Academic Catalog

HIST 3A: WORLD HISTORY FROM PREHISTORY TO 750 CE

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2023
Units: 4
Hours: 4 lecture per week (48 total per quarter)
Advisory: Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area IV: Social & Behavioral Sciences
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze broad patterns of change within and between societies in different world regions over time.
  • Explain the various ways (cultural, economic, political, etc.) that peoples and societies relate and interact with each other within different world regions.

Description

Survey of the world's ancient peoples, cultures, and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas and Oceania. Focus on the interactions between peoples and cultures in broad regions and the similarities and difference between civilizations.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Explain patterns of development and change within societies and world regions, emphasizing the interactions of societies across political and geographical boundaries
  2. Identify the influence of and the impact on race, gender, class, and ethnicity of developing cultures in different world regions
  3. Identify the influence of geography, climate, and biology on the development of complex societies around the world
  4. Analyze human interactions between societies, including warfare, trade, cultural exchange, colonization, and migration
  5. Compare political, economic, social, and cultural structures of world societies and assess similarities and differences
  6. Evaluate the significance of major scientific, technological, philosophical, and theological developments on ancient societies
  7. Analyze primary and secondary sources and construct theses and criticism using appropriate details and examples for support

Course Content

  1. Early human prehistory
    1. Paleolithic societies
    2. Migrations from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas
  2. Neolithic societies
    1. Development of agriculture
    2. Southwest Asian societies—Fertile Crescent
    3. African societies and migrations
    4. Interactions between South Asian and East Asian societies
    5. Societies in the Americas
    6. Island societies of Oceania
  3. Complex societies
    1. Egypt and Nubia
    2. Mesopotamia
    3. China
    4. Indus Valley
    5. Meso-America
  4. Development and expansion of Classical Era civilizations
    1. Central Asia—Persia
      1. Government and trade innovations
    2. Mediterranean world
      1. Political and philosophical theory—Greece
      2. Rome: from republic to empire
      3. Monotheism: Judaism and Christianity
    3. East Asia
      1. Han China: consolidation and social theory
    4. Indian Ocean region
      1. Mauryan and Gupta India: consolidation and religious development
      2. Central African trading kingdoms
      3. Spread of religions
    5. Mesoamerican civilizations
      1. Maya and Inca
      2. Technology, science, and competition
  5. Post-classical world regions
    1. North American Native cultures
      1. Simple and complex societies
      2. Extensive trade networks
    2. Africa
      1. Trans-Saharan trade
      2. Spread of Islam
    3. East Asian societies
      1. Tang Dynasty China
      2. The Silk Road
    4. Mediterranean World
      1. Spread of Islamic Empire
      2. Law and structure of Byzantine Empire
      3. European tribal society
    5. Central Asian nomadic societies

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

When taught as an online section, students and faculty need ongoing and continuous internet and email access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Class discussion
Research project including primary and secondary source analysis
Essay exams, including a written final

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Discussion
Oral presentations
Analysis of video and internet resources

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Bentley, Jerry, and Herbert Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters, From the Beginning to 1500, Vol. I, 7th ed.. 2021.

Pollard, Elizabeth, and Clifford Rosenberg. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the World, Vol. I, 6th ed.. 2021.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. History of World Societies, Vol. 1, 12th ed.. 2021.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Reading of textbook and relevant primary and secondary sources
  2. Writing prompts requiring historical analysis and synthesis
  3. Research project requiring locating and evaluating legitimate historical sources

Discipline(s)

History