MONTGOMERY COLLEGE A North Harris Montgomery Community College HIST 2321 / World Civilizations to 1500 Dr. J. Ross-Nazzal / Fall 2004 CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This course examines the history of human societies from the earliest evidences of ancient peoples until contact between European and western hemispheric cultures at the end of the fifteenth century. Consideration is given to all major cultural regions in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and India, East Asia, Africa and Latin America. Emphasis is placed upon comparative aspects of history, and upon interactions among the major cultural regions. CREDIT: 3.0 hours, transferable to any 4-year institution in the state of Texas PREREQUISITES: College level reading and writing. ADA STATEMENT: If you require reasonable accommodations because of a physical, mental, or learning disability, please notify the instructor of this course within the first two weeks of the term. PURPOSE History 2321 studies the broader questions and trends in world history. COURSE OUTCOMES Upon successful completion of this course, you will need to identify key events, people, institutions, and trends in the history of the major world cultures prior to 1492; Describe the critical interactions among the major world cultures prior to 1492; Explain the role of economic, political and cultural factories in the development of human society; Compare and contrast the development of each major world cultures prior to 1492 with the development of the others; and, Assess the impact of the historical development on contemporary issues. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Politics: How were people governed and what were the relationships between the governed and the government? Ideas: How did intellectual history develop? How were intellectual ideas transmitted from civilization to civilization? Economics: Examine the various economic systems from their inceptions. Gender: What were the roles, duties, obligations, and significances of the family, children, men, and women in world civilizations? Society: How did class manifest itself? What was the significance of class on world civilizations? Culture: Examine the particular cultures of the major world civilizations, how they changed over time, and how cultures were spread from civilization to civilization. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Religion: Examine the creation, development, and maturation of the world's great religions to include Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. How have these religions (tenets and actions) impacted history? Environment: How have the ebbing and flowing of history impacted the environment and how has the environment impacted history? Migration: People have moved from one place to another, sometimes peacefully and sometimes violently, thus we need to examine not only the reasons behind migration but also the impact on the indigenous populations; cultural conflict; it is called "contact zones" in world historiography. Science: Examine the developments in science; compare and contrast scientific developments and usages among various civilizations. Technology: Examine the developments in technology; How has technology impacted civilizations? Compare and contrast technological developments and usages among various civilizations Individuals: History is more than trends or groups. History is people and thus specific people must always be examined from the great leaders and thinkers to the average person affected by the great leaders and thinkers. People's actual words, whenever possible, must be examined and analyzed, as opposed to talking about specific people. PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING In the event of cheating or plagiarism you will receive an “F” in the course. Complete the plagiarism exercise by start of class, Tuesday August 31st. CONTACT Instructor: Office: Office Hours: Email: Web page: Required texts: J. Ross-Nazzal, Ph.D. A220L; 936-273-7057 MWF 12:00-1:00; TuTh 9:00-9:50 and 1:00-2:00; or, by appointment I will read and respond to my email during my office hours. jrn@nhmccd.edu http://ppl.nhmccd.edu/~jross-nazzal/ Duiker, World History (Comprehensive), 4th edition. Schlesinger, et al, Global Passages (Vol. I) Dunn, Adventures of Ibn Battuta COURSE DESCRIPTION This semester is an in-depth, intensive, over-arching survey of major world civilizations from their origins to 1500 stressing and interpreting social, cultural, intellectual, religious, economic and political developments of and among European, African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Amerindian societies and their contributions to humankind. ATTENDANCE Life is too short to repeat in lecture what is available to you in the textbooks, thus relentless attendance is required. If you miss a few days you truly miss a lot because the lectures are tightly integrated. In other words, you will have a harder time understanding later lectures if you miss the earlier ones. While I lecture, you must take copious and meaningful notes. Please do not just jot down the few words that appear on the PowerPoint slides as those are merely the most generalized outline and I place them there usually to keep me on track. You should also take good notes during the lectures because you will be able to use your lecture notes when you take the exams, provided that: 1) the notes are written (no typed notes unless you happen to use a laptop in class); 2) the notes are in your handwriting (no photo copies); and, 3) the notes are dated for each lecture. Do not interrupt the class by arriving late or leaving early as neither will be tolerated. During graded assignments (such as exams and quizzes) I will close the door when the assignments begin, thus please do not enter the classroom as it is both rude and a distraction to those who arrived on time. In the event a student misses class, she or he is still responsible for all material covered in class and all announcements made in class. GRADING Grading. There are several different types of graded assignments this semester and to include exams, short writing assignments, reading quizzes, map quizzes, cultural assignments, and a book review. Exams. There are three exams this semester. The first exam covers Chapters 1-5. The second exam covers Chapters 6-12. The third exam is relatively comprehensive and will cover chapters 1-15, with an emphasis on the last three chapters. Each exam will consist of a major essay, short answers, and identifications. Each exam is worth 100 points. During the regularly scheduled exam, you will tackle the short answers and identifications in class. This part of the exam will be worth 50 points. The long essay will be completed outside of class – please do not forget to bring it with you on the day of the regularly scheduled exam as I will not accept any late essays. You will use evidence from the textbook, the Schlessinger text, and my lectures, and you may use any outside yet non-electronic (web, data bases, etc.) sources of your choice. All evidence must be cited in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style, the Turabian Method, or MLA. The long essays must be, at a minimum, three typed pages. Use Times New Roman, 12 font with margins no larger than 1 inch all around; double-spaced, of course. Each essay must have a cover sheet (your name, class, essay title, date) stapled to it. None of the information on the cover sheet will appear on the essay. I will not accept essays that do not adhere to theses requirements. There is a study guide for each exam, which can be located on the second page of my web site (“Links-nStuff”). Collectively, exams are worth 30% of your final grade. Make up exams are only allowed for the first two exams. All make up exams will be taken in the Testing Center no later than seven days after the regularly scheduled examination date/time or else you will lose all possible points for that exam. Make-up exams will consist of one essay of my choice and devise. Please do not ask for any special treatment. Writing Assignments. From the Schlesinger text you will select one document from the chapters covered that week and type up your responses to the questions in no less than one full page. Staple a cover sheet to each writing assignment that contains the class, your name, and the title and number of the document. None of the information on the cover sheet will be found on the page(s) of typed answers. See schedule below for due dates. Each is worth fifteen (15) points, thus the writings assignments are worth 150 points or 15% of your final grade. I do not accept late work. You will be allowed to use your writing assignments to aid you during the regularly scheduled exams. Reading Quizzes. You will take ten quizzes (noted as RQ below) based on the assigned readings from the textbook for that day. Each will consist of ten multiple-guess questions or statements. Each quiz will be given at the start of class, thus do not be late. Once the quiz begins, the door will be closed. Please do not enter until the quiz is over. It is both rude and an interruption to enter class while your colleagues are in the middle of a graded exercise. Each reading quiz is worth fifteen points, thus this part is worth 150 points or 15% of your final grade. There are no make-up reading quizzes, in part, because these assignments are devised to help keep you current with the assigned textbook readings so please do not ask for any special treatment. Map Quizzes. There will be four (4) map quizzes this semester (see below for the specific dates and see my web site for a list of testable items). Each will consist of 25 items. Collectively, these quizzes are worth 10% of the final grade. Study Guides for the map quizzes can also be found on my web site. Cultural Assignment. You will attend one (1) non-US cultural production (for example theatre, music, dance, a festival, parade, art exhibit, movie, et cetera) this semester. There are plenty of free events on campus and throughout the community so do not feel that you have to spend money. Draft a 500-word (minimum) response/critique/description to the cultural event. Attach a cover sheet that has your name, the date and title of the event, as well as the location of the event. None of the information on the cover sheet will be found on the response/critique/description. This assignment is due no later than November 30th. This assignment is worth 100 points, or 10% of your final grade. Book Review. 20% of your semester grade will come from your written analysis of the Dunn book. It is worth 200 points. Here is the template for this assignment: This assignment is patterned after the book reviews that historians draft for professional journals such as the Journal of American History and the American Historical Review. One of the goals is to introduce a new topic, a different interpretation, or to allow you to examine more deeply a topic of your choice. Another goals of this assignment is to develop your critical thinking and analytical means because unlike a book report that merely discusses the book, a review is a critical examination of the author’s thesis, evidence, and conclusion. Your review will be, at a minimum, five full pages in length. Any submissions under five full pages in length will receive zero points. It will be double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12 font with margins no greater than 1.00”. Grade: Your grade for this assignment will be based on form and content to include grammar, spelling, analysis, and critical thinking. It must conform to the length requirements or else you will receive zero points for this assignment. I. Heading. At the top of the first page only you need to place the proper citation. Please follow this model precisely: Title of Book. By Author (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication). Page numbers. Reviewed by Your Name, Date of Review. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. By Elaine Tyler May (New York: Basic Books, 1988). vii + 284 pp. Reviewed by J. Ross-Nazzal, Dec. 6, 2004. II. Body. The review itself is a critical examination of the author’s theses, evidence, and analysis. A. One (1) to Two (2) Paragraph Introduction 1. Tell the reader about the author 2. Why is the author interested in the subject? 3. Why did the author write the book? B. Two (2) to Three (3) Pages on the subject 1. What is/are the author’s thesis/theses? 2. What evidence does the author use? 3. Is the author’s argument(s) effective? Defend your answer. C. Two (2) to Three (3) Paragraphs on what worked or did not work for you 1. What was interesting? 2. What did not work for you? Defend your answer. D. One (1) Paragraph Conclusion 1. Who would be interested in reading this book? 2. What level (novice, secondary school, undergrads, grad students, etc.) of expertise is this book written for? 3. End on a positive note. Participation. I except that you will come to class having read the assigned material and prepared to discuss the major themes with your colleagues and myself. ALWAYS bring your Schlesinger text with you and be prepared to present to the class the one document that you selected to read for each day. Grade Scale: Percentage Points 100-90 1000-900 89-80 899-800 79-70 799-700 69-60 699-600 Grade A B C D Extra Credit. Do not ask for extra credit. Complete all work in accordance with the specifications. Hand in the assignments when they are due. Thus, you will not need “extra” credit. You may, however, note that the first four writing assignments are for extra credit. Each will be worth ten (10) points AND you may, of course, use them as aids during the first exam, provided that you take it at the regularly scheduled day and time. In addition, the last five Reading Quizzes (11-15) are all for extra credit (each will be worth up to ten points). However, if you score less than five (5) correct answer on any of the extra credit reading quizzes, you will not be awarded any of the extra credit points. Finally, there will be an additional extra credit assignment made available to you. Check my website for more information. Grades. The grade of A reflects excellence. The A paper/work offers a well-focused and organized discussion appropriate to the instructor's assignment, reflects critical use of relevant materials, and demonstrates effective and formal writing requirements. Papers/work must demonstrate outstanding efforts to identify varied pertinent sources, to employ those materials critically in the text of the papers, and to provide error-free citations of those resources. The grade of B represents an effort beyond satisfactory and indicates the paper/work was completed in an appropriate and competent manner and, in general, demonstrates a strong attempt at original and critical analysis, writing, and research. The B paper/work may contain a number of minor errors of grammar or citation, and its thesis or its conclusions may be undeveloped or too weakly supported. The grade of C indicates that the paper/work was done in a satisfactory or appropriate fashion and represents the average work expected for university courses. The presentation is organized around a central idea with arguments supported by relevant examples. The paper/work is structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences. Although fulfilling the assignment, the C paper/work may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not limited to, errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or uncritical use of materials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and lack of direct relevance of the selected research materials to the topic. The grade of D indicates that the paper/work may have a poorly defined topic or thesis, lack clear focus or organization, and contain unsupported generalizations or conclusions. Research support is inadequate, not clearly relevant, or improperly documented. A less-than-minimal research effort is evident. The paper/work may also suffer from numerous or major formal writing errors. The grade of F indicates that the paper/work is not clearly relevant to the assignment and that its topic and thesis are poorly focused or defined. The paper may display inadequate organization or development, unsupported generalizations, and nonstandard formal features (including language usage, sentence structure, paragraphing, and so on). Research support is absent, inadequate, or irrelevant to the assignment. A Final Thought on Grades. Getting good grades are easy. All you have to do is keep up with the readings, attend class relentlessly, take proper notes in class, review your notes on a regular basis, and put forth your most concerted efforts in regards to the out of class assignments. No one has more control over your grades than yourselves. You will do well (i.e., pass) if you decide that studying is what is important and thus you take the necessary steps to do well. Date Topic/Assignment 08/24 Introduction 08/26 In the Beginning . . . 08/31 Ancient India 09/02 Ancient China 09/07 Greeks 09/09 Greeks 09/14 Romans 09/16 Romans 09/21 EXAM I: Chs. 1-5 09/23 Pre-Columbia America 09/28 Islam and Byzantium 09/30 Islam and Byzantium 10/05 Ancient Africa 10/07 Ancient Africa 10/12 Southern Asia 1 2 Read/Due Take Copious Notes Pay Scrupulous Attention Ch. 1 (D)1 Ch. 1 (S)2 RQ#1 E.C. Writing Assignment Due Ch. 2 (D) Ch. 2 (S) RQ#2 Ch. 3 (D) Ch. 3 (S) RQ#3 E.C. Writing Assignment Due Ch. 4 (D) Ch. 4 (S) Ch. 4 (D) Ch. 4 (S) RQ#4 E.C. Writing Assignment Due Ch. 5 (D) Ch. 4 (S) Ch. 5 (D) Ch. 4 (S) E.C. Writing Assignment Due MAP QUIZ #1 Bring Your Essay, blank paper, and pens. Ch. 6 (D) Ch. 6 (S) Writing Assignment #1 Due RQ#5 Ch. 7 (D) Ch. 7 (S) Ch. 7 (D) Ch. 7 (S) Writing Assignment #2 Due RQ#6 Ch. 8 (D) Ch. 7 (S) Ch. 8 (D) Ch. 7 (S) Writing Assignment #3 Due MAP QUIZ #2 RQ#7 Ch. 9 (D) Ch. 8 (S) RQ#8 (D) is the Duiker text, World History; read the entire chapter, unless otherwise noted. (S) is the Schlesinger text, Global Passages; select and read just one (1) document each day, unless otherwise noted. 10/14 Tang – Mongols 10/19 Tang – Mongols 10/21 Japan, Korea, and Vietnam 10/26 Japan, Korea, and Vietnam 10/28 Europe – Early Middle Ages 11/02 Europe – Early Middle Ages 11/04 EXAM II: Chs. 6-12 11/09 Europe – Late Middle Ages 11/11 Europe – Late Middle Ages 11/16 Columbian Exchange 11/18 Cultural Clash 11/23 Muslim Empires 11/30 Muslim Empires 12/02 Miscellaneous Ramblings Ch. 10 (D) Ch. 8(S) Writing Assignment #4 Due Ch. 10 (D) Ch. 9 (S) RQ#9 Ch. 11 (D) Ch. 9 (S) Writing Assignment #5 Due Ch. 11 (D) Ch. 9 (S) RQ#10 Ch. 12 (D) Ch. 10 (S) Writing Assignment #6 Due Ch. 12 (D) Ch. 10 (S) MAP QUIZ #3 RQ#11 (Extra Credit) Bring Your Essay, blank paper, and pens. Ch. 13 (D) Ch. 10 (S) Ch. 13 (D) Ch. 10 (S) Writing Assignment #7 Due RQ#12 (Extra Credit) Ch. 14 (D) Ch. 14 (S) Writing Assignment #8 Due Ch. 14 (D) Ch. 14 (S) Writing Assignment #9 Due RQ#13 (Extra Credit) Ch. 15 (D) Ch. 12 (S) Ch. 15 (D) Ch. 13 (S) Writing Assignment #10 Due RQ#14 (Extra Credit) Handout MAP QUIZ #4 RQ#15 (Extra Credit)