Perspectives
on the World Since 1800
H109 (C260)
Spring Semester 2004
MW
Martin J.
Blackwell
Visiting
Lecturer – Department of History – IUPUI
Office
Hours: CA201 #
e-mail:
mjblackw@iupui.edu
Course Books: (Available for purchase in the IUPUI Bookstore)
1)
William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History Volume II: Since 1400, 4th Edition, (Thompson/Wadsworth, 2004). (Textbook)
2)
Merry Weisner et al., Discovering the
Global Past: A Look at the Evidence Volume II: Since 1400, 2nd Edition, (Houghton
Mifflin, 2002). (Primary Source Anthology)
Course Description: This course
will introduce you to some of the major themes in world history from the early
modern era until the present. We’ll be
looking initially at why Europeans of all sorts became more interested in trade
with the rest of the world (and with each other) during the sixteenth to
eighteenth centuries and what the consequences of such interest were for the
non-Europeans they came across in the process. Then we’ll move on to why the dictatorial
states the European elites created to maintain their qualitatively better
lifestyles in the 1600s and 1700s began to crumble in the aftermath of the French
revolution in 1789. We will also note
that the same belief in man’s ability to behave rationally that brought about
the above political changes gave birth to a continuous industrial revolution in
Course Objectives: The major objective of this course is for each of us
to come to a better understanding of how today’s world emerged so as to be able
to employ that knowledge when making future decisions about the directions of
our own lives. Another objective is for
us to become more active learners, better critical thinkers, and top-notch
writers—goals IUPUI’s statement on the “Principles on Undergraduate Learning”
requires us to achieve—see www.jaguars.iupui.edu/gened/gnedprin.htm). Still another objective is for you to gain
some idea about how historians go about actually writing history—something you
will achieve by completing the course’s many response paper assignments where
you come to enlightened conclusions about real historical documents from the
past. Finally, I should point out now
that this course provides consistent deadlines over the semester for you to
meet—as in the “real world”—and there will be much opportunity for you to
improve at all of the above during this semester.
Course
Requirements: 1) First Exam (20%) 2) Second Exam (20%) 3) Five
2-page response papers from Discovering (25%) 4) Third Exam (25%) 5)
Quality participation in the classroom (10%).
Course
Policies and Grading: Read and know this syllabus. Come to class on time—those who arrive late
distract us from learning. Make-up
exams will be given in emergencies—but only if you e-mail me about your absence
before the actual exam takes
place. You are allowed three absences
over the course of the semester before your participation grade will be
affected. Please read the university’s
policy on plagiarism before doing your first response paper assignment—see www.jaguars.iupui.edu/studcode/stucode.htm.
Plagiarism will be punished according to the rules of the university. In addition to this syllabus, at our first
class meeting, I will distribute a guide to completing the response paper
assignments.
The
non-cumulative exams will be held in Cavanaugh Hall 219 on the day they are
mentioned in the syllabus. We will
review (with the help of exam review sheets I hand out in advance) and I will
answer your questions on the Monday before the exam takes place. The response papers are usually due on
Wednesdays and will be based on primary source readings from the Weisner
anthology. There I will be asking you a
series of questions that should illuminate further the themes I touch on in my
lectures. Electronic submission and late
submission of response papers will not be allowed. Please notice that you have a total of nine
chances to do five of these papers.
Your lowest response paper grade can also be dropped if you choose to do
a sixth response paper. Electing to not
write a certain response paper does not excuse you from doing the readings from
Weisner on that particular week. Note
also that we will be discussing these primary sources when I ask you about your
responses to my assignments on the date they are due. In all of these situations I will be reading
and listening carefully to check on how you make connections between these
primary sources and the major themes of the course heard in my lectures and/or
there in your course readings.
H109 Course
Schedule
Part I
Week 1 – 12 January – Renewal and Reform in Early Modern
Week 2 – 19 January – MLK Day (No Class) / 21 January – The
Emergence of a World Market + Your Responses?
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 2 (First
Response Paper Due: 21 January)
Week 3 – 26 January – Introduction to the Islamic
Empires / 28 January – Introduction to
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 5 (Second
Response Paper: Due 28 January)
Week 4 – 2 February – The Enlightenment / 4 February – Why
was there a French Revolution in 1789? + Your Responses?
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 6 (Third
Response Paper Due: 4 February )
Week 5 – 9 February – Why Napoleon? + First Exam Review / 11 February – First Exam in CA219
Part II
Week 6 – 16 February – The First Industrial Revolution / 18
February – “Nationalism”
Week 7 – 23 February – “Socialism” / 25 February – Mass Politics
and Culture in the West + Your Responses?
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 10
(Fourth Response Paper: Due 25 February)
Week 8 – 1 March –
“Imperialism” in
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 7 (Fifth
Response Paper: Due 3 March)
Week 9 – 8 March – Why World War I? + Your Responses? / 10 March – Why the Russian Revolution of
1917??
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 9 (Sixth
Response Paper: Due 8 March)
Week 10 – Spring Break!
Week 11 – 22 March – “Self-Determination of Nations”? / 24
March – Why World War II? + Your Responses?
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 11 (Seventh Response Paper: Due 24
March)
Week 12 – 29 March – Why the Holocaust? + Second Exam Review /
31 March Second Exam in CA219
Part III
Week 13 – 5 April and 7 April – The Cold War and the World’s
Foreign Policy (1945-1985)
Week 14 – 12 April and 14 April – The Rise and Fall of
Communism -
Week 15 – 19 April – Meanwhile,
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 14
(Eighth Response Paper Due 21 April)
Week 16 – 26 April – …and the
Discovering the Global Past: Chapter 15
(Ninth Response Paper Due 28 April)
Week 17 – 3 May – Our Conclusions and Our Third Exam Review
Third and Final Exam – 5 May