sets the stage for the drama of world history by presenting the major milestones in the development of humans from their earliest appearance on earth to the dawn of civilization. This chapter addresses the physical evolution of the species and their migrations throughout the globe as well as the revolutionary transformation from all humans surviving by hunting and gathering to the majority living in agricultural societies. The results of this remarkable transformation include
 * An unprecedented population explosion due to the increase in the food supply
 * Permanent settlement in villages and, later, in cities
 * The specialization of labor, which led to the development of craft industries and other professions
 * The opportunity to accumulate wealth and the resulting emergence of social class differences
 * The development of fertility-based religions and the increasing elaboration of religious institutions

==__Unit Essential Questions__ - After reading about and discussing this time period, you should be able to analytically answer these questions: [|Unit 1 essential questions.pages]==

==Unit Overview (Key Concepts) [|Unit 1 overview.pages]==

=Class 0 8/8=
 * Introductions
 * Photo I.D.s and [|Student Information]
 * WHAP Syllabus (College Board and KIS)
 * Textbook
 * Collect summer reading assignment
 * Homework reading assignment: [[file:Why Study World History.pdf]]. I am going to ask you to read this article from the 14th paragraph, which begins, "So my first claim holds that world history is essential as a mode of study..." In the preceding paragraphs, the author has presented several reasons traditionally given by historians for studying world history, which I have summarized for you:
 * 1) It helps us see changes which have occurred over time;
 * 2) It allows us to see how ideas and ideals have influenced human affairs;
 * 3) It offers the best vantage point for study of the impact of agriculture, science, and mechanized industry;
 * 4) It forces us to recognize the "modern" phenomenon of globalization is not so new;
 * 5) As the field of study that deals most directly with the whole record of human achievements, world history is essential as the enterprise that enables human beings to understand themselves and their place in the world.

The author then points out that these reasons are rather abstract, so he offers 3 more specific reasons why you are not wasting your time when studying world history. His first claim is that "world history is the best scholarly approach for the analysis, understanding, and explanation of the world and its development through time" -- better that national or regional history -- because without a global context, these national and regional histories, while no doubt important, at best offer only a limited explanation of why things happened as they did and what it means.

So pick up your reading, and note-taking, from the 14th paragraph. As a university student, you will often be asked to read academic articles just like this one, and be able to summarize the key arguments later as part of classroom discussions or seminars. You need to become comfortable with paraphrasing the ideas of scholars in your field, acknowledging the source ("Joe Blogs argues...." or "Jane Smith says...") in much the same way that you have learned to cite sources for an essay. Your task, therefore, is to be able to summarize and paraphrase the key arguments being made in this article so that next class you can use them in a mock mini-debate.

=Class 1 8/10=
 * Chapter 1 and 2 questions and discussion
 * Annotated timeline

=Class 2 8/12=
 * Regional geography review

=Class 3 8/17=
 * Quiz Chapters 1 and 2

=Class 4 8/18=
 * Chapter 3 questions and discussion