HIS 177 W Dr. Patrick Hunt Summer Quarter 2017 http://www.patrickhunt.net Stanford Continuing Studies History of Wine Preliminary syllabus June 26 – August 4 online Live sessions on Tuesdays @ 12 noon except Wed., July 5 Course Aims:
Viticulture has traditionally been bound up with the development of Western culture. Archaeological evidence shows that wine became a social force in the Celtic world when chiefs gained greater status by offering imported wine to their warriors. We also know that Plato’s Symposium connected wine to philosophizing, and the cultural work of bards, poets, dancers, and musicians was often accompanied by wine rituals and vice versa. Archaeology now also confirms the locus of wine origins around the Caucasus and Armenia, as hinted in both The Epic of Gilgamesh and the biblical story of Noah in Genesis.
In this course, we will take a deep historical look at the development of winemaking and its relationship to Western civilization. According to archaeological findings, viticulture began in the Neolithic period more than six millennia ago. Carbonized grape seeds have been found in Neolithic sites, and wine chemical residues remain in some of the oldest pottery known. Ancient literature confirms the gradual spread of viticulture from the Near East to Egypt, Crete, and the broader Mediterranean world, including France and other regions of Europe. From the Greeks and Romans it continued down through the Medieval and Renaissance periods and into modern times. This course will draw on science, history, literature, and art to explore and examine the locales and differences of major global wine varietals.
Wine has often been called the divine beverage and the elixir of joy, and may be one of the first steps in agriculture into plant domestication as an early cultivar. This six-week course will draw on science, history, literature, and art. Students will leave the course knowing more about the locales and differences of major global wine varietals. An optional course field trip session for local San Francisco Bay Area students will include a visit to Ridge Winery, a local premium winery above Cupertino to study the making of wine and its contexts.
Course Requirements:
Students follow online lectures, attend or view Zoom sessions, and complete assigned readings. If taken for credit (CR/NC), students must participate in written discussions (not live) with a minimum of 1000 words in entries; if taken for a Letter Grade, students must participate in written discussions with a minimum of 1000 words, and complete a brief 10 page critical paper with topic having instructor consent.
*Please Note: If you require proof that you completed a Continuing Studies course for any reason (for example, employer reimbursement), you must choose either the Letter Grade or Credit/No Credit option. Courses taken for NGR will not appear on official transcripts or grade reports.
Required Course Text
Patrick Hunt, Wine Journeys: Myth & History 2013 (plus supplementary online articles)
Course Outline (Tuesday live sessions except July 5)
6/27 Prehistory: Neolithic and Early Viticulture, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia Reading: Hunt, chs. 1-2 (Prehistory, Egypt, Mesopotamia) J. Owen, “Earliest Known Winery Found in Armenian Cave” Nat. Geogr. News 1/11 (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110111-oldest-wine-press-making-winery-armenia-science-ucla/)
7/5 Greek and Phoenician Wine and the god Dionysus Reading: Hunt, ch. 3 (Greece) “What Did the Ancient Greek God of Wine Drink?”, Wine Folly, Sept, 2013 (http://winefolly.com/update/what-did-the-greek-god-of-wine-drink/)
7/11 Etruscan and Roman Wine and the God Bacchus Reading: Hunt, chs. 4-5 (Etruscan and Roman) Colin Schultz, “First French Winemakers Learned Everything They Knew From Etruscans” (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-first-french-winemakers-learned-everything-they-knew-from-etruscans-90736620/)
7/18 Medieval Wine in Europe: From Italy and Sicily to Germany, Tyrol, Switzerland Reading: Hunt, chs. 6-10 (Campanian, Sicily, Alto Adige, Alsatian, Swiss) P. Hunt, “The Maienfeld Wine of Schloss Salenegg”, Electrum Magazine, April 2014 (http://www.electrummagazine.com/2014/04/the-maienfeld-wine-of-schloss-salenegg/)
7/25 France: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and other Regions Reading: Hunt, chs. 11-12 (Bordeaux, Rhone, Burgundy) P. Hunt, “Burgundy’s Historic Wine Village, Vosne Romanée,” Electrum Magazine, July, 2016 (http://www.electrummagazine.com/2016/07/burgundys-historic-wine-village-vosne-romanee/)
7/29 * Weekend Optional Class visit, Ridge Winery above Cupertino for local students
8/1 California and Beyond: The Judgment of Paris Reading: M. Steinberger, “Judgment of Paris: What the French Didn’t Learn…” Slate Magazine 5/24/2006 (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/wines_world/2006/05/the_judgment_of_paris.html)
Note: Instructor reserves right to adapt schedule