Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
Dr. Amy Milne-Smith
MW 3:30 LAB 108 (Gonzales Auditorium)
Course overview
From cave paintings to the Mona Lisa, from worshipping sky gods to complex religious
doctrines, from mud huts to lavish cities, HIS 101 covers perhaps the most dramatic
changes in humanity’s history. World history provides the exciting opportunity to understand humanity itself, its dramatic diversity, and its changes over time and place. This
course will only begin to untangle this exciting project as we look at the cultural, religious
and philosophical transformations around the world. In this course we will not only be
learning history, we will develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills that will
serve you well in your future academic and professional life.
Office hours
LAB 452: MW 5-6 or by appointment
Phone: 601-266-6495
Email: Amy.MilneSmith@usm.edu
Teaching Assistants
Sarah Browning
Email: sbrowning18700student.wmcarey.edu
Wes French
Email: frencwt@gmail.com
Required Texts Available in the Bookstore
Upshur, et. al, World History: Comprehensive Volume (4th edition)
USM History Department, Envisioning World Civilizations
Course Requirements/Grading
24%
6 Assignments from Envisioning World Civilizations
11%
My Birthday in History assignment (March 4)
15%
Midterm (March 23)
10%
In class test/writing assignment (February 16)
15%
Timeline (April 22)
25%
Final Exam
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 1
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
COURSE POLICIES
LATE POLICIES: I will not tolerate lateness in this class; either in terms of coming to
class late or turning in late assignments. Work must be handed in at the beginning of
each class; anything after that is considered late. Late penalties are 25% per day. If you
miss a written assignment, the only make-up opportunity is to complete a 10 page essay
instead. For students with extenuating circumstances or convincing sob-stories, there will
be one opportunity at the end of term (before exams) to make up any missed tests/
exams. This course has a number of short assignments, and if you keep up to date and
put in the work, success is easily within your reach.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Academic dishonesty is an offense to me, to your fellow classmates, and to this institution. Neither plagiarism nor any other form of cheating will be
tolerated in this course. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s work or ideas and
passing it off as your own--intent is not an issue. This includes information from the
web, books and articles, as well as information from your fellow classmates. If you put
your name on an assignment, you are stating that it is all your original work. If you paraphrase, summarize or directly quote from someone else’s work, you need to give them
credit in a citation. Any examples of plagiarism will be treated with the utmost severity,
with the minimum of a zero on the assignment, and the maximum with penalties according to university regulations. For more information about plagiarism see Cook Library’s
tutorial on plagiarism (http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/plagiarismtutorial.php).
CELL PHONES: Are not allowed in this class. Your real friends will wait until the class
is over. If you are seen looking at, entering data into, or talking on a cell phone you will
be asked to put it away immediately or leave the class. Turn it off or switch it to silent
mode--there is nothing more frustrating than hearing a bad remix of the latest Chris
Brown come pumping out of a cell phone when we’re in the middle of a discussion.
LAPTOP COMPUTERS: are to be used to take notes only. If you are surfing websites,
playing games, or checking your email you will be asked to leave or to close the computer
for the duration of the class. Your tuition is paying for your time in class--you might as
well put it to good use.
RESOURCES
“I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.”
- Socrates, quoted in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, c. 2 CE.
If the great Greek philosopher Socrates could admit this, you should never be ashamed to admit
when you have a question. Both the graduate teaching assistants and I are here to help you learn;
we can only do this if you put your full effort in to the course and come to us with questions
when you have them. Office hours are times when we are at your disposal--if you have questions
about upcoming texts or assignments, this is the best time to do it.
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 2
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): If a student has a disability that qualifies
under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should
contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a
medical condition/disability qualifies. Mailing address: 118 College Drive #8586, Hattiesburg,
MS 39406-0001; Telephone (601) 266-5024; TTY: (601) 266-6837; Fax: (601) 266-6035
HISTORY WRITING LAB: History students at USM have a special opportunity to get help
writing history papers, studying for history exams, and/or doing historical research. The History
Department sponsors a History Writing Lab (HWL). The HWL is staffed by advanced graduate
students who can assist at any stage of studying or writing history, from generating ideas to polishing final drafts, and with any type of history writing project, from book reviews to research
papers to preparing for exams. Be aware, the HWL does not provide an editing service where
the consultants only correct grammatical errors and typos—the goal of every consultation is to
help students become better writers, a process that happens gradually and that occurs through
the active participation of students in consultations. If you need some help or guidance, call or
email to make an appointment or just stop by for a free, friendly consultation.
Room 464, Liberal Arts Building (LAB); phone: 601-266-4086; email:
historywritinglab.usm@gmail.com. Web: http://www.usm.edu/history/writinglab.php
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 3
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
ASSIGNMENTS
6 ASSIGNMENTS FROM ENVISIONING WORLD CIVILIZATIONS
In your reader Envisioning World Civilizations you will find that each selection has an exercise following the excerpt. Over the course of the term you are responsible for choosing
6 of the 8 listed exercises for the weeks indicated in the syllabus. They are due in class
the date they are listed; simply complete the exercises in the text itself, tear out the pages,
staple them, put your name at the top, and bring them with you to class.
IN CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENT Students will presubmit 2 unmarked sections
from the course reader (1.5 & 3.6) and a single sheet of ruled paper. There will be 2
questions provided, and students have to choose 1 of them to answer in class. Students
will be given 20 minutes to answer the question in full; the answer should not be more
than one page in length. The purpose of this assignment is to develop writing skills, and
students will be expected to produce a well structured, clear, and insightful answer.
TIMELINE
- the rise of law
- battles that transformed history
- the age of great empires
- the birth of cities
- Great art & cultural developments
- Trade and travel
For this assignment, choose one of the 6 topics listed above. You will then produce a
typed, professional timeline of events & brief descriptions. You must include at least 10
world events and 1-2 sentences of description for each. Additionally, you will provide a
one page analysis of your timeline. In one paragraph talk generally about why you made
the choices you did in terms of what terms you included (you do not have to list every
event, simply talk about the kind of choices you made). Finally, discuss more broadly
why you think your timeline is important to understanding world history.
MY BIRTHDAY IN HISTORY
Go to the Wikipedia homepage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page). Scroll down
to the section “On this day” and at the bottom, select Archive. Then search for your
birth month and click on your birthday. A few events will pop up, but I recommend you
click on “More events on this day…” to give you a broader selection. Choose any of
these events leading up to 1500, and this will be the focus of your paper. While you can
click on this date to see what wikipedia has to say about it, for the rest of your assignment you must go offline. The next step is to look within our library or the public library, to find an appropriate book on the subject. This will help verify the wikipedia
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 4
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
dates (sometimes they’re wrong!) and will help you find information you know is true as
other scholars have examined and approved it. Which day you choose is up to you.
For this assignment you will complete the worksheet included at the back of this syllabus. You must fill out all sections in full sentence form in legible handwriting. In addition, you must include a photocopy of the title page of the book you find, to demonstrate you did actually walk into the library and physically find the book.
COURSE SCHEDULE
 This symbol indicates there is an assignment due in class
 This symbol indicates the reading for the class
January 12—Introduction
Man and Nature
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvQW3HKFoSo
January 14—Origins
January 19—Martin Luther King Day
 Upsur 4-10, 13-14
January 21—Neolithic & Paleolithic Eras
* Deadline for students to receive financial credit upon dropping a course*
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 5
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
Agriculture, Technology & Early Civilizations
 Upsur 15-24
January 26—Mesopotamia
 Exercise 1.9 from reader
 Upsur 24-31
January 28—Egypt
 Exercise 2.6 from reader
 Upsur 73-80
February 2— Ancient China
 Upsur 45-52
February 4—Early Americas
 Upsur 56-72
February 9—The Indus Valley Civilization
Classical Civilizations
 Exercise 1.12 from reader
 Upsur 40-45
February 11—Early Persians
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 6
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
February 16— In class writing assignment
 Exercise 3.5 from reader
 Upsur 106-122
February 18—The Greek Age
 Upsur 157-167
February 25—Macedonia & the Hellenistic Age
February 23—Mardi Gras
 Upsur 168-177
March 2—Roman Republic
 My Birthday in History paper due
 Upsur 178-185
March 4— Rise and fall of Roman Empire
Rise of modern religions
 Upsur 102-106, 228-231
March 9—Judaism & Christianity
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 7
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
 Exercise 5.13 from reader
 Upsur 123-131, 270-279
March 11— Buddhism & Islam
March 16—Spring Break
March 18—Spring Break
 March 23—Midterm
Rising Powers
 Upsur 262-270
March 25—Byzantine Empire
 Exercise 4.7 from reader
 Upsur 200-214
March 30— The Han Dynasty
 Upsur 270-282
April 1— Islamic empires
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 8
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
 Upsur 234-246
April 6— Early medieval Europe
Networks and contacts
 Exercise 5.9 from reader
 Upsur 247-259
April 8— Western Europe
 Upsur 414-433
April 13— Turk & Mongol Conquests
 Exercise 5.9 from reader
 Upsur 369-390
April 15—Christianity & Islam in Africa
 Upsur 396-404
April 20—The Islamic Golden Age
 Timeline Due
 Upsur 405-413
April 22— Crusades
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 9
Spring 2009
World Civilizations to 1500
Discovery and Exploration
 Upsur 451-462
April 27—Early Trade and Travel
 Upsur 463-474
April 29—A “Renaissance” in Europe
 Upsur 391-394
May 4— Exploration and Colonization
May 6—Final Exam Review
THIS SYLLABUS IS YOUR GUIDE & CONTRACT TO 101--DO NOT LOSE IT!! 10