History 114 C267

Western Civilization II

Spring 2004

 

Instructor: Professor Demetrius Glover

Class Time: Monday Wednesday 9:30-10:45 am

Office Hours:  Monday Wednesday12:15-1:00, 4:30-5:30

And by Appointment

Office: CA 243-B

Office Phone: 278-9021

E-mail: deglover@iupui.edu

 

Purpose

            This course introduces students to the Modern portion of Western European History a period spanning from the Renaissance to the present day.  In addition to learning the historical narrative and conceptual themes of the modern western civilization, students will grapple with the problems of doing history by reading primary resources and developing their analytical skills through discussions and written assignments.

 

Required Texts

René Descartes. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, 1998.

 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Basic Political Writings. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, 1998.

 

Karl Marx and Friederich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.

 

Bill Gertz. Breakdown: The Failure of the United States to Defeat Global Terror. New York: Plume, 2003.

 

Optional Text

John P. McKay, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. A History of Western Society Since 1300. Boston Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

 

Exam 25%

There is one exam, a cumulative final exam.  The exam is worth 30% of the final grade.  The exam tests the students’ knowledge and understanding of the entire body of lecture and reading material.  The exam will be a thirty-minute oral exam.  At the start of the course students will be provided with a list of five questions; at the final exam the students will be required to produce a fifteen-minute (estimated time) answer to one of two questions chosen at random by sortition, and they will also be required to answer follow-up questions to their initial answer for the remaining time.  The exams will be held from May 4th to the 8th.  Exams can be individual or students will have to organize themselves into groups of either two to three.  They should study together and will take the exam as a group together.

Essay 25%

Each student must write one five-page paper either on The Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philospohy, The Basic Political Writings, or The Communist Manifesto. An assignment sheet with two questions for reading has been posted on OnCourse. Each student must address one of the two questions in his or her essay.

 

Discussions 40%

There are four days of class time devoted to discussing the primary sources (The Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philospohy, The Basic Political Writings, The Communist Manifesto, or Breakdown: The Failure of American Intelligence to Defeat Global Terror).  Each day of discussion is worth 10% of the final grade.  Attendance and participation in the discussion is mandatory to receive credit.  The discussions primarily address the questions for the written assignment.  For the more ambitious students, I request that two students volunteer to be the primary discussant for one of the essay questions.  The primary discussant (preferably someone who has written an essay addressing this question) will take five minutes to explain his/her response to an essay question.  The class will then use the primary discussant’s interpretation as starting point to explore that issue.  In addition to speaking in front of the class the primary discussants will also assist the instructor in tracking class participation.  For these two duties primary discussants are guaranteed the full 10% for that day of discussion.

 

Extra Credit 10%

            For the ambitious student or for those who wish to make up for lost points, there is an extra credit assignment.  Although students must write a five-page paper on The Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philospohy, The Basic Political Writings, or The Communist Manifesto they may earn extra credit by doing the paper assignment for Breakdown: The Failure of American Intelligence to Defeat Global Terror.  This essay will be worth up to 10% extra credit, depending upon the quality of the essay.

 

Attendance 10%

            Attendance in this course is mandatory.  Students are expected to attend every course lecture and discussion.  During the twenty-four class lectures, attendance will be randomly checked ten times.  Each absence deducts one percent from the final grade.

 

Lecture and Reading Schedule

            To reach the chronological goals of this course the lectures only provide a general overview and thematic approach to the material.  The lecture outlines will be provided on OnCourse on the Wednesday prior to a lecture date and will be removed the following Wednesday.  I believe that the lectures provide the necessary information for doing well in the course, but for those students who believe that they need more details, they may read the optional textbook that is intended to fill any informative gaps in the material.  Under various dates a reading assignment from the textbook is listed.  Students may choose to have those selections read by that day of class. 

 

January 12, 2004

Lecture: Introduction to History

Readings: McKay Preface

 

 

January 14, 2004

Lecture: The Renaissance

Readings: McKay Chapters 12 and 13

 

January 19, 2004

No Class: Martin Luther King Day

 

January 21, 2004

Lecture: European Exploration

Readings: McKay pages 502-512

 

January 26, 2004

Lecture: The German Reformation

Readings: McKay Chapter 14

 

January 28, 2004

Lecture: The Reformation Across Europe

 

February 2, 2004

Lecture: The Wars of Religion and the Military Revolution

Readings: McKay Chapter 15

 

February 4, 2004

Lecture: The Scientific Revolution

Readings: McKay pages 595-605

 

February 9, 2004

Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy Discussion

Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy Paper Due

 

February 11, 2004

Lecture: The Rise of Absolutism

Readings: McKay Chapters 16 and 17 and pages 605-627

 

February 16, 2004

Lecture: Constitutionalism in England

 

February 18, 2004

Lecture: The Enlightenment

 

February 23, 2004

Lecture: The Seven Years War and the American Revolution

Readings: McKay Chapters 19 and 20

 

February 25, 2004

Lecture: The Romantic Movement

Readings: McKay Chapter 23

 

 

March 1, 2004

Lecture: The French Revolution I

Readings: McKay Chapter 21

 

March 3, 2004

Lecture: The French Revolution II

Readings: McKay Chapter 23

 

March 8, 2004

Lecture: The Balance of Power

 

March 10, 2004

Basic Political Writings Discussion

Basic Political Writings Paper Due

 

March 15-17, 2004

No Class: Spring Break

 

March 22, 2004

Lecture: The Industrial Revolution

Readings: McKay Chapters 22 and 24

 

March 24, 2004

Lecture: The Italian and German Unifications

Readings: McKay Chapter 25

 

March 29, 2004

Lecture: Western Imperialism

Readings: McKay Chapter 26

 

March 31, 2004

The Communist Manifesto Discussion

The Communist Manifesto Paper Due

 

April 5, 2004

Lecture: World War I

Readings: McKay Chapter 27

 

 

April 7, 2004

Lecture: The Russian Revolution

 

April 12, 2004

Lecture: The Failed Peace

Readings: McKay Chapters 28 and 29

 

April 14, 2004

Lecture: World War II

 

 

April 19, 2004

Lecture: The Cold War

Readings: McKay Chapter 30

 

April 21, 2004

Lecture: Cultural Revolutions of the Twentieth Century

 

April 26, 2004

Lecture: The New World Order

Readings: McKay Chapter 31

 

April 28, 2004

Breakdown: The Failure of American Intelligence to Defeat Global Terror Discussion

Breakdown: The Failure of American Intelligence to Defeat Global Terror Extra Credit Paper Due

 

May 3, 2004

Lecture: Final Exam Review

 

May 4-8, 2004

Oral Examinations (individual and group times to be scheduled)