UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

[All Rights Reserved]

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
SCHOOL OF ARTS
FIRST SEMESTER 2023/2024 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSE SYLLABUS

HIST 111- Earliest Civilizations

(3 credits)

Lecture Periods:
Mondays: 9:30- 11:20 – Student Surnames from N to Z
Mondays: 1:30- 3:20 – Student Surnames from A to M

Lecture Venue:
Mondays: 9:30- 11:20 JQB 24 (Jones Quartey Building)
Mondays: 1:30- 3:20 JQB 24 (Jones Quartey Building)

Course Instructor(s):
 Names: Dr Cyrelene Amoah-Boampong; Dr Peter Boakye; Mr Sadat Bole
 Office Locations: Department of History
 Emails: camoah-boampong@ug.edu.gh; peter.boakye@ucc.edu.gh; abole@ug.edu.gh

Teaching Assistants
This class has assigned Teaching Assistants. They will be introduced to you in due course.

Course Overview
In this course, the student will study the emergence of the civilizations of the ancient world with a focus
on African civilizations. Special attention is given to how societies evolved across time—from
fragmented and primitive agricultural communities to more advanced and consolidated civilizations.

Course Objectives/Goals
This course seeks to give an understanding of how society functioned in the ancient world. This will
enable students understand how societies developed from ancient times to modern times. It studies how
human beings evolved, their political, social and economic ideas, how they developed these ideas and
these ideas have contributed to shaping the world. Upon completion, students should be able to analyze
significant political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in pre-modern world civilizations.

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Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Identify and define the world’s earliest civilizations, including the Neolithic Revolution, and
describe how it shaped the development of these early civilizations;
2. Describe, and compare/contrast the first advanced civilizations in the world - Mesopotamia and
Egypt;
3. Analyze the evolution of ancient African civilizations
4. Interpret primary-source documents that elucidate the exchanges and advancements made in
civilizations across time and space.

Course Delivery/Format
The course is taught through lectures, class discussions and tutorial sessions. Students should complete
all readings prior to lectures and come prepared with questions and comments they would like to discuss.
Class discussions and questions are encouraged and designed to assess and expand student understanding
of readings and historical perspective. Although most of the teaching materials will be based on the
assigned course materials, the instructor will also use additional information from other sources. Students
must attend lectures and bear primary responsibility for note-taking in the course. The instructor reserves
the right to call on any student to participate in class discussions and/or answer questions. Students
should respect other opinions and perspectives and ask questions for understanding and clarification.

Plagiarism policy
Plagiarism (academic dishonesty or cheating: copying someone else’s work and representing it as your
own) in any form is unacceptable and shall be treated as a serious offence. Appropriate sanctions, as
stipulated in the Plagiarism Policy, will be applied when students are found to have violated the
Plagiarism policy. The policy is available at http://www.ug.edu.gh/aqua/policies-guidelines. All students
are expected to familiarize themselves with the contents of the Policy.

Assessment and Grading:

Continuous Assessment 60%
Final Exam 40%
MCQs and Terms
Total 100%

Continuous Assessment will be conducted in the format of multiple-choice questions. You will be
required to answer these questions through the online learning platform Sakai. All continuous
assessments tests will be taken in the computer labs at the University of Ghana Computing System
(UGCS).

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Grading Scale:
University of Ghana Grading System
Letter Mark Marks Grade point Interpretation
A 80-100 4.0 Outstanding
B+ 75-79 3.5 Very good
B 70-74 3.0 Good
C+ 65-69 2.5 Fairly good
C 60-64 2.0 Average
D+ 55-59 1.5 Below Average
D 50-55 1.0 Marginal pass
E 45-49 0.5 Unsatisfactory
F 0-44 0 Fail

Required Text
The following books are available in the Balme Library as well as the Department Library.
Mckay Hill Buckler (3rd ed.), A History of World Societies, Houghton Mifflin (ebook on Sakai)

Supplementary reading
Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler (2003). Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the
Past, Volume I: From the Beginnings to 1500 CE. New York, NY: McGraw Hill (ISBN: 0-07-248979-0).

Website
Ancient Civilizations of the World: https://legacy.saylor.org/hist101

Video
The Neolithic Revolution, part I and II: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdbnW-9c27U

Course Expectations and Requirements

 Attendance and Participation: Students are required to attend lectures regularly and participate in
class discussions. Questions, feedback, and student interaction are an integral part of the learning
process, and will supplement lectures. Students should come prepared, having read the assigned
materials. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of lectures on random days, absences on
those occasions will result in a deduction of points from class participation grade.
According to University of Ghana regulations, you will not be eligible to write the end of
semester examinations if you absent yourself from lectures 3 times.

 Basic lecture room rules: Use of mobile phones in lectures and tutorials in any form (i.e., making
and receiving calls, reading or sending text messages etc.) is STRICTLY forbidden.

 Continuous Assessment (C.A) and Final Exams: There will be an interim assessment (in the
middle of the semester) and final sit-in end of semester examination, which will be conducted by
the University.
 Quizzes: Starting week 3, there maybe short, weekly quizzes on weekly reading materials. The
quizzes will commence at the beginning of the lectures and students will have 10 minutes to

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 complete them. Students should note that no makeups will be offered and those arriving late
would not receive extra time to complete the quizzes.

Course Delivery Schedule (Tentative)

Week Date Topic Weekly Readings
A History of World
Societies (ebook on Sakai)
1 Jan 15 Course Overview
2 Jan 22 Introduction to the Discipline of History

3 Jan 29 Prehistory: Neolithic Revolution, Origins of pages 1-20

Neolithic Man
4 Feb 5 The Birth of Civilization: pages 22-23
 Meaning and Nature of Civilization
5 Feb 12 Early Civilization in the Near East: pages 42-58
 Ancient Egypt
6 Feb 19 Early Civilization in Africa: pages 337-351
Aksum and Ethiopia
7 Feb 26 Early Civilization in Africa: pages 351-358
Western Sudanic States
8 Mar 4 Continuous Assessment (at UGCS
Computer Lab) via Sakai
9 Mar 11 Early Civilization in the Americas: pages 369-378
 The Mayans
10 Mar 18 Early Civilization in the Americas: pages 379-380
 The Aztecs
11 Mar 25 Early Civilization in the Americas: pages 380-387
 Early Andes
Apr 1 Revision Week

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