Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
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Course Description:
The Maya people have existed in the area known as Mesoamerica for thousands of
years. They were artists and astronomers, farmers and divine kings and queens. Since at
least 1,000 B.C., the Maya lived in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and parts of Honduras,
erecting monumental cities in the rainforest. This course traces the great achievements and
major historical moments of the Maya people throughout this time, from the development
of agriculture in the Archaic/Preclassic transition period and the sprawling kingdoms of
the Classic Period, all the way through the Maya collapse, contact with Europeans, and
modern day practices and communities. Our class focuses primarily on the ancient Maya;
however, students will learn extensively about all periods of Maya history and prehistory.
Required Materials:
There are two required texts for this course, in addition to articles and other readings:
The Ancient Maya, Sixth Edition.
By Robert J. Sharer and Loa P.
Traxler. Stanford University
Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780804748179.
Maya Art and Architecture,
Second Edition. By Mary Ellen
Miller. Thames and Hudson,
2014. ISBN: 978-0500204221.
Course Requirements:
20%
15%
25%
40%
Weekly reading quizzes (20%): Each THURSDAY (unless noted) you will be
required to complete a brief reading quiz on Blackboard Learn. These quizzes are
DUE BY 12 PM ON THE DAY THEY ARE ASSIGNED. Quizzes will typically consist of
8-10 questions, which will primarily be multiple choice and true/false. These
quizzes are intended to test for comprehension and completion of the weekly
assigned readings. You will have 13 quizzes in total, and your lowest two may be
dropped. NOTE: Reading quizzes will NOT be accepted late.
Attendance and Participation (15%): As this is a discussion based, upper division
course, attendance will be integral to your success in this course. As such,
participation in daily discussions is required, and will contribute to your overall
grade. In order to ensure that students are participating fully, attendance will be
taken at random throughout the course a total of 15 times. You may drop up to two
Course Policies:
Use of technology in the classroom: During our class, I will refrain from using my
cell phone for texting, checking emails, or any other purposes. I ask that you show
me the same courtesy and do not use your cell phone during class. If you have to
take a call in case of an emergency, please exit the classroom to do so in order to
minimize the distraction to the rest of the class. In this same vein, I ask that all
laptop use be restricted to class purposes such as taking notes. If either of these
agreements are violated, and you are found using your laptop inappropriately or
using your cellphone in any capacity, you will receive a warning. If I have to ask
again, you will be referred to student conduct.
Late work: In this class, the policy better late than never always applies. Even an
extremely low grade on an assignment will do less damage to your course grade
than a zero will. Late assignments will be docked 10% per class period that they are
late, up to a maximum of six class periods.
Exam make-ups: As discussed above, exams can only be made up in the event of a
documented emergency, mandatory university function, or religious observance. In
any case, documentation must be provided before a make-up exam will be
scheduled. You MUST contact me within 24 hours of the missed exam to notify me of
any situations that arrive. In the case of planned religious observances or university
functions, advance notice is required.
Extra credit: Extra credit assignments may be assigned at the discretion of the
instructor. If an extra credit opportunity is given to any student, it will be made
available for all students.
Academic integrity and classroom behavior: All students are required to adhere
to the standards put forth by the UTSA Student Code of Conduct. This document
covers all issues of student conduct, including academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and
other inappropriate activities in the classroom. If any student is caught cheating on
an exam or assignment, they will receive an automatic zero on that grade. If the
offense is repeated, a zero will be assigned for the course grade. In order to avoid
any unintentional violations of this code, I encourage you to review the document in
its entirety, as your continued enrollment in this course will serve as your
agreement to the rules included therein. The entire document can be found here:
http://catalog.utsa.edu/informationbulletin/appendices/studentcodeofconduct/
Course Schedule:
Week
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
Class Day
Class Topic
Readings/Assignments
Tuesday Syllabus/Introduction -DO: Review syllabus after
class
Thursday Setting of the Maya
-READ:
Civilization
Sharer and Traxler,
Intro and Ch. 1
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Setting of the Maya
-READ:
Civiliztion
Miller, Ch. 1
Thursday Mesoamerica
- READ:
Article: Freidel, David
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Maya Society, Politics -READ:
and Religion
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
2, 13
-DO: Abstracts due to Editor!
Thursday Maya Society, Politics -READ:
and Religion
Article: Willey, Gordon
Article: Houston,
Stephen
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Maya Writing
-READ:
Systems and
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
Calendrics
3, 12
Miller, Ch. 2
Thursday Maya Writing
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Systems and
-REVIEW: Smithsonian
Calendrics
Interactive Calendar
-IN CLASS: Research
Workshop
Tuesday Early Maya
-READ:
Civilization: Archaic
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
4
Article: Lohse, Jon C.
Thursday Early Preclassic Maya -READ:
Article: Neff et al.
Tuesday
Thursday
Tuesday
Thursday
Tuesday
Thursday
Tuesday
Thursday
10
Tuesday
10
Thursday
11
Tuesday
11
Thursday
Models of Classic
Maya Collapse
The Early Postclassic
and Chichen Itza
12
Thursday
13
Tuesday
13
Thursday
14
Tuesday
Spanish Colonial
Contact
14
Thursday
Spanish Colonial
Contact
15
Tuesday
12
15
Tuesday
Thursday
-READ:
Miller, Ch. 6
-DO: Manuscripts Due to
Editor!
-READ:
Info, Location and
History on
ChichenItza.com
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
10
-READ:
History on
www.albany.edu/
Mayapan
-DO: Reading Quiz on BBL
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler,
Epilogue
-READ:
Miller, Ch. 8
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
-WATCH: In class, Balancing
the Cosmos (2009)
-WATCH: In Class, Balancing
the Cosmos (2009)
-DO: Revised Manuscripts
Due!