Rowan University
Department of History
WORLD HISTORY AFTER 1500
Course Syllabus
Fall 2008
Tues, Thurs, 3:15 p.m.
4:45 p.m.
John Wilson
Telephone: (856) 769-2865
E-mail: jw3186@comcast.net
Course Description and Objectives:
This course is an introduction to the history of the world from approximately 1450 to the present.
Through a focus on broad themes and developments and their regional variations in major time
periods, this course strives to assist students in realizing the following objectives:
1. Understand how and why human societies have evolved from approximately 1450 to the
present across the globe.
2. Understand how and why various possibilities for change in human societies have been
realized or not from 1450 to the present.
3. From a social cultural as well as a political and economic perspective, identify and understand
the major forces and developments that have shaped human societies across the globe since
1450, including cultural values and perspectives, religious beliefs, values, and practice, political
theory and practice, economic theory, organization, and practice, and their interactions with each
other.
4. In the context of 3 above acquire a greater understanding of how societies and the human
beings of which they were composed were shaped by or shaped these forces and developments.
5. Understand regional and global patterns of historical development and change and how this
understanding can be used help understand today’s world and future trends and possibilities.
6. Achieve an understanding of how perceptions of individual and collective human nature and
potential have changed over time and from one society to another and how these perceptions
have influenced historical development.
7. Use a wide array of sources for understanding world history from 1450 to the present as well
as be able to assess the relative validity of various types of sources.
8. Present effectively orally or in writing knowledge and understanding achieved and
demonstrate the capability of applying previously acquired knowledge and understanding in a
new context.
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p.2
Course Activities:
Students will be assisted in achieving the objectives indicated above through ongoing exploration
and discussion, textbook and other readings, supplemented with short lectures, visual sources,
quizzes, examinations and a group project/short paper. Class attendance is crucial and students
are expected to be in class and to have read the assigned readings for each class.
Required, Assigned Readings:
Peter N. Stearns, World History in Brief–Major Patterns of Change and Continuity (Single
Volume Version), 6th Edition
Andrea/Overfield, The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Vol. II, 5th Edition
Course Requirements/Evaluation:
Quizzes will be based on assigned readings. They will normally involve identifications or short
essays, and they could be take home or in class
Examinations will be based on class readings, discussions, lectures, and other classroom
activities. They will contain both identifications and one or more essays. Students will have an
entire period to work on an examination.
Group Project/Ssort Paper: Students will be required to write a short paper (approximately 4
pages) based on class readings/class discussion and developed out of a group project. The paper
will incorporate the consensus of the group as well as final conclusions by the individual paper
writer. The guidelines for the group project/short paper will be handed out and group project
activities take place as indicated in the Schedule of Class Topics, Readings, and Assignments.
The short paper will be due as indicated in the Schedule of Class Topics, Readings and
Assignments.
Extra Credit Report: Up to four additional course points, to be added to the total course points,
may be earned by submitting by the assigned date an assessment of the validity of a full length
film or novel for understanding an event or development in world history from 1450 to 1945,
excluding the history of the United States and Canada. This report should be at least three typed
pages and include both a summary of the event or development as presented by the film or novel
and an assessment of the validity of that presentation substantiated from at least three sources
other than the course readings or an encyclopedia/dictionary. The choice of film or novel must
be approved prior to submission by the instructor.
Grading: To give students a better sense of how well they are doing, quizzes, papers, and
examinations will be graded with + or - grades weighted approximately as follows for the
purposes of determining the final course average:
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p. 3
A+: 98
A: 95
A-: 92
B+: 88
B: 85
B-: 82
C+: 78
C: 75
C-: 72
D+: 68
D: 65
D-: 62
F: 59 or less points variably assigned; a 0 will be assigned for missed assignments
Final grades will be determined from the total course points earned as follows:
A: 93-100
A-: 90-92
B+: 87-89
B: 83-86
B-: 80-82
C+ 77-79
C: 73-76
C-: 70-72
D+: 67-69
D: 63-66
D-: 60-62
F: 59 or less
A Total of 100 course points can be earned as follows:
Quizzes:
First Examination
Second Examination
Third Examination
Group Project/Paper
20 points (or 20% of the Final Grade)
20 points (or 20% of the Final Grade)
15 points (or 15% of the Final Grade)
25 points ( or 25% of the Final Grade)
20 points (or 20% of the Final Grade)
Note: A student’s final course point total can be increased as follows through earning the
indicated grade on the special report on a film or novel discussed above:
A: 4 points
B: 3 points
C: 2 points
D or F: 0 points
Attendance, Class Participation, Required Assignments, Papers, and Examinations
Students are expected to do the assigned readings, be present and participate in class. Make up
examinations or late assignments will not be accepted without prior permission from the
instructor.
All written work submitted should be in the student’s own words. Direct quotes or passages
from outside sources or assigned readings for the course should be identified by quotation marks
and referenced. Such quotes or passages should not stand alone but should be used to support
the student’s own ideas and thoughts. Written assignments that fail to adhere to these guidelines
will receive a zero (0).
Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes Students are granted 3 absences to use as
necessary. More than four (4) absences will result in the loss of course points.
Students are expected to be in class on time and stay for the entire class. Excessive lateness or
excessive early exits will be equated to absences.
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p. 4
Schedule of Class Topics, Readings, and Assignments:
Tues, Sept 2
Why Study History?
How to Get the Most out of Studying History
What We Remember and Already Know about World History
After 1500
Changing Assumptions about Human Nature/Potential
To What Degree Human Beings Are Made by History and to
What Degree They Make History
Patterns of World or Global History
Major Trends and Their Trajectories at the Society,
Civilization, and World Levels
Review of Course Syllabus
Thurs, Sept 4
The Major Elements of a Functioning Historical Society
The First Major Era, from the 15th Century to the Middle of the 18th Century
Tues, Sept 9
Reading:
Thurs, Sept 11
Reading
Tues, Sept 16
Reading:
Thurs, Sept 18
Reading:
Tues, Sept 23
Reading:
Europe in 1450–The World about to Be Transformed
Stearns, Introduction to Part III, pp. 139-146; Chapter 12, pp. 207-225;
Chapter 15, pp. 257-265
Transformation of European Society and Culture
Stearns, Chapter 17, pp. 304-327; Introduction to Part IV, pp. 267-275
Andrea, pp. 71-78, 106-112, 160-164, 169-173
Europe Expands and Impacts other Societies; Africa
Stearns, Chapter 16, pp. 277-290; Chapter 10, pp. 180-191
Andrea, pp. 89-91, 115-127
Latin America
Stearns, Chapter 14, pp. 246-255; Chapter 16, pp. 290-303
Andrea, pp. 127-146
Eastern Europe
Stearns, Chapter 11, pp. 192-206; Chapter 18, pp. 328-342
Andrea, pp. 173-181
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p. 5
Thurs, Sept 25
Reading:
Tues, Sept 30
Reading:
Thurs, Oct 2
Reading:
Tues, Oct 7
Reading:
Middle East
Stearns, Chapter 8, pp. 147-169; Chapter 19, pp. 343-351
Andrea, pp. 42-47, 64-68, 217-221, 224-228
India
Stearns, Chapter 9, pp. 170-179; Chapter 19, pp. 351-359
Andrea, pp. 52-56, 61-64, 221-224
China
Stearns, Chapter 13, pp. 226-237; Chapter 20, pp. 360-367
Andrea, pp. 8-14, 18-27, 33-36, 235-241
Japan
Stearns, Chapter 13, pp. 237-245; Chapter 20, pp. 367-374
Andrea, pp. 15-18, 27-32, 247-255
Note: Guidelines for the First Examination and for the Group Project/Short Paper
will be Distributed
Thurs, Oct 11
Reading:
Review for the First Examination and Selection of Group
Project Themes/Groups
Stearns, Retrospectives, Part III and Part IV, pp. 266, 375-376
Tues, Oct 14
First Examination
Thurs, Oct 16
Group Project Activity
Assignment Due: First Group Activity Chart
The Second Major Era: The Mid 18th Century to the Early 20th Century
Tues, Oct 21
Reading:
The West Industrializes
Stearns, Introduction to Part V pp. 377-386; Chapter 21, pp. 387-411
Andrea, pp. 181-194, 263-285, 288-292, 301-304
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p. 6
Thurs, Oct 23
Reading:
Tues, October 28
Reading:
Thurs, Oct 30
Reading:
Africa and India
Stearns, Chapter 22, pp. 412-428
Andrea, pp. 207-216, 310-319, 330-336
The Middle East and China
Stearns, Chapter 25, pp. 456-470
Andrea, pp. 321-323, 327-330, 241-247, 338-345
Latin America
Stearns, Chapter 24, pp. 437-455; Andrea, pp. 200-203
Tues, Nov 4
No Class
Thurs, Nov 6
Russia and Japan; Review for Second Exam (Take Home)
Reading:
Stearns, Chapter 26, pp. 471-486; Retrospective to Part V, pp. 492-493
Andrea, pp. 349-361
Note: Second Examination (Take Home) Will Be Distributed
Tues, Nov 11
Group Project Activity (2nd Chart will be Created)
Assignment Due: Second Examination (Take Home)
The Third Major Era, The Contemporary World, 1914 to the Present
Thurs, Nov 13
Reading:
Tues, Nov 18
Reading:
The West
Stearns, Chapter 27, pp. 487-491; Introduction to Part VI, pp. 495-506;
Chapter 28, 507-532
Andrea, pp. 293-296, 371-381, 394-399, 405-418
Eastern Europe
Stearns, Chapter 29, pp. 533-554
Andrea, pp. 385-393, 469-477, 511-515
Assignment Due: Second Group Project Chart
World History After 1500, Fall, 2008, Syllabus, p. 7
Thurs, Nov 20
Reading:
Tues, Nov 25
Reading:
Tues, Dec 2
Reading:
China and Japan
Stearns, Chapter 30, pp. 555-575
Andrea, pp. 345-349, 457-465, 499-501, 506-511, 403-404
India, Southeast Asia, And the Middle East
Stearns, Chapters 31 and 32, pp. 576-615
Andrea, pp. 430-447, 478-482, 491-494, 515-524
Latin America and Africa
Stearns, Chapter 33 and 34, pp. 616-653
Andrea, pp. 420-430, 448-455, 483-486, 495-497
Assignment Due: Optional Report on Film or Novel
Thurs, Dec 4
Reading:
Tues, Dec 9
The World in the 21st Century
Stearns, Chapter 35, pp. 654-675, Part VI Retrospective, p. 676
Andrea, pp. 515-537
Group Project Activity
Assignment Due: Group Activity Third Chart
Note: Guidelines for the Third (Final) Examination Will Be Distributed
Thurs, Dec 11
Review for Third (Final) Examination
Assignment Due: Group Project Paper
Third (Final) Examination
3:15 Section: Thurs, Dec 18, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
4:45 Section: Tues, Dec 16, 4:50-6:50 p.m.