HISTORY 101
SPRING 2013
CLASS LECTURES: MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS, 9:00-9:50 AM.
BREAK-OUT DISCUSSION SECTIONS: ODD-NUMBERED SECTIONS, WEDNESDAYS,
10:00-10:50 A.M.; EVEN -NUMBERED SECTIONS, FRIDAYS, 9:00-9:50 A.M.
WORLD HISTORY
General: This course is a survey of some of the most important developments in world history
over approximately the last five centuries. A general examination of political, economic, social and
cultural developments will be combined with several “case studies” throughout the world (including
California) to illuminate these historical processes. Particular attention will be given to studying
the expansion and contraction of the West’s power and influence from a global perspective.
Student Learning Goals and Objectives:
The official SDSU wording for this course’s student learning goals and objectives is:
“This is a Foundation of Learning course in the Humanities and Fine Arts. Foundation of Learning
courses introduce students to the basic concepts, theories, and approaches offered by disciplinary
and interdisciplinary areas of study. They provide the foundation to understand and approach
problems in the academy, and in local and global real-world environments. Consistent with class
size and learning goals, they cultivate skills in reading, writing, communication, computation,
information-gathering, and use of technology.”
In addition to these officially stated goals and objectives, this course has the following student
learning goals and objectives:
1. To assist students to develop critical skills to interpret the main features of modern world
history.
2. To assist students to understand and appreciate that history is an evidence-based interpretation
of past human behavior and is more than a mere recounting of isolated facts.
3. To prepare students to understand modern world history from an interdisciplinary perspective
by interrogating primary sources that include texts, archaeology, art, music, and film.
4. To help students strengthen the following skills and disciplined habits of mind:
a. The ability to understand how societies have changed and interacted over time.
b. The ability to understand cause-and-effect relationships.
c. The ability to understand the interrelationships of social, economic, political,
technological, ecological, intellectual, and cultural factors in modern world history.
d. The ability to make informed comparisons and contrasts of social groups over time.
e. The ability to understand why different players in an historical drama might interpret the
same events differently.
f. The ability to use historical empathy as a tool to interpret the actions of people in the
past in the context of their times and not from present perspectives.
g. The ability to undertake historical research using primary and secondary sources and to
write interpretative essays based upon these sources.
Course Requirements: Course requirements include essay quizzes, participation, response essays,
and a final exam. Students may also write an “extra credit” book review.
1. Essay Quizzes. Unannounced essay quizzes will be given during the break-out sections,
and these will count toward 30% of the course grade. The quizzes will examine lecture
materials presented during the class meeting two days prior to the days in which the quizzes
are administered; in other words, students in Wednesday break-outs will be quizzed on
lecture material presented on Mondays and students in Friday break-outs will be quizzed on
lecture materials presented on Wednesdays. The number of quizzes given during the
semester will not be announced. Students may drop the lowest scoring quiz. “Make-up”
quizzes will be permitted only in case of documented illness or hardship.
2. Participation. Class participation in the break-out discussion sections will count toward
20% of the course grade and will be based on performance of various activities that will be
evaluated by the graduate teaching associates. A student’s participation grade will be
lowered one-half letter grade for each unexcused absence; excused absences are permitted
only for reasons of documented illness or hardship.
3. Response Essays. Students will write two response essays that will count toward 20% of
the course grade. Students will respond to questions posed by the instructor by drawing
upon required materials. These essays will be graded “Pass/Fail.” A “Pass” will be
assigned to essays earning the equivalent grade of “C” or better. Students will, then, be
called upon not only to utilize their interpretive skills but will also be challenged to express
their written interpretations within specific allocations of time. Guidelines will be given in
class for each response essay, which will be written outside of class. The dates these
response essays will be assigned will be announced in class. “Make-up” response essays
will be permitted only in cases of documented illness or hardship.
4. Final Examination. The final examination will be essay in format, and comprehensive in
scope, and will be based upon all required materials. Study guidelines for the final will be
posted on Blackboard a week before the final exam is administered. The final will count
toward 30% of the course grade. The final will be administered in the large lecture room,
Monday, May 13, 8:00-10:00 a.m.
5. Extra Credit Book Review. An extra credit book review, not to exceed 3 double-spaced,
machine-produced pages, will count toward a maximum of an additional 4 points toward the
course grade. Only papers earning the grade of “B” or better will be counted (“B”=3 points,
“A”=4 points). Each student will have the opportunity of selecting a book of his/her choice
for this review, but the selection must have the written approval of his/her graduate teaching
associate. Students are, then, required to submit to the instructor a formal written request
giving the author, title, and publisher of the book intended for review.
The review must be of a scholarly secondary work (not a primary source) relating to the
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topical scope of this course. The review is not a summary of a book’s contents, but rather is
a critical assessment of the following features of authorship: 1) writing style; 2) thesis; and
3) the nature, quality and use of sources. The book reviews are due at the beginning of the
break-out sections: for even- numbered break-out sections, Wednesday, May 1; for oddnumbered break-out sections, Friday, May 3; reviews may be turned in before that time but
no late reviews, or reviews that contain more than three spelling errors, three contractions, or
three incomplete sentences will be accepted.
Readings Assignments: The required readings for this course include a text and a number of
primary sources. The text is: Jerry H. Bentley, Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets-Salter,
Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, Volume II: From 1500 to the Present, 2nd ed.,
loose-leaf binding (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010). The primary sources are accessible
electronically. Required reading assignments for each week are provided below in the Course
Outline. Students may begin the assigned readings at any time, of course, but they should be aware
that the readings assigned for a given week are to be completed before the first meeting of that
week, and lectures and break-out work will be presented with this premise in mind. Because the
lengths of these readings vary from week to week, students should plan their study schedules
accordingly. Students are expected to bring the required readings with them to the class and the
break-out sections for which the readings were assigned.
Grading Criteria: Course grades are derived by totaling the number of points earned on the essay
quizzes, response essays, class participation, and the final exam (and, if appropriate, the extra credit
book review) as follows: "A" (90-100 points), "A-" (89 points), "B+" (88 points), "B" (80-87
points), "B-" (79 points), "C+" (78 points), "C" (70-77 points), "C-" (69 points), "D+" (68 points),
"D" (60-67 points), "D-" (59 points), "F" (58 points and below). An "Incomplete" in this course will
be considered only in exceptional cases of documented illness or hardship.
Classroom Protocol: A classroom should provide an environment that fosters the assimilation of
knowledge and the responsible and civilized exchange of ideas. Most students attend a class
because they genuinely wish to learn a particular subject. However, some students will enroll in
courses who do not have this seriousness of purpose, and a few of these individuals will
occasionally engage in inappropriate classroom behavior. Such behavior includes talking during
lectures and documentary presentations, interrupting the instructor during his/her lecture, and
arriving late and/or leaving early without previously notifying the instructor of compelling reasons
for entering or exiting the classroom while class is in session (for other forms of unacceptable
behavior, refer to the 2012/2013 San Diego State University General Catalog). Of course,
disruptiveness of any kind is disturbing to instructors and serious students alike.
Accordingly, any form of behavior deemed to be disruptive by the instructor will not be tolerated.
A student will be advised once by the instructor that his/her behavior is disruptive; the first time this
disruptive behavior is repeated, the matter will be turned over to the University's Center for Students
Rights and Responsibilities.
Academic integrity is a foundational principle of this course. Cheating in any form (which includes
plagiarism [for the University’s formal definition of plagiarism, refer to the 2012/2013 General
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Catalog]) comprises a grave offense. Cheating will not be tolerated, and evidence of cheating by a
student will result in an automatic “F” as that student’s course grade. Any evidence of cheating will
also be promptly reported to the Center for Students Rights and Responsibilities.
All students are expected to adhere to the “acceptable standards of conduct” as described on the web
page of the Center for Students Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.sdsu.edu/srr/)
Students are held responsible for all material covered in large lecture and break-out section meetings
even if they are not in attendance for whatever reason.
Pagers, cell phones, and text-messaging devices must be turned off during large lecture and breakout section meetings.
Changes to the Syllabus: The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus as he
considers appropriate. Whether these changes are given by the instructor orally or in writing, they
must be considered as binding course requirements.
Instructor: S.A. Colston. Office: Arts & Letters, Room 528. Telephone: 594-4716 (voice mail).
E-mail: colston@mail.sdsu.edu Office Hours: Mondays, 10:00-11:00, and Wednesdays, 11:001:00. No appointments are needed. The instructor will return E-mail and voice messages only
during those office hours. All matters concerning grades must be discussed by the instructor during
his office hours.
Graduate Teaching Associates:
Javier Gonzalez-Meeks (Sections 1 and 8) javier.c.gonzalez53@gmail.com
Moriah Gonzalez-Meeks (Sections 2 and 9) moriah.meeks.g@gmail.com
Joana Guzman (Sections 3 and 10) msjoanaguzman@gmail.com
Jonathan Monteith (Sections 4 and 11) jonathanjmonteith@yahoo.com
Anthony Petraitis (Sections 5 and 12) trpetraitis@gmail.com
Tristan Taylor (Sections 6 and 13) ttaylor@rohan.sdsu.edu
Steven Youel (Sections 7 and 14) ssyouel@yahoo.com
COURSE OUTLINE
Weekly Lecture Topics and Readings: The lecture topics given below are general in nature;
specific “case studies” will be offered during lectures to illuminate certain features of the general
topics designated for each week. Break-out sections will review materials covered in lectures as
well as explore topics not addressed in lectures but presented in the assigned readings. Assigned
readings are given below for each week.
Week
1
(January 18)
Friday break-out discussion sections meet.
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2
(January 21, 23, 25)
Introduction to course. History as a discipline, world history as a field. Reading
assignment: “Using Historical Sources”
(http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Basics/UsingSources.html)
3
(January 28, 30; February 1)
The world at the end of the fifteenth century. Europe’s Age of Exploration and first
encounters. Reading assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapter 19. Christopher
Columbus, “Extracts from Journal (1492)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html)
4
(February 4, 6, 8)
The transformation of Europe. Reading assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapter
20. Martin Luther, “Letter to the Archbishop of Mainz (1517)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lutherltr-indulgences.html)
“The Bill of Rights (1689)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1689billofrights.html)
5
(February 11, 13, 15)
Europe’s colonization of the Americas. The Columbian Exchange. Reading
assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapter 21. Hernán Cortés, “From the Second
Letter to Charles V (1520)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1520cortes.html)
6
(February 18, 20, 22)
Europe’s colonization of the Americas (continued). Reading assignment: review
Traditions & Encounters, Chapter 21. “The New Laws of the Indies, 1542”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1542newlawsindies.asp) “The Inquisition in 17thCentury Peru: Cases of Portuguese Judaizers”
(http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/17c-lea-limainquis.asp)
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(February 25, 27; March 1)
Africa and the Atlantic world. Reading assignment: Tradition & Encounters, Chapter 22.
Olaudah Equiano, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789)”
(http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111equi2.html)
8
(March 4, 6, 8)
Tradition and transformation in East Asia. The Islamic Empires. Reading assignment:
Tradition & Encounters, Chapters 23 and 24. Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, “The Turkish
Letters (1555-1562)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1555busbecq.html)
9
(March 11, 13, 15)
Enlightenment, liberalism, and revolutions in the Atlantic World. Reading assignment:
Tradition & Encounters, Chapter 25. Jean Jacques Rousseau, “The Social Contract (1762)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rousseau-contract2.html)
5
10
(March 18, 20, 22)
The making of industrial societies. Reading assignment: Traditions & Encounters,
Chapter 26. “Leeds Woollen Workers Petition (1786)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1786machines.html) “The Sadler Committee Report
(1832)” (http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111sad.html)
11
(March 25, 27, 29)
The Americas in the age of early nationhood. Reading assignment: Traditions &
Encounters, Chapter 27. James Monroe, “The Monroe Doctrine (1823)” (
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/monroe.asp) “Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(February 2, 1848)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1848hidalgo.html)
12
(April 1, 3, 5)
Spring recess.
13
(April 8, 10, 12)
European imperialism in the nineteenth century. “The Scramble for Africa.” Reading
assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapter 28. Elisha Greathed, “An Account of
the Opening of the Indian Mutiny at Meerut, 1857”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1857Greathed.asp) Lin Tse-Hsü, “Letter of
Advice to Queen Victoria, 1839”
(http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/com-lin.html)
14
(April 15, 17, 19)
The Great War. Revolution in Russia. Reading assignment: Traditions & Encounters,
Chapter 29. Donald Fraser, “My Daily Journal, 1915-1916”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918fraser.html) “Treaty of Versailles (June 28,
1919)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1919versailles.html)
15
(April 22, 24, 26)
The interwar years: rise of totalitarianism; the world’s Great Depression. Reading
assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapter 30. John Maynard Keynes, “The
Economic Consequences of the Peace (1920)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1920keynes.html)
Benito Mussolini, “What is Fascism? (1932)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html)
16
(April 29; May 1, 3)
Nationalism, colonialism, and neocolonialism. World War II. Reading assignment:
Traditions & Encounters, Chapters 31 and 32. Winston Churchill, “Blood, Toil, Tears, and
Sweat ( May 13, 1940)” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-blood.html) “The
Wannsee Protocol (January 20, 1942)”
(http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111wann.html) Extra credit book reviews
due at the beginning of the break-out sections (May 1 or May 3).
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17
(May 6, 8)
The Cold War. Decolonization and nationalism. The global economy. Conclusions to
course. Reading assignment: Traditions & Encounters, Chapters 33 and 34. Winston
Churchill, “Iron Curtain Speech (March 5, 1946)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html) “The Truman Doctrine (1947)”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947truman.html) Wednesday break-out
discussion sections meet.
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