World History Since 1500
Bridgewater College
History 110 section 04
Spring 2008
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1 – 1:50pm
Flory 201
Professor Jamie Frueh
office hours:
MWF 9-11am, 2-4pm; TTh 11am-12pm
Flory 210
office 828-5764
home 433-1171
jfrueh@bridgewater.edu
Overview
The course is designed to introduce you to historical ways of organizing and explaining the world by focusing on
changes to human institutions throughout the early modern, modern and late modern eras. History is more than a list
of events; it is a way of making sense of “the past.” Stories about our collective past help to situate us in our
relationships with others and provide the justifications for the rules, patterns of behavior, values, cultures,
institutions, physical artifacts and systems of power that are context for our lives as members of a human society.
We are all born into a world in which decisions and actions taken by people who lived before us impact what we are
allowed to do, what we want to do, what we are capable of doing, what we are capable of thinking and even what we
are capable of perceiving about the world. We all participate in the continuous remaking of our world as we live in
it. The study of history is the best way we have to understand the momentum of the institutions that we have
inherited as members of a human society.
It is therefore important for you to become acquainted with and adept at thinking historically, that is to be trained in
the ways educated members of our society organize their thoughts about time and space. Being able to think
historically will allow you to select events from the swirling chaos of reality and build an understanding of how
those events are related to each other and to the world we confront in the present. It is, therefore, an introduction to
being a competent member of your society and your world.
Goals
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To acquire knowledge of important global events of the past five hundred years and their relevance to
contemporary society.
To formulate an understanding of the momentum and power of social institutions.
To understand the importance of the differences across and interactions between societies.
To learn basic processes of historical investigation.
To improve the ability to think chronologically and spatially.
Text
Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, Volume II,
From 1500 to the Present, Fourth Edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
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Work Requirements – grades will be calculated out of 1000 points.
attendance
Attendance is required. Absences will only be excused with a note from a doctor, school official or parent. Points
will be deducted from your final total for each unexcused absence. Absence from more than seven classes for any
reason will result in an automatic failure for the course.
weekly reflections - 100 points (10 points each)
Every week except for week two (1/28-2/1) and week 9 (3/26-28), you will submit to me via email a reflection of
about 200-250 words on a core idea taken from the readings assigned for the week. Reflections should not
summarize the readings, but demonstrate thoughtful, critical engagement with their concepts and themes.
Reflections should draw connections to your own experiences, knowledge and intuition. They should be emailed at
least one hour before class on the day we will cover the material you discuss. You can turn in a reflection on any
day of the week for which readings are assigned. However, I will not accept reflections turned in after the class
period for which the specific reading is assigned. Your grade will depend on your ability to identify and critically
engage at least one of the core ideas from the text in a thoughtful way. You have one grace week during the semester
when a reflection is not due. Your first reflection is due on or before Friday, February 8.
daily life exercise – 100 points
You will work with a small group to come up with a presentation on the daily life of average people in a specific
time and place in history. This will require some outside research and imagination. The presentation should be
creative and involve all of the members of your group. The presentations will be given on February 15 and 18.
debates - 100 points
You will participate in a 20 to 30 minute debate about one of four important issues from the course. The debates will
consist of classroom presentations and you will coordinate your presentations with the others assigned to your topic.
Your presentation should be based on outside research and should seek to present the issues as persuasively as
possible. Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the research and the persuasiveness of the presentation and
each group member will have the opportunity to grade the contributions of the other people in the group.
Debate Topics and Dates:
Friday, March 7: Are rights natural or invented?
Friday, March 14: Is America a melting pot?
Friday, March 28: Was colonialism justified?
Friday, April 18: Communism v. Capitalism
exams - 450 points (125 for the first two and 200 for the final)
There will be three exams, the first on Friday, February 29, the second on Friday, April 4 and a final on Monday,
May 5 at 1:30pm. The exams will include multiple-choice and short answer questions about the readings, lectures
and classroom presentations. The final will also include short essays designed to challenge you to integrate your
knowledge and your understanding. There will be a review session prior to each exam, but if you want to do well,
you will need to keep up on all the assigned readings and class notes.
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paper - 250 points (50 points for preliminary work and 200 for the final product)
One of the hallmarks of a liberal arts education is the ability to write a coherent and persuasive research paper. You
will write a five- to seven-page paper relating one of the topics explored in the text to a contemporary global issue.
The specific topic will be developed in consultation with me. We will work through the steps to writing a research
paper in class and you will turn in components of your work in the weeks prior to the due date. The paper will be
graded on research, analysis, organization and writing style. Students who have never written a research paper or
who have had trouble with them in the past are advised to seek assistance from the Writing Center.
Deadlines for Paper Components:
Friday, 2/15: paper topic – out of 10 points
Friday 3/7: annotated bibliography – out of 10 points
Friday 3/14: outline – out of 10 points
Friday 3/28: partial rough drafts – out of 20 points
Friday 4/11: final paper due – out of 200 points
Grading Scale
You will be graded out of 1000 points according to the following scale:
A
A minus
B plus
B
B minus
C plus
930 to 1000 points
900 to 929 points
870 to 899 points
830 to 869 points
800 to 829 points
770 to 799 points
C
C minus
D plus
D
D minus
F
730 to 769 points
700 to 729 points
670 to 699 points
630 to 669 points
600 to 629 points
599 and below
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be aware of and abide by the Bridgewater College Honor Code, specifically as it relates to
the act of plagiarism, which the student handbook defines as “the use of another person’s ideas or thoughts, which
are not common knowledge, without acknowledging the source.” We will discuss citation as you prepare to write
you r papers, but the policy specifically prohibits copying paragraphs or even central ideas and claiming them as
your own, in addition to the more obvious violations such as buying papers off the web or turning in someone else’s
work as your own. Violations will be dealt with swiftly and severely and could result in failure of the course or
expulsion from the college. If you are in doubt, cite the source.
Course Structure
Week 1 – 1/25
F
Introductions, syllabus, teaching philosophy, goals of the course
Week 2 – 1/28-2/1
M
What is history? Why study it? What is World History? Perspective.
For Monday, read: xii-xiv.
W
The world in 1500: Asia
For Wednesday, read: 594-5, 723-731 and 741-749.
F
Celebrate Groundhog Day early. No class today.
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Week 3 – 2/4-2/8
M
The world in 1500: Africa and Islam
For Monday, read: 695-705 and 753-769.
W
The world in 1500: Americas
For Wednesday, read: 665-676.
F
The rise of Europe: exploration
For Friday, read: 597-609, maps on 610-611.
Week 4 – 2/11-2/15
M
The rise of Europe: trade
For Monday, read: 609-626.
W
The rise of Europe: colonies
For Wednesday, read: 676-691.
F
Daily life presentations
Paper topic proposal due
Week 5 – 2/18-2/22
M
Daily life presentations
W
The bases of European hegemony: the Reformation and States
For Wednesday, read: 631-648.
F
The bases of European hegemony: Capitalism and Science
For Friday, read: 648-661.
Week 6 – 2/25-2/29
M
Implications of hegemony: Africa and slavery
For Monday, read: 706-718.
W
Implications of hegemony: Asia and Islam and exam review
For Wednesday, read: 731-741 and 770-775.
F
Exam #1
Week 7 – 3/3-3/7
M
Modernity: Institutions of Control
For Monday, read: 778-805.
W
Nationalism and the process of historical analysis
For Wednesday, read: 805-811.
F
Debate #1 – Are rights natural?
Annotated bibliography due
Week 8 – 3/10-3/14
M
Industrialization
For Monday, read: 815-842
W
United States: Development and Diversity
For Wednesday, read: 860-875.
F
Debate #2 – Is the US a melting pot?
Research paper outline due
Spring Break
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Week 9 – 3/26-3/28
W
Confronting hegemony and imperialism
For Wednesday, read: 909-938.
F
Debate #3 – justifications for imperialism
Partial rough draft due
Week 10 – 3/31-4/4
M
Crisis of modernity – World War I
For Monday, read: 942-972.
W
Do Over – World War II and review for exam
For Wednesday, read: 1031-1058.
F
Exam #2
Week 11 – 4/7-4/11
M
Ideas of late modernity and the Great Depression
For Monday, read: 977-990.
W
Alternatives to Liberalism
For Wednesday, read: 990-1001.
F
Discourse of Freedom
Research Papers Due
Week 12 – 4/14-4/18
M
Confronting late modernity from the outside
For Monday, read: 1005-1028.
W
The cold war
For Wednesday, read: 1063-1076
F
Debate #4 – Communism v. Capitalism
Week 13 – 4/21-4/25
M
Global politics during the cold war
For Monday, read: 1076-1090.
W
Calling their bluff – independence movements
For Wednesday, read: 1095-1112.
F
Decolonization and the post-colonial era
For Friday, read: 1112-1027.
Week 14 – 4/28-4/30
M
Capitalism after the cold war
For Monday, read: 1131-1143.
W
Globalization, its problems and encounters and review for the final
For Wednesday, read: 1143-1165.
Final Exam – Monday, May 5 from 1:30 to 3:30pm
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How to Write a Reflection
Step 1: READ THE ASSIGNMENTS! In the course of reading you will pick up knowledge. You won't be able to
help it. But the point of the reading assignments is to understand things. This should be EXCITING. If you think
about the reading as so many pages to trudge through, you are much less likely to CREATE IDEAS. Engage the
author in a kind of conversation.
Step 2: Take some notes while you read - nothing extensive just what seems most important to the author's point.
Write down what you think is interesting. Your notes should be both about the authors’ main points and your own
thoughts about those points. These notes will be quite valuable when it comes time to study for the exam. If you
have the notes, you won’t have to re-read everything – you’ll just be able to look over your notes
Step 3: Sit back and THINK about the core ideas for 10 minutes before you try to write anything. You are not done
reading when you finish the last page. You must leave yourself some time to process what you have just read.
Scribble some notes. Put things in your own words. Brainstorm. Try to summarize the main points of the readings
and figure out how they relate to one another. Also, think of interesting connections between the authors’ most
important points and your childhood or some other class you are taking or to a Simpsons episode. Thinking is not
always a linear process. Work at engaging the authors. If the process of reading is like a conversation, the
reflection is your opportunity to relate that conversation to a third party.
The point is there is no right answer. I will grade you on whether or not you seem to have thought about the
readings. You are more than welcome to talk about your ideas with each other AFTER you have written your
reflections, but I want each of you to engage you readings on your own.
Step 4: Write up your ideas in a few paragraphs. Pick one of the main ideas from the readings that made you think
and write about it. Start by writing down the authors’ ideas, then discuss what you want to say about it. Do not
rehash what the author said. I have read the book too. I want to know what you thought was cool and why. What
connections did you make to other things we have discussed in class or with your ideas or experiences? I want you
to realize that reading is mental work. The reflection is the evidence that you have worked.
Step 5: Email the reflection to me at least on hour before the beginning of class. Cut and paste your reflection into a
new message and send it jfrueh@bridgewater.edu. You can only write a reflection once per week and you should
turn it in before we discuss the pages that sparked your thoughts. I do not accept late reflections. Each reflection is
worth up to 10 points or 1% of your grade.
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