AN N EA M50A
First Civilizations
Description: (Same as Middle Eastern Studies M50A.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Survey of great civilizations of ancient Near East--Egypt, Israel, and Mesopotamia--with attention to emergence of writing, monotheism, and urban societies. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - While quite an interesting class, it isn't one that I'd recommend unless you're proficient at memorization. Professor Burke is a good lecturer and his classes are engaging, but his slides can be quite vague and often don't give much information regarding the actual course content. There are weekly quizzes (5 questions each), a midterm, and a final. He covers a lot of material during class, but these tests are quite straightforward if you are able to memorize the information. Discussion sections are also quite relaxed, and can serve as a good chance to make sure you're familiar with the week's material before the quiz. There are also quite a few assigned readings, but they are typically not covered by the quizzes/exams and can be skimmed through.
Fall 2025 - While quite an interesting class, it isn't one that I'd recommend unless you're proficient at memorization. Professor Burke is a good lecturer and his classes are engaging, but his slides can be quite vague and often don't give much information regarding the actual course content. There are weekly quizzes (5 questions each), a midterm, and a final. He covers a lot of material during class, but these tests are quite straightforward if you are able to memorize the information. Discussion sections are also quite relaxed, and can serve as a good chance to make sure you're familiar with the week's material before the quiz. There are also quite a few assigned readings, but they are typically not covered by the quizzes/exams and can be skimmed through.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - I took this class as a GE. The professor was very nice and the work consisted of one weekly assignment, a final project, and a final exam (open note). All of the work, including the final project and exam was easy. My biggest grievance with this class was just my inability to stay focused. The material varied greatly from being very interesting, to pretty boring. Overall though, this was a good GE and I would recommend it. Also, the professor cracked jokes and tried to relate the material to modern events/pop culture, which was super helpful and nice.
Fall 2020 - I took this class as a GE. The professor was very nice and the work consisted of one weekly assignment, a final project, and a final exam (open note). All of the work, including the final project and exam was easy. My biggest grievance with this class was just my inability to stay focused. The material varied greatly from being very interesting, to pretty boring. Overall though, this was a good GE and I would recommend it. Also, the professor cracked jokes and tried to relate the material to modern events/pop culture, which was super helpful and nice.
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