HST 103 --The WEST AND THE WORLD
Class Meeting: MWF 11-11:50 a.m.
Instructor: John A. Heitmann
Office: 443 HM (x92803)
Office Hours: 10:00- 11:00 a.m, or by appointment
E-Mail: John.Heitmann@notes.udayton.edu
Home page: http://homepages.udayton.edu/~heitmann/
Texts:
Clive Ponting, The Green History of the World, required.
Barbara Freese, Coal: A Human History, required.
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, required
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, required.
Grades: The final grade for this course will be based upon two hour exams, (40%), quizzes
discussion (10%), three critical book reviews (30%), and final exam (20%). The grade scale is as
follows: A 94 to 100; A- 90 to 93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80 - 83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73.
A similar pattern applies to lower grades. Letter grades are assigned a mid-point numerical grade.
Additionally, attendance can influence your final grade: if you miss more than 5 classes, one letter
grade will be deducted from your grade; if you miss more than 9 classes, a two letter grade reduction
will take place. Policies for exams strictly follows History Department Guidelines, and make-ups
will only be offered with a valid, documented excuse.
Critical Book Reviews: Three critical reviews of assigned books serve as integral
assignments in this course. Each review should be 5 pages in length, typed, double spaced. One
should aim to critically summarize the book, aiming sure to discuss the authors content, themes, and
perspectives, and then also provide an introspective response to the book that incorporates one=s
own evaluation of the work=s authenticity and value.
Attendance at lectures is crucial if you are to expect a good grade in the course, and I want
you to be at every class if that is at all possible. On many occasions material presented is not covered
in the readings, and so many of the ideas discussed central to the development of modern science are
complex and often confusing. Your attitude and what you bring in to the classroom can make the
difference between a mediocre offering and a most positive educational experience.
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated and offenses will be punished accordingly. A
first offense will result in a failing grade for the exam or paper in question; a second offense will
result in a failing grade for the course. Further, it is totally unacceptable to hand in a paper that is
the result of work in another class.
Course Purpose: This survey/introduction to world history uses the history of the environment as a
focus. The course primarily examines the relationship between sustainability/availability of natural
resources and the viability of a civilization to survive over the long run. Chronologically we begin
with the ancient peoples of Easter Island and we end with our own civilization at the beginning of the
21st century. Although the individual topics may vary from week to week, I expect us to return to a
core set of questions about the reciprocal relationships of history, culture, and the environment. We
will want to examine how the natural world has shaped patterns of human life, and how in turn
cultural patterns and expectations have reshaped the natural world, often in unexpected ways.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND ASSIGNMENTS
The week of:
January 5
Introduction: The Lessons of Easter Island
Reading: Ponting, Chapter 1, pp. 1-7.
Film: AEaster Island: Secrets of Lost Empires@
January 10
January 14
Fundamentals of Environmental History: The Significance and Role of
Ecology. Hunter/Gather Cultures.
Reading: Ponting, Chapters 2 and 3.
Film: AAustralian Aborigines@
Map Quiz 1
January 17
MLK Day C No Classes
January 19
The First Great Transition: The Slow Transition to Agriculture
Reading: Ponting, Chapter 4.
Film: AMesopotamia: Return to Eden@
January 24
The Decline of Sumer and the Fall of Mayan Civilization; Population,
Climate and Famine
Reading: Ponting, Chapters 5 and 6.
Film: AMystery of the Mayan@
February 2
TEST 1
February 4
The Spread of European Settlement
Reading: Ponting, Chapter 7
February 7
Impact of European Expansion on Native Peoples
Readings: Humanities Base Readings.
Herman Cortez, AExcerpt from Second Letter to Charles V;@
Aztec Account of the Conquest of mexico, Excerpt from the Broken
Spears (1520s)
ABrief Account of the Devastation of the Indies@ (1542)
February 14
Christian and Jewish Thought on the Environment: Classical Economics;
Marxism; The Pursuit of Economic Growth
Readings: Ponting, 141-160.
Start Reading Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac.
February 25
Aldo Leopold and a new way of Seeing Nature
Readings: Finish Leopold
Film: AA Fierce Green Fire@
February 24-25 is a Mid-Term Break!
February 28
Sand County Almanac Review Due
March 2
The Rape of the World C Extinctions, Fishing, The Fur trade
Readings: Ponting, Chapter 9.
March 7
Creating the Third World: The Plantation Economy and its Consequences -sugar, cotton, tea, and minerals; The Changing Face of Death: Bubonic
Plague, Cholera, Smallpox, Cancer, Aids
Readings: Ponting, Chapters 10 and 11, pp.194-239.
March 14
The Weight of Numbers: Demographic Change, the Degradation of Forests
and Soil, the Green Revolution
Readings: Ponting, pp. 240-266.
Film: AGrapes of Wrath@
March 18
Test 2
March 21
Easter Recess
March 30
The Second Great Transition: Sources of Energy and Growth of Consumption
Readings: Ponting, Chapter 13, pp.267-294.
April 4
The Rise of the City
Readings: Ponting, Chapter 14, pp. 295-314
April 6
Stander Symposium
April 8
Review of Barbara Freese=s Coal is Due
April 11
Creating the Affluent Society C Consumption and Retailing; Cars;
Distribution of the World=s Wealth
Readings: Ponting, Chapter 15, pp. 315-345.
Film: ATaken for a Ride@
April 18
Polluting the World: Acid Rain, New Chemicals, Nuclear Pollution, Global
Warming
Readings: Ponting, pp. 346-392.
Film: The Secret Archive
April 25
Review of the Carson book is due
April 25
The Shadow of the Past
Readings: Ponting, pp. 393-407.
April 27
Last Day of Class
FINAL EXAM, Monday May 2, 2:00 -3:50 p.m.