History 114
Western Civilization II
Fall 2004
day/time:
TR
Adam C. Stanley
office: CA 420 phone:
274-7867
office hours: TR
e-mail: adcstanl@iupui.edu
or stanley114@aol.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This class traces the history
of Western civilization over the past five centuries, dealing with the course
of political, economic, social, and cultural history since about 1500. It
begins by exploring the transition to “modern” forms of state authority,
religious and philosophical thought, and social life
that took place in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. These
vastly significant changes in Western society and culture will lead us to that
great turning point of modern Western civilization, the French Revolution. From
there, we will explore the history of nineteenth century, which in many ways
represented a reaction (in some cases positive, in others negative) to the
ideals and realities of this transformative moment in modern history. Finally, we
will embark upon an examination of the tumultuous twentieth century, an age in
which anxiety and disillusionment have come to occupy a central place in Western
society.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Mark Kishlansky et al, Civilization in the West, Volume II, 5th
ed. (Longman, 2003)
Molière, The Misanthrope and Other Plays (Signet Classics, 1968)
Primo Levi, Survival in
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course seeks not only to
introduce students to the political, social, and economic foundations of
Western civilization, but also to imbue students with the ability to read
critically, analyze, and interpret disparate sources of information. In turn,
students will develop the ability to express their own analyses and
interpretations in a logical, coherent form, both verbally and in writing. As
such, the objectives of this course are consistent with the skills espoused in
IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning (which can be found by going to www.iupui.edu/~history/ugmain.html
and clicking on “Principles of Learning”). Discovering the diverse foundations
and traditions on which Western civilization has been built is not just a
useful and practical experience designed to be exercised in a history
classroom, but will prove significant as well in your understanding of the
machinations of the world around you.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Misconduct
Academic dishonesty or
misconduct will not be tolerated. Engaging in any form of cheating or
plagiarism (including, but not limited to, claiming someone else’s work as your
own or the absence of adequate citations of others’ ideas) will result in a grade
of zero on the assignment in question, and may also lead to disciplinary action
consistent with university policy. For more information, consult the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities,
and Conduct at http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.htm.
Attendance
In accordance with university
regulations, students are expected to attend all class sessions, and attendance
will be taken at every class meeting. Please note that, in keeping with IUPUI’s
policy on absences, students who arrive late to class or leave class early may
be counted as absent. More than four unexcused absences from class will result
in 2% being deducted from your final course grade for each additional absence. In
the case of an excused absence, be sure to provide documentation for the
absence to the instructor in a timely fashion. Be aware that if you are absent
from class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to be familiar with
the topics discussed in class on that day.
Incompletes
A grade of “Incomplete” will
rarely be given, and only in such cases wherein a student who has completed
previous course assignments is prevented at the end of the term from finishing
the assigned work for the course due to unforeseen and documented circumstances.
Late and Make-up Work
As a general rule, no make-up
exams will be given, except in the event of a documented emergency. If you know
in advance of an exam that you have an unavoidable conflict on the specified
date, contact the instructor well beforehand to arrange to take an alternate
version of the exam prior to the scheduled one. Please be aware that an exam
taken outside normal class hours may differ in form, structure, and content
from that given at the regularly scheduled time.
All students are expected to
submit assigned papers on the due date in person at the beginning of class
time. No papers submitted via e-mail, slipped under an office door, deposited
in a departmental mailbox, etc. will be accepted without the instructor’s prior
written consent. Please note that papers are due on the date that we will
discuss the accompanying assigned reading in class; thus it is imperative that
you have read and written about the material in order to contribute
substantially and cogently to class discussion. In the absence of a compelling,
documented emergency that prevents the punctual submission of a paper, any
papers turned in late on the assigned due date will be marked down 20%, with an
additional 20% being subtracted for each extra day of lateness.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Exams
There will be two exams, each
of which will be worth 25% of the final grade. Both exams will consist of
short-answer identification items and essay questions. Details about the
specific content of the exams will be discussed in class in advance of each
exam date.
Papers
Students will write a total
of three papers, all of which should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font,
and with one-inch margins.
The major paper assignment will
address one of the main primary source readings: the plays “The Misanthrope”
and “The Would-Be Gentleman” by French playwright Molière; or the Holocaust
memoir of Italian chemist Primo Levi. This paper, which should be four to five
pages in length, is worth 20% of the final grade. For those choosing to write
on Molière, the paper assignment will require you to analyze the author’s
social commentary on the nature of nobility and the culture of manners.
Students opting for the Levi paper will be asked to think critically about the
dehumanization of the camp inmates by their captors and the historical context
of the Holocaust. Full details regarding the papers will be forthcoming well in
advance of the due date for the assignments.
The other two papers will be
shorter—approximately two pages each—and will deal with the primary document
excerpts listed on the syllabus and discussed periodically in class. The first
of these shorter papers will count for 5% of the final course grade, while the
second shorter paper will be worth 10%. Students will have the option to write
on the assigned set of readings of their own choosing, but must write one of
these papers prior to the first exam and the second of these papers after the
first exam. Papers are due on the date that the particular readings are listed
on the syllabus to be discussed in class.
Participation
Participation in class
discussions will count for 15% of the course grade. This includes the extended
discussions over the works of Molière and Levi as well as briefer discussions held
frequently throughout the course of the semester dealing with film clips played
in class and primary documents listed on the syllabus.
Final grades for this course
will thus be computed as follows:
MIDTERM EXAM 25%
FINAL EXAM 25%
PAPER ON MOLIÈRE OR LEVI 20%
FIRST SHORT PAPER 5%
SECOND SHORT PAPER 10%
PARTICIPATION 15%
COURSE SCHEDULE
Aug. 26 Introduction to the Course
Aug. 31 An Era of Religious Reformations
Sept. 2 Wars
of Religion
Textbook: Kishlansky
pp. 437-449, 458-465
Documents: a. Archbishop of
Persecution in
b. Busbecq, “Civil War in
c. “Fire and Sword”
Film clip: Queen Margot
Sept. 7 Transatlantic Exploration and
Conquest
Text: Kishlansky pp. 550-565, 568-569, 576-579
Film: Black Robe
Sept. 9 Louis XIV’s
Text: Kishlansky pp. 505-519, 526-528, 531-535, 565-567
Docs: a. “Antechamber of the
Bull’s Eye Window at
b. Jacques Bénigne
Bossuet, Politics Drawn from the Very
Words of the
Holy Scriptures, 1678
c. “A Glimpse of a
King”
d. “Reconstruction
of the King’s Chamber at
after 1701”
Sept. 14 Stuart England: Absolutism Defeated
Text: Kishlansky pp. 519-526
Film: Cromwell
Sept. 16 New Modes of Thought and
Investigation in Science
Text: Kishlansky pp. 539-550
Sept. 21 The Philosophical Theory and
Political Practice of Enlightenment
Text: Kishlansky pp. 528-531, 579-596, 608-616
Docs: a. Joseph II of
Monarch”
b. Immanuel Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?”
c. “A King’s-Eye View”
Sept. 23 MOLIÈRE
PAPER DUE
Molière, “The Misanthrope” and “The
Would-Be Gentleman” in The Misanthrope
and Other Plays
Sept. 28 Aristocrats and the Bourgeoisie
Text: Kishlansky pp. 475-486, 489-492, 606-607, 616-625
Film: Ridicule
Sept. 30 Peasant Communities
Text: Kishlansky pp. 469-475, 486-489, 492-499, 625-634
Docs: a. “The German
Peasants’ Revolt of 1525: The Twelve Articles
of the Peasants”
b. “The Twenty-Nine
Demands of Kett’s Rebellion, 1549”
c. “Manifesto of the
Peasants of the
Film: The Return of Martin Guerre
Oct. 5 Women and Gender in the Early Modern Era
Text: Kishlansky pp. 499-500
Text: Kishlansky pp. 639-655
Docs: a. “Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen”
b. “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen”
Oct. 12 The French Revolution, part
II: Radicalism, Terror, Napoleon
Text: Kishlansky pp. 655-667, 712-718
Film: Danton
Oct. 14 The Industrial
Revolution
Text: Kishlansky pp. 671-706
Film: Germinal
Oct. 19 Liberalism and Socialism
**Last
day to submit first short paper**
Text: Kishlansky pp. 718-719, 724-740, 754-755, 757-764,
770-774,
780-783, 785-788
Docs: Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels, Communist Manifesto
Oct. 21 MIDTERM EXAM
Oct. 26 Nationalism and
Imperialism
Text: Kishlansky pp. 723-724, 744-745, 750-754, 783-785,
815-836
Film: Zulu
Oct. 28 Urban Life in the 19th
Century
Text: Kishlansky pp. 720-721, 755-756, 798-799, 803-805
Nov. 2 Feminism and Modernism
Text: Kishlansky pp. 764-770, 778-779, 788-797, 799-803
Docs: a. Fyodor Dostoyevsky,
Notes from the Underground
b. Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Nov. 4 The Road to War, 1871-1914
Text: Kishlansky pp. 812-815, 842-843, 844-846
Docs: a. V. Bourtzeff,
“Letter to the Editor of the
and Political Ideology”
b. Stefan Zweig, “War Fever in
Nov. 9 The First World War
Text: Kishlansky pp. 840-841, 843-844, 846-861, 878-880
Film: All Quiet on the Western Front
Nov. 11 Revolutionary
Text: Kishlansky pp. 861-870
Nov. 16 Gender and Politics in the 1920s
Text: Kishlansky pp. 876-877, 880-886, 894-897
Docs: a. Konrad Heiden, “The
Devaluation of Currency”
b. Paul von Hindenburg, “‘Stabbed in the Back’”
c. Adolf Hitler, “‘I Resolved Now to Become a Politician’”
d. Lilo Linke,
“Inflation: ‘The Boiling Kettle of a Wicked
Witch’”
Nov. 18 Stalin and Soviet Communism
Text: Kishlansky pp. 886-894
Docs: a. Anonymous, “A Kulak
Story”
b. “The Results of the First Five-Year Plan”
c. Joseph Stalin, “Problems of Agrarian Policy in the
U.S.S.R.:
Soviet Collectivization”
Nov. 23 Hitler and the Third Reich
Text: Kishlansky pp. 897-908, 914-917
Film: Triumph of the Will
Nov. 25 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 30 The Second World War
Text: Kishlansky pp. 917-921, 928-942
Film:
Dec. 2 LEVI PAPER DUE
The Holocaust
Primo Levi, Survival in
Text: Kishlansky pp. 921-928
Dec. 7
**Last
day to submit second short paper**
Text: Kishlansky pp. 962-963, 1003-1005
Docs: a. “Article on French
Film Star Isabelle Adjani, 1991”
b. Mehdi Charef, Tea in the Harem
Film: Gandhi
Dec. 9 The Age of the Superpowers
Text: Kishlansky pp. 942-949, 954-961, 964-978, 982-987, 990-995
FINAL EXAM Thursday, December 16 4:15
p.m. to 5:30 p.m.