do you feel free

but his illness made him too ill and he had to go and quietly die
i remember quite clearly in november the last time i hugged him you usually hug your nephews and nieces but this one was hugging me with his skinny strong arms, hugging me much better than i could hug him we said goodbye and see you soon see you soon see you soon

Goddesses, Chariots and Pyramids!

Facilitators: Nova students Guy Robichaud, Michael Faigenblum and Mike Kohn along with Nova instructor Joe Szwaja

Meeting Times: Tu, Th 10:15-11:45 plus at least 4 Friday field trips during the course of the semester.

Credit: .5 Any Type of World History Credit; Honors and extra credit also available

Prerequisites and Level: This is a mid level class open to students with an interest in exploring what our early human ancestors were like.

Description: Were early humans peaceful or violent, egalitarian or male dominant? How did people dress and eat, what were their every day lives like? Why did great civilizations rise and fall during the first chapters or our human story, what was the same and different about the ancient world as compared to our own, in which ancient society would you prefer to live? How do the patterns and discoveries set forth in the ancient world continue to influence us today? These are a few of the key issues that we will grapple with during this class concerning our early human ancestors.

Although the facilitators have particular issues we want to explore, we will agree on the themes and key questions democratically as a class. Tentatively, the class will be divided into four units 1) human beginnings, hunter gathers and the emergence of agriculture, 2) the rise of “civilization” city states and empires in different parts of the world 3) the interaction of different culture areas and the fall of civilizations and 4) sources and lasting legacies of the ancient world’s great culture areas.
This class will provide lots of room for students to explore interests and topics of interest, while building the skills of historical inquiry. It should prove to be an adventure of exploration and student staff collaboration, one that will challenge all who participate to look at things in a new way.