History 101-01
World History to 1450
Spring 2011
Monday and Wednesday
9:30-10:50 a.m.
Hentschke Hall 202
Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Wed.,
11:00-12:20, or by appointment
Instructor: Patrick Wing
Office: Gannett 9
Office Phone: 748-8742
Email: patrick_wing@redlands.edu
Welcome to World History. This course is an introduction to the study of history through
an examination of changes and interactions of human societies from the earliest times to
the 15th century of the Common Era (CE). This course is not a history of everything that
has happened since the beginning of time. Instead, we will consider a few general themes
common to large numbers of the world’s people over a long period. These themes include
human migrations, agriculture, pastoral nomadism, religion and its relationship to
political power, and cross-cultural exchange as a result of commercial and religious
contacts. As a student in this course, you can expect to be introduced to a global
perspective on the past.
In general, class meetings will be devoted to a combination of class discussion
and lecture. Every day one or two students will be appointed to lead discussion, based on
the assigned reading for the day. It is important that you come to every class meeting
prepared to talk about the discussion questions for the day’s assigned reading. Occasional
quizzes on assigned reading will be given at different times during the semester.
Required Reading (available in the bookstore)
Jerry Bentley and Herbert Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, Volume 1: From the
Beginning to 1500 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008).
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (New York: W.
W. Norton, 1997).
Additional Readings. All reading assignments other than those from Bentley & Ziegler
and Diamond can be found in the Course Documents folder on Blackboard.
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Course Requirements
1) Attendance and participation in class discussion are requirements of this course.
Attendance at every class meeting is required. If you cannot come to class due to
illness or other emergency, please contact the instructor by email or phone prior to the
class. Good attendance also means coming to class on time. If you cannot make it to
class on time for reasons beyond your control, please talk to the instructor about it.
Participation includes active contribution to discussions, as well as occasionally
leading discussion on readings for the day.
2) Two essays (4-5 pages each)- The first essay will be about Jared Diamond’s arguments
in Guns, Germs and Steel. The second essay will be a comparative analysis of
primary historical sources. Guidelines for the papers will be distributed at a later date.
The papers are due on February 8 and March 29. You must complete both essay
assignments in order to pass the course.
3) Midterm Exam- The exam will be given in class on Wednesday, February 24, and
will cover content through February 22. Failure to attend the exam without a valid
excuse (illness, personal medical emergency or family emergency) will result in a
failing grade for the exam.
4) Three quizzes on assigned reading- Quizzes are unannounced and consist of multiple
choice or short answer response questions on the reading assigned for the day. Failure
to attend class without a valid excuse (illness, personal medical emergency or family
emergency) on the day a quiz is given will result in a failing grade for the quiz.
5) Final Exam- The exam will be given on Wednesday, April 21 at 12:00 noon, and will
mainly cover content since the midterm exam. Failure to attend the exam without a
valid excuse (illness, personal medical emergency or family emergency) will result in
a failing grade for the exam.
Grade Breakdown
Class attendance and participation (10%)
Three Reading Quizzes (15%; 5% each)
Midterm Exam (20%)
Two Essays (30%; 15% each)
Final Exam (25%)
Rubric for Grading Student Papers
A range
These papers command attention. They articulate a clear, explicit thesis, using historical
analysis and interpretation, which is presented in a logical sequence. The writer uses
evidence from appropriate primary and secondary sources, weighs opposing viewpoints
or contradictory evidence, and draws thoughtful conclusions based on the preponderance
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of evidence. The writer can usually choose words skillfully, vary sentences effectively,
and observe the conventions of written English.
B range
These papers are clearly competent. They articulate a clear thesis, although they may do
so with less precision than “A” papers, using historical analysis and interpretation, which
is presented in a logical sequence. The writer uses evidence from relevant sources,
acknowledges opposing viewpoints, and draws conclusions based on the preponderance
of evidence. The writer can usually choose words accurately, vary sentences
appropriately, and observe the conventions of written English.
C range
These papers are satisfactory, sometimes marginally so. They marshal evidence in
support of a main point, which may not be fully articulated. The information presented
may be drawn from a narrow range of sources, and may not be analyzed and interpreted
as successfully in as in a “B” paper, but it is cleared related to a main point, and the
writer is able to draw conclusions from it. The writer can usually choose words of
sufficient precision, control sentences of reasonable variety, and observe the conventions
of written English.
D range
These papers are seriously inadequate. They may be unacceptably brief; they may
respond illogically to class readings and materials; they may reflect a fundamental
misconception about their topic; they may contain information that is plainly irrelevant or
inaccurate. Their prose may be characterized by several of the following: occasional
incorrect word choice; occasional difficulty in formulating readable sentences; some
major errors in grammar and usage, or pervasive minor errors.
F range
These papers are so incompetent as to suggest either complete inattention to the class and
topic, or serious difficulties in reading and writing English. They may wholly fail to
address their topic; they may fail to offer evidence of any kind; they may dwell
irrelevantly and exclusively on personal reactions to the task or topic. Difficulties with
word choice, sentence formation, grammar, and usage may be so pervasive as to interfere
seriously with the communication of meaning.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the deliberate or careless representation of another’s words, thoughts or
ideas as one’s own without attribution. Plagiarism on any assignment will result in a
grade of “F” for the assignment. We will discuss what plagiarism is and how to avoid it
in class.
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Schedule of Meetings and Assignments
Jan. 13- Introduction
Part I: Early Human History to ca. 800 BCE
Jan. 18- What Is World History?
Jerry Bentley, “Beyond Modernocentrism: Toward Fresh Visions of the Global Past,” in Contact
and Exchange in the Ancient World, ed. Victor H. Mair (Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, 2006): 17-29.
Jan. 20- Agriculture and Writing
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel, ch. 4-6.
Florian Coulmas, “From Icon to Symbol: The General Trend of Evolution,” in The
Writing Systems of the World (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1989), 17-36.
Jan. 25- Human Migrations and Commerce
Patrick Manning, “Commerce, 3000 BCE to 500 CE,” in Migration in World History
(New York: Routledge, 2005), 77-91.
Part II: New Ideas and New Empires (800 BCE-200 CE)
Jan. 27- Chinese Thought and Society
Roger Ames, “The Confucian Worldview: Uncommon Assumptions, Common Misconceptions,”
in Asian Texts-Asian Contexts: Encounter with Asian Philosophies and Religions, ed. D.
Jones and E. R. Klein (Albany: SUNY Press, 2010), 31-46.
Selections from the Analects of Confucius (trans. Ames).
Feb. 1- Reconsideration of Indian Society and Religion
Peter Hershock, “Buddhist Philosophy as a Buddhist Practice,” in From Africa to Zen: An
Invitation to World Philosophy, ed. Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins (New York:
Rowen and Littlefield, 2003), 239-254.
Feb. 3- Greek Society, Thought and Empire
Feb. 8- Rome
Feb. 10- The Ancient Silk Roads
Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters, Ch. 2 (“The Era of the Ancient Silk Roads”).
The Mission to the West by Zhang Qian
Part III: Growth of World Religions (200-800)
Feb. 15- Buddhism in China
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Peter Hershock, “Early Developments in Chinese Buddhism,” and “The Early History of the
Chan Tradition,” in Chan Buddhism: Dimensions of Asian Spirituality (Honolulu: University
of Hawai’i Press, 2005): 46-80.
“Hui-neng (638-713), Autobiography (complete) from the Platform Sutra,” in Zen Sourcebook:
Traditional Documents from China, Korea and Japan, ed. Stephen Addiss, with Stanley
Lombardo and Judith Roitman (Indianapolis, Cambridge: Hackett Publishing, 2008): 19-30.
Feb. 17- Early Christianity
Pliny the Younger and Emperor Trajan, Correspondence on Early Christians
Feb. 22- Christianization of Europe
Gregory of Tours, Conversion of Clovis
Conversion of Prince Vladimir of Kiev, in the Russian Primary Chronicle
Feb. 24- Midterm Exam
Mar. 8- Origins and Early Expansion of Islam
Annemarie Schimmel, Islam: An Introduction (Albany: State University of New York Press,
1992), 11-50.
Mar. 10- Islam and the Silk Road
Richard Foltz, “The Islamization of the Silk Road,” in Religions of the Silk Road (New York: St.
Martin’s Press, 1999), 89-109.
Yaqut, Description of Baghdad.
Mar. 15- Overview: Religious Developments in Eurasia
Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters, Ch. 3 (“Missionaries, Pilgrims and the Spread of World
Religions”).
Part IV: Expansion, Conflict and Trade (800-1200)
Mar. 17- The Indian Ocean Network
“An Early Age of Commerce in Southeast Asia, 900-1300 CE,” Journal of Southeast Asian
Studies 40 (2009): 221-265.
Mar. 22- The Expansion of Islam in West Africa
Kevin Shillington, “Trans-Saharan Trade and the Kingdom of Ancient Ghana,” in History of
Africa, Revised Edition (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995), 78-89.
Al-Bakir on the Kingdom of Ghana in 1067 CE.
Mar. 24- The Crusades
Helen J. Nicholson, “Crusading Expeditions to the Holy Land, 1095-1291,” in The Crusades
(Westport, London: Greenwood Press, 2004), 1-20.
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Bentley and Ziegler, pp. 405-411; 487-496.
Al-Bakir, Islam in the Kingdom of Ghana
Mar. 29- Arab and European Views of Each Other during the Crusades
Fulcher of Chartres, “Frankish Settlers in the East, in A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem,
trans. Frances Rita Ryan (Knoxville, 1969), 271-272.
Usama b. Munqidh, An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades:
Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh, trans. Philip K. Hitti (Princeton, 1987), 159-171.
Part V: Empire and World Systems (1200-1450)
Mar. 31- The Mongol Empire
David Morgan, “Chingiz Khan and the Founding of the Mongol Empire,” in The Mongols (2nd.
ed., 2007), 49-73.
Apr. 5- Travelers in the Mongol Empire
Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo (New York: The Orion Press, 1958), chapters 6-14.
Ibn Battuta, The Travels of Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1325-1354, trans. C. Defrémery and B. R.
Sanguinetti, ed. H. A. R. Gibb (Millwood, NY: Kraus Reprint, 1986), 325-359.
Apr. 7- The Mongols and Cross-Cultural Exchange
Thomas Allsen, “Technician Transfers in the Mongolian Empire,” The Central Eurasian Studies
Lectures 2 (Bloomington: Indiana University Department of Central Eurasian Studies, 2002).
Thomas Allsen, “Ögödei and Alcohol,” Mongolian Studies 29 (2007): 1-12.
Apr. 12- Indian Ocean Network, 1200-1450
Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters, Ch. 5 (“Toward a New World Order”)
Tansen Sen, “The Formation of Chinese Maritime Networks to Southern Asia, 1200-1450,”
Journal of the Social and Economic History of the Orient 49 (2006): 421-453.
Apr. 14- China and the Indian Ocean: The Voyages of Zheng He
Primary Sources for Zheng He’s Voyages, in Edward L. Dreyer, Zheng He: China and the
Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433 (New York: Pearson, Longman, 2007), 187199.
Apr. 19- Last Meeting-Review for Final Exam
Apr. 21, 12:00 noon- Final Exam
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