HIST 171 (005): World History, 1500-Present Instructor: Adrian Howkins Semester: Spring 2016 Class Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:15 Location: Clark A207 Office: Clark B368 Office Hours: Tuesdays 12:15-2:15, and by appointment. Office Telephone: 491 6418 E-mail: howkins@mail.colostate.edu Gradate Teaching Assistant: Maggie Moss Jones GTA Office: Clark C207 GTA Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00-3:00, and by appointment. E-mail: mmjones@rams.colostate.edu Course Outline This course will survey the history of the world since 1492. It will focus in particular on the history of twelve modern countries from different parts of the world: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Great Britain, India, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, South Africa and the United States. Throughout the course we will consider how each of these national histories are the product numerous factors ranging from the actions of individual people to broad global trends. The course will be divided into four sections. The first section will provide an introduction to the histories of the twelve countries in the early modern world (roughly 1500-1750). The second section will examine world history in the nineteenth century, examining how themes such as social and political revolution, industrialization, and imperialism affected different parts of the world in different ways. The third section will examine trends in the history of the twentieth century with a focus on world wars, decolonization, and globalization. The fourth section will return to individual national histories, thinking comparatively about why the histories of different parts of the world developed in different ways over the past one hundred years. The course will teach students to think historically by engaging critically with five hundred years of World History. Students will learn to analyze historical interpretations and use historical data to construct their own arguments about the past. Students will understand how local and national histories fit into a broader global context. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with many of the major historical trends and ideas of the last 500 years, and be aware that there are multiple interpretations of the past. Through assignments and essays, the course will enable students to develop their analytical research and writing skills. They will also learn to collaborate effectively in small teams through the group work assignments leading to class presentations.
Class Expectations In order to do well in this course, students must regularly attend class and keep up with the required reading. Although class participation is not a formal part of the grading, students are encouraged to participate in discussions and ask questions. Students should refrain from any activities in class that are distracting to other members of the course. 15% of the final grade for the class will be associated with group projects leading to presentations. All students are required to participate in these group assignments, and evidence of failure to do so will result in no grade being given for this part of the course. All students are required to comply fully with the University s policy on academic integrity (http://tilt.colostate.edu/integrity/). Failure to do so may result in an automatic F grade for the class and your case being reported to Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services. Students are requested to write out the University Honor Pledge on all four substantial pieces of work (the two written assignments, the mid-term exam, and the final exam): "I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance." Please see me early in the semester if you have questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the class. Course Structure The class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the semester from 11:00-12:15. A brief 3-4 minute break will be taken in the middle of the class. The class period will follow different formats at different times of the semester, so please pay attention to the Course Schedule below. Some interaction with your classmates outside class time is expected for the group assignments. Assignments This class is writing intensive and is structured for improvement over the semester. Learning Curve Quizzes: 10% National Biography Exercise Group Presentation: 5% National Biography Exercise Individual Essay: 10% Midterm Essay Exam: 15% Major Events of Twentieth Century Exercise Group Presentation: 10% Major Events of Twentieth Century Exercise Individual Essay: 20% Final Essay Exam: 30% Grading will be on a 100% scale, with pluses and minuses awarded as follows: 97-100%: A+ 93-97%: A 90-93%: A- 87-90%: B+ 83-87%: B 80-83%: B- 77-80%: C+ 73-77%: C 70-73%: C- 67-70%: D+ 63-67%: D 60-63%: D- Less than 60%: F
All deadlines and exam dates are non-negotiable. If you miss a deadline or exam your paper or exam will not be graded. Learning Curve Quizzes (10%): For each of the required Strayer chapters students will take a Learning Curve quiz through the LaunchPad program (see below). Students will be awarded 1 point for each successfully completed quiz. At the end of the semester grades will be awarded as follows: 9/9 = A 8/9 = B 7/9 = C 6/9 = D 5/9 1/9 = F 0/9 = No Grade The deadline for each quiz is the beginning of class time on the Thursday of the week for which the readings are assigned (see below). We will discuss these online quizzes in class at the beginning of the semester, and there will be a trial quiz in the first week of the course. National Biography Exercise Group Presentation (5% Group Grade): At the beginning of class you will be put into a small group with other students. Each group will be assigned a country for the national biography exercise (and a different country for the Major Events of the Twentieth Century Exercise, see below). For the national biography group presentation, each group must come up with a list of influential people associated with that country who lived between 1500-1900 (with a little flexibility on either end). The number of people on the list will equal the number of people in your group. Each person in the group will take responsibility for one of these people and write a two-and-a-half-page essay arguing why this particular person was so influential (see below). The group should then rank their selected list of historical figures in order of importance, and give a short presentation to the rest of the class that explains why they chose these particular people and why they ranked them as they did. The presentations should last for a total of 10 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for questions. The format of the presentation is flexible, but some sort of visual aid is expected (please feel free to get creative!). The presentations will be graded on the quality of the information provided and effectiveness of the presentation. Every member of the group is expected to take part in choosing the list of influential figures, ranking the people in the list in order of importance, and preparing the presentation. Additionally, every member of the group is expected to be present in class on the day of the presentation to answer questions (unless there is a legitimate reason for absence that has been accepted beforehand). The dates for the presentations from each country are listed in the course schedule (below), and these are the respective deadlines for this assignment. All members of the group will receive the same
presentation grade. More information regarding this assignment will be given out in class. National Biography Exercise Individual Essay (10%): In connection with the group assignment outlined above, each student will write a short essay on one of the people on their group s list of most influential figures. No doubling up is allowed, and each person in the group must write about someone different. The essays should make an argument for why this particular person deserves inclusion on the list of most influential people. Essays should be two pages long (12-pt, doublespaced), and should include at least five references. These references should be included in a bibliography at the end of the essay (for a total of two-and-a-half pages), and must include at least one book in addition to the Strayer textbook. The essays should be uploaded to Canvas before class on the day of the presentation (for the schedule of presentations, see below). More information regarding this assignment will be given out in class. Midterm Exam (15%): The midterm exam will take place on Thursday 10 March. The midterm exam will use lectures, readings (including primary documents), and material from national biography exercise to answer one essay question out of a choice of three. The exam will focus on the chronological period from the beginning of class to 1900. The questions will not be known beforehand, although we will thoroughly discuss potential themes and strategies in class before the exam. Major Events of Twentieth Century Exercise Group Presentation (10% Group Grade): At the beginning of class your group will be assigned a country for the major events of the twentieth century exercise. Each group must come up with a list of the most important events broadly defined that the assigned country experienced in the twentieth century. The number of events on the list will equal the number of people in your group. Each person in the group will take responsibility for one of these events and write a five-page essay arguing why this particular event was so influential (see below). The group should then rank their selected list of historical events in order of importance, and give a presentation to the rest of the class that explains why they chose these particular events and why they ranked them as they did. The presentations should last for a total of 20 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for questions. The format of the presentation is flexible, but some sort of visual aid is expected (again, please feel free to get creative!). The presentations will be graded on the quality of the information provided and effectiveness of the presentation. Every member of the group is expected to take part in choosing the list of influential events, ranking the events in the list in order of importance, and preparing the presentation. Additionally, every member of the group is expected to be present in class on the day of the presentation to answer questions (unless there is a legitimate reason for absence that has been accepted beforehand). The dates for the presentations from each country are listed in the course schedule (below), and these are the respective deadlines for this assignment. All members of the group will receive the same presentation grade. More information regarding this assignment will be given out in class.
Major Events of the Twentieth Century Individual Essay (10%): In connection with the group assignment outlined above, each student will write an essay on one of the events on their group s list of most influential events of the twentieth century. No doubling up is allowed, and each person in the group must write about a different event. The essays should make an argument for why this particular event deserves inclusion on the most influential list. The text of these essays should be four pages long (12-pt, double-spaced), and should include at least ten references. These references should be included in a bibliography at the end of the essay (for a total of five pages), and must include at least two books in addition to the Strayer textbook. The essays should be uploaded to Canvas before class on the day of the presentation (for the schedule of presentations, see below). More information regarding this assignment will be given out in class. Final Exam (30%): The final exam will take place during Finals Week (it is currently scheduled for 9:40-11:40 on Thursday 12 May). The final exam will use lectures, readings (including primary documents), and material from the two group exercises (especially the Major Events exercise) to answer one essay question out of a choice of three. The main focus of this exam will be the history of the twentieth century, although students will be expected to include some material from earlier in the class. The questions will not be known beforehand, although we will thoroughly discuss potential themes and strategies in class before the exam. Required There is one required text for this class that is available for purchase in two forms at the University bookstore: Robert Strayer, Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources. Volume 2: Since the Fifteenth Century (Second Edition, 2013). All students are required to purchase access to the online LaunchPad e-book: http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/strayer2evol2/3032462#/launch pad Students are also recommended to buy the hard-copy of the textbook alongside the LaunchPad e-book, but this is a matter of personal preference. When you first go to the website, there are three ways to proceed: Option 1: Enter your student access code. If you have an access code, select I have a student access code, enter the code exactly as it appears on the card, and click Submit.
Option 2: Purchase online. If you don t have an access code, either purchase a text package that includes one OR click I want to purchase access and follow the instructions. Option 3: Start with 21 days of free trial access. If you need to start working but can t purchase right away, select I need to pay later and follow the instructions. Troubleshooting If you run into any technical issues with LaunchPad, please follow the steps below to resolve the issue. Step 1. Quick tips: a. Device: Use a desktop or laptop computer. b. Browser: Use Firefox or Chrome. Step 2. Self-troubleshoot: LaunchPad Student s Manual: http://cmg.screenstepslive.com/s/macmillanmedia_studenthelp/m/launchpadsm Step 3. Call Tech Support 800-936-6899 or Online Chat: https://macmillan.desk.com/customer/widget/chats/new If after you follow the steps above, you still are unable to resolve an issue: Please email your instructor with details of the issue, along with the tech support TICKET NUMBER you received during your phone call or online chat. Course Schedule Week 1 Tue 19 Jan: Introduction to Class. Thur 21 Jan: Lecture Nations, Regions, and Empires (Discussion Group Assignments). 12. The Worlds of the Fifthteenth Century [Learning Curve Practice Quiz]. Section One: The Early Modern World Week 2
Tue 26 Jan: Lecture Europe and South America. Thur 28 Jan: Discussion. 13. Political Transformations: Empires and Encounters, 1450-1750 [Learning Curve Quiz]. Week 3 Tue 2 Feb: Lecture North America and Australasia. Thur 4 Feb: Discussion. 14. Economic Transformations: Commerce and Consequence, 1450-1750 [Learning Curve Quiz]. Week 4 Tue 9 Feb: Lecture Asia and Africa. Thur 11 NO CLASS Meet in groups. 15. Cultural Transformations: Religion and Science, 1450-1750 [Learning Curve Quiz]. Section Two: The C.19 th Week 5 Tue 16 Feb: Lecture Atlantic Revolutions. Thur 18 Feb: Biography Exercise (Peru, Brazil, Canada, United States). 16. Atlantic Revolutions, Global Echoes: 1750-1914 [Learning Curve Quiz].
Week 6 Tue 23 Feb: Lecture The Industrial Revolution. Thur 25 Feb: Biography Exercise (Egypt, South Africa Britain, Russia). 17. Revolutions of Industrialization: 1750-1914 [Learning Curve Quiz]. Week 7 Tue 1 Mar: Lecture European Imperialism. Thur 3 Mar: Biography Exercise (Australia, New Zealand, India, China). 18. Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa, and Oceania 1750-1950 [Learning Curve Quiz]. [Optional: 19. Empires in Collision: Europe, The Middle East, and East Asia, 1800-1914]. Week 8 Tue 8 Mar: Review Session. Thur 10 Mar: MIDTERM EXAM. No reading this week. Week 9 Tue 15 Mar SPRING BREAK. Thur 17 Mar SPRING BREAK.
Section 3: Themes in C.20 th History Week 10 Tue 22 Mar: Lecture The World Wars. Thur 24 Mar: Discussion. 20. Collapse at the Center: World War, Depression, and the Rebalancing of Global Power: 1914-1970 [Learning Curve Quiz]. [Optional: 21. Revolution, Socialism, and the Cold War]. Week 11 Tue 29 Mar: Lecture Decolonization. Thur 31 Mar: NO CLASS meet in groups. 22. The End of Empire: The Global South on the Global Stage, 1914-Present [Learning Curve Quiz]. Week 12 Tue 5 Apr: Lecture The Cold War and Globalization. Thur 7 Apr: Discussion. 23. Capitalism and Culture: The Acceleration of Globalization Since 1945 [Learning Curve Quiz]. Section 4: National Experiences of the C.20 th Week 13 Tue 12 Apr: Britain, Russia.
Thur 14 Apr: Canada, United States. No reading this week. Week 14 Tue 19 Apr: Egypt, South Africa. Thur 21 Apr: India, China. No reading this week. Week 15 Tue 26 Apr: Peru, Brazil. Thur 28 Apr: Australia, New Zealand. No reading this week. Exam Preparation Week 16 Tue 3 May: REVIEW SESSION. Thur 5 May: Final Class. No reading this week. FINAL EXAM DURING FINALS WEEK.