History 102: World History from 1500
https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Prof. Jonathan Dresner e-mail: jdresner@pittstate.edu Phone: 235-4315 Office: RH 406F |
Spring 2011 Section 02: MWF 10-10:50am, RH 301 Section 03: MWF 1-1:50pm, RH 301 Office Hours: MWF 11-1, TuTh 9-11 |
Description
Texts:
- Valerie Hansen and Kenneth R. Curtis, Voyages in World History, Volume 2: Since 1500, Wadsworth/Cengage, 2010.
- Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, Schocken Books, Rev. and Expanded Ed., 1997.
History is the study of humanity and change over time. In this class we’ll have lots of both: the whole world over the last five hundred years (that’s about one year per four minutes of class time), from our pre-industrial heritage to our hypertext present, from five hundred million people to over six billion. We will recreate the present from the past, and see how our current situation is in many ways the legacy of earlier cultures and processes. Who we are and where we are in the world is very much a historical question, as we will discover.
This class will examine this history through many lenses: political, economic, social, cultural, personal. The textbook will provide the basic survey of the history, supplemented by some original source readings that will give greater depth and texture to subjects we will be discussing. The lectures and discussions will cover some of the same ground, but from different perspectives, including an introduction to the challenges and pleasures of Doing History.
Course Goals
This is a general education course, and no course which covers so much time and space could be anything but general. Nonetheless, students should master many specific historical, cultural and sociological facts related to world history since 1500, as well as themes and models of human development. Reading and writing will be very important skills developed in this course, as is respect for the cultures of the world throughout time.
In addition to the historical and cultural content, students will demonstrate increasing mastery of critical reading of primary and secondary sources in writing and discussion. “Critical” does not mean “attacking” but “analytical”: putting material in historical and cultural context, drawing appropriate inferences and deductions from the evidence of the text, and raising relevant questions for futher inquiry.
“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.”
— Edward R. Murrow
Course Application
Within the General Education requirements, this course counts towards the Human Heritage requirement. This course is also an important part of the History majors.
Students who actively engage the course material and assignments will not only be gaining knowledge, but will also be developing important skills as articulated in the General Education goals, especially the “Human Heritage” skills:
- Demonstrate an appreciation for the range and diversity of humankind’s wisdom, values, ideas, beliefs, and reasoning.
- Demonstrate an understanding of human behavior, the human condition, and human institutions in the context of historical, literary, or philosophical inquiry.
- Demonstrate recognition of the inter-relatedness of the past, present, and future
Course Website: https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Bookmark it. Check it regularly. I will use it for announcements (assignments, special events, extra credit), to maintain the schedule (particularly if it changes), to post handouts (so if you lose or miss one, it’ll be there) and keep a small library of useful links. In the event of a disparity between the original syllabus and the website, follow the website: I reserve the right to change readings, test dates, due dates, grade weights and assignments as necessary throughout the semester. This website takes the place of ANGEL for this class, though I will use ANGEL for email, the syllabus and for certain material which shouldn’t be available publicly.
Advisory
History is about real people, diverse cultures, interesting theories, strongly held belief systems, complex situations, conflicts and often-dramatic actions. This information may be disturbing. Such is the nature of historical study.
Civility
Students are expected to behave respectfully towards their peers and instructor. Disruptive behavior, including failing to turn off cell phones during class, will result in penalties and possibly removal from the classroom. This does not mean that there can’t be lively discussions and disagreements, but personal attacks, excessive volume, threatening gestures or words, and failure to give others a chance to speak and be heard are not acceptable.
Technology in the classroom
The use of laptop computers and other devices is permitted only if they are relevant to the material at hand: note-taking, fact-checking, assignment scheduling, etc. Web surfing, video, gaming, email and messaging are not appropriate classroom activities and can be distracting to the instructor and fellow students. Moreover, I expect the lectures and classroom discussions to be reflected in your test and essay answers; if you’re not paying attention, participating and taking notes, you will almost certainly not do as well, gradewise.
“Methuselah lived to be 969 years old … You boys and girls will see more happen
in the next fifty years than Methuselah saw in his whole lifetime.” — Mark Twain
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course.
Plagiarism is the use of the words or ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement. Plagiarism is intellectual theft; in an educational setting it is particularly repugnant. Plagiarism in my courses will be punished. It’s simple: Anytime you copy words into your own work, you must clearly mark them and acknowledge the source of those words. Anytime you use someone else’s ideas, you must admit it. There are three options: put it in quotation marks and footnote; paraphrase and footnote; or be original. If you have any questions or any concerns about citation format or necessity, ask someone who knows what they’re doing.
Other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated either, including the use of unauthorized aid on tests, failing to write one’s own papers, using papers for more than one course without permission. For more detail, see the relevant sections of the University Catalog. None of this precludes group study and discussion: those are actually really good ideas.
Advising
Advising is a very important resource designed to help students complete the requirements of the University and their individual majors. Students should consult with their advisor at least once a semester to decide on courses, check progress towards graduation, and discuss career options and other educational opportunities. Advising is a shared responsibility, but students have final responsibility for meeting degree requirements.
Student Accommodation
Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodations should contact the instructor as early in the semester as possible. For more information, contact the Center for Student Accomodations (235-4309, csa@pittstate.edu).
Assignments
All schedules, assignments, and policies in the syllabus are subject to change. Check the website, which will have the most current and accurate information possible, as well as copies of course handouts.
Reading
Reading assignments – including sidebars and documents in the textbook — must be done before class on the day indicated. I strongly recommend that you read and think about the study questions in the textbook as preparation for class. Any other assigned readings, either books or web-based, also should be read in full (unless otherwise indicated in the syllabus) before class on the assigned date. After you read The Sunflower, you are required to come to my office hours (or other times can be arranged) to discuss it individually; this should be some time in April.
Lectures
My lectures do not “cover” the textbook. The lectures and textbook are intended to supplement each other, not duplicate material: you are responsible for learning from both. Some of my lectures will expand on the history presented in the textbook, adding detail and alternative understandings. Some of my lectures will be about historical practice and theory as it applies to specific topics. Some of my lectures will cover people, places and situations which aren’t in the textbook at all. I will, on occasion, correct or disagree with the textbook or with other historians. Historians do that.
Tests
The tests will be multiple-choice tests based on lists of terms — names, events, concepts — which will be distributed as a study guide. I have scheduled a review day before each test, for discussion, practice or questions. The Test Review Assignment is due by email at midnight prior to the review day: write at least five multiple choice questions – based on the study guide terms – for each chapter covered in that section of the course.
Document Assignments
In each section of the course, you will do a document-based homework assignment, requiring you to read and evaluate a primary, or original, source. The sources this semester all focus on the nature of government authority and how it changes over time. You will have specific questions to answer about each document: these will be more like worksheets than essays, but critical thinking will be part of the process.
Final Exam
There will be an in-class comprehensive final exam as well as a take-home essay assignment due at the time of the final exam. The final will cover all readings, resources and lectures of the course. The in-class exam will be the same style of test as the earlier tests, multiple choice, etc. The essay portion will consist of two take-home essays: one on The Sunflower and one on the document assignment materials.
Professionalism: Preparation, Attendance and Preparation
This is not just a classroom: it is a work space, and you are adults. You are expected to be present and prepared for class time, not only physically but intellectually, and to carry out your assignments in a timely and careful fashion. You are responsible for keeping track of assignments, due dates, and announcements made through the course website.
The essence of scholarship is constructive engagement; the best learning comes from doing. It is very important that everyone keep up with the readings, and come to class prepared to think and talk and question and listen. Asking good questions is an important form of participation. Asking questions which can be easily answered by referencing the syllabus, course website or textbook is not.
Absences may be excused for unusual school-related events (not athletic practices), illness or family-related problems, but only if I am informed in advance (email is fine) or you have documentation (such as a doctor’s note). Unexcused absences will affect your professionalism grade. Failure to complete assignments, or consistently sloppy or incorrect work, will also affect your professionalism grade.
There may be days on which there will be a video lecture available online rather than an in-class lecture. Students are not required to come to class on those days, but are responsible for the material in the lectures. Recorded lectures may also be used to make up a day lost to weather or instructor absence; these are also required listening.
There will sometimes be homework assignments which do not fall into the above categories which will be considered part of the professionalism grade. The first is that all students are expected to find the student information form on the course website, complete it, and email it to the instructor before the next class.
Extra Credit
I will announce cultural and historical events for which extra credit may be earned. Check the website for current listings. Visits to museums, art galleries, historical sites and other cultural institutions may also qualify. If you know of an event or a cultural institution and would like to have it considered for extra credit, or announced to the class, let me know. To get extra credit, attend or participate in the event listed, and write a short (under two pages, single-spaced) summary of the event and describe your reaction and what you learned from it. Extra Credits are added to the professionalism score at the end of the semester.
Grade Policies
- All assignments are due in class at the beginning of class on the due date. Hard copy is required for all assignments, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Email will only be accepted as proof of completion in emergencies: the student is still responsible to get a printed copy to the instructor as soon as possible.
- In the event of an excused absence on an assignment due date, the student is responsible for turning in the work no later than the next class, unless other arrangements have been made.
- Unexcused late assignments, due to absence, technical problems, etc., will be penalized one grade level (B to C, etc.) per class period late.
- Even very, very bad (or very late) work is still going to get an F, which is a lot better than a zero. Plagiarism or other violations of academic honesty will result in zero credit on that assignment and may result in an F or XF for the semester depending on circumstances.
- NOTE: I do not post grades on ANGEL. I will be happy to go over your grades and let you know how you are doing in the course at any time. Come to my office hours, or email me.
Grade Distribution
Professionalism | 15% |
Document Assignments (5) | 15% |
Test Review Assignments (5) | 10% |
Tests (5) | 30% |
Final Exam: Take-home Essays (2) | 15% |
Final Exam: In-class Test | 15% |
“Historical writings can do harm; they have done so; and any thoughtful historian must at times ask himself whether he has a purpose beyond his own satisfaction.” — G.R. Elton, The Practice of History (1969)
“The future is an apathetic void of not interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us,
provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it.” — Milan Kundera
Administrative Deadlines and Instructional Holidays are in Italics
Assignments and Tests are in Bold
A more complete version of this schedule, with links to assignments, additional readings and handouts, can be found on the course website at https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Date |
Readings, Assignments, Deadlines |
Topics |
1/19 (W) | First Day of Class | 1500 and All That |
1/21 (F) | email student information form (on course website) to instructor | Religious and Cultural Survey |
1/24 (M) | Early Modern: Definition | |
1/25 | Last day for full fee refund Last day to add new classes Last day for late online enrollment |
|
1/26 (W) | Chapter 15 | Humanism and Renaissance |
1/28 (F) | Final day for dropping course without grade report | Columbian Exchange |
1/31 (M) | Chapter 16 | Indian Ocean Trade, Ming Exploration, and Joint Stock Cos. |
2/2 (W) | Reformation | |
2/4 (F) | Chapter 17
de Busbecq’s Turkish Letters Document Assignment #1 Due |
Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal |
2/7 (M) | Early Modern Europe: Kennedy Thesis | |
2/9 (W) | Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due by email Midnight before |
|
2/11 (F) | Test #1 | |
2/14 (M) | Chapter 18 | Migration and social change |
2/16 (W) | Chapter 19 | Africa and Historiography: World Systems Theory |
2/18 (F) | Chapter 20 | Tokugawa and Qing |
2/21 (M) | Chapter 21 “English Bill of Rights” Document Assignment #2 Due President’s Day/ No Holiday |
Scientific Revolution |
2/23 (W) | Enlightenment | |
2/25 (F) | Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due by email Midnight before |
|
2/28 (M) | Test #2 | |
3/2 (W) | Chapter 22 | American Revolution: Interpretations |
3/4 (F) | “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” Document Assignment #3 Due |
French Revolution |
3/7 (M) | Napoleon and Reactions | |
3/9 (W) | Chapter 23 | 19c Political thought |
3/11 (F) | Industrializations | |
3/14 (M) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due by email Midnight before |
|
3/16 (W) | Test#3 | |
3/18 (F) | Chapter 24″Japan’s Meiji Constitution” Document Assignment #4 Due |
China: Opium and Religion Japan: Meiji |
3/21-25 | Spring Break | |
3/28 (M) | Chapter 25 | North v. South |
3/30 (W) | Chapter 26 | New Imperialism: Korea |
4/1 (F) | Chapter 27 | WWI: Fronts and Technologies |
4/4 (M) | Summer/Fall Early Enrollment Begins | WWI, part 2 |
4/6 (W) | “Age of Anxiety” Part 1 | |
4/8 (F) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due by email Midnight before Final day for dropping course unless withdraw from school |
|
4/11 (M) | Test#4 | |
4/13 (W) | Chapter 28 | Age of Anxiety, Part 2 |
4/15 (F) | Great Depression: Origins and Responses | |
4/18 (M) | Chapter 29 Wiesenthal, The Sunflower, book one |
Naziism & Holocaust |
4/20 (W) | WWII: technologies of total war | |
4/22 (F) | Chapter 30 | “The Cold War” |
4/25 (M) | “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” Document Assignment #5 Due |
Decolonization and Internationalism |
4/27 (W) | Chapter 31 | 1980s Coalition & GlobalizationCulture and Technology |
4/29 (F) | Chapter 32 | Faiths, Freedoms, Law and Rights |
5/2 (M) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due by email Midnight before |
|
5/4 (W) | Test#5 | |
5/5 | Last day to withdraw from university | |
5/6 (F) | Catch-up/Review | |
5/11 | Final Exams 10am: 10-11:50 ; 1pm: 1-2:50 |
“Because its materials are necessarily partial, and the products emerging from individual minds more partial still, history always has posed and always will pose the sort of problems which give rise to dispute, acrimony, and the writing of hostile reviews. Why, at the very beginning of our science stands the prototype of all these arguments: history had barely begun when Thucydides attacked the methods and purposes of Herodotus. Debates among historians are coeval with the writings of history, and like the heresies of Christianity all the possible positions were worked out quite early, to be repeated in resounding counterpoint through ages of controversy.” — G.R. Elton, The Practice of History (1969), cited in Tosh, ed. Historians on History, p. 27.
History 102: World History from 1500
https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Prof. Jonathan Dresner
e-mail: jdresner@pittstate.edu
Phone: 235-4315
Office: RH 406F
Spring 2011
Section 02: MWF 10-10:50am, RH 301
Section 03: MWF 1-1:50pm, RH 301
Office Hours: MWF 11-1, TuTh 9-11
Description
Texts:
Valerie Hansen and Kenneth R. Curtis, Voyages in World History, Volume 2: Since 1500, Wadsworth/Cengage, 2010.
Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, Schocken Books, Rev. and Expanded Ed., 1997.
History is the study of humanity and change over time. In this class we’ll have lots of both: the whole world over the last five hundred years (that’s about one year per four minutes of class time), from our pre-industrial heritage to our hypertext present, from five hundred million people to over six billion. We will recreate the present from the past, and see how our current situation is in many ways the legacy of earlier cultures and processes. Who we are and where we are in the world is very much a historical question, as we will discover.
This class will examine this history through many lenses: political, economic, social, cultural, personal. The textbook will provide the basic survey of the history, supplemented by some original source readings that will give greater depth and texture to subjects we will be discussing. The lectures and discussions will cover some of the same ground, but from different perspectives, including an introduction to the challenges and pleasures of Doing History.
Course Goals
This is a general education course, and no course which covers so much time and space could be anything but general. Nonetheless, students should master many specific historical, cultural and sociological facts related to world history since 1500, as well as themes and models of human development. Reading and writing will be very important skills developed in this course, as is respect for the cultures of the world throughout time.
In addition to the historical and cultural content, students will demonstrate increasing mastery of critical reading of primary and secondary sources in writing and discussion. “Critical” does not mean “attacking” but “analytical”: putting material in historical and cultural context, drawing appropriate inferences and deductions from the evidence of the text, and raising relevant questions for futher inquiry.
“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.”
— Edward R. Murrow
Course Application
Within the General Education requirements, this course counts towards the Human Heritage requirement. This course is also an important part of the History majors.
Students who actively engage the course material and assignments will not only be gaining knowledge, but will also be developing important skills as articulated in the General Education goals, especially the “Human Heritage” skills:
- Demonstrate an appreciation for the range and diversity of humankind’s wisdom, values, ideas, beliefs, and reasoning.
- Demonstrate an understanding of human behavior, the human condition, and human institutions in the context of historical, literary, or philosophical inquiry.
- Demonstrate recognition of the inter-relatedness of the past, present, and future
Course Website: https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Bookmark it. Check it regularly. I will use it for announcements (assignments, special events, extra credit), to maintain the schedule (particularly if it changes), to post handouts (so if you lose or miss one, it’ll be there) and keep a small library of useful links. In the event of a disparity between the original syllabus and the website, follow the website: I reserve the right to change readings, test dates, due dates, grade weights and assignments as necessary throughout the semester. This website takes the place of ANGEL for this class, though I will use ANGEL for email, the syllabus and for certain material which shouldn’t be available publicly.
Advisory
History is about real people, diverse cultures, interesting theories, strongly held belief systems, complex situations, conflicts and often-dramatic actions. This information may be disturbing. Such is the nature of historical study.
Civility
Students are expected to behave respectfully towards their peers and instructor. Disruptive behavior, including failing to turn off cell phones during class, will result in penalties and possibly removal from the classroom. This does not mean that there can’t be lively discussions and disagreements, but personal attacks, excessive volume, threatening gestures or words, and failure to give others a chance to speak and be heard are not acceptable.
Technology in the classroom
The use of laptop computers and other devices is permitted only if they are relevant to the material at hand: note-taking, fact-checking, assignment scheduling, etc. Web surfing, video, gaming, email and messaging are not appropriate classroom activities and can be distracting to the instructor and fellow students. Moreover, I expect the lectures and classroom discussions to be reflected in your test and essay answers; if you’re not paying attention, participating and taking notes, you will almost certainly not do as well, gradewise.
“Methuselah lived to be 969 years old … You boys and girls will see more happen
in the next fifty years than Methuselah saw in his whole lifetime.” — Mark Twain
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course.
Plagiarism is the use of the words or ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement. Plagiarism is intellectual theft; in an educational setting it is particularly repugnant. Plagiarism in my courses will be punished. It’s simple: Anytime you copy words into your own work, you must clearly mark them and acknowledge the source of those words. Anytime you use someone else’s ideas, you must admit it. There are three options: put it in quotation marks and footnote; paraphrase and footnote; or be original. If you have any questions or any concerns about citation format or necessity, ask someone who knows what they’re doing.
Other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated either, including the use of unauthorized aid on tests, failing to write one’s own papers, using papers for more than one course without permission. For more detail, see the relevant sections of the University Catalog. None of this precludes group study and discussion: those are actually really good ideas.
Advising
Advising is a very important resource designed to help students complete the requirements of the University and their individual majors. Students should consult with their advisor at least once a semester to decide on courses, check progress towards graduation, and discuss career options and other educational opportunities. Advising is a shared responsibility, but students have final responsibility for meeting degree requirements.
Student Accommodation
Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodations should contact the instructor as early in the semester as possible. For more information, contact the Center for Student Accomodations (235-4309, csa@pittstate.edu).
Assignments
All schedules, assignments, and policies in the syllabus are subject to change. Check the website, which will have the most current and accurate information possible, as well as copies of course handouts.
Reading
Reading assignments – including sidebars and documents in the textbook — must be done before class on the day indicated. I strongly recommend that you read and think about the study questions in the textbook as preparation for class. Any other assigned readings, either books or web-based, also should be read in full (unless otherwise indicated in the syllabus) before class on the assigned date.
Lectures
My lectures do not “cover” the textbook. The lectures and textbook are intended to supplement each other, not duplicate material: you are responsible for learning from both. Some of my lectures will expand on the history presented in the textbook, adding detail and alternative understandings. Some of my lectures will be about historical practice and theory as it applies to specific topics. Some of my lectures will cover people, places and situations which aren’t in the textbook at all. I will, on occasion, correct or disagree with the textbook or with other historians. Historians do that.
Tests
The tests will be multiple-choice tests based on lists of terms — names, events, concepts — which will be distributed as a study guide. I have scheduled a review day before each test, for discussion, practice or questions. The Test Review Assignment is due on the review day: write at least five multiple choice questions – based on the study guide terms – for each chapter covered in that section of the course.
Document Assignments
In each section of the course, you will do a document-based homework assignment, requiring you to read and evaluate a primary, or original, source. The sources this semester all focus on the nature of government authority and how it changes over time. You will have specific questions to answer about each document: these will be more like worksheets than essays, but critical thinking will be part of the process.
Final Exam
There will be an in-class comprehensive final exam as well as a take-home essay assignment due at the time of the final exam. The final will cover all readings, resources and lectures of the course. The in-class exam will be the same style of test as the earlier tests, multiple choice, etc. The essay portion will consist of two take-home essays: one on The Sunflower and one on the document assignment materials.
Professionalism: Preparation, Attendance and Preparation
This is not just a classroom: it is a work space, and you are adults. You are expected to be present and prepared for class time, not only physically but intellectually, and to carry out your assignments in a timely and careful fashion. You are responsible for keeping track of assignments, due dates, and announcements made through the course website.
The essence of scholarship is constructive engagement; the best learning comes from doing. It is very important that everyone keep up with the readings, and come to class prepared to think and talk and question and listen. Asking good questions is an important form of participation. Asking questions which can be easily answered by referencing the syllabus, course website or textbook is not.
Absences may be excused for unusual school-related events (not athletic practices), illness or family-related problems, but only if I am informed in advance (email is fine) or you have documentation (such as a doctor’s note). Unexcused absences will affect your professionalism grade. Failure to complete assignments, or consistently sloppy or incorrect work, will also affect your professionalism grade.
There may be days on which there will be a video lecture available online rather than an in-class lecture. Students are not required to come to class on those days, but are responsible for the material in the lectures. Recorded lectures may also be used to make up a day lost to weather or instructor absence; these are also required listening.
There will sometimes be homework assignments which do not fall into the above categories which will be considered part of the professionalism grade. The first is that all students are expected to find the student information form on the course website, complete it, and email it to the instructor before the next class.
Extra Credit
I will announce cultural and historical events for which extra credit may be earned. Check the website for current listings. Visits to museums, art galleries, historical sites and other cultural institutions may also qualify. If you know of an event or a cultural institution and would like to have it considered for extra credit, or announced to the class, let me know. To get extra credit, attend or participate in the event listed, and write a short (under two pages, single-spaced) summary of the event and describe your reaction and what you learned from it. Extra Credits are added to the professionalism score at the end of the semester.
Grade Policies
· All assignments are due in class at the beginning of class on the due date. Hard copy is required for all assignments, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Email will only be accepted as proof of completion in emergencies: the student is still responsible to get a printed copy to the instructor as soon as possible.
· In the event of an excused absence on an assignment due date, the student is responsible for turning in the work no later than the next class, unless other arrangements have been made.
· Unexcused late assignments, due to absence, technical problems, etc., will be penalized one grade level (B to C, etc.) per class period late.
· Even very, very bad (or very late) work is still going to get an F, which is a lot better than a zero. Plagiarism or other violations of academic honesty will result in zero credit on that assignment and may result in an F or XF for the semester depending on circumstances.
· NOTE: I do not post grades on ANGEL. I will be happy to go over your grades and let you know how you are doing in the course at any time. Come to my office hours, or email me.
Grade Distribution
Professionalism |
15% |
Document Assignments (5) |
15% |
Test Review Assignments (5) |
10% |
Tests (5) |
30% |
Final Exam: Take-home Essays (2) |
15% |
Final Exam: In-class Test |
15% |
“Historical writings can do harm; they have done so; and any thoughtful historian must at times ask himself whether he has a purpose beyond his own satisfaction.” — G.R. Elton, The Practice of History (1969)
“The future is an apathetic void of not interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us,
provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it.” — Milan Kundera
Administrative Deadlines and Instructional Holidays are in Italics
Assignments and Tests are in Bold
A more complete version of this schedule, with links to assignments, additional readings and handouts, can be found on the course website at https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Date |
Readings, Assignments, Deadlines |
Topics |
1/19 (W) |
First Day of Class |
1500 and All That |
1/21 (F) |
email student information form (on course website) to instructor |
Religious and Cultural Survey |
1/24 (M) |
|
Early Modern: Definition |
1/25 |
Last day for full fee refund Last day to add new classes Last day for late online enrollment |
|
1/26 (W) |
Chapter 15 |
Humanism and Renaissance |
1/28 (F) |
Final day for dropping course without grade report |
Columbian Exchange |
1/31 (M) |
Chapter 16 |
Indian Ocean Trade, Ming Exploration, and Joint Stock Cos. |
2/2 (W) |
|
Reformation |
2/4 (F) |
Chapter 17 de Busbecq’s Turkish Letters Document Assignment #1 Due |
Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal
|
2/7 (M) |
|
Early Modern Europe: Kennedy Thesis |
2/9 (W) |
Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
2/11 (F) |
Test #1 |
|
2/14 (M) |
Chapter 18 |
Migration and social change |
2/16 (W) |
Chapter 19 |
Africa and Historiography: World Systems Theory |
2/18 (F) |
Chapter 20 |
Tokugawa and Qing |
2/21 (M) |
Chapter 21 “English Bill of Rights” Document Assignment #2 Due President’s Day/ No Holiday |
Scientific Revolution |
2/23 (W) |
|
Enlightenment |
2/25 (F) |
Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
2/28 (M) |
Test #2 |
|
3/2 (W) |
Chapter 22 |
American Revolution: Interpretations |
3/4 (F) |
“Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” Document Assignment #3 Due |
French Revolution |
3/7 (M) |
|
Napoleon and Reactions |
3/9 (W) |
Chapter 23 |
19c Political thought |
3/11 (F) |
|
Industrializations |
3/14 (M) |
catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
3/16 (W) |
Test#3 |
|
3/18 (F) |
Chapter 24 “Japan’s Meiji Constitution” Document Assignment #4 Due |
China: Opium and Religion Japan: Meiji |
3/21-25 |
Spring Break |
|
3/28 (M) |
Chapter 25 |
North v. South |
3/30 (W) |
Chapter 26 |
New Imperialism: Korea |
4/1 (F) |
Chapter 27 |
WWI: Fronts and Technologies |
4/4 (M) |
Summer/Fall Early Enrollment Begins |
WWI, part 2 |
4/6 (W) |
|
“Age of Anxiety” Part 1 |
4/8 (F) |
catch-up/review Review Assignment Due Final day for dropping course unless withdraw from school |
|
4/11 (M) |
Test#4 |
|
4/13 (W) |
Chapter 28 |
Age of Anxiety, Part 2 |
4/15 (F) |
|
Great Depression: Origins and Responses |
4/18 (M) |
Chapter 29 Wiesenthal, The Sunflower, book one |
Naziism & Holocaust |
4/20 (W) |
|
WWII: technologies of total war |
4/22 (F) |
Chapter 30 |
“The Cold War” |
4/25 (M) |
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights” |
Decolonization and Internationalism |
4/27 (W) |
Chapter 31 |
1980s Coalition & Globalization Culture and Technology |
4/29 (F) |
Chapter 32 |
Faiths, Freedoms, Law and Rights |
5/2 (M) |
catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
5/4 (W) |
Test#5 |
|
5/5 |
Last day to withdraw from university |
|
5/6 (F) |
Catch-up/Review |
|
5/11 |
Final Exams 10am: 10-11:50 ; 1pm: 1-2:50 |
|
“Because its materials are necessarily partial, and the products emerging from individual minds more partial still, history always has posed and always will pose the sort of problems which give rise to dispute, acrimony, and the writing of hostile reviews. Why, at the very beginning of our science stands the prototype of all these arguments: history had barely begun when
History 102: World History from 1500
https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Prof. Jonathan Dresner
e-mail: jdresner@pittstate.edu
Phone: 235-4315
Office: RH 406F
Spring 2011
Section 02: MWF 10-10:50am, RH 301
Section 03: MWF 1-1:50pm, RH 301
Office Hours: MWF 11-1, TuTh 9-11
Description
Texts:
Valerie Hansen and Kenneth R. Curtis, Voyages in World History, Volume 2: Since 1500, Wadsworth/Cengage, 2010.
Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, Schocken Books, Rev. and Expanded Ed., 1997.
History is the study of humanity and change over time. In this class we’ll have lots of both: the whole world over the last five hundred years (that’s about one year per four minutes of class time), from our pre-industrial heritage to our hypertext present, from five hundred million people to over six billion. We will recreate the present from the past, and see how our current situation is in many ways the legacy of earlier cultures and processes. Who we are and where we are in the world is very much a historical question, as we will discover.
This class will examine this history through many lenses: political, economic, social, cultural, personal. The textbook will provide the basic survey of the history, supplemented by some original source readings that will give greater depth and texture to subjects we will be discussing. The lectures and discussions will cover some of the same ground, but from different perspectives, including an introduction to the challenges and pleasures of Doing History.
Course Goals
This is a general education course, and no course which covers so much time and space could be anything but general. Nonetheless, students should master many specific historical, cultural and sociological facts related to world history since 1500, as well as themes and models of human development. Reading and writing will be very important skills developed in this course, as is respect for the cultures of the world throughout time.
In addition to the historical and cultural content, students will demonstrate increasing mastery of critical reading of primary and secondary sources in writing and discussion. “Critical” does not mean “attacking” but “analytical”: putting material in historical and cultural context, drawing appropriate inferences and deductions from the evidence of the text, and raising relevant questions for futher inquiry.
“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.”
— Edward R. Murrow
Course Application
Within the General Education requirements, this course counts towards the Human Heritage requirement. This course is also an important part of the History majors.
Students who actively engage the course material and assignments will not only be gaining knowledge, but will also be developing important skills as articulated in the General Education goals, especially the “Human Heritage” skills:
- Demonstrate an appreciation for the range and diversity of humankind’s wisdom, values, ideas, beliefs, and reasoning.
- Demonstrate an understanding of human behavior, the human condition, and human institutions in the context of historical, literary, or philosophical inquiry.
- Demonstrate recognition of the inter-relatedness of the past, present, and future
Course Website: https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Bookmark it. Check it regularly. I will use it for announcements (assignments, special events, extra credit), to maintain the schedule (particularly if it changes), to post handouts (so if you lose or miss one, it’ll be there) and keep a small library of useful links. In the event of a disparity between the original syllabus and the website, follow the website: I reserve the right to change readings, test dates, due dates, grade weights and assignments as necessary throughout the semester. This website takes the place of ANGEL for this class, though I will use ANGEL for email, the syllabus and for certain material which shouldn’t be available publicly.
Advisory
History is about real people, diverse cultures, interesting theories, strongly held belief systems, complex situations, conflicts and often-dramatic actions. This information may be disturbing. Such is the nature of historical study.
Civility
Students are expected to behave respectfully towards their peers and instructor. Disruptive behavior, including failing to turn off cell phones during class, will result in penalties and possibly removal from the classroom. This does not mean that there can’t be lively discussions and disagreements, but personal attacks, excessive volume, threatening gestures or words, and failure to give others a chance to speak and be heard are not acceptable.
Technology in the classroom
The use of laptop computers and other devices is permitted only if they are relevant to the material at hand: note-taking, fact-checking, assignment scheduling, etc. Web surfing, video, gaming, email and messaging are not appropriate classroom activities and can be distracting to the instructor and fellow students. Moreover, I expect the lectures and classroom discussions to be reflected in your test and essay answers; if you’re not paying attention, participating and taking notes, you will almost certainly not do as well, gradewise.
“Methuselah lived to be 969 years old … You boys and girls will see more happen
in the next fifty years than Methuselah saw in his whole lifetime.” — Mark Twain
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course.
Plagiarism is the use of the words or ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement. Plagiarism is intellectual theft; in an educational setting it is particularly repugnant. Plagiarism in my courses will be punished. It’s simple: Anytime you copy words into your own work, you must clearly mark them and acknowledge the source of those words. Anytime you use someone else’s ideas, you must admit it. There are three options: put it in quotation marks and footnote; paraphrase and footnote; or be original. If you have any questions or any concerns about citation format or necessity, ask someone who knows what they’re doing.
Other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated either, including the use of unauthorized aid on tests, failing to write one’s own papers, using papers for more than one course without permission. For more detail, see the relevant sections of the University Catalog. None of this precludes group study and discussion: those are actually really good ideas.
Advising
Advising is a very important resource designed to help students complete the requirements of the University and their individual majors. Students should consult with their advisor at least once a semester to decide on courses, check progress towards graduation, and discuss career options and other educational opportunities. Advising is a shared responsibility, but students have final responsibility for meeting degree requirements.
Student Accommodation
Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodations should contact the instructor as early in the semester as possible. For more information, contact the Center for Student Accomodations (235-4309, csa@pittstate.edu).
Assignments
All schedules, assignments, and policies in the syllabus are subject to change. Check the website, which will have the most current and accurate information possible, as well as copies of course handouts.
Reading
Reading assignments – including sidebars and documents in the textbook — must be done before class on the day indicated. I strongly recommend that you read and think about the study questions in the textbook as preparation for class. Any other assigned readings, either books or web-based, also should be read in full (unless otherwise indicated in the syllabus) before class on the assigned date.
Lectures
My lectures do not “cover” the textbook. The lectures and textbook are intended to supplement each other, not duplicate material: you are responsible for learning from both. Some of my lectures will expand on the history presented in the textbook, adding detail and alternative understandings. Some of my lectures will be about historical practice and theory as it applies to specific topics. Some of my lectures will cover people, places and situations which aren’t in the textbook at all. I will, on occasion, correct or disagree with the textbook or with other historians. Historians do that.
Tests
The tests will be multiple-choice tests based on lists of terms — names, events, concepts — which will be distributed as a study guide. I have scheduled a review day before each test, for discussion, practice or questions. The Test Review Assignment is due on the review day: write at least five multiple choice questions – based on the study guide terms – for each chapter covered in that section of the course.
Document Assignments
In each section of the course, you will do a document-based homework assignment, requiring you to read and evaluate a primary, or original, source. The sources this semester all focus on the nature of government authority and how it changes over time. You will have specific questions to answer about each document: these will be more like worksheets than essays, but critical thinking will be part of the process.
Final Exam
There will be an in-class comprehensive final exam as well as a take-home essay assignment due at the time of the final exam. The final will cover all readings, resources and lectures of the course. The in-class exam will be the same style of test as the earlier tests, multiple choice, etc. The essay portion will consist of two take-home essays: one on The Sunflower and one on the document assignment materials.
Professionalism: Preparation, Attendance and Preparation
This is not just a classroom: it is a work space, and you are adults. You are expected to be present and prepared for class time, not only physically but intellectually, and to carry out your assignments in a timely and careful fashion. You are responsible for keeping track of assignments, due dates, and announcements made through the course website.
The essence of scholarship is constructive engagement; the best learning comes from doing. It is very important that everyone keep up with the readings, and come to class prepared to think and talk and question and listen. Asking good questions is an important form of participation. Asking questions which can be easily answered by referencing the syllabus, course website or textbook is not.
Absences may be excused for unusual school-related events (not athletic practices), illness or family-related problems, but only if I am informed in advance (email is fine) or you have documentation (such as a doctor’s note). Unexcused absences will affect your professionalism grade. Failure to complete assignments, or consistently sloppy or incorrect work, will also affect your professionalism grade.
There may be days on which there will be a video lecture available online rather than an in-class lecture. Students are not required to come to class on those days, but are responsible for the material in the lectures. Recorded lectures may also be used to make up a day lost to weather or instructor absence; these are also required listening.
There will sometimes be homework assignments which do not fall into the above categories which will be considered part of the professionalism grade. The first is that all students are expected to find the student information form on the course website, complete it, and email it to the instructor before the next class.
Extra Credit
I will announce cultural and historical events for which extra credit may be earned. Check the website for current listings. Visits to museums, art galleries, historical sites and other cultural institutions may also qualify. If you know of an event or a cultural institution and would like to have it considered for extra credit, or announced to the class, let me know. To get extra credit, attend or participate in the event listed, and write a short (under two pages, single-spaced) summary of the event and describe your reaction and what you learned from it. Extra Credits are added to the professionalism score at the end of the semester.
Grade Policies
- All assignments are due in class at the beginning of class on the due date. Hard copy is required for all assignments, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Email will only be accepted as proof of completion in emergencies: the student is still responsible to get a printed copy to the instructor as soon as possible.
- In the event of an excused absence on an assignment due date, the student is responsible for turning in the work no later than the next class, unless other arrangements have been made.
- Unexcused late assignments, due to absence, technical problems, etc., will be penalized one grade level (B to C, etc.) per class period late.
- Even very, very bad (or very late) work is still going to get an F, which is a lot better than a zero. Plagiarism or other violations of academic honesty will result in zero credit on that assignment and may result in an F or XF for the semester depending on circumstances.
- NOTE: I do not post grades on ANGEL. I will be happy to go over your grades and let you know how you are doing in the course at any time. Come to my office hours, or email me.
Grade Distribution
Professionalism |
15% |
Document Assignments (5) |
15% |
Test Review Assignments (5) |
10% |
Tests (5) |
30% |
Final Exam: Take-home Essays (2) |
15% |
Final Exam: In-class Test |
15% |
“Historical writings can do harm; they have done so; and any thoughtful historian must at times ask himself whether he has a purpose beyond his own satisfaction.” — G.R. Elton, The Practice of History (1969)
“The future is an apathetic void of not interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us,
provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it.” — Milan Kundera
Administrative Deadlines and Instructional Holidays are in Italics
Assignments and Tests are in Bold
A more complete version of this schedule, with links to assignments, additional readings and handouts, can be found on the course website at https://dresnerworld.edublogs.org
Date |
Readings, Assignments, Deadlines |
Topics |
1/19 (W) | First Day of Class | 1500 and All That |
1/21 (F) | email student information form (on course website) to instructor | Religious and Cultural Survey |
1/24 (M) | Early Modern: Definition | |
1/25 | Last day for full fee refund Last day to add new classes Last day for late online enrollment |
|
1/26 (W) | Chapter 15 | Humanism and Renaissance |
1/28 (F) | Final day for dropping course without grade report | Columbian Exchange |
1/31 (M) | Chapter 16 | Indian Ocean Trade, Ming Exploration, and Joint Stock Cos. |
2/2 (W) | Reformation | |
2/4 (F) | Chapter 17 de Busbecq’s Turkish Letters Document Assignment #1 Due |
Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal |
2/7 (M) | Early Modern Europe: Kennedy Thesis | |
2/9 (W) | Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
2/11 (F) | Test #1 | |
2/14 (M) | Chapter 18 | Migration and social change |
2/16 (W) | Chapter 19 | Africa and Historiography: World Systems Theory |
2/18 (F) | Chapter 20 | Tokugawa and Qing |
2/21 (M) | Chapter 21 “English Bill of Rights” Document Assignment #2 Due President’s Day/ No Holiday |
Scientific Revolution |
2/23 (W) | Enlightenment | |
2/25 (F) | Catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
2/28 (M) | Test #2 | |
3/2 (W) | Chapter 22 | American Revolution: Interpretations |
3/4 (F) | “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” Document Assignment #3 Due |
French Revolution |
3/7 (M) | Napoleon and Reactions | |
3/9 (W) | Chapter 23 | 19c Political thought |
3/11 (F) | Industrializations | |
3/14 (M) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
3/16 (W) | Test#3 | |
3/18 (F) | Chapter 24 “Japan’s Meiji Constitution” Document Assignment #4 Due |
China: Opium and Religion Japan: Meiji |
3/21-25 | Spring Break | |
3/28 (M) | Chapter 25 | North v. South |
3/30 (W) | Chapter 26 | New Imperialism: Korea |
4/1 (F) | Chapter 27 | WWI: Fronts and Technologies |
4/4 (M) | Summer/Fall Early Enrollment Begins | WWI, part 2 |
4/6 (W) | “Age of Anxiety” Part 1 | |
4/8 (F) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due Final day for dropping course unless withdraw from school |
|
4/11 (M) | Test#4 | |
4/13 (W) | Chapter 28 | Age of Anxiety, Part 2 |
4/15 (F) | Great Depression: Origins and Responses | |
4/18 (M) | Chapter 29 Wiesenthal, The Sunflower, book one |
Naziism & Holocaust |
4/20 (W) | WWII: technologies of total war | |
4/22 (F) | Chapter 30 | “The Cold War” |
4/25 (M) | “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” Document Assignment #5 Due |
Decolonization and Internationalism |
4/27 (W) | Chapter 31 | 1980s Coalition & Globalization Culture and Technology |
4/29 (F) | Chapter 32 | Faiths, Freedoms, Law and Rights |
5/2 (M) | catch-up/review Review Assignment Due |
|
5/4 (W) | Test#5 | |
5/5 | Last day to withdraw from university | |
5/6 (F) | Catch-up/Review | |
5/11 | Final Exams 10am: 10-11:50 ; 1pm: 1-2:50 |
“Because its materials are necessarily partial, and the products emerging from individual minds more partial still, history always has posed and always will pose the sort of problems which give rise to dispute, acrimony, and the writing of hostile reviews. Why, at the very beginning of our science stands the prototype of all these arguments: history had barely begun when Thucydides attacked the methods and purposes of Herodotus. Debates among historians are coeval with the writings of history, and like the heresies of Christianity all the possible positions were worked out quite early, to be repeated in resounding counterpoint through ages of controversy.” — G.R. Elton, The Practice of History (1969), cited in Tosh, ed. Historians on History, p. 27.