Carol
Loats
Office Hours:
Office: Psych 117
MW
10-12, W 3-4, T-Th 2-3
549-2348
and
by appointment
Important: This syllabus spells out explicitly what you can expect from this class, and what will be expected of you. Read everything on these pages carefully, refer back to these pages frequently, and complete all assignments which are listed here, unless otherwise instructed. If there is anything which you do not understand, be sure to ask for clarification. If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out about any additional assignments or any changes in the syllabus.
Course Description:
"Nothing
capable of being memorized is history. "
R.G.
Collingwood
Covering the time period from approximately 1100 to 1800, this course selectively examines places and events which reveal the complexity of the past and its relevance to the present. The course is not about memorizing dates, events, or people's names. The course is about understanding the past by seeing connections and relationships between events, and by understanding the experiences of people who lived in different times and places, and had different perspectives. The structure and content of the course require you to learn by reading and listening, discussing and writing.
Written assignments and exams will ask you to think, to organize your thoughts, and to write careful analyses; the focus will be on making connections, and understanding and expressing the complexity of the past, In essays written outside of class you will be asked to show your comprehension of some part of the past by responding to an assigned topic with your own words. Exams will cover both readings and lecture material through short and longer essays.
Readings:
1. McKayl
Hill, and Buckler, A History of World Societies, custom
version of Volume B, chapters 9 through 23, 4th edition, 1996. Below,
this is referred to as "McKay."
2. Other
required readings, usually on reserve, will be assigned for each
discussion scheduled during the semester. Watch for handouts about
these assignments,
3. Optional
books available in the bookstore: A study guide, highly recommended,
is specifically geared toward this course and the McKay text. A
Student's Guide to History, by Benjamin, is useful for success in
any history course.
Important Note: Be sure that you have the custom version of volume B of the McKay, with chapters 9 through 23 (not the version that starts with chapter 13).
Schedule and Reading Assignments
**READINGS ARE TO BE DONE BY THE DATE THEY ARE LISTED**
Jan. 12 INTRODUCTION
Jan. 14
Introduction
and Background
Read:
Handout titled: "How to Read the Evidence,
from
Andrea/Overfield, pp. P-l through P-16
UNIT I THE WORLD from about 1100 to about 1500
Jan.
16 The Islamic World (Southwest Asia, North Africa, Central Asia,
etc
Read:
McKay, Ch. 9, with attention to pp. 262-283
Jan. 19
The Islamic World (cont.)
Prepare a Culture Summary Worksheet for the Islamic world
- -see handouts
Jan. 21
South
and East Asia. (India and China)
Read
: McKay, with attention to pp. 317-321, 325-333, and 336-343
Jan. 23
East
Asia, Cont. (China and Japan)
Prepare
Culture Summary Worksheets for India and China see handouts
Jan. 26
Asia
(cont.)
Discussion
1: Comparing Cultures see instructions
Discussion
worksheets due - see handouts
Jan. 28
Africa
Read:
McKay, Ch. 10, with attention to pp. 292-309
Andrea/Overfield,
pp. 48-52
Jan. 30
Africa
(cont.)
Prepare
a Culture Summary Worksheet for Africa south of
the
Sahara - see handouts
Feb. 2
Europe:
The Periphery, with attention to PP. 359-394
Read:
McKay, Ch.
Prepare
a Culture Summary Worksheet for Europe in about
1300
- see handouts; add to it as you learn
more
from McKay, Chapter 13
Feb. 4
Europe
(cont.)
Read
: McKay, Ch. 13
Feb. 6 Europe (cont.)
Feb. 9
Discussion
2: Court Chronicles
Read:
on reserve, as assigned
Discussion
worksheets due - see handouts
Feb. 11
Americas
Read
: McKay, Ch. 14
Feb. 13
Americas
(cont.)
Prepare
a Culture Summary Worksheet for the Americas
see
handouts
Feb. 16
Discussion
#3: Conceptions of "Barbarians"
Read:
on reserve, as assigned
Discussion
worksheets due - see handout.
UNIT II EUROPE from about 1500 to about 1800
Feb. 18 Europe - Intellectual and Religious Changes
Feb. 20 FIRST MIDTERM
Feb. 23 Europe -
Intellectual and Religious Changes (cont.)
Read
: McKay, Ch. 15
Feb. 25 Europeans Join the
World Economy
Read
: McKay, Ch. 16
Feb. 27 Europeans Join the
World Economy (cont.)
Begin
worksheets for Europe, 1500 to 1800 see handouts
March 2 Europeans Join the World Economy
(cont.)
Discussion
#4: Clash of Cultures
Read:
on reserve, as assigned
Discussion
worksheets due - see handout
March 4 European Politics
Read
: McKay, Ch. 17
March 6 European Politics (cont.)
March 9 Europe: Intellectual Changes
Read
: McKay, Ch, 18
March 11 Europe: Intellectual Changes (cont.)
First
formal essay due see handout for instructions
UNIT III THE REST OF THE WORLD from about 1500 to 1800
March 13 Africa: Change and Continuity
Finish
Worksheets for Europe, 1500-1800
March 16 Africa (cont.)
Read
: McKay, Ch. 20
March 18 Africa (cont.)
March 20 SECOND MIDTERM
Mar. 24-28 SPRING BREAK
March 30 Islamic World: Glory and
Decline in Three Empires
Prepare
Worksheets for Africa, 1500-1800 see handouts
April 1
Islamic World
(cont.)
Read:
McKay, Ch. 21
April 3 Islamic
World (cont.)
Second
formal essay due - see handout
April 6 Islamic World
(cont.)
Prepare
worksheets for Islamic World, 1500-1800
April 8 East Asia:
China
Read:
McKay, Ch. 22
Andrea/Overfield,
pp, 109-110, 226-229
April 10 East Asia (cont.)
Discussion
#5: Travelers Tell Their Tales
Read:
on reserve, as assigned
Discussion
written work due - see handout
April 13 East Asia (cont.)
Prepare
Worksheets for China, 1500-1800
April 15 East Asia: Japan
Prepare
Worksheets for China and Japan
April 17 Americas: Changes and New Connections
April 20 Social Structures in Comparative
Perspective
Discussion
#6: Comparing social Structures
Read:
on reserve, as assigned
Discussion
written work due - see handout
April 22 Recap - Around the World
April 24 Conclusion
May 1 FINAL, EXAM,
8 am (be sure to check the official exam
schedule to verify this)
Course Objectives :
1.
The
course will promote a basic familiarity with the history of
six
regions of the world between 1100 and 1800.
2.
The
course will provide students with an experience of the
process
of history through the study of primary sources.
3.
The
course will encourage students to learn to read and think
more
critically about the past, to develop skills of synthesis and
analysis,
to make connections and see relationships between events of
the
past, and to compare various societies, identifying key
similarities
and differences.
4.
The
course will promote student consideration of issues of
causation,
both long and short term, and engage students in an
explicit
analysis of change and continuity as simultaneous features
of
human history.
5. The course will guide students to speak and write more effectively.
6.
The
course will allow students to learn from each other by
sharing
insights and questions with one another in small discussion groups.
Additional Important Information:
1) Your grade in the course will be calculated as follows:
10
% discussions and related worksheets, etc.
20
% two essays, 10% each
10
% quizzes and miscellaneous
10
% worksheets and
30
% 15 % each Midterm
20
% Final
100
%
2)
Discussions:
Students participate in scheduled discussions in small groups to
analyze and evaluate selected topics based partly on primary sources.
Everyone will be a leader at least once, and a participant in each of
the other discussions.
Students
will be responsible for advance preparation for discussions. For each
discussion scheduled, whether you are a leader or a participant, you
are required to attend, and to bring with you worksheets which you
have prepared according to instructions handed out in class. Be sure
that you set handouts on the readings packets and discussion process
early in the semester, as well as instructions for each individual
discussion
3)
Attendance
and Promptness: After assessing the successes of students in previous
history classes, it is apparent that those students who come to class
on a regular basis and do their reading assignments in a timely
fashion consistently show evidence of significant learning, and get
good grades. Only through regular attendance will you be on top of
the material and be able to fulfill the objectives of the class.
Therefore, I expect you to be here. Attendance will be taken
frequently during the semester. Attendance is required (no unexcused
exceptions) for the scheduled discussions.
The
most important moments of each class session are usually the first
and last few moments when upcoming assignments are mentioned and the
day's material is introduced or summarized. For your own benefit, and
as a courtesy to the instructor and to the rest of the class, you are
expected to be present promptly at the beginning of the period and to
stay throughout the period.
4) Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's exact words, or extensively paraphrasing someone else's ideas, as if they were yours (that is, without giving credit to the author, book, or person you are "stealing" from). Plagiarism is not allowed, and results in an F on an essay assignment. Your essays should reflect your understanding of the material, and should be written from your own head, after consulting with your notes and texts for content (i.e., write with the book closed).
5) Reminder: For this (and any) course at the university level you can expect to work about 2 hours out of class for each hour in class, or an average of 6 hours per week.
6) If you need assistance in understanding anything on this syllabus, or in fulfilling any of the requirements for the course, please see me. Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disability is requested to speak with me about it no later than the end of the second week of classes. I hope to see all of you regularly in my office as we explore history together.