History 102: World Civilizations
Office: 389 Holloway Hall
E-mail: mllewis@salisbury.edu
Phone: (410) 677-5020
Office Hours: T/W/Th, 9:30-11:00 , and by appointment.
Course Text: Brummett, et al, Civilization: Past and Present
Supplementary Text: Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost
Three reading packets are available on my webpage:
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~mllewis/
Course Description and Objectives: This course traces the development of world civilizations from approximately 1500 CE to the present. It examines the creation of “modern” patterns of thought, culture, society, and political life. Its global approach offers the student an opportunity to learn about the geographical and chronological diversity of human social life and understand the historical convergences, divergences, and interrelations among peoples. We are, each of us, products of this history, and in this course we will critically reflect on the meaning of our shared global heritage, both for us as individuals, as well as for the larger society and times in which we live.
Grading Scale: A 90-100%
B 80%-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F 59% and below
There will be no incomplete grades offered
Course Requirements:
Attendance: You will be allowed two absences with no penalty. Each additional absence will result in a reduction in your participation grade. Please note that, while we all are occasionally forced to be late, a continued pattern of tardiness to class will result in a reduction in your participation grade. Please treat class like work – if you cannot make it, notify me by phone or e-mail ahead of time.
Preparation: You are responsible for completing the assigned readings on the days that they are due. I would suggest that you use the textbook as a supplement to lectures. In this course I will be using a mixture of lectures and discussions. The university suggests that you should spend 2 –3 hours at home doing work for every one hour in class. You should be able to complete this course’s readings in less time than that. I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes over the reading packet at any time after its due date. It is impossible to underestimate how helpful the textbook can be! It will make the class far simpler to understand, and will help your grade immeasurably.
Examinations: You will have two in-class examinations, and one final exam. If you miss a scheduled examination, you will not have the opportunity for a make-up, barring some truly spectacular and documented reason, cleared with me PRIOR to the examination.
Papers: You will be required to write a substantive essay analyzing different aspects of the history of an assigned developing world nation. You will also be asked to complete preparatory worksheets on your assigned country. These assignments are meant to help you ground the ideas that we discuss in class in a particular place. More detailed instructions will be given out in class. On occasion, you will also be given brief homework assignments, or in-class writing assignments. These shorter writings will be averaged and count towards your participation grade.
Map Quizzes: During the course of the semester I will ask you to learn maps, as assigned in class. These map quizzes, combined with any reading quizzes, will be the largest part of your participation grade, and should not be overlooked.
In-Class Examination I: 20%
In-Class Examination II: 20%
Country assignments: 25%
Final Examination: 20%
Please note that this schedule is subject to change, as announced in class.
January 29: The World We Live In
January 31: The World of 1450
February 5: Why Didn’t China discover the New World?
February 7: The Muslim Empires and Portugal
Asia Map Quiz
February 12: Portugal, Spain, and European Expansion
February 14: Northern European expansion and the Protestant Reformation
Country Worksheet I due
February 19: The Cost of Sugar I
Africa Map Quiz
February 21: The Cost of Sugar II
Unit II: Freedom and Slavery: Both Civil and Economic, Individual and Societal
(1700-1900)
February 28: Revolutions in Politics and Music.
March 4: Napoleon and Aftershocks
March 6: Industrial Revolution
Europe Map Quiz
March 11:
Social Reaction to Industrial Revolution
Reading Packet II
due
March 13: No Class
March 25: Imperialism I: India
March 27: Imperialism II: China
Americas Map Quiz
April 1: Imperialism II: China, continued
King Leopold’s Ghost completed
April 3: Imperialism III: Africa
Unit III: A Better World, or Global Annihilation? The 20th Century Tightrope
(1900-2000)
April 10: This day class is cancelled so that you might enjoy the National
Conference on Undergraduate Research.
April 15: The War that Nobody Wanted, but Everybody was Excited About
April 17: The Cliff Notes version of World War II
April 22: From World War to Cold War, and the start of the American Century
April 24: The First 50 years, outside of the West
April 29: The End of Colonialism
May 1: Post-colonialism and the Cold War: Case Studies
May 6: Case-Studies continued
May 8: The world we live in, reprised.
May 16 Final Exam, 4:15-6:45 (Don’t beg to take it early!)
Academic Dishonesty: The best learning environment is one based on mutual respect and trust. However, the desire to achieve a good grade without doing the necessary work may tempt some students to cheat on exams or to represent the work of others as their own. The term “academic dishonesty” means a deliberate and deceptive misrepresentation of one’s own work. Instances of academic dishonesty include all, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Plagiarism: presenting as one’s own work, whether literally or in paraphrase, the work of another author.
(2) Turning in the same paper for multiple courses.
(3) Cheating on exams, tests, and quizzes; the wrongful giving or accepting of unauthorized exam material; and the use of illegitimate sources of information.
(4) Unsanctioned collaboration with other individuals in the completion of course assignments.
(5) Falsifying data and use of fraudulent methods in laboratory, field work, and COMPUTER WORK.
(6) Falsifying excuses for non-attendance or completion of assignments.
There are no mitigating circumstances to justify academic dishonesty. If you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please ask – Ignorance is no excuse. Discovery of academic dishonesty will bring stiff penalties, including a failing grade for the assignment in question and possibly a grade of F for the course. The maximum penalty at Salisbury University for plagiarism is possible expulsion from the entire USM system.
Writing Across the Curriculum: Writing across the Curriculum is a nationally recognized initiative that is designed to improve students’ learning through encouraging different types of writing in all university courses. This course is committed to this program, and will use the following tools:
1.) You will be required to refine your note-taking skills in class
2.) Your examinations will be essay based. These essays will require you to think broadly about the primary themes of the course, and to marshal specific evidence in support of an argument.
3.) You will be required to do short writing assignments in-class and at home to allow you the opportunity to think through some general course questions.
4.) You will write four papers focusing upon the impact of world history upon one current nation-state in different periods of history.