History of
Western Civilization II
H114 (C271)
Spring Semester 2004
MW
Martin J.
Blackwell
Visiting
Lecturer – Department of History
Office Hours
in CA201 #5 –
e-mail:
mjblackw@iupui.edu
Course Books: (Available for purchase in the IUPUI Bookstore)
1)
Thomas F.X. Noble (et al.), Western
Civilization: The Continuing Experiment: Volume II: Since 1560, 3rd Edition, (
2) Merry E. Weisner (et al.), Discovering the Western Past: A Look at the Evidence, Volume II: Since
1500, 5th Edition, (
Course Description: This course
will introduce you to the political, economic, and social forces that over the
last four centuries have shaped the world we live in today. As we study the Enlightenment in France and
the industrial revolution in England in the eighteenth century, the ideas of
Karl Marx and Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, and the ideologies of
the Nazi Party in Germany and the totalitarian regime of Joseph Stalin in the
Soviet Union in the twentieth century, this course will give you a chance to
critically engage the materials covered in the readings and the lectures
through questions that ask what the “big picture” is and why it came to be
painted the way you see it. The
three-exam and response paper format will also help you sharpen your written
communication skills as you attempt to prove to me your own conclusions about
the vital history that we are studying.
Course Objectives: The main objective here is for all of us to come to a
better understanding of how the world around us today came into being. Another objective is for us to become more
active learners, better 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 six 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enlightened conclusions about real historical documents from the past.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 221 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 lecture. 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 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. Finally, on at least
three occasions in class we will discuss the “Reading Sources” in your textbook
chapters in small groups. When we cover
the latter materials, I will provide you with a list of questions that you will
be charged with answering orally in front of the class as a group on the dates
given below. In all of these situations
I will be reading and listening carefully to see 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.
H114 Course
Schedule
Part I : Why did “absolutism” emerge and
why did the Enlightenment help bring about its downfall?
Week 1 – 12 January – Introduction / 14 January – The Religious
Wars of the 16th Century
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Introduction (pp. xxv-xl) and Chapter 15
(pp. 499-535)
Week 2 – 19 January – MLK Day (No class) / 21 January –
Absolutism in the 17th Century +
Your Responses?
Readings: The Continuing Experiment:
Chapter 16 (pp. 539-569)
Discovering: Chapter 1 (First
Response Paper: Due 21 January)
Week 3 – 26 January – Scientific Experimentation / 28 January
– The Enlightenment + Discussion
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapters 17 and 18. (pp. 573-599, and
pp. 603-640)
Discovering: Chapter 3 (Second
Response Paper: Due 28 January)
Week 4 – 2 February – The French Revolution / 4 February –
The French Revolution + Your Responses?
Discovering: Chapter 5 (Third Response Paper Due: 4 February)
Week 5 – 9 February – Napoleon + Exam Review / 11 February – First Exam in CA 221
Part II: Why did the “progressive”
nineteenth century culminate in the disaster known as World War I?
Week 6 – 16 February – The Industrial Revolution / 18 February – Urbanization and Workers’
Lives + Discussion
Discovering: Chapter 6
Week 7 – 23 February – Socialism / 25 February – The
Restoration + Your Responses?
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapter 21 (pp. 707-737)
Discovering: Chapter 7 – (Fourth Response
Paper: Due 25 February)
Week 8 – 1 March
and 3 March – Nationalism and the “Age of Optimism” + Your Responses?
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapters 22 and 23 (pp. 741-771, and pp.
775-805)
Discovering: Chapter 8 – (Fifth
Response Paper: Due 3 March)
Week 9 – 8 March and 10 March – Imperialism and the “Age of
Pessimism” + Your Responses?
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapter 24 (pp. 809-839)
Discovering: Chapter 9 – (Sixth Response
Paper Due 10 March)
Week 10 – Spring Break!
Week 11 – 22 March and 24 March – Why was their relief when World
War I broke out? + Your Responses?
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapter 25 (pp. 843-875, and 866-867)
Discovering: Chapter 10 – (Seventh
Response Paper Due 24 March)
Week 12 – 29 March – The
Part III: Why did “totalitarianism”
emerge in the twentieth century and what is its legacy?
Week 13 – 5 April – Russian Bolshevism and Italian Fascism /
7 April – The
Week 14 – 12 April – German Nazism / 14 April – Film Triumph
of the Will + Your Responses?
Discovering: Chapter 12 – (Eighth Response Paper Due 12
April)
Week 15 – 19 April – Why “Appeasement” and World War II? / 21
April – The Soviet Fight and the Holocaust
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapter 28 (pp. 947-981, and 982-983)
Week 16 – 26 April – The “Cold War” in the East (Web Lecture) / 28 April – The “Social
Welfare State” in the West
+ Your
Responses?
Discovering: Chapter 14 – (Ninth Response
Paper Due 28 April )
Week 17 – 3 May – The Challenges We Face Today + Exam Review
Readings: The Continuing Experiment: Chapter 30 (pp. 1041-1061)
Third and Final Exam – Friday –
7 May –