Announcements

Welcome to Week 13!

26 April 2026

This week we launch our Roman unit. We’re starting with ancient North Africa and Italy, and then we’ll begin the exploration of the Romans and their story. This is the beginning of the rise of the people that within a few centuries would dominate the entire Mediterranean, including most of the peoples we’ve studied.

The Romans started out with kings, but after escalating crises under the last king, Tarquin, they replaced the kings with a Republic.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. At first Rome starts out as a city-state within the city-state culture of Latium with its own priest-king, just like the city-states in Sumer. But the Romans get fed up with the kings after a while and eject them from Rome. What do you think makes them turn against the kings? Is it just the actions of the kings, or does it go deeper? Why do you think the legends about the fall of the kings focus so much on the Rape of Lucretia as the thing that turns the Romans against the kings? What does the story of that rape signify to them?

What stands out to you as the defining characteristics of the Republic? What does this idea mean to the Romans? The early history of the Republic involves an ongoing conflict between the patricians (families that control the priesthoods) and the plebeians (all other families of any class). Where does this conflict come from? Why are the priest-families so important to the Roman political system?

Looking forward to your discussions and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 12!

19 April 2026

This week, after we finish with the Peloponnesian War we’re talking about the rise of Macedon. More wars between the Greeks opened them up to invasion by Macedon, and the famous conquests of Alexander the Great. Why do you think the Greeks couldn’t maintain any real peace during this era, even when danger loomed from the north? What were they really fighting about?

After that we’ll be looking at Alexander’s legacy, the Hellenistic world. What was Alexander trying to achieve in his merger of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Persian, and Greek cultures? How did the Hellenistic era change art, philosophy, and civic duty? Were the rulers of the Hellenistic kingdoms a part of that, or a contradiction of the Greek idea Alexander had so prized?

Looking forward to your discussions and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Finding Room B-84

16 April 2026

Tonight’s History Career Day is in Carman B-84. If you haven’t been there before, Room B-84 is in the carpeted section of the Multimedia Center that occupies the middle of the basement floor of the building (the floor you enter on from the outside descending steps).

From the main corridor on either side of the building, turn into the Multimedia Center hallway that goes across the middle of the building. Then make a second turn into the carpeted area. Look for for the signs on the wall with arrows that say B-84 and “this way.”

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and runs to 8 p.m.

History Career Day

11 April 2026

The History Department is hosting a Career Day panel on April 16 from 6:00–8:00 PM (CA B-84) focused on careers in History, Education, Communications, Public Humanities, Arts and Media, and Community-Based Work.

This event brings together Lehman alumni and faculty working across public-facing fields, including:

• Communications and community arts
• Secondary education (APUSH / Global History)
• Public history and museum education
• Social policy and outreach
• Public history and public humanities

The panel is especially relevant for students interested in careers in traditional classroom teaching and beyond. It will be of particular interest to History majors, Education students, Human Rights and Peace Studies students, and those interested in public engagement work. Refreshments will be served!

Livestream: https://lehman-cuny-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/VlqJoy5-QBKA6bDVS74MFQ

Link to Event flyer

Welcome to Week 11!

10 April 2026

This week we’re talking about two enormously important wars that changed Greek history: the first an external invasion, the second a war among the Greeks themselves.

Everything changes with the Persian Wars, a huge watershed for the Greeks. Even the battles of this war are remembered forever—Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis. Why do you think the Greeks were really able to defeat the vastly more powerful Persians? How do you think the war changed them? What was most remarkable to you about the Persian Wars?

With the Peloponnesian Wars, the Greeks are fighting each other in a massive, generation-long slog unlike anything the ancient war has seen. Why? Why are they fighting, and why does it last for decade after decade? What is this war really about? Can we blame a particular city for this? Why do you think it turns out the way it does?

More wars between the Greeks opened them up to invasion by Macedon, and the famous conquests of Alexander the Great. Why do you think the Greeks couldn’t maintain any real peace during this era, even when danger loomed from the north? What were they really fighting about?

The other thing I really wanted to do with you folks this week is hash out what you guys think of Clouds now that we’re finishing it. There are some very striking scenes toward the end. What was most shocking or impactful for you—the debate where Unjust Argument wins (and: why does he win?); Pheidippides attacking his father; or Strepsiades abandoning rational discourse and taking up a torch?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 10!

28 March 2026

This week we’re talking about the two influential cities that emerge in the Archaic period, both with opposing and increasingly extreme ideas of what it means to be Greek. One is Sparta, a society dedicated to the art of war, and the other is Athens.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What do you think goes into making the Spartans like this—so different, so focused on being warriors? What does being a warrior society mean to them? Why aren’t more poleis like this, especially given the other cities are so impressed by the Spartans’ dedication? What are the biggest drawbacks of the Spartan system?

How are the Athenians different, and why? What’s their vision of the ideal society? What makes the Athenian system keep changing so much, while Sparta becomes fixed in their dedication to the art of war?

Also, we enter the middle section of Clouds, where the “Socrates” character gets weirder and weirder, and Strepsiades gets more and more confused. What do you think Aristophanes is getting at here? What was he trying to show by having “Socrates” talk about the gods in this way?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you on Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 9!

20 March 2026

This week we’ll be starting our exploration of the Greek idea, beginning with the Greek Dark Age—the period during which the Greeks recovered from the collapse of the Bronze Age and built a new civilization.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The Greek Dark Age is frustrating and fascinating to historians of ancient Greece, because this period of rebirth, during which the foundations and chief elements of Hellas as we know it come into being, happens while the Greeks have no writing system, and so there are no literature or records until the very end—we can’t hear them creating a new Greek society.

What do you think most drove the Greeks during the Dark Age? If the communities of the Aegean were so isolated and so fiercely independent, how did they end up having so much in common? How did they end up with such a clear idea of what it meant to be Greek?

We’re also reading the first sections of Clouds. What is Strepsiades worried about at the start of the play? What impressions do you get of “Socrates” and the Thinkery? Do you get a sense of what the playwright, Aristophanes, is trying to say here?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Readings in Clouds

20 March 2026

I’ve had a couple of questions about the readings in Clouds, so I wanted to make sure everyone was clear on what’s assigned.

If you are looking at the schedule for this week you’ll notice there’s a button that says “Note” next to the list of readings. If you open that up, you’ll see I’ve divided Clouds into six sections. You won’t find these divisions in whichever copy of Clouds you’re using— Clouds is all one play, so I just cut it up into six pieces to parcel up the readings and talk about different sections in class.

For each of these sections, I give the page numbers in West’s Four Texts About Socrates (the recommended text). Like all ancient plays and poems, Clouds also has standardized line numbers that will appear in the margins in any good edition of the play, so if you’re not using West you can still use the line numbers to determine how far you need to read for each assignment.

For the next class meeting, I am asking you to read the introduction to the play in whatever edition you have, so that you have the background for the action of the play, and then the first section (which I call “Strepsiades’s Problem”). This first section covers lines 1–133, or pages 115–120 in West.

Reading a play can be challenging, and we’ll talk more in class about how we can approach the text. For now, focus on the protagonist, Strepsiades. What is motivating him? How is the playwright depicting him?

The other key character to watch for, starting in the next section, is “Socrates.” This character is nothing like the real Athenian philosopher Socrates—this play was written specifically to discredit him and others like him—so you’ll want to keep a close eye on what the playwright is having this fake Socrates say and do.

More on this in class. See you soon!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 8!

14 March 2026

The midterm exam will be held in-person on Tuesday, March 17 in our normal meeting room and class period. Please arrive on time. You will only have the normal class period (from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m.) to take the exam. Make-up exams will be arranged only in cases of documented medical/family emergency.

The review sheet (detailing content and structure) is posted on the Exams page on the course website, along with links to other resources. Make use of your notes, fellow students, quiz notes, and so on. Remember the Videos page has videos on every subject covered in class. The midterm will cover everything in the course so far up through the meeting on the Persian Empire.

This course focuses on the Mediterranean, but after the exam we’re taking a side trip to ancient Asia this week as well. Why did the Greeks romanticize the Scythian barbarians? Is it a coincidence that the same kinds of things are happening in the Indus valley as are happening in Mesopotamia and along the Nile? What jumps out at you about the culture and religion of ancient South and East Asia?

See the sticky at the top of the Announcements page for more guidance on the exam. Email me with any questions, and good luck!

Link to Schedule page

Midterm Exam review sheet posted

8 March 2026

The midterm review sheet is now available on the Exams page, either as a web page or as a PDF. The first page details the content and structure of the midterm, which will cover everything up through the prior class meeting (March 12).

The midterm exam will be held in person on Tuesday, March 17 in our normal meeting room and class period. Please arrive on time. You will only have the normal class period (from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m.) to take the exam. Please note: You must attend and take the exam in person on March 17. I do not give make-up exams except in the case of a documented medical/family emergency.

The review sheet is not designed to be a list of answers so much as questions you can use to guide you toward the areas you want to focus on in your review. As you read through the questions on the review sheet, group those you have a sense of how you might answer as having a lower priority for review than those questions you’re not sure how you would answer. The ones you’re less sure of, you’d then want to go back and spend some time reviewing, using your notes, the readings, the videos, quiz notes, and class discussions.

Also note that the terms are a useful way of finding concepts you need to go back and review, so I’d advise stepping through the terms at the end of each topic and making sure you have a sense of what they mean and why we’re studying them.

To prepare for the essay, I suggest that you focus on the main themes of the course as discussed in the first meeting and the welcome video—individual/community, mortal/divine, male/female, city/empire—and think about possible questions that relate to those topics across the cultures and peoples we’ve explored. For the essay you’ll be asked to give three examples, so as you prepare, you can sketch out a question about (for example) ancient peoples and their gods and three similar or contrasting examples of societies that show what the gods meant to the ancients.

We will discuss further in class—please come to class with questions about anything you’re not sure of or want to hear more about.

Link to Exams page

Welcome to Week 7!

7 March 2026

This week we’re talking about two very different empires in the same part of the world: the Iron Age Assyrians, also known as the Neo-Assyrians, and the Persians.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. Did the Neo-Assyrians and the Persians have anything in common apart from being empires? What do you think were the most important keys to the success of the Persian empire a century or so later?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Essay Musts reminder

5 March 2026

Just a quick reminder as you work on completing your essays: make sure to review the Requirements for All Papers on the Essay Musts page before you upload—not just for formatting, but for structure and evidence as well. All three are areas in which good choices strengthen your paper and in which significant deductions might be made if the requirements are not met.

There are videos about each of these topics on the Essay Musts page to help advise you as you finalize your work. There’s also a sample interpretive essay on that page to provide additional guidance.

If you have any questions about any of these requirements, drop me an email or see me in office hours. I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Link to Essays Musts page

Welcome to Week 6!

1 March 2026

This week we’re talking about the Bronze Age Aegean: the indigenous inhabitants, especially the mysterious Minoans, and the invading Greeks, who swarm in from the north and take over the Aegean world before bringing about their own spectacular collapse, bringing down the whole Bronze Age with them.

What strikes you as most intriguing about the Minoans—given what little we know of them? Why do you think the Mycenaean Greeks were so successful in surpassing them? If you were to talk about what was important to the Minoans and to the Mycenaean Greeks, what would be similar, and what would be distinctive? Were the Mycenaean Greeks their own worst enemy in too-greedily building a trade empire, or should we emphasize other factors in the great cataclysmic collapse of the Bronze Age and its civilizations?

After that comes the dawn of the Iron Age, which we see first in Canaan—now that it’s not being warred over by the surrounding Bronze Age empires, the lands along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean are free to develop their own strength and economic reach. And they’re very characteristic of how the Iron Age differs from the Bronze Age. We’re focusing on three very distinct peoples who are rivals for land and independence in early Iron Age Canaan: the Phoenicians, the Philistines, and the Hebrews.

Why is the Iron Age so different, do you think? Why does a shift to iron matter so much? What do you think most sets apart a trade empire like that of the Phoenicians from the empires of the Bronze Age we discussed? What do you think are the biggest factors in the Hebrews being able to create their own state in Canaan despite huge disadvantages? How does religion factor into the story?

Remember to come to class with any questions you have about Gilgamesh and the essay. What is the author trying to emphasize? What is the story telling us about what it was like to live and think as a Sumerian?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

A quick reminder about meeting slides and note taking

25 February 2026

For every class meeting, there are always a number of ideas I want to discuss and key points that go with them. I try to make sure a lot of these ideas are included on my slides, to aid in-class discussion and for later review.

For those taking notes in class, that can sometimes add the challenge of wanting to get all of these points on paper. To help with this, I've provided tools that allow you to streamline your note-taking and not have to worry about getting every point down from the slides.

I do recommend note-taking—we cover a lot of material in this course, and it’s all relevant to your written assignments and exams. Sometimes, though, in class I have to move on faster than fully comprehensive transcription allows, so these tools might be of help. For example, images of the slides are always available before and after class on the Slides page for you to check and supplement your notes.

One offering that students have found helpful in the past is the PDF handout I post for each meeting. These show the slides on the left side, with all the bullet points, and room to take additional notes and ideas that you think of or that come up in discussion next to the slides on the right. That way you don't have to get distracted trying to get everything down and can keep your reactions side-by-side with the key points I’m hoping to convey.

The PDF handouts are always available on the course website the weekend before class. You can print them out and bring the printouts to class, or use a tablet to add to them during the meeting.

The PDF handouts can be accessed via both the Slides page and the PDF/Print page.

Link to PDF/Print page

Welcome to Week 5!

22 February 2026

Note: As of now we will be meeting as usual on Tuesday. Lehman is currently scheduled to be closed Sunday and in remote learning mode on Monday. If this changes and Tuesday meetings are affected, you’ll be notified by the school, and I’ll confirm by announcement and email. (If you are not signed up for CUNY Alerts, I strongly suggest you do so.)

This week we’re talking about the rise of Egypt as a power in the Mediterranean world, and how that affects the power dynamics of Egypt. We’ll then move on to the Bronze Age Aegean: the indigenous inhabitants, especially the mysterious Minoans, and the invading Greeks, who swarm in from the north and take over the Aegean world before bringing about their own spectacular collapse, bringing down the whole Bronze Age with them.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. Why is New Kingdom Egypt so different from Old Kingdom Egypt? What does the reign of Akhenaten tell us about the New Kingdom? After all that change, what's constant about what it means to be an Egyptian?

What strikes you as most intriguing about the Minoans—given what little we know of them? Why do you think the Mycenaean Greeks were so successful in surpassing them? If you were to talk about what was important to the Minoans and to the Mycenaean Greeks, what would be similar, and what would be distinctive? Were the Mycenaean Greeks their own worst enemy in too-greedily building a trade empire, or should we emphasize other factors in the great cataclysmic collapse of the Bronze Age and its civilizations?

We'll also be looking at the death of Enkidu. How does that come about, and how do Enkidu and Gilgamesh react to it? What is the story telling us about the Sumerian attitude toward death? How does the encounter with the flood survivor Utanapishti affect Gilgamesh?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Important notes on Essay #1 (due March 9)

22 February 2026

Here are a few brief reminders about the Gilgamesh essay, which is due very soon on Monday, March 9.

Watch the video. Make sure to watch the overview video, since that tells you exactly what I am looking for. It’s on the Essay #1 page.

Thesis statement. Make sure you have an introduction with a thesis statement (your argument asserting your position on the question/problem being addressed) and a body that describes and discusses three examples from the Epic supporting your thesis statement. For models and explanations on how to do this, I urge you to watch the “Structure Musts” video on the Essay Musts page. See also “Writing a Position Paper” (a.k.a. “The Elephant Pamphlet”), which is on the Resources page on the website.

Sources. For your examples you may use all of Gilgamesh, including the tablets that were not assigned if they contain helpful support for your thesis. You do not need to use other sources for this assignment; this essay is about your interpretation of Sumerian culture as represented in the beliefs, actions, and relations of the characters in the Epic.

Requirements for all papers. You must adhere to the requirements for all papers (listed on the Essay Musts page). Not meeting the formatting, structure, and evidence requirements for all papers will mean a lower grade. There are videos posted there for formatting musts, evidence musts, and structure musts guiding you toward what is required and how to do it.

Template. An MS Word and a Google Docs template already set up with some of the formatting I require can be found on the Resources page. If you use Word or Google Docs, I strongly recommend making use of these templates.

Late papers. As per the syllabus, late papers are marked down by ten points per week, up to a cap of thirty points. Avoid this penalty and block out the time you need to prepare, write, and review your essay so that it can be submitted on time.

Brightspace. All essays are uploaded to Brightspace. Look for “Upload Assignments Here” in the left-hand menu. Your essay needs to be uploaded as a Word (preferred) or PDF file attachment, not pasted in as text submission. If you use a browser-based word processor, you’ll need to export your paper as a Word document and upload that.

I’m happy to discuss any aspects of the Epic or the essay, so please come to me if there’s anything you’re not sure about. I’m looking forward to hearing your interactions with the folks of Uruk!

Link to Essay #1 page

Welcome to Week 4!

15 February 2026

This week, after we finish with Akkad and Babylon, we’re moving on to the other earliest civilization—Egypt! This is a society that emerges around the same time as Sumer, and yet they could not be more different. Ancient Egypt has fascinated and perplexed students of history for thousands of years. What stands out the most to you about Egyptian society and culture?

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. Egypt is one of those rare cultures where absolute monarchy remains stable and effective for century on century. Why is that? What do you think makes the role of the pharaoh work without abuse of power? What do you think are the most important values and beliefs to an Egyptian? How does this affect the way they think about the gods? How does it affect how they think about death?

It’s striking how different Sumer is from Egypt. What do you think goes into making them so opposite to each other? Egypt unified early. Why was it possible there, and not in Sumer, where the city-states remained fiercely independent? What’s most different about their views of the gods, of kings, of death?

For Gilgamesh, we’re reading tablet 6 this week: the fiery goddess Ishtar and her face-off with Gilgamesh. What motivates Ishtar to approach Gilgamesh, and why does Gilgamesh defy her?

No class meeting Tuesday. Looking forward to discussing this with you. See you Thursday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 3!

8 February 2026

This week we’re progressing through the story of the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers: the original inhabitants in Sumer to the south, and the alien newcomers, the Semitic tribes that settled in Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria. They’re the strangers with their own languages and cultures who start to emulate, and, later, absorb the great cities and culture of the Sumerians.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. How different the Sumerians and the Semitic peoples were—why did they build Sumer-style city-states, even down to the ziggurats for their own gods, and end up adopting Sumerian technology? Why do you think the Sumerians didn’t survive? When Sargon of Akkad built an empire, what was it based on, and why didn’t it last very long after he died? Why do you think so much significance is attached to the Code of Hammurabi?

For Gilgamesh, we’re reading tablet 5 this week: the combat with Humbaba. Why do Gilgamesh and Enkidu go on this quest? Is it just about glory, or is there more to it? What do you think is the symbolism in Gilgamesh and Enkidu attacking the guardian of the cedar forest? Note what happens to the cedar, too—what can we say about that?

Looking forward to discussing this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 2!

1 February 2026

This week we’re talking about the story of the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, starting with the earliest culture to arise there: the unique culture of Sumer and their city-state culture.

Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What do you think drives your identity—your sense of who you are—if you’re from one of these city-states? How do the Sumerians think about the gods? Why do you think they see the gods this way? Also, what kind of impact does that perspective have on how they look at life and the world around them?

We’re also reading Tablets 1 and 2 of The Epic of Gilgamesh, which introduce us to king Gilgamesh, the harlot Shamhat, and the wild man Enkidu. As you read the story, I want you to think about what is motivating these characters to do what they are doing, and what ideas you think the author might be trying to get across.

For example, pay special attention to why the citizens of Uruk are angry with Gilgamesh—what does that tell us about the role of the king in their community?

Enkidu undergoes a change in this part of the story. What is this change about, and what role does the harlot Shamhat play in it? Also, think about the way Enkidu and Gilgamesh interact in these tablets. Why was Enkidu the gods’ solution to Gilgamesh’s bad rule?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Weekly responses start this week

30 January 2026

Each week, in addition to our in-class lecture and discussions, we’ll be having an online discussion in which everyone responds to a reading or some other prompt that relates to the week’s topics. The responses start this week with the Week 1 response, which is sort of an open introduction to thinking about history.

The weekly responses are a part of your grade, so making a substantive post every week will be part of the routine for this course. (I used to ask these kinds of questions about the readings on the quizzes in class, but I opted for shorter quizzes and shifted this discussion to the online responses.)

Responses are due by the Sunday after the class meetings for that week. For example, this week’s responses are due Sunday, February 1. Of course you can make your responses anytime during the week, and I’ll always particularly appreciate responses posted before the class meeting in case there are ideas or questions I want to bring up in class.

To post your response, go to the course website (follow the links sent previously, or find markbwilson dot com and click on Courses), then click on Responses on the side menu or site map. There’s a link there to the Week 1 thread on Brightspace. You can also go directly to Brightspace and click on the Discussion section.

Make sure your response is substantial—a paragraph or two of your personal thoughts, ideas, and reasoning. Please try to write in complete sentences so your thoughts are clearer to others. Remember, the environment here is academic, not social media; think of this page as being like a group discussion in class about a subject we’re all trying to explore and give our ideas and perspectives on. Try to add to the discussion with new ideas or a new take on what’s been brought up so far by other students.

Any questions or issues, email me and let me know!

Link to Responses page

Welcome to Week 1!

25 January 2026

This is just a quick note to welcome you all to the first week of Civilizations of the Ancient World. I’m looking forward to exploring the ancient world with all of you, starting with our first meeting on Tuesday. The meeting is in-person, 3:00–4:15 p.m., in Carman 209. I know there’s a storm happening Monday, but as of now we will be meeting in person on Tuesday. If that changes I will let you know!

At our first meeting we’ll be laying some important foundations we’ll be building on throughout the semester, including the themes of the course and some of the things we’ll be looking for as we explore the ancient world. One of the things I want to talk about is the word “civilization” itself. What does it mean to have become “civilized”? What kinds of changes do you think it involved? What’s likely to be different from one early community to the next, and what might they maybe have had more in common?

Syllabus and video: As a reminder, the syllabus, assignments, and requirements are all on my website, markbwilson dot com. Make sure you’ve looked through the site and that you’ve watched the welcome video, which talks about how the course works and answers some common questions.

Books: Also make sure you have the books. We won’t need the Four Texts about Socrates until later, but you’ll need both the textbook and Gilgamesh right away, as there are assignments this week. The reading assignments on the Schedule page of the website are what you need to have read (and thought about) before coming to class.

Email me: Many of you replied back to the welcome-to-the-course email I sent you after you enrolled, confirming that I have a good email address for you. If you didn’t, could you do me a favor and email me and let me know that I can use this address, or that a different email is better for you? Thanks.

That’s it for now. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll see you all on Tuesday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Civilizations of the Ancient World! (Spring 2026)

8 December 2025

Welcome to Civilizations of the Ancient World! I’m looking forward to a great semester exploring the cultures and transformations of ancient societies, from “prehistory” to the rise of the Roman Empire.

Right now, I need you to do three things.

First, look over the course web page, which will be our base of operations. Watch the quick welcome and orientation video (linked here and on the overview page). Look through each of the pages on the website to see how the course will work, and make sure to click through to the schedule page to see how the readings, videos, and discussions are set up. Any questions about how it works, please send me an email.

Second, get the books now if you can. A lot of you will be ordering books online, and you need to make sure you have the books and are ready to go when the course starts on January 27. On the “Books” page I’ve tried to give you some different options for getting what you need, but you should order now if there’s going to be any kind of shipping involved. (If you come across a legitimate online/e-text version of one of the assigned readings that’s not already listed, please let me know.)

Finally, send me an email so that I know I have a working email address for you. You can just send a blank email, email and say “hi”, or email with a question or concern, but I want to make sure I can contact everyone. If you receive an email from me but there is an email address you prefer I use instead of this one, please definitely reply and tell me that.

Email me anytime with questions at mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu. I’m looking forward to starting our journey together.

Link to Overview page