This unit explores the achievements and tensions of Greece s most glorious century, the high point of Athenian culture. All lessons in this unit are based on a rich array of primary sources and renderings of architecture and artifacts. The Rebuilding of the Acropolis, Pericles Funeral Oration, The Melian Dialogue, and finally, The Last Days of Socrates. In this unit students explore the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy when philosophers sought to account for the political fragmentation of the Zhou period and to articulate solutions to restore order. Students analyze texts from Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism or Legalism, the four most influential of these philosophical traditions.
Students then compare their findings with others.
Students investigate primary source documents for a biographical perspective and historical context concerning emperor Wang Mang of the Hsin Dynasty. This unit, while informative, requires that students critically and creatively examine the reign and eventual demise of Wang Mang. Through the enactment of a mock trial, students determine whether Wang Mang was a victim of circumstances or a morally corrupt ruler. Ideals for good government and just rulers, as propounded by Confucius and Mencius, are interwoven throughout the text offering students a standard by which to measure Wang Mang. This unit focuses on pre-colonial Ghana providing students with an introduction to the internal dynamics of an important African Kingdom before European colonization.