History
212.1 (CRN 81893)
Tue
and Thu 3:00-5:05
Music
113
Office:
Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor:
Dr. Schmoll
Office Hours: Tue and Thu 1-3
…OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!
Office Phone: 654-6549
Course Description:
This course is the third part of the CSUB History Department’s World History
survey series. We will cover the history of the world from 1700 to present,
surveying the main civilizations across the globe. The focus will be on how the
processes of modernization, industrialization, imperialism, expanding global
trade, industrialized warfare, national and social revolutions, nuclear
proliferation, Cold War polarization, de-colonization, and international debt
have transformed the world’s civilizations. Students will often be challenged
to compare these civilizations and to analyze how they interacted. There is, in
short, a great deal to cover and only ten weeks to cover it.
As you look over the weekly schedule, you will also notice that there is a
THEME OF THE WEEK listed before each week. This does not mean that the themes
listed will be absent in other weeks. What it means is that we will focus our
study of world history on that theme during that week. In general, we will
discuss the theme of the week on Tuesday and the reading on Thursday. Hence,
plan to read the chapter for each Thursday class.
Course Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course students
will be able:
- To identify and define the most important events,
people and processes of the transformation of the world over the last 250
years.
- To evaluate historical documents critically and to
describe how these documents might be used in understanding and writing
history.
- To write a basic five-paragraph essay using historical
evidence to support an argument.
- To think more critically about history, how it is
constructed, written and interpreted.
Required Reading:
Robert Strayer,
Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources,
Volume 2 (New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013; Second Edition) ISBN-10:
0312583494; ISBN-13: 9780312583491
OR
Loose-leaf Version of
Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with
Sources, Volume 2; ISBN-10: 1457647281; ISBN-13: 9781457647284
We will also have
regular readings on the blog. Those will be announced in class.
COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you
want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to history212fall2014.blogspot.com
You need to sign in to this blog this week.
You will also have
short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Attendance: Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and
papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass
this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third
class meeting, you are missing 15% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass.
Reading: How should you read our
book?
How many of you love reading? I did not read
a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever
widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for
reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from
plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you
know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want
you to have experiences with great texts. For these ten weeks, diving
wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a
particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued,
“reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading
involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different
ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think
about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says
(reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey,
but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for
exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how
many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great
Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of
reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise
Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have
an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are
reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time.
Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone
book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone
book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of
reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can
learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading,
but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading,
it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever
and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you
should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts,
“taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else
eat your dinner for you.”
How fast should you be reading? With our text, I
expect you to move through fairly quickly. I will model this for you in class,
but basically, you should be looking for a key piece of information from ach
section. Take notes on it, but do not take such copious notes that you slow
your reading to a snail’s pace. Instead, let your note taking help the reading
go faster. Again, I will model this in class. The text will guide our in class
discussion, and you will have it with you. So be sure you have read it for each
Thursday class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it
sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in
the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at
what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the
case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing
the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be
given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that
sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals.
Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready
and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of
the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run
to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s
an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are
good.
So, what are the consequences
of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10%
participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. And no, I’m
not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the
door and points in your face. If you are late a few (that means three) times,
you will lose the entire 10% participation grade. One time tardiness is not a
problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident. But if you
are late several times, you will not be able to receive a participation grade
above 50%.
The Unforgivable
Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is
something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one
time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be
super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade.
Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone
ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s
a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on
your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a
buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is
punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If
you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will
automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final
grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will
become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on
purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our
current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never
separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow
classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do.
Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and
right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Oh, and guess
what, this room is designed to give your teacher a perfect view of you with a
phone beneath the table; is that text message really worth 10% of the quarter
grade? Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to
tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s
incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend
to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters,
that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just
focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be
worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your
world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family,
your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So,
until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills,
promise me one thing: when you are in class or preparing for class, you have to
be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the
1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to
something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside
world for a while.
Participation: You do not need to be
the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with
the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in
participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we
raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people
during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like
you care, then you will receive a good participation grade!
Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade,
since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.
In fact, to get a 90% participation grade or higher, you must
attend all classes, contribute thoughtful comments to the larger class
discussion every day, participate actively with those around you, and avoid the
obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other
courses, no being late.
To get an 85%, you can miss one class and must contribute
at least one comment per week to the large class discussion, participate
actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting,
no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get an 80%, you can miss one class and must participate
actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting,
no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get a 75%, you can miss two classes and must participate
actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting,
no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
Show up tardy more
than once or fail to participate in the dialogue and the participation grade
will begin to diminish quickly.
Academic Integrity
The principles of
truth and integrity are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers
and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor
these principles and in so doing will protect the integrity of all academic
work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them
without unauthorized assistance and without giving unauthorized assistance.
Faculty have the responsibility of exercising care in the planning and
supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be encouraged and
positively reinforced.
http://www.csub.edu/studentconduct/documents/academicintegrity.pdf
GRADING SCALE:
Participation: 10%
In class book
assignment: 5% pass/no pass
Paper: 20% We will discuss the topic and the other
requirements in class.
Crash Course
Responses: 5% pass/no pass
Midterm Examination: 30%
Final Examination: 30%
COURSE SCHEDULE:
THEME OF THE WEEK…Empires
in Collision
9/16 Tue
Introduction/Syllabus/Political Transformations: Empires and Encounters
9/18 Thu Political
Transformations: Empires and Encounters Read
Chapter 13
WATCH CRASH COURSE WORLD HISTORY #16 , MANSA MUSA AND ISLAM IN AFRICA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvnU0v6hcUo&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=16
THEME
OF THE WEEK… Human Movement
9/23 Tue Migration in World
History
9/25 Thu Read Chapter
14
WATCH CRASH COURSE WORLD HISTORY #25 THE SPANISH EMPIRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjhIzemLdos&index=25&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9
THEME
OF THE WEEK… Empires of Faith
9/30 Tue Belief and
Action
10/2 Thu Read Chapter
15
WATCH CRASH COURSE WORLD HISTORY #30 Haitian Revolutions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A_o-nU5s2U&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=30
THEME
OF THE WEEK… Disease in History
10/7 Tue Germs and
Genes/In class book assignment Due
10/9 Thu Read Chapter
16
THEME
OF THE WEEK…Technology and Industrialization
10/14 Tue The Industrial
Revolution
10/16 Thu Read Chapter
17
THEME
OF THE WEEK… Midterm This Week
10/21 Tue Read Chapters 18 and 19…
10/23 Thu MIDTERM EXAMINATION
THEME
OF THE WEEK… War
10/28 Tue The Great War
as a World Event
10/30 Thu Read Chapter
20
THEME
OF THE WEEK… Revolts and Revolutions
11/4 Tue International
Revolution
11/6 Thu Read Chapter
21/Paper Due
THEME
OF THE WEEK…Nationalism
11/11 Tue VETERANS DAY…CAMPUS CLOSED
11/13 Thu Read Chapter
22
THEME OF THE WEEK…ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION
11/18 Tue Economic Walls
Fall
11/20 Thu Read Chapter
23
FINAL
EXAM Wednesday, November 26, 2:00 to 4:30
