Instructor:	Dr. R. Robert Robbins
Email:	rrr@astro.as.utexas.edu
Office:	RLM 13.136
Phone:	471-7312
Office Hours:	3:15 - 4:30 p.m. daily, or by appointment

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:

Ancient Astronomers, Anthony Aveni, available at the University Co-Op
The Fabric of the Heavens, Toulmin and Goodfield (out of print), photocopies available at Speedway Printing in Dobie Mall

This course fulfills an upper division writing requirement, with a minimum of three writing assignments, totaling 16-18 pages. The third (and largest of the writing assignments) will be a term paper of at least 10 pages. For the first paper, you will choose a topic from a set of choices that I provide. For the second paper, you may choose any topic you wish, and in particular, you may start a short paper (with advising and permission) that leads into your longer term paper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CLASS:

First - Approximately the first third of the class will begin by reviewing what phenomena can be seen by the naked eye (since AST 301 typically doesn't do this); that is, a study of the capabilities of the eye as an astronomical instrument. This was the only astronomy practiced anywhere until 1609, when Galileo first pointed a telescope skyward. We will examine how various cultures, from ancient times forward, have studied this naked-eye sky and how they have conceptualized the "heavens" and the celestial sphere in ways often quite different from the approach of modern science. We will see that there have, historically, been many different ways of defining nature and studying it. By studying some of these, we might get information about ourselves, as well as, the Cosmos - just as I could learn much about you if I could study your parents and grandparents.

We will successively examine Stonehenge, Egypt, Asia, Africa, Mesoamerica, North America, the Andean cultures, and Oceania.

Second - We will then take up Babylonian, Greek, and Islamic astronomy, and examine the historical track followed by western science through the Dark Ages to the Renaissance to Newton -- a legacy that fathered modern science as we know it today.

Third - Finally, we will examine selected aspects of the frontiers of modern, 20th century science that represent its most recent achievements; in particular, quantum mechanics and relativity. This last 20 or 25 percent of the course will examine the Theory of Special Relativity, as an example which dramatically illuminates the nature of 20th century science. There is no text for this portion of the class; attendance is extremely important.

Finally - We will ask - where do we go from here? Since this class is not a prerequisite for any other course, we have the freedom to ask questions and carry out discussions in any area of interest. Your textbook is new and written by the #1 authority in the field of archaeoastronomy, but there are concepts that he covers rapidly and the lecture can be important in filling in the necessary understanding. This means that you will get a lot more out of the lecture if you do the reading, along with the lectures, and come equipped with your questions. From the listing below, it should be fairly obvious where we are in the sequence. If in doubt, ask.

HOW THE CLASS IS GRADED:

The class will have two short (2-3 page) papers for 30% of your grade (15% each)
It will have three short quizzes (10% each) for 30% of the grade
It will have two homework assignments (10%)
It will have your large term paper (30%)
There is no final exam.
**This table of assignments will be discussed in more detail later.**

ASSIGNMENT	DUE DATE
Paper 1 (2-3 pages)	Thu 10 Sept
Quiz 1	Tue 24 Sept
Paper 2 (2-3 pages)	Thu 8 Oct
Quiz 2	Thu 15 Oct
Title and Brief Outline of Term Paper	Tue 27 Oct
Quiz 3	Thu 5 Nov
2 Homeworks	Wed 11 Nov, Tue 24 Nov
Term Paper (min. 10 pages)	Tue 1 Dec

There is no final exam -- Thu 3 Dec = last day of class

All papers must be typed (so that I can read them) and double-spaced, so that there is room for me to make comments. Handwritten papers are not acceptable. Late papers will be penalized 10% per class meeting (e.g. if a paper counts 10 points and is handed in 2 classes late [a week], it can grade at most 8 points. Further details about paper formatting and grading guidelines will be given in class.

The first two papers must earn a grade of C or better. Any paper may be rewritten in the hope of more credit; a paper that earns less than a C must be rewritten. I will give you the detailed criteria I use for grading next class.

Please make your first paper as good as possible, so I can have an accurate idea of your writing. The possibility of rewriting papers should make it possible to sharpen your writing skills. To achieve this goal, your first paper will be graded with care. I hope that you will consider the term paper to be an opportunity for you to study whatever you choose, rather than just an assignment in the syllabus.

Satisfying the upper division writing requirement means that the idea of good writing will be taken seriously in this class. We will, of course, be involved with content and ideas, but we will also be grading on organization, clarity and coherence of expression, and mechanics, such as grammar and spelling. Actually, the principles of good writing are pretty much common sense, if you remember that a paper is not YOU. It is a communication to a reader who is not inside your head and who must therefore be able to understand your ideas from what is written. This is why the rules of grammar are important; they are the conventions we have adopted to be understandable. The culture surrounds us with constructions like "KWIK'N EZ CREDIT" and it becomes even more important to maintain a universal grammar.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES AND UNIVERSITY AND COURSE DROP INFORMATION:

Class begins Thu 27 Aug. The last day to drop freely is Wed 23 Sept. You may drop until Wed 21 Oct if you are working at a C level (University regulations). After then, you can drop only for non-academic emergencies, and the drop decision is made by the Student Dean of your college. Also, up until Wed 21 Oct, you can change your registration from graded to pass-fail, or vice versa. Note, however, that a pass-fail registration does not satisfy the B.A. Plan science requirement. You would receive 3 units of elective credit

READING ASSIGNMENTS TO ACCOMPANY THE LECTURES:

You should be easily able to correlate the timing of your reading with the lectures. If you read a chapter before it is discussed in lecture, you will certainly get more out of the lecture. Pages covered by the quizzes are listed explicitly here.

Aveni Reading	Toulmin Reading
QUIZ 1
Naked-eye astronomy; number	None
Chapters 1 and 2 - Introduction, Calendars, Stonehenge
Chapter 3 - Egypt Stop after paragraph 1 on p. 43)
Chapter 5 - Asia
Chapter 6 - Africa
QUIZ 2
Chapter 7 - Mesoamerican (Maya, etc.)	pages 7, 8, 11-48
Chapter 8 - North America
Chapter 9 - Andean astronomy
Chapter 10 - Oceania
Chapter 3 - Babylonia (pages 43-53)
Chapter 3 - Greek Astronomy (to page 61)
QUIZ 3
Chapter 4 - Islam (pages 63-73)	Copernicus to Newton through the 1900's
	pages 51-149, 153-213, 228-271