Thursday, September 29

We finished discussion of the Egyptiam dynastic period and moved on to Nubia, also called the Kingdom of Kush after its rise to power.  From there we re-looked at the Assyrians and Hittites.  We also talked about plague that devastated the Hittites even before the "Sea Peoples" came and ravaged the land.  If you are interested, look at these links that discusses the plague that was present at that time as well as an analysis of the origins of the mysterious Sea Peoples:      
1. Ancient Bioweapons     2. Sea Peoples

For next Tuesday, we will pick up where we left off and finish discussing the Israelities, the Chaldeans and the mighty Persians.  Please finish up the chapter with these new powers in the Fertile Cresant.

Currently, there are no projects on the schedule for presentation next week.

Week 4 - Tuesday 9/27



Today we continued our discussion about ancient Egypt, moving from the Old Kingdom to an overview of both the Middle and New Kingdoms. In class, we discussed the threads for Egypt as well as the critical thinking question for Egypt about the shift in pharoahs' status from god to shepard of the people between the Old and Middle Kingdoms.

For Thursday, we will finish Egypt, witnessing its decline under new invasion by the "Sea People", then move to Nubia and new centers of civilization in the ancient Middle East: the Assyrians, Hittities, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, and the Israelities.  Please read in your text pages 19 - 27.

Homework for Week 3

Tuesday, 9/20

1. Go to the Fordham website for Primary Sources and read one of the following two documents:
    a)  Hymn to the Nile  or
    b) Egyptian Creation Story

Write a thoughtful paragraph about your impressions of the work.  What surprised you?  How did this article better help you understand their society?  Be prepared to discuss it and then hand it in.

Thursday, 9/22

1.  Prepare your thread to discuss in class on Tuesday (9/27).  Have notes written down to turn in after the discussion.

2.  Prepare CTQ #2 - Egypt.  Respond to this event:

The status of Pharoah changed from god to "shepard of the people" between the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Discuss factors that may have contributed to that change.

3.  There are no presentations of individual projects scheduled for next week.