University of California, San Diego
Spring Quarter, 2015
Making of the Modern World 13
New Ideas and Cultural Contacts, 1200-1750
Tuesdays and Thursdays
5:00-6:20pm
Ledden Auditorium 2250
Professor. Babak Rahimi
Office Hours: Tuesdays: 9:00-10:0am and
Wednesday 9:00am-11:00am
Department of Literature,
Literature Building
3rd floor: 3324
Phone:
858-534-2147
Email: brahimi@ucsd.edu
DESCRIPTION AND THE PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:
This course provides a framework for understanding the period between roughly 1200
and 1750 CE, the Making of the Modern World 4 focuses on global transformations that
gave birth to various patterns of modernity. We will examine various socio-economic,
cultural, political and religious processes in the formation of various discourses and
practices of early modernity. The course primarily adopts an approach that focuses on
contacts and exchanges between various regions and civilizations, especially in the AfroEurasian zones of contact. We will also focus on the relationship between
communication, culture and space in the context of emerging global powers.
The basic goals of the course are as follow:
1.
To acquire basic understanding of late medieval and early modern histories
and societies on the global scale, with an especial focus on everyday life and
cultural processes.
2. To gain familiarity with non-European civilizations, in particular the Chinese
and Muslim societies.
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3. To engage in intensive university-level writing and to improve
one’s analytical and critical skills.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Textbook will be available for purchase at the UCSD bookstore. Course reader will be
available at Cal Copy: Villa Norte Shopping Center, 3251 Holiday Ct, La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 452-9949.
1. Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters: A Global
Perspective on the Past. MMW combined Edition, 5th Edition.
2. Course Reader, MMW 13 (Cal Copy)
3. A Writer’s Reference , Diana Hacker & Nancy Sommers, 8th Edition, Custom
MMW and Muir College Writing Edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Assignments:
Assignments and grades will be determined as follows:
Writing Assignments
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Section Attendance/ Participation
35%
20%
35%
10%
EXAMS:
● The midterm (May 5) and the final are in-class exams (June 11). Your lecture
attendance, participation
in sessions and readings should prepare you for the two exams. I will elaborate on the
exams in class. The midterm will cover up to April 30th lecture.
* The final exam will be comprehensive.
● I will provide a study guide for both the midterm and final exams.
● You must complete all parts of the writing assignment, attend section, and take all
exams in order to pass the course.
● Please note that make-up exams maybe allowed only in the case of justified reason
for absence.
● Only in rare and justified cases will I grant a makeup exam. You need to provide
documentation for the absence.
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● Writing Assignment: You are expected to write a 8-10 research paper, broken down
into 7 additional assignments throughout the course. This assignment will be
discussed in your sessions by your instructors.
● Syllabus, course information, lectures and reading assignments:
http://roosevelt.ucsd.edu/mmw/courses/mmw13.html.
CLASS POLICY & GUIDELINES:
Attendance and Participation
Active participation for each week compromises 10% of your grade. Students are
expected to come to the lectures and are required to attend the sections. Students are also
expected to have read the assigned reading materials and be prepared to talk about the
reading material and lectures during discussion sessions. You can certainly ask questions
during the lectures.
Late Papers
You must complete all assigned papers in a timely manner to pass the course. Late papers
will be penalized 1/3 of a grade for each class that they are late.
Plagiarism
A major part of your course assignments and exams involves writings based on your
assigned reading. So, make sure to cite your sources, either quoted directly or
paraphrased, so to avoid plagiarism. In other words, submit your own original work! See
me or your section instructor if you have any questions regarding what constitutes
plagiarism. If you are caught cheating you will automatically fail the course.
Assistance
In case of disability that may require accommodation, please see me or your section
instructor on the first day of class.  But a student requesting accommodation must fill
out the Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the Office for Students and
Disabilities (OSD). Please contact Vilaya Roberts for further assistance.
Communication
I have set up an official office hour on Tuesdays between 9:00am and 10:00 am on
Tuesdays and on Wednesdays between 9:00am and 11 am at the Department of
Literature 3rd floor (room 3324) on the Warren Campus. You could also reach me by
email and phone. I will be in my office during my office hours, but I could also make an
appointment to see you at another time. My office phone does not have a message
service. You could set up an appointment via email.
I expect to occasionally communicate with you by email. So, please check your UCSD
emails on a weekly basis.
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Course Calendar:
Thursday March 26
C. Chavez Holiday March 27
Instruction begins Monday, March 30
Memorial Day Observance Monday, May 25
Instruction ends Friday, June 5
Final exams: June 8-12
Spring Quarter ends: June 12
49 Days of Instruction
57 Days in Quarter
Final due:
Finals Week: June 9 to 13
Final Day Exam:
June 11, 2015
Thursday 7:00 pm-9:59 pm
C01
C02
C03
C04
C06
C07
C08
C09
C10
C11
C12
C15
C16
C17
C18
C19
C20
TuTh
TuTh
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TuTh
WF
WF
WF
WF
WF
WF
10:00-10:50
11:00-11:50
12:00-12:50
1:00-1:50
1:00-1:50
2:00-2:50
3:00-3:50
3:00-3:50
4:00-4:50
3:00-3:50
4:00-4:50
9:00-9:50
10:00-10:50
11:00-11:50
12:00-12:50
12:00-12:50
1:00-1:50
Asante 123A
Asante 123A
Asante 123A
Asante 123A
Asante 123D
Asante 123D
Asante 123D
HSS 1128B
HSS 1128B
Asante 123C
Asante 123C
Asante 123C
Asante 123C
Asante 123C
Asante 123C
Asante 123D
Asante 123D
Final: Thursday, 6/11/15, 7:00-9:59 pm
Course Lectures
● You could find the course lectures on the MMW website.
● Please note lectures will not be podcast nor emailed to anyone.
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Laura Gutierrez
Laura Gutierrez
Priscilla Garcia
Priscilla Garcia
Logan Green
Logan Green
Logan Green
Tim Shea
Tim Shea
Ian Jones
Ian Jones
Ellen Kozelka
Ellen Kozelka
Clare Rolens
Clare Rolens
Vanessa Bateman
Vanessa Bateman
Schedule of Lectures
Lectures will be posted on MMW website after each lecture:
http://roosevelt.ucsd.edu/mmw/courses/mmw12.html
Week 1
(March 31 Tuesday)
● Introduction to the course:
Rethinking World History
April 2 (Thursday)
● Eurasian Complex and Southernization
Week 2
April 7 (Tuesday)
● Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
April 9 (Thursday)
● States and Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
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Week 3
April 14 (Tuesday)
● The Increasing Influence of Europe
(Economy, Society, and State)
Film: TBA
April 16 (Thursday)
● India and the Indian Ocean Basin
Week 4
April 21 (Tuesday)
● The Song Modernity in East Asia
April 23 (Thursday)
●
The Americas and Oceania
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Week 5
April 28 (Tuesday)
● Afro-Eurasia and Americas
Expanding Horizons of Cross-Cultural Interaction
(The Case of Hemispheric Pandemics)
April 30 (Thursday)
● Early Modern Interconnected Global (1500-1800 C.E.)
*Study Guide for the Midterm
Week 6
May 5 (Tuesday)
Midterm Exam
*Bring scantron and blue notebook
May 7 (Thursday)
● New Worlds: Americas and Oceania
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Week 7
May 12 (Tuesday)
● Transformation of Europe I
(Economy, Religion and State)
May 14 (Thursday)
● Transformation of Europe II
(The City and “Renaissance” of European Identity)
Week 8
May 19 (Tuesday)
● Transformation of Europe III
(Print, Science and Technology)
May 21 (Thursday)
● Tradition and Change in East Asia in the early modern period
Week 9
May 26 (Tuesday)
● Islamic Gunpowder Empires I
(The Ottomans)
May 28 (Thursday)
● Islamic Gunpowder Empires II
(The Mughals)
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Week 10
June 2 (Tuesday)
● Islamic Gunpowder Empires III
(Safavids)
 Study Guide for the Final Exam & in-class review of the
exam
June 4 (Thursday)
● Conclusion
Week 11
(FINAL WEEK, June 8-12 June)
Final Exam:
June 11
Thursday 7:00-9:59pm
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