History 202
Development of the Modern World
Syllabus
Prof. Dodgen
Herodotus says, "Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: The
conscientious historian will correct these defects."
Mark Twain
The subject matter of this course is the history of the world from the fifteenth century until the present. The
goals of the course are to acquaint you both with the major historical events of the period and with the methods used
by historians to reconstruct, analyze and understand those events. Obviously, such a huge span of time and territory
cannot be covered in detail. Our strategy will be to survey the whole, but to use certain selected events or periods as
a means to explore the major influences that have created our contemporary global society.
Readings:
Five books are required for the course:
 Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Milton
 Tastes of Paradise, by Shivelbusch
 A Child from the Village by Qutb
 Six Chapters from My Life Downunder, by Yang*
 Patriotism, by Mishima*
*Students have the option of reading either one or the other of these two books and doing a report on it; the three
remaining books are all required..
In addition, we will read short documents found on the internet. The main sites for these materials are the Internet
Modern History Sourcebook at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
Some material will also be found in the Internet Medieval History Sourcebook found at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Evaluation:
Grades will be based on take-home essays on four of the five books, and a mid-term and final in-class exam
based on the identification items found at the end of the syllabus. The take-home essays must be a minimum of four
pages, typed, double-spaced, and should cite the pages in the reading from which you draw your evidence or
information. The essays will be based on questions or prompts handed out in class. The guidelines and prompts for
the paper will be handed out in class and discussed in greater detail at that time. Those who fail to follow the
guidelines will receive an ‘F’ on that paper. Each essay will each be worth 20 percent of the total grade. Students
who are in need of extra credit can do a report on all five books, with the fifth report counting as extra credit.
In-class exams will be based on the items at the end of the syllabus. Answers must reflect the course content,
not what you looked up on the internet or found in an encyclopedia. The in-class exams will each be worth 10
percent of the grade.
Success in the class will require that you do the readings and complete all assignments on time. No make-up
exams will be given and no late work accepted without a written doctor’s excuse. The student is responsible for all
the information given in class, including any changes in the timing of exams, the content of the syllabus, and
all course content. The in-class portion of the exams is designed to test you on the material presented in lecture and
the films, so taking careful notes is strongly advised. A grade of incomplete will not be given for any reason other
than a valid and documented medical excuse and then only to students who have completed at least half the course
with a grade of C or better.
Office hours:
My office is Stevenson 2066, phone extension 42462. Office hours are Monday and Wednesday, 9:30-11:00. I
can be reached by e-mail at dodgen@sonoma.edu .
Syllabus
Week of
1/29-31
Topic and Reading Assignments
--Introduction. How to understand sources.
Readings: witchcraft documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/witches1.html ;
begin Nathaniel’s Nutmeg.
2/5-7
Monday: Film, “The day the universe changed, v. 3”
Wednesday, no class, do library assignment below:
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/dodgen/assignments/libraryexercise.doc
Readings: continue Nathaniel’s Nutmeg.
2/12-14
--Renaissance, Reformation, and the rise of the nation-state in Europe.
2/21
-- Iberian Expansion and the Atlantic Model. Readings: continue Nathaniel’s Nutmeg.
2/26-28
Science and Enlightenment. Readings; Documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/galileo-tuscany.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1630galileo.html ;
Wednesday: complete Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, discussion.
3/5-7
-- East Asia: The Realms of Confucian Culture. 3/5: Report due on Nathaniel’s Nutmeg.
Readings:, documents: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/corvino1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1680halde3.html ; begin Tastes of Paradise.
-- New World encounters.
3/12-14
--The Slavery System and Its Impact on Africans.
3/19-21
-- The Islamic World. Readings: complete Tastes of Paradise, discussion.
-- The Industrial Revolution. Readings: documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robinson-lowell.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1842womenminers.html
3/26-28
Monday: Review. Wednesday, midterm exam—take-home essay on Tastes of Paradise
due.
.
4/2-4
--Imperialism and Response in East Asia, II. Readings: begin A Child from the Village.
--Late Imperialism. Readings: documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902hobson.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/199009/muslim-rage
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,584478,00.html ;
4/9-11
--Spring Break.
4/16-18
--Total War. Readings: documents at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918fraser.html ;
complete A Child from the Village, discussion.
4/23-25
--The Great Depression and WWII. 4/25, Paper on A Child from the Village due.
Readings: documents at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html
http://www.doug-long.com/hst.htm ;
Begin Six Chapters from My Life Downunder or
Patriotism.
4/30-5/2
--Utopian Holocausts. Readings: documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/gypsy-holo.html ; continue Patriotism or Six Chapters
Wednesday: film, “Night and Fog.”
5/7-9
--Revolutions, De-colonization and Wars of National Independence.
Readings: documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/balfour.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1915mcmahon.html
complete Patriotism or Six Chapters, discussion.
Links for questions on Six Chapters and “Patriotism”:
Six Chapters:
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2006/09/17/BC_CHINA_REVOLUTION17
_COX.html (A journalists retrospective judgment of the Cultural Revolution with some participant
quotes)
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787//China/Cultural/Cultural.html (a superficial but useful
overview)
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/ordinarylife/history.htm (an interesting exhibition of artifacts
from the cultural revolution along with a very abbreviated outline of events and some quotes from
participants)
“Patriotism”:
http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/Bushido/Intro.htm
http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/Bushido/original.html
http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/Bushido/reinvention.htm
5/14-16
--The Cold War. Readings: documents at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/krushchev-secret.html
The Pacific Century. Readings: TEIP, 976-1019. Documents: Selections from The Japan
that Can Say No! at:
http://www.centurychina.com/wiihist/japsayno/japsayno.5.html
http://www.centurychina.com/wiihist/japsayno/japsayno.15.html
http://www.centurychina.com/wiihist/japsayno/japsayno.16.html
-- Final Exam:
Terms for History 202, Exam 1
Indulgence
Spanish Inquisition
Little Ice Age
Fortunate Isles
Columbian Exchange
Jihad
Tokugawa
Confucianism
Laissez faire
Estates General
Third Estate
Calvinism
Holy Roman Empire
Enlightenment
Encomienda
Mercantilism
Janissary
Samurai
Cotton gin
Positivism
Versailles
Congress of Vienna
Jesuits
Joint stock company
Edict of Nantes
Mestizos
Middle passage
Safavids
Matteo Ricci
James Watt
Bastille
Reign of Terror
Toussaint L'Overture
History 202, Terms for Final Exam
Congo Free State
Taiping (T’ai-p’ing) Rebellion
Ho Chi-min
Joseph Stalin
Mao Zedong
Salvador Allende
Ayatollah Khomeini
Perestroika
HUAC
Sharia
Hiroshima
Great Leap Forward
Meiji Restoration
Boers
Alfred Dreyfus
Edmund Burke
Proletariat
Holocaust
Manifest Destiny
Shinto
Simon Bolivar
G.F.W. Hegel
Napoleonic Code
Opium War
Alexis de Tocqueville
Charles Darwin
Self-Help
Shaka Zulu
Keiretsu
The Battle of the Somme