Office: Morton 228
Office Hours: MW 11-12 and M 4-6 p.m.
Phone: 962-3309
Email: pollardl@uncw.edu
HST 103: The Formation and Development of a Global World, 1500-1848
This course aims to cover the major themes in global history in the early modern era, or 1500-1848. Its geographic focus is global in context, but the majority of our attention will be focused on Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Our thematic foci will be exploration, expansion, conquest, trade, colonization and empire. We will look at transformations in political and economic systems, along with the cultural changes that produced, and were in turn produced by, political and economic change.
The class meets three times a week and will consist of lectures, which will be complemented by unstructured discussions and debates. We will also have several formal discussion meetings over the course of the semester.
This syllabus is subject to change; I will communicate any such changes with you in a timely fashion via email.
This section of HST 103 has been selected to participate in the campus-wide General Education Assessment process for Fall 2010. One existing assignment for this course will be chosen for this purpose. This assignment will be graded by me as explained in the syllabus. The separate scoring of the assignment for the purposes of General Education assessment WILL NOT affect your grade in the course, or any other course work at UNCW. It will, however, help the university to identify potential ways to improve student learning in general. Your name will be removed from your work, so your confidentiality will be maintained during the scoring and tabulation processes. I will communicate with you about this process over the course of the semester.
Required texts: All of the following are REQUIRED and available online, at the campus bookstore as well as Seahawk Books in University Landing:
Bernard Lewis, Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire
Robert Marks, The Origins of the Modern World
D.E. Mungello, The Great Encounter of China and the West
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe
Stuart Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished
* Students are also required to purchase a “clicker” from the campus bookstore (or, online, as per the TAC webpage). You must have a clicker ready for use and registered online (again, as per the TAC webpage) by Wednesday, August 25th.
Course Requirements:
--Attendance of all lectures.
--Completion of all reading on time. The syllabus indicates the readings that accompany each lecture.
--Attendance, participation, quizzes, pop quizzes. Attendance of this class is mandatory. I will use the quizzes and pop quizzes (which will be done via “clickers”) as a means of taking spot attendance checks; attendance of scheduled discussion sections is also mandatory. More than four absences—for whatever reason—means an automatic failure of the class. Your performance on all quizzes, as well as your presence and engagement in discussion sections count for 20% of your final grade.
--Two papers, 4 pages in length. (15% each; 30% total) Students are responsible for writing two essays, typed and double-spaced, in which you will respond to a question related to the readings. A guide to writing the essays will be handed out in class one week prior to each of the due dates; questions to guide you in your reading will also be distributed regularly. Essays that are turned in late will be penalized one point, or one percent of your total course grade for each day of lateness. Essays must be turned in, in class, on the day they are due. I will not accept electronic submissions. No exceptions.
--Examinations. 50%. Students are responsible for taking one mid-term exam worth 20% of the final grade, and one final exam worth 30% of the final grade. Exams consist of multiple choice, identification, and essay questions.
Grading Scale: A = 96-100; A- = 90-95. B+ = 86-89; B = 82-85; B- = 80-81. C+ = 76-79; C = 72-75; C- = 70-71. D+ = 66-69; D= 63-65; D- = 60-62; F=59.
If your grade falls between two groups (i.e. 95.5), be advised that I round “up.”
On decorum, in class and out:
-Please turn off and put away your cell phones in class.
-Computers are allowed in the lecture hall, but are to be used for note-taking alone. Forgive me if that seems Neanderthal, but my recent experience with students preferring to check email and Facebook during my lectures has led to this policy. If you use of your computer for means other than note taking, and if that use distracts me or those around you, I will ask you to leave the classroom and you will be considered absent for the day.
-You are welcome to communicate with me via email. When you do so, please observe the following:
-Identify yourself, and the class that you are in.
-Address me appropriately. (i.e. “Dear Dr. Pollard or, “Professor Pollard.”) Since I will not be addressing you as “Hey,” I respectfully ask the same of you.
-Include an indication of the nature of your email in the subject line.
- Be patient: emails sent to me after 5 p.m. will most probably be answered the following morning.
On absences on test days:
-The only excused absence for a test is your own documented illness or a documented family emergency. By documented, I mean you go to the UNCW clinic or some other medical facility and you ask for a note. If you must attend a funeral, you need to provide me with evidence of the event. If you contact me BEFORE the exam and you can provide me with the proper documentation, then you can make up the exam.
In any other case, if you miss an exam you can take an oral make-up exam in my office for ˝ credit.
Important Note:
This course complies with the UNCW Academic Honesty Policy, which is documented in the Undergraduate Catalogue and in the Student Handbook. Plagiarism will result in your automatic failure of the class. When you write your book reviews, any direct citation of more than 25 words in length must be footnoted. If you paraphrase, be careful to use your own words rather than those of the author in question.
Week One:
Wednesday, August 18: Introduction to the course. Introduction to the discipline of history.
Friday, August 20: Is the West best? Transitions.
Reading:
Robert Marks, The Origins of the Modern World, “Introduction,” pp. 1-20.
Section I: Trade, Exploration, Conquest, Empire: The Globe Encompassed
Schedule of lectures: Monday, August 23 through Monday, September 13: Nine lectures
23-25: The Islamic World and the Indian Ocean
27-September 1: The Ottomans; Europe in transition; the beginnings of Portuguese exploration.
3: Africa
8: Mesoamerica
10-13: The Confucian World
Reading:
Robert Marks, The Origins of the Modern World, chapter 1 “The Material and Trading Worlds ca. 1400,” and chapter 2, “Starting with China; ” and chapter 3, “Empires, States and the New World,” through page 84.
Bernard Lewis, Istanbul, chapter 1 “The Conquest,” chapter 2, “The Conquerors,” and chapter 5, “The City.”
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, 1450-1850, chapters 1 and 2.
D.E. Mungello, The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800, chapter 1
Stuart Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished, pp. 1-28.
Section II: New forms of Conquests, Trade and Empire: The Globe Transformed
Schedule of lectures: Wednesday, September 15 through Friday, October 1. Nine lectures
September 15-17: Europe in transition, cont’d.
20-24: Europe, the Americas, Africa
27-October 1: The Columbian Exchange, Africa, China and the West
Readings:
Robert Marks, The Origins of the Modern World, chapter 3, “Empires, States and the New World,” 84-94.
D.E. Mungello, The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800, chapters 2-3.
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, chapters 3 and 4.
Stuart Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished, chapters 1, 3, 6 and 8.
Schedule of discussion and exams:
Monday October 4: Fall Break
Wednesday, October 6: In-class discussion of the readings.
Friday, October 8: Your first essay, based on the readings from Section I and II, will be due at the beginning of class. We will also hold a discussion and review session for the mid-term that day.
Monday, October 11: Exam, part I: multiple choice and identification questions
Wednesday, October 13: Exam, part II: essay. Bring a blue book with you to class; do not put your name on it.
Section III: Intellectual, Cultural and Political Transformations.
Schedule of lectures: Friday, October 15- Monday, November 1: Nine lectures
October 15-2O: Europe in transition: politics, economics, empire
22-27: Revolutions in the Atlantic World: North America, France, Latin America
29-Nov 1: The beginnings of “Westernization” in the Ottoman Empire and China.
Readings:
Bernard Lewis, Istanbul, chapter 3, “Sovereigns and Rulers,” chapter 4, “Palace and Government,” and chapter 5, “Faith and Learning.”
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, chapter 5
D.E. Mungello, The Great Encounter of China and the West, chapters 4 and 5.
Section IV: The Industrial Revolution and its Global Consequences
Schedule of lectures: Wednesday, November 3-Wednesday December 3: Eight lectures
November 3-5: The (early) industrial revolution (1760s-1850)
8 Industrialization and European political and economic transformations
10: Industrialization and the Ottomans
12: The Opium Wars and China
15: India: From the Mughals to the British
17: Industrialization and Africa
19: The rise of the USA as an industrial power
22: The USA and Japan; the USA and the Americas
Readings:
Marks, The Origins of the Modern World, chapter 4, “The Industrial Revolution and Its Consequences,” and chapter 5, “The Gap.”
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, chapter 6.
Discussion and exam schedule:
Monday, November 29: In-class discussion of the readings from Sections III and IV
Your final essay, based on the readings from Sections III and IV will be due in class on Wednesday, December 1. We will have a review session for the final on that day.
Your final exam will take place in this lecture hall on Monday December 6, 2010, from 8 am to 11 am