HUMN510 - The Ancient World

All students majoring in the humanities should have a mastery of online library research methods; these include researching appropriate primary resources through the library, possible relevant professional discussion forums, and relevant literature for this course so that they can do required assignments involving research. Faculty must actively encourage students to:

• Demonstrate the proper techniques for conducting advanced online historical research, with initial focus through The Online Library.
• Locate and evaluate library primary and secondary source materials.
• Identify errors and apply corrective measures in online historical research methodologies.
• Explore existing literature and digital archives in support of research interests.

As indicated by successful completion of research and writing requirements, students should also demonstrate proficiency in Web navigation, including exploration of the evolving environment of the “Invisible College, primary resources, historical research sites, and such advanced web applications as:

• Web 2.0: H-Net offers the most established forum for scholarly communications, but may be augmented by other discussion groups, blogs, wikis, or Second Life-type of experience.

Graduate students should explore the research holdings of The Online Library and their ability to support research needs. Each student will be required to write on particular research issues, with specific attention afforded to:

• Online Scholarly Journals: Students will identify and monitor the key refereed journals in their research area as part of their ongoing scholarly portfolio; and
• Electronic Books/Subject Clusters: Students will identify key texts or clusters or resources (e.g., Praeger Security International) in their research area and explore the electronic researching ability for such genre as a complement to print-based immersion.
• University libraries, including the APUS Online Library, national libraries, and college professors have created major sites with information resources, links to other trusted sites, and electronic networking potential. Students will determine appropriate archival repositories and government agencies for their research interests. Students are expected to learn about archival research and the use of government documents, but also advanced web tools like Encoded Archival Description, finding aids and associated online searching tools for government and academic sites. In addition, students are expected to conduct their own independent research.

LIBRARY SOURCES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

• Master’s Studies
• Graduate Studies Webinars
• Graduate Catalog
• End of Program Assessment Manual for Master’s Programs
• Writing@APUS: Graduate Writing
• Research@APUS & Research Methods
• SAGE Research Methods

REQUIRED TEXTS

All required texts are available online, as listed below. You may also find links to the required texts in the Resources folder. If you prefer printed versions, there are many available translations.

Aristotle. Poetics, translated by S. H. Butcher, The Internet

Classics Archive, 1895, classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html.

Euripides. Medea, translated by E. P. Coleridge, The Internet

Classics Archive, 1910, classics.mit.edu/Euripides/medea.html.

Guerin, W. L., et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Oxford

University Press, 2005, uogbooks.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/wilfred_l-_guerin_earle_labor_lee_morgan_jeannbokos-z1.pdf.

Homer. The Odyssey, translated by S. Butler, The Internet Classics

Archive, 1900, classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html.

Ovid. Metamorphoses, translated by S. Garth, et al, The

Internet Classics Archive, 1770, classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.html.

Plato. The Republic, translated by B. Jowett, The Internet Classics

Archive, 1908, classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by M. Jastrow, Project Gutenberg, 1973

www.gutenberg.org/files/11000/11000-8.txt.

The Holy Bible, BibleGateway 2020, www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible.

Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by R. Crawley, The Internet

Classics Archive, 2006, classics.mit.edu/Thucydides/pelopwar.html.

Virgil. The Aeneid, translated by J. Dryden, The Internet Classics Archive, 1909,

classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.html.

Other readings as assigned.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES (For All Humanities Majors)

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 8th ed. The Modern

Language Association of America, 2016. Accessible through The Online Library.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Department of Humanities requires conformity with the traditional MLA Handbook.

WEB-BASED READINGS: Plan to make extensive use of these in your research. The expectation will be that you will include images from ancient artifacts to illustrate concepts in your papers.

Art History Resources on the Web: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html

Perseus Project: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

• Microsoft Office 2003 or newer versions (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (for PDF files)
• To view streaming media and audio, individuals should have the following installed on their machines (all are free downloads):
  • Audio – http://www.real.com
  • Windows Media Player – http://www.microsoft.com
  • Quick Time – http://www.apple.com/quicktime
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader – https://get.adobe.com/reader/