HISTORY 102
WORLD HISTORY SINCE 1500
SUMMER TERM 2015
JUNE 8-JULY 2
Instructor: Jenny Smith
E-mail: jennifer.smith@wku.edu
Phone: 270-218-0516
Course website: https://blackboard.wku.edu
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to the global past since 1500. It helps students to understand the
diversity of and the connections between the world’s cultures and ideologies, as well as become
acquainted with its political, social, and economic history. We will utilize lectures, readings, and class
discussions to introduce major phases, achievements, turning points, and individuals impacting world
history. We will also learn to think analytically about how people have created and adapted societies
and institutions in response to the challenges and opportunities that have confronted them in the past.
Major themes in this course include:
-Change, Continuity, & Connections
-Cross-Cultural Interaction and Transfers
-Consumption, Production, & Human Environmental Consequences
-Ideologies & Lived Experiences
-Spectrum of Power Relations: Dominance, Interdependence, Agency/Resistance
Required Readings and Materials:
1. Textbook: Robert W. Strayer, Ways of the World–A Brief Global History with Sources
(Volume 2-Since the Fifteenth Century), Second Edition [ISBN 9780312583491]. You can find
this book in one of WKU’s bookstores OR through an online marketplace (recommended).
Used is fine. You MUST have the SECOND EDITION, with SOURCES. Any other edition, or
one without sources, is useless to this course.
2. Primary Documents not in the textbook will be posted on the course site under the
“Documents” file.
3. Computer with internet access-this is an online course. Delivery of lecture, discussions,
documents, and any other course materials will be conducted entirely through our Blackboard
website and/or email. Microsoft Word is very helpful in writing your papers.
Course Objectives:
This course helps fulfill requirements for Category A: Foundations – Intellectual and Practical Skills in
the Western Kentucky University General Education (Colonnade) program. After successful
completion of this course students will be able to:
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-understand the concept and practice of history as an interpretive framework
-comprehend significant events, peoples, major turning points, and ideas in world history
-understand cause and effect relationships in history and understand historical method
-analyze primary and secondary sources
-understand the diverse interpretations and methodologies
-think critically to construct informed and ethical arguments
-effectively communicate ideas in written and oral formats
-write analytical essays applying historical knowledge, theory, and research methods
Course General Education Goals:
History 102 aims to prepare students for their college career (and life!) by emphasizing the following
goals of the course:
*critical thinking: prepare students to make informed decisions and ethical choices by examining
historical examples (perhaps Napoleon should have taken this course before invading Russia…)
*informed citizenship: develop knowledge of and concern for a multicultural world historical
perspective
*increase awareness of how personal bias and opinion shape historical analysis
*social engagement: encourage students to become actively engaged in issues affecting their lives and
the lives of others
*Participation: Because this course is offered in an online format, you will be required to devote even
more time to it than you would a traditional course. Weekly discussions, quizzes, and other means of
participation will be factored into your final grade. This course will be rigorous and demand much of
your time for the four weeks you are enrolled. Please make the decision to dedicate the time necessary.
I DO NOT OFFER EXTRA CREDIT.
Behavior Policies:
I realize that you are technically still high school students; however, you are also college students. You
are embarking upon a journey that many folks may not begin for years, if ever. Your college career
consists of more than just memorizing facts and figures. It also entails learning how to engage those
around you in healthy, constructive, and enlightening discussion while remaining respectful and polite,
even if you do not necessarily agree with what is being said. Again, this is how we learn not just the
content, but how to interact with one another as adults. Be prepared to issues may be new to you, and
to also confront views that you may not agree with. Respect yourselves and your classmates. Our
interactive classroom will be one where each individual can speak freely; we will be discussing a variety
of issues highly sensitive in nature. History is, after all, the study of past events and peoples-not all of
them pleasant. You will begin this course with an open mind, and will be courteous in all manners of
communication. I will not tolerate disrespect of any kind through any means toward anyone at all, in
my courses, online or in the classroom.
Academic Honestly & Plagiarism:
All work you turn in MUST be your own. Student work may be checked using plagiarism detection
software, including Turnitin.com. Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive a score of 0 points for
the assignment.
As a student of WKU, you are expected to demonstrate academic integrity as outlined in the
University’s “Student Life Policies on Student Rights and Responsibilities” in the WKU Student
Handbook and available online at http://www.wku.edu/judicialaffairs/studentrightsresponsibilities.php. Violations of the academic code include, but are not limited to, cheating (by
giving or receiving unauthorized information before or during an exam or assignment), dishonesty
(including misrepresentation and/or lying), copying (submitting work completed for another class) and
plagiarism. Plagiarism consists of turning in work that is not your own-including, but not limited to,
copying from a book/article, pasting text from webpages, using an internet source to obtain all or part
of a paper and quoting material in a paper and not crediting the original author with proper citation
(Chicago Manual of Style). Cases of academic dishonesty may be referred to The Office of Judicial
Affairs for review, where the sanctions for academic dishonesty outlined in the WKU Student
Handbook and available online at http://www.wku.edu/judicialaffairs/sanctions.phpmay be applied.
Long story short: DON’T PLAGAIRIZE!!! Plagiarism is bad, and it is not worth your time or trouble! I
would much rather read something that is reaally bad but original, rather than something that has
been copied from another source and passed off as your own…and I CAN tell the difference. Don’t
even try it. Don’t even think about trying it.
Students with Disabilities:
I am more than happy to accommodate students with disabilities. Those who qualify for special
accommodations should contact myself, or David Coffey at the Office for Student Disability Services,
in the Student Success Center in Downing Student Union (745-5004). The OFSDS will work with you
and me to make this happen. However, please let me know as soon as possible, so that we can get a
jump on making arrangements for you to get the most out of this course! 
Blackboard:
Blackboard can be both annoying and confusing; believe me, I know this-never fear. A few tips to help
you:
*Go to WKU’s main page, www.wku.edu, and click on “Blackboard” under the “Quick Links” tab.
*Enter your ID and password (same as email) and Log In
*Then READ THE PAGES-step by step instructions available
*Click on the link for this course, then click on the buttons to access our documents
**** You also have been assigned a TopperMail account (the email should look something like this:
your.name123@topper.wku.edu). I will use THIS email and no other to communicate with you, so
please do not rely on a Hotmail, google, or other email account to receive communication from this
course. This email and your Blackboard site are the ways in which I will get important information to
you. PLEASE get into the habit of checking this email daily. If you email me with a request to utilize
another form of email to reach you, the email will be ignored. I will also not reply to any email
communication that is not your Toppermail account. I teach more than one course, and I use your
Toppermail to keep track of each of you.
***I do not expect you to be experts on the study of history in any capacity. I am here to help you
better understand the content and to hopefully construct a solid knowledge base from which you can
continue to build. I will help you navigate your way through this course and hopefully, help you
become more proficient college students. I believe that each of you can do this work with no problems,
and finish the semester successfully. We learn by asking, so please ask questions if you have them.
Email is the most efficient way to contact me as I will usually get back to you right away. Again, my
email is jennifer.smith@wku.edu. I am available through email, text, or by phone almost anytime; if
you need to contact me, do not hesitate. With that being said, please do not call me at midnight the
night before an exam or paper.  You should get a response from me fairly quickly. I am here to help
you!
*If at any time you feel as though you are falling behind or you are just not feeling it, please get in
touch with me. It is much easier to nip problems in the bud early on than to let them snowball. My
job is to help you be successful and I am willing to talk with you at any time during the semester. If we
need to meet face to face, we can arrange to do so. I look forward to the things each of you have to say.
You have everything you need to be successful in this course, and your classmates will be a great
source of information if you choose to interact with them as necessary. We are going to have a great
semester. History is FUN!!
***a complete course schedule will be available via Blackboard and TopNet beginning June 1***