Dr. Peter A. Piccione	History 330.086
Office: Bell 203E	Spring 2001 Express II
Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 4:00-5:00 p.m. (or by appointment)
Telephone: 953-4861; Fax: 953-6349	E-mail: piccionep@cofc.edu
Tue., Thur. 6:00-8:45 p.m., MYBK 304

Course Description: This upper-level lecture and discussion course explores the role of medicine in ancient Egyptian society. Through an understanding of the Egyptian healing arts and their social aspects, we comprehend the the ancient Egyptians' views toward health and the nature of the human organism and its place in the cosmos. This course sets the practice of Egyptian medicine within the ancient Egyptian ethos and world-view, placing it within the framework of Egyptian cosmology, standards of morality and magico-religious beliefs. The focus of this course is the essential nature of Egyptian healing in which deep seated religious notions and so-called magical practices wholly integrated with empirico-rational approaches to form an integrated but multi-faceted medical therapy.

Topics of study include: the fusion of magical and rational therapies; the theoretical bases of disease–both divine and physical; Egyptian therapeutical practices and techniques, including, the nature of surgery, surgical tools, and the uses of trepanation; medical specializations; pharmacology and pharmacopoeia; mummification; the influence of Egyptian medicine and pharmacology on the Greeks; the background and training of the Egyptian physician and his role as physician-priest, the issue of female physicians, and the existence of sanatoria, i.e., Egyptian temples as centers for medical treatment and pilgrimage.

The course will pay special attention to the practice of magical medicine, the ancient Egyptian medical papyri, their form and content, and what these indicate about the Egyptian approach to treatment, to women's health, including gynaecological and obstetrical practices, and to dentistry and dental therapies. In this regard, students might read translations of the papyri. Finally, the class will examine the techniques and findings of modern palaeopathology, i.e., the pathological study of mummies and ancient human remains. Here the purpose is to determine the general physical condition of the Egyptians, their standards of health, the biological evidence of disease, and causes of death–all through the use of forensics, X-ray, Computer-aided Temography (CT scanning), Magnetic Resonance Imaging, molecular biology (e.g., DNA cloning), etc.

Theme Essay: Due April 17. Students will write one theme paper (4-5 pages) on some aspect of Egyptian medical practice or on a particular topic or unit in the course that interests them. The theme paper is due April 17, and its specific requirements are located below under "Paper Requirements."

Examinations: This course includes a midterm and a final examination, each containing objective questions, identifications or short answers, and essays from the lectures and readings. The midterm exam is scheduled for April 3, and the final exam will be held on May 3 (see "Reading Assignments"-schedule below for specific time).

Attendance Policy: Discussion figures prominently in the class-program, and class participation and attendance will constitute a percentage of the course grade. Attendance and participation improve the functioning of the class as well as students' grades. According to College policy, attendance will be taken daily; any and all unexcused absences will result in automatic grade reductions. Absences are excused by presenting written documentation to the Office of Undergraduate Studies. Running errands is not a valid excuse. If you will miss class for a college function, please inform the instructor at least one week in advance, but do not telephone him on the same day to say you will be absent, nor should you ever(!) call the History Department office to report your absence. If the instructor does not call the roll, then an attendance sheet will be circulated daily in class. If your signature is not there, you are counted absent. Students who sign the sheet and then leave are counted as absent and reported to the College Honor Board. Students who leave class for an inordinate period of time without valid excuse are marked as absent. Students are responsible for all the material in the readings, videos, and lectures, whether they are present or not.

Required Texts:

Nunn, John F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

A variety of monographic extracts and journal articles are also required reading for this course. Most of these readings are located on Reserve in the R.S. Small campus library. Others are located in the journal collections of the library. Certain of the readings might also become available for downloading and printing from the course Web pages.

Final course-grades will be constituted according to the following formula: theme paper 20%, mid-term exam 30%, final examination 30%, class participation and attendance 20%.

According to College policy, the grade scale is as follows: A = 100-90 [extraordinary, near graduate quality]; B+ = 89-86 [very good]; B = 85-80 [good]; C+ = 79-76 [slightly above average]; C = 75-70 [average]; D = 60-69 [poor]; F = 59-0 [failure].

Term Paper. Due date: April 17. Length: 4-5 pages. From the list of "Reading Assignments" below, choose any group of sources pertaining to a particular subject about Egyptian medicine or medical practice. Prepare an analysis of the subject based on these sources and any other related primary and secondary sources you might find.

Late Policy. Late papers will be penalized 5 points for each day late (including Saturdays), up to three days, after which they receive an automatic failure.

Form and Format. All papers should contain 1-inch margins on all sides, top and bottom. They should be typed or printed double space in a 12-point type. The term paper must include citations, such as: footnotes or endnotes plus a separate "Bibliography." Alternatively, you can use in-line parenthetical references, plus a "Works Cited"-list. If you do the latter, you must use the proper formats, which are different from a standard "Bibliography." The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of pages.

In the preparation and execution of all papers for the class, students are required to follow the format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), especially in regard to the style of block quotations, footnotes or parenthetical references, and bibliographies. Look over Chapters 8-10 on how to cite references. Choose the type of reference you want:

Read Chapter 11 (pp. 185-213) to compare their forms and styles: foot/endnotes (="N"), bibliographies (="B"), parenthetical references (="PR"), reference lists (="RL"). Note: if you employ parenthetical references, then you must(!) use the "Reference List (RL)"-format as your list of "Works Cited" instead of the traditional "Bibliography (B)"-format. All papers must have a separate cover page; however, students need not follow Turabian closely on the format of this page.

The Turabian style is a standard for writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. If you are not familiar with this format, open the manual and learn it. Don't try to "wing" it or fudge the format. Any papers that do not conform to Turabian will be downgraded accordingly. Four copies of Turabian are located in the College Library, two in the Reference Section, two on Permanent Reserve. Copies are also available for purchase in the College Bookstore (if you cannot find it on the general trade shelves, look under History 103.008/011, or buy it more cheaply at Barnes and Noble).

Execution: As a rule of thumb, do not quote class-lecture notes in any paper. If you want to quote material mentioned in class, you must go find it in published sources among the course readings and quote from there. If you cannot find the source among the readings, see the instructor for advice. Please feel free to consult the instructor at any time for advice on preparing the paper

Form and spelling are factors in grading both papers. If you are uncertain of your spelling, use a dictionary or a spell-check program. You must proofread your paper before submitting it, and make any final corrections cleanly in ink, if necessary!! Why the emphasis on form? A research paper is a means of communication. The purpose of any paper is to convey an argument as logically as possible according to standards of form that facilitate its communicative function. Form is not merely format and correct spelling; it also includes the logical arrangement of an argument and the rational ordering of historical and textual data to support a particular historical interpretation. Poor form can impede the communication of a valid point of view. When a paper cannot communicate due to a lapse of form, it has failed in its purpose.

Students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications. They may use the World Wide Web selectively to help research the paper topic. For that purpose, a page entitled, Web Links, pertaining to ancient Egypt exists on the course's Web page. However, there is a great deal of trash on the Web that does not conform to modern academic standards. The World Wide Web contains four types of materials pertaining to ancient Egypt:

1. primary sources, i.e. editions of original Egyptian inscriptions translated and presented by reputable Egyptologists, often used as classroom resources in teaching Egyptology;

2. original archaeological reports and field data by archaeologists and Egyptologists;

3. synthetical reports and essays prepared by Egyptologists (often as Web versions of reputable printed publications);

4. materials, idiosyncratic essays, and polemical tracts of uneven and inconsistent quality, prepared by non-professionals, dilettantes, radical Afro-centrists, and self-proclaimed prophets of the New Age revelation.

Sadly, this latter Egyptotrash [no. 4] constitutes the bulk of Egyptological materials on the Web.

As of now, there are still no peer-reviewed professional Egyptological journals published on the Web. For the purposes of this course, students are permitted to quote from primary sources [no. 1], but only if these inscriptions are not available elsewhere in print. Because Egyptological secondary sources on the Web are rarely peer-reviewed, students may quote from [nos. 2 & 3] but only after consulting with the course instructor on each source(!). Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] are usually identifiable by the domain-markers ".edu" or ".ac" in their Web addresses (the latter for British addresses), and sometimes also by ".org" (denoting educational or charitable organizations).

Students may freely use these Web pages in their research to identify printed sources of information or research direction (only after confirming these with the instructor). However, under no circumstances may students quote from the unprofessional Egypto-crypto-trash [no. 4] (usually identifiable by the domain-marker ".com" in their Web addresses). If in doubt about the appropriateness of any research source--either on the Web or in print--please feel free to consult the instructor. He will be happy to discuss individual Web sites with you.

As you prepare theme and term papers for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Any plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, will not be tolerated in this course. If you have any questions as you prepare your assignments, feel free to ask the advice of the instructor. If in doubt about anything, quote it--even indirect quotations! The Honor Code of the College of Charleston strictly prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and attempted cheating. A student found guilty of these offenses will be reported to the Honor Board and will flunk the course. Additional penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the college at the discretion of the Honor Board. See the College of Charleston Student Handbook for definitions of these offenses.

Students are reminded that eating, drinking, and smoking are prohibited in the classrooms of the College of Charleston. Students may not make or receive cellular telephone calls or accept electronic pages during the class period. Please turn off any cell phones, pagers, etc. at the start of class. Any time a cell phone or pager goes off in class, it will result in a 3-point grade reduction for the student. Also, the classroom is an inappropriate venue for reading newspapers, personal grooming (such as combing hair, applying makeup, etc.), or even for sleeping.

The course readings listed below consist of Nunn's Ancient Egyptian Medicine and other documents available from the the Reserve Desk or in the Reference Section of the campus library. Unless otherwise indicated, all readings will be found at the Reserve desk). Readings marked with Rf will be on the Reference shelves, while those marked Jl are located in the journal collection of the library. Any readings in the Assignments Schedule that are marked with a W are available for downloading from the course's Web Pages. See Reading Assignments-page. Full bibliographic citations for the reading entries in this schedule will be found in the course bibliography located on the course Web pages.

This class will adhere to the course schedule below. Even if we do not complete a particular unit in class on the date specified, we will move on to the next unit, and students will be responsible for the full material through the readings. However, the instructor still reserves the right to alter the schedule of lectures, discussions, and reading assignments at any time.