MELIKSAH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
(POLS 104) HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS II COURSE SYLLABUS
SPRING 2016
OFFICE HOURS: 13: 30 – 14: 30 Thursday
OFFICE: School of Economics and Administrative Sciences Building, Room: 308
CLASS DAY AND HOURS: Thursday / 09: 30 – 12: 15
INSTRUCTOR: BULENT UCAR
EMAIL: bucar@meliksah.edu.tr
Description of the Course:
This two-semester course will introduce students to the history of
civilizations in perspective of political science study. It is intended to
provide the students with the “knowledge of, appreciation for, and
understanding of the contributions to society of major world
civilizations and their histories.” The course reviews the birth and
diffusion of world civilizations from pre-history to modern times.
Attention is given to the major cultural, social, economic, and political
aspects within each civilization.
All students should study the subject with one important point in mind:
History of civilizations is not about memorizing the sequence of events,
facts and dates, but it is about critically examining continuity and
change over the time. Understanding cause and effect relationships is
important. This approach needs to lead learning from past,
understanding the current events and societies and being able to make
predictions about the future of cultures, countries, and societies.
Weekly Course Topics:
Week 1: Europe to the Early 1500s: Revival, Decline and Renaissance
PP: 424-440 (Till France in the thirteenth century part)
Week 2: Europe to the Early 1500s: Revival, Decline and Renaissance
Continued
PP: 440-458
Week 3: Europe 1500-1650: Expansion, Reformation and Religious Wars
PP: 460-475 (Till Catholic Reform and Counter-Reformation part)
Week 4: Europe 1500-1650: Expansion, Reformation and Religious Wars
Continued
PP: 475-495
Week 5: Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic
Economy
PP: 496-511 (Till The Columbian Exchange: Disease..)
Week 6: Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic
Economy Continued
PP: 511-527
Week 7: State Building and Society in Early Modern Europe
(Start Volume 2 of the Book)
PP: 476 – 493 (Till the Old Regime part)
Week 8: State Building and Society in Early Modern Europe Continued
PP: 493-506
Week 9: Political Consolidation in 19th Century Europe and North America
PP: 584-610 (The entire chapter)
Week 10: Latin America from Independence to the 1940s
PP: 642-664 (The entire chapter)
Week 11: India, the Islamic Heartlands and Africa, 1800-1945
PP: 666-677 (Till Integration of Western and Islamic Ideas)
Week 12: India, the Islamic Heartlands and Africa, 1800-1945 Continued
PP: 677- 690
Week 13: Modern East Asia
PP: 694-710 (Till Modern China (1839-1949)
Week 14: Modern East Asia Continued
PP: 710-722
Required Text Book:
Albert M Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan and Steven
Ozment, the Heritage of World Civilizations: Volume 1 and Volume
2, Ninth Edition. 2012.
Supplementary Text
Books:
J.R. McNeill, William H. McNeill, the Human Web: A Bird's - Eye
View of World History, 2003
Jerry H. Bentley and Herb F. Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters
-A Global Perspective on Past - 5th Edition, 2010.
Student Evaluation:
There will be one midterm test and one final exam. Group studies, class
participation and attendance will affect students’ final grades.
Midterm exam will be a take home exam. A short essay of 500 – 750
words for this test is required. Students will be given few short essay
questions to choose one from. The paper will be assessed on the basis of
its clarity, relevance to the chosen question and critical thinking.
The paper needs to be double spaced, 12 font size, times new roman
style.
Final exam will be an in-class exam. The test will seek to evaluate your
knowledge and understanding of the subjects discussed in the class.
Making connections between subjects reviewed and drawing
conclusions is an important purpose of this test.
Participation in Class Discussions is important part of learning
process for this class. All students are expected to read the assigned
readings every week for discussions, and to be ready to contribute to the
conversations. Group studies and presentations are important part of
each class.
Assessment Methods:
Midterm Exam: % 40
Final Exam:
% 40
Group Studies
and Class Participation:
% 20
Grading Scale:
Final grades will be awarded on a 100-point scale as follows: A=100 - 91; BA=
81 - 90; BB= 71 - 80; CB = 65 - 70; CC= 61 - 64; DC = 55 - 60; DD = 51 - 54;
FD = 36 - 50; FF = 35 or below.
Classroom Rules:
All students must carefully read and follow the Meliksah University Student
Handbook and have a complete understanding of what they are expected as a
student at Meliksah. Attendance is required. Students need to attend at least 70
percent of classes. Students should always remember that they are in a
university environment and show respect to their classmates, instructors and
the other university personnel. The students are expected to keep basic
classroom etiquette. They should also need not to talk to one another during
class, and not connected to the internet. Also, cell phones should be turned off
at all times during the class sessions. Students should come to class as prepared
and are required to do readings and finish assignments before coming to the
class.
Late Assignments:
Those students who do not come to class on exam/assignment/student
presentation days will automatically receive an ‘F’ for that specific grade item.
A 10 point / day will be deducted for late assignments; and no assignment will
be accepted if it is late more than three (3) days.
Academic Misconduct:
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Examples of misconduct include
violating rules stated in this syllabus, cheating, plagiarism (please learn in
detail and precisely what amounts to plagiarism; not knowing is not an excuse),
and dishonesty. All of the work you hand in within this course is expected to be
your own. Moreover, instances of cheating and plagiarism will be handled
according to the university disciplinary rules.
Important Note 1:
The instructor reserves the right to make changes in this syllabus if needed. If a
change takes place, the instructor will notify students about the change - in
class, through e-mail or Moodle - in advance.
Important Note 2:
You can find syllabus and weekly slides posted on my personal web site, under
the ‘Teaching’ button at: http://www.meliksah.edu.tr/bucar/?lang=en