MBW Courses

Here are the main handouts for HIST 21.

Here are the main handouts for Core 2.2.

You’ll need four books for HIST 21: Two books that cover the history, and two very short works of fiction. For the fiction books, you can use either the version I recommend, or some other version. But you’ll need to get the stories in some form — the fiction books are required.

In choosing books for this course, I did make an effort to keep the overall cost down; the new versions aren’t very pricey, and used versions are available online (see the links at the bottom of the post).

(1) The Ancient History Book:
Robin W. Winks and Susan P. Mattern-Parkes
The Ancient Mediterranean World
Oxford, 2004, ISBN: 978-0-19-515563-1

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(2) The Medieval History Book:
Morris Bishop
The Middle Ages
Mariner, 2001, ISBN: 978-0-618-05703-0

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(3) Gilgamesh:
Andrew George, trans.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Penguin, 1999
ISBN: 978-0-140-44919-8

• Version notes: Penguin has more than one Gilgamesh. I recommend the Andrew George edition because he translated directly from the source. It also has a useful intro. If you get another edition, make sure it uses the Standard Version.
• Although summaries of various sources of Gilgamesh exist online, there isn’t a trustworthy translation of the Standard Version on the web. Since the Penguin edition is only about $12, I suggest you use that.

(4) The Song of Roland:
Glyn Burgess, trans.
The Song of Roland
Penguin, 1990, ISBN: 978-0-140-44532-9

• Version notes: This is a good edition, but most published versions of The Song of Roland will do.
• There are numerous translations of The Song of Roland online, including at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/391

Availability

• All four books are available from Brooklyn College Bookstore, either on person or via their website: http://whywaitforbooks.com
• All four are also available from Amazon and other online retailers—use the ISBNs to search. Also available from the publishers’ web sites. If you order online, make sure you do so enough in advance that you’ll receive the books in time for the assignments.
• Amazon links:
  • The Ancient Mediterranean World: From the Stone Age to A.D. 600
  • The Middle Ages
  • The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
  • The Song of Roland (Penguin Classics)

Two books are required for CORE 2.2: (1) The Textbook, and (2) The Reader.

Spielvogel (Latest edition)

(1) The Textbook:
Jackson J. Spielvogel
Western Civilization: A Brief History
Volume II, 5th Edition (or later—may say 7th Edition)
Wadsworth: Cengage: 2011
ISBN: 978-0-495-57149-0

• PLEASE NOTE THE EDITION: I am using the latest edition of this book, which differs substantially in organization from earlier editions (4th Edition and before). Make sure the cover looks like the one pictured here. If you get an earlier edition, you will have difficulty following the assignments.
• Available from Brooklyn College Bookstore, either in person or via their website: http://whywaitforbooks.com
• Available for slightly less from Amazon and other online retailers, but make sure you get the right edition (see below). Use the ISBN above to search for this volume and edition
  • Amazon link: Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume II
  • Abe Books multi-site search
  • Barnes and Noble
• You can rent the textbook online for the semester for about half price.  For more info, go to http://cengage.com/wadsworth and search for this book by ISBN (9780495571490, without the hyphens)

The Reader

(2) The Reader:
Brooklyn College Dept. of History
The Shaping of the Modern World
4th Edition
Pearson Custom Publishing: 2007
ISBN: 0-536-48964-5

• Available at the Brooklyn College Bookstore (in person)
• Some are available used online.
  • Amazon link: Shaping of the Modern World (Brooklyn College CC 2.2 Reader)
• You can get an e-book version of this book at half price.  To purchase an access code, go to http://www.pearsoncustom.com/ny/bc_history_smw/