Texas Wesleyan University Course Syllabus Fall 2018 |
|
Course: HIS 2301-20 World History to 1648 |
Instructor: Christopher Ohan |
Meeting: Mondays &
Wednesdays 10-10:50 in EJW 213 |
Phone: 817-531-4913 |
Office: PMC 244 |
E-mail: cohan@txwes.edu |
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 11-1
(in ASC), Tue 9-12, 4-6, Thurs 9-12, or by appointment |
“The gentleman is conversant with righteousness; the
small man is conversant with profit.”
—Confucius, The
Analects
Course
Description: “A survey of human experience to the
seventeenth century with emphasis upon the growth of Western institutions and
concepts.” Because of the large time period covered by this course, the class
will not be events-driven but will, instead focus on the importance of major ideas for the different periods
surveyed.
This
course fulfills 3 credit hours towards the 12 credit hour GEC requirement in
Cultural Literacy.
Learning Objectives Program Goals
Objective 1: Students
completing this course should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of
the major events in world history to 1648 |
1. Develop a general
knowledge of human history, including a basic chronology of both western and
non-western societies covering time periods from the ancient to the modern. |
Objective 2: Student ought
to be able to use historical comparison as an analytic tool; recognize the
different interpretations of the various themes within this half world
history. |
2. Understand
Historical Interpretation and Historiography. |
Objective 3: Students should
appreciate and interpret multiple forms of evidence (textual, visual, oral,
statistical, artifacts from material culture); differentiate between primary
and secondary sources and understand how each is used via a.
reading essays
and primary sources relative to the period b.
writing DBQ
essays using primary sources. c.
using computer
software to produce all assignments. |
3. Learn the various skills
associated with the craft of history. These skills include: a. Reading Comprehension and
Cognitive Skills b. Historical Thinking
Skills c. Research Skills d. Written Communication
Skills e. Oral Communication Skills f. Computer Literacy |
Objective 4: This
course is an optional course for other history majors and satisfies the
3-hour degree requirement of either HIS 2301 or HIS 2303. |
4. Students completing a
major in the Department of History will be prepared to enter graduate
programs in History, teach History in secondary or middle schools, or enter
other careers open to graduates with degrees in the Liberal Arts. |
Required Materials: |
Bentley et al, Traditions and Encounters Vol. 1: to
1500, Brief 4th Edition (McGraw Hill) |
|
Andrea and Overfield, eds., The Human Record, Sources of Global
History Vol. 1, 8th Edition (Cengage) |
Instructional Methods/Class Format: Most classes will consist
of a lecture (with some give and take as questions come up) and discussions of
texts from the reader or website readings.
The online component of this class will consist of a video lecture that
you will be expected to watch for each week.
This will free up time during class to discuss the week’s documents from
the source reader (Andrea, Overfield) above. On the university level, I assume that you
will complete the assigned readings for each week. It is also assumed that you will attend all
classes.
Workload
Expectation: You are
expected to complete the assigned readings from the Andrea, Overfield text
prior to class (see schedule below). This
amounts to approximately 8-12 pages for each class meeting. Readings from the textbook vary depending on
the topic. Over the course of the term
there are three outside-of-class essays assigned. These require a thoughtful reading of the
documents and written responses to an essay prompt. Students who need help with their writing are
encouraged to take time to visit the Academic Success Center (ASC) which has
tutors equipped to help students in History courses.
Evaluation
and Grading: Your grade for the semester will be based on three
tests (10%, 20%, 30% respectively), the average of your two highest essay
grades (30%) and 10% for participation.
Please see the Grading Guidelines sheet posted on my website (above) for
specific grading criteria regarding written work.
Tests: Tests will follow the standard AP History
Free-Response Question format. This type
of test is designed to assess your ability to work with and understand primary
sources. Each test will consist of one
question and a set of accompanying documents.
Grades will be based on fulfilling the following objectives: Your essay will contain a thesis which will be supported with evidence from the sources.
It should rely on/analyze a majority
of the documents, address all parts of the question and consider the source’s point of view.
Test topics will come from supplemental texts,
lectures, class discussions, occasional video material, and the textbook. Test dates are listed below.
1.
1 October
2.
31 October
3.
7 December
(10:30-12:30)
MP4 Lectures: You are expected to watch/listen to a 40-50
minute each week prior to Wednesday’s class.
The video will be posted by Monday of each week. Be prepared to answer questions based on the
information from the week’s MP4 in Wednesday’s class.
Essays. Three short essays (2-3 typewritten pages in
length) will be assigned during the course of the semester over supplemental
readings. The average of the top two
essays will make up 30% of your final grade.
Late papers are not accepted. See
Essay Questions and Due Dates page below.
Attendance is mandatory.
If you miss more than 3 classes (the equivalent of one week) consider
the effect on your grade. Should you
miss more, please do not offer excuses, notes or request special
consideration. Keep in mind a) that
“dropping a course” is perfectly legitimate when circumstances arise that
prevent you from completion, and b) that I should not be expected to change
class expectations based on your circumstances.
You
are responsible for all class assignments regardless of attendance. Quizzes covering assigned readings may be
given at any time and factored into the course grade at the discretion of the
instructor. If you are unable to
complete this course, you should withdraw from it. Please note that if you miss more than the
equivalent of one-week’s worth of class, I may drop you from the course. The last date to drop is Tuesday, November 13.
If you want mercy, pray; grace, see the Department of
Religion located on the third floor of PUMC.
Texas Wesleyan University
Policies:
Academic Integrity
Familiarize yourself with Wesleyan’s Student Code of
Conduct. Academics are not only devoted
to learning, research, and the advancement of knowledge, but also to the
development of ethically sensitive and responsible persons. By accepting
membership in this class, you are joining a community characterized by free
expression, free inquiry, honesty, respect for others, and participation in
constructive change. All rights and
responsibilities exercised within this academic environment shall be compatible
with these principles.
Academic Dishonesty is a breach of the Student Code of
Conduct. Dishonesty includes:
1.
Plagiarism,
representing the work of another as one's own work;
2.
Preparing work for
another that is to be used as that person's own work;
3.
Cheating by any
method or means;
4.
Knowingly and
willfully falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and
representing the same to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or
research;
5.
Knowingly
furnishing false information to a university official relative to academic
matters;
6.
Soliciting,
aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting conduct in violation of this code.
Academic
Dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. Any offense will result in an
F in the class (not simply on the assignment) and be referred to the
appropriate academic officials for adjudication. If you have any questions
regarding this subject please see me.
For a detailed description and further clarification, please see the link
for “Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty” on my website, the 2017-2019 Wesleyan
Catalog (p. 84-86), or the Student Handbook.
Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA)
·
Texas Wesleyan
University adheres to a disability policy which is in keeping with relevant
federal law. The University will provide appropriate accommodation as
determined by the Director of the Counseling Center, Dr. Michael Ellison.
Students must notify instructors of any permanent or temporary disabilities and
must provide documentation regarding those disabilities prior to the granting
of an accommodation. For assistance, students should consult with Dr. Ellison
at mellison@txwes.edu
or via phone at (817) 531-7565.
·
Course syllabi are
intended to provide students with basic information concerning the course. The
syllabus can be viewed as a 'blueprint' for the course; changes in the syllabus
can be made and students will be informed of any substantive changes concerning
examinations, the grading or attendance policies and changes in project
assignments.
Unified
Discrimination and Harassment Reporting (Including Title IX)
As noted in the catalog under the Unified
Discrimination and Harassment Policy, Texas Wesleyan University is committed to
providing an environment free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and
sexual harassment. If you have
experienced any such discrimination or harassment, including gender- or
sex-based forms, know that help and support are available from the following
resources:
• Complete
online incident report at https://txwes.edu/incident-report-form/
• Contact
Campus Conduct Hotline (24 hours a day): (866) 943-5787
• Campus
security (24 hours a day): (817) 531-4911
• Dean
of Students: deanofstudents@txwes.edu OR (817) 531-4872
• Please
be aware that all Texas Wesleyan University employees, other than designated
confidential resources (i.e., Community Counseling Center) are required to
report credible evidence of prohibited discrimination or harassment to the
University’s Title IX Coordinator, or to one of the Title IX Assistant
Coordinators. If you wish to speak to
someone confidentially, please contact the Community Counseling Center at (817)
531-4859 to schedule an appointment.
Note: Course syllabi are intended to provide students with
basic information concerning the course. The syllabus can be viewed as a
“blueprint” for the course; changes in the syllabus can be made and students
will be informed of any substantive changes concerning examinations, the
grading or attendance policies and changes in project assignments.
Classroom
Participation: Class discussion is an integral part of any
class. Students are expected to complete
the required readings before coming to class.
If you do not complete the assigned readings prior to a class meeting,
you may be quizzed or asked to leave the classroom. Participation in class discussions will make
the difference if your final course grade is borderline. Please also note that you cannot fully
participate if you are not prepared for class; this entails not just reading
but, especially for Wednesday classes, watching/listening to the week’s MP4
lecture.
Make-up
for the exams is discouraged and will
be administered only for officially excused absences. Students normally perform poorly on make-up
exams. Please note that the format of
any makeup exam will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Internet/Blackboard: Feel free to
send email to the address above. Please
assume I have no idea who you are so include your name and course number in the
message. Keep in mind that I will not
entertain discussion about grades, missed classes &etc over email—that’s
why faculty have office hours. In
addition, this syllabus, the lecture/reading schedule, some of the course
readings and any other class handouts will be posted on the above web
address. Announced changes to the
lecture/reading schedule will be reflected in the schedule’s online
version. All MP4s will be posted on and student
work turned in through Blackboard.
Writing for this course should employ standard academic
formatting—double spaced, typed—with citations following either MLA or Chicago
style. If you need help with this see
the guides on the links page of the class website, the Wesleyan library or the
instructor. Correct use of source
information and citations is assumed on the college level. Failure to cite or format according to one of
the styles listed will result in a lower grade.
See Grading Guidelines on the class webpage for specific grading
criteria regarding written work. As
stated above, the ASC has dedicated tutors for History, who can help with
writing and studying so that you can improve your performance in this course.
Miscellaneous:
·
Education is a
privilege not a right. While some
institutions market education as a product, I offer no product but rather
facilitate an opportunity. I follow the
traditional liberal arts model. In a
nutshell that means you should never say things like “I paid a lot of money for
this class,” “I need a C to maintain my GPA or scholarship” or “I always make
As on tests in other classes.” Do not
insult me or demean yourself by attempting to bargain for a grade.
·
I facilitate
learning. The burden of learning is
always on you.
·
Since I cannot
compete with your gods, please turn your cell phones and other mobile devices
(AKA “gods”) off and put them away. If a
mobile device makes a sound of any kind during a class, the entire class is
subject to a pop reading quiz.
·
Do not arrive late
to class. If you cannot consistently
arrive on time you should probably drop.
·
Once a class
meeting is underway, please do not leave/come back—plan accordingly for
bathroom activities.
·
“Extra Credit” is
a term I remember from high school.
Don’t insult yourself or me by using it.
·
Since much of the
class material can be related to current events (national and international),
you should have a sense of what’s going on (i.e. headline news). This, by the way, is one mark of an “educated”
person.
·
I grade the quality
of your work rather than the amount of time and effort you spend on it.
My Goal in teaching this class is not that you learn the
history of the period covered in this course.
(Learning about the past is, however, an important consequence.) Rather, my goal is to teach you how to think
critically about the major events and developments of the past which is more
useful. For our purposes, therefore,
ideas will hold precedence over facts, dates, and the like. It is important that you consider the
classroom an open forum for discussion—of anything related to the themes and
topics of the course. (Of course, any
argument—whether spoken or written—must be supported.) While I (or other students) may challenge
beliefs/perspectives, realize that the purpose is not to change them. An open/tolerant attitude is essential in
this class. Remember—this is a college
course where you ought to be able to discuss things openly and
intelligently. If you choose to be
intolerant and interrupt class discussion, I reserve the right to ask you to
leave the classroom.
Tentative
Class Topic and Reading Schedule
(Bentley=textbook. Other readings come from the Andrea/Overfield
(AO) reader and are referred to by document number (see AO table of contents),
while links are readings found online.)
Aug
20 |
Introduction |
Aug
22 |
How
to read primary sources Readings: Andrea P1-P15 |
Aug 27 |
Order: Mesopotamia Readings: Bentley
1 (pp. 8-17); AO 1, 2; The Myth-Making Outlook of the Ancient Near
East; Jonah |
Aug 29 |
Ancient Hebrews Readings: Bentley
1 (pp. 18-24); AO 12, 13, 19; Leviticus 19; Isaiah; Job |
Sept 5 |
Order: Egypt Readings: Bentley
2 (pp. 26-40); AO 3, 4, AO Multiple Voices I |
Sept 10 |
Classical Societies:
Introduction Readings: Bentley
3; AO 7, 8, 9 |
Sept 12 |
China and Confucius Readings: Bentley
6; AO 20, 21, 22, 23 |
Sept 17 |
India and Salvation Readings: Bentley
7; AO 14, 15, 16, 17 |
Sept 19 |
Persia and Zarathustra Readings: Bentley
5; AO 18, Inscriptions of Cyrus and Darius I |
Sept 24 |
Persia and Greece in the
Ancient World Readings: Bentley
8 (pp. 136-141); AO 10, Selections from the Iliad, Xenophon, A Spartan Childhood,
|
Sept 26 |
DBQ Test Primer |
Oct 1 |
Test 1 |
Oct 3, 8 |
Classical Greece and
Hellenism Readings: Bentley
8 (pp. 139-147); AO 24, Thucydides, Method of Historical Inquiry,
Thucydides, The Funeral Oration of Pericles,
Selections from
Antigone, 27, Aristotle, "Nicomachean Ethics" |
Oct 10, 15 |
Republican Rome Readings: Bentley
8 (pp.147-149); Polybius, The Roman Army, Livy, Lucretia & Sabine Women, Livy, The Second Punic War, Dio Cassius, In Defense of Caesar and Monarchy, Cicero, On Duty |
Oct 17 |
Imperial Rome Readings: Bentley
8 (pp. 149-154), 9 (pp. 170-174); AO 35, 36, Aurelius, Meditations;
Jerome, The Fate of Rome |
Oct 22 |
Rome and Christianity Readings: Bentley
8 (pp. 154-157); 9, AO 42, 43, 44, Augustine, City of God |
Oct 24 |
Legacies
of Rome: Byzantium/Western Europe Readings: Bentley 10; AO Multiple
Voices VIII |
Oct
29 |
Legacy of Rome: Islam Readings:
Bentley 11; AO 45, 46, 47, Multiple Voices VI |
Oct 31 |
Test 2 |
Nov
5 |
The
Mongol Conquests Readings: Bentley 14; AO 77, 79, 81 |
Nov 7 |
Migration, trade, and empire
in Sub-Saharan Africa Readings: Bentley
15; AO 66, 67, 68 |
Nov
12 |
Medieval
Europe Readings: Bentley 16; Feudal documents; Innocent
III, On the Misery of the Human Condition |
Nov
14 |
Europe:
the High Middle Ages Readings: Bentley 16; AO 64,
Aquinas, Summa, Abelard, Inquiry into Divergent Views of Church
Fathers, John of Salisbury, On the Liberal Arts, What is a Scholar? |
Nov
26 |
Tolerance
and Intolerance: Islamic and Christian Spain Readings: Bentley 16; Ibn
Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain;
Royal Grants to the Jewish Community of
Barcelona; The Expulsion from Spain
|
Nov
28 |
European
Renaissance Readings: Bentley 18; Jean de
Venette, The Black Death,
Boccaccio, Decameron;
Pico, Oration on the Dignity of Man, Machiavelli, Prince |
Dec
3 |
Beginnings
of European Dominance Readings: Bentley 18; AO 72, 84, 85,
Sale, Conquest of Paradise, Treaty of Westphalia; |
Dec 7 |
Final Exam (10:30-12:30) |
HIS 2301
Essay Questions and Due Dates
Fall 2018
Papers should fully answer
each set of questions, be logical, coherent, and grammatically sound. Keep in mind that good essays contain
specific rather than generalized information/examples and rely on primary
sources.
The objective of these
assignments is for you to demonstrate an understanding of and ability to base
arguments on primary sources. None of
the questions asks for an opinion, but all require an argument, which is based
on evidence.
All essays must be 2-3 pages
(typed and double-spaced, 12-point font with 1-inch margins all around, MLA or
Chicago/Turabian style). Paper will be
submitted in Blackboard by 11:59 pm on the dates listed below. The will be marked online according to the grading
rubric there. You are responsible for
reading my comments. Late papers are not
accepted.
Remember that only two of the
papers will count toward your final course grade. If you write all three, only the top two
grades will be used.
Essay 1: Due 19 September
Explain the perspectives of
Confucianism (AO 21), Legalism (AO 22) and Daoism (AO 20, 23) and how each
seeks to provide order.
Argue which philosophical
system offers the best opportunity for creating an orderly society.
Essay 2: Due 7 November
We have discussed the legacy
of Rome being manifest in three different cultures: Islamic civilization,
Byzantium and Western Europe. Begin by
comparing and contrasting these cultural groups.
Then, by drawing on primary
sources (or the lack thereof) construct an argument that explains why Islamic
civilization by 1100 far surpassed the other two.
Essay 3: Due 3 December
Based on
Machiavelli’s The Prince, describe the ideal attributes of a political
leader. How does his concept of human nature differ from the medieval view of
humanity discussed in class?
How does
Machiavelli’s view differ from humanists of his day (e.g. Pico, Erasmus, More)?
Machiavelli also
argues that to achieve a desirable ends, any method can be justified. Do you
agree with his argument that morality should be removed from politics? (As you
argue one side or the other, consider the implications of divorcing morality
from political discourse. The use of a
contemporary example to illustrate your argument would not be out of place
here.)