Dr. Mark Brown will take us back in time about 3000 years to a very tumultuous time. During the 12th Century BC, civilization underwent a drastic change that took a century to unfold; 1177 BC is used to define this change due to a very important event, the Collapse of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilization. It also saw the birth of the Early Iron Age.
This class will examine the Late Bronze Age societies, from Mycenaean Greece to Egypt and east to Mesopotamia, and the events that led to the Collapse. Because archaeology is still uncovering data from this period, we will discuss the current thinking on how this region-wide collapse unfolded. We will also examine what arose out of the dust and ashes of the Collapse.
Were the events of the 12thC BC really a collapse or a rebirth? During our time travel we will be discussing the Hittite Empire, Egypt’s New Kingdom, Greek Mycenae, Crete Minoa, Assyria, Babylonia, Cyprus, Mitanni Empire, and the city of Ugarit of the Late Bronze Age. We will end with visiting the Early Iron Age Greece, Egypt’s Third Intermediate Era, Phoenicia, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus, Assyria, Babylonia, Carchemish, and Urartu.
These regions had different trajectories from 1500 to 800 BC. Some were survivors, some adapted, some transformed, some just coped, and some disappeared. Can the modern world learn from these civilizations as we deal with the potential challenges facing us from climate change to pandemics?
Materials presented in this class are based on:
Eric H. Cline, 2021, 1177 BC The Year Civilization Collapsed, revised and updated ISBN-13: 9780691208015.
Eric H. Cline, 2024, After 1177 BC The Survival of Civilizations ISBN-10: 691192138.
Instructor: Dr. Mark Brown attended the University of Maine in Orono studying Forestry, the University of Idaho in Entomology, and the Pennsylvania State University in Entomology and Ecology with a minor in Statistics. He was a research scientist with the U.S. Dept. Agriculture for 27 years in West Virginia developing non-chemical controls of insect pests on apple and peach orchards. He also taught Environmental Sciences at Hood College in Frederick Maryland. He has taught SSC classes on science, climate change, and insects. He has also taught history classes on the Celts, Anglo-Saxons, and How Societies Deal with Crises based on the works of Jared Diamond. In this class he continues his investigation into how different societies deal with or succumb to crises.
Class Information: This is a hybrid class - held in-person in UM@M’s room SCI 102 and via Zoom.
All facilities at the University of Maine at Machias (UM@M) are fully handicap compliant. The facilities used by Sunrise Senior College (SSC) at the college have ramps, elevators and handicap accessible bathrooms. Our offsite functions and activities have various limitations and restrictions and may not be fully handicap accessible. SSC will endeavor to identify limitations at these to you in advance.
IMPORTANT: See Below
This class is available to all current Maine Senior College (MSCN) Members. The general public not wishing to join Sunrise Senior College at this time may attend this class for a $20.00 fee.
Important: If at this time you are not a current member of Sunrise Senior College (SSC) but are planning to join as a member today, make sure you answer that “Your SSC membership is current” when checking out so that we can properly bill you for this class.
Sunrise Senior College (SSC) is a membership-based organization. Our SSC members receive special benefits as current members when they register for this course. Any member of another MSCN college is also able to enjoy this course, but may incur some additional charges. If you are a member of the general public, you can take this course but will have to pay additional fees associated with being a non-member. For any attendee that is not a current member of Sunrise Senior College, any materials required for the course are your responsibility. When checking out, please carefully read and answer the questions asked associated with this specific course so that you are charged appropriately for this class. Failure to do this may result in your being cancelled from the course. We hope you enjoy this offering.