College of Arts and Sciences Department of History

Northern Arizona University Spring 2004


Instructor: Dr. Sanjam Ahluwalia

Office: LA 232 
Phone # : 3-8709
Office Hours:TTH 12:30-1:30, and by appointment
E-mail: Sanjam.Ahluwalia@nau.edu
Class Meetings: BIO-265; TTH 2:20-3:35

Course Prerequisites: None
 

Teaching Assistant: Dave Nesheim
Phone # : 523-6167
Office Hours: 1:00 - 2:00 T, W, TH
E-mail: dan27@dana.ucc.nau.edu
 
 

HIS 102: The Making of the Modern World

IMPORTANT: Please look at the "Northern Arizona University Policy Statements" and the "Classroom Management Statement" at the back of this documentbefore reading the syllabus.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course traces the evolution of the world from a constellation of relatively isolated regions in 1500 to global interdependence of the present-day. The lectures, reading materials, primary documents, films, and assignments, while delineating the role of western Europe, will focus on the contributions of the non-western regions to the forging of the modern age. The emphasis in the course will be on the interdependence of the world regions--an interaction that was stimulated by the European invasions and colonizations. In analyzing and understanding global histories as inter-connected we will pay close attention to the social, cultural, political, economic, demographic and ecological implications of this history. Class lectures and readings will stress upon issues of diversity, power imbalances, and the interactive workings of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and national variables. Though primarily a course in global history, it will draw upon materials and pedagogical approaches from other disciplines, such as feminist studies, anthropology, literature, political science, and art. 
 

THEMATIC FOCI: The readings and class lectures will emphasize the importance of valuing diversity of human experiences. Students will be urged to pay close attention to how variables of gender, race, ethnicity, class, religion, community, and nation shaped historical understandings in different parts of the globe. We will pay close attention to technological developments and their varied impact in history, again our focus will be to map how technology impacted different social groups and societies in the past. Looking at global interactions across time and space, this course will also examine how environmental consciousness shaped human interactions with their natural world.

DISTRIBUTION BLOCK: Cultural Understanding.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS: Critical Reading and Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Effective Writing, and Oral Communication. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The course will promote understanding of different cultures as they have developed in global, political, social, cultural, economic, and environmental contexts. It will provide the opportunity for students to study the historical development of local and regional societies, and to cross disciplinary and geographical boundaries to appreciate an increasingly interdependent and multi-cultural world. This pedagogical approach will emphasize the interconnectedness and uniqueness of all peoples. It will elucidate the contributions of culturally diverse groups to the formation of the modern world, while highlighting their achievements. The course's potential is exemplary for instilling the skills and values of world citizenship and for relating to people different from oneself. 

COURSE STRUCTURE: This is the second course in a two semester sequence on World History at NAU. These courses intended to be large surveys that break down into smaller discussion sections through the strategic use of teaching assistants. Both courses also build upon common themes of (1) the globalization process; and (2) cultural change . The general format of the course will be: interactive lectures, audio-visual materials, intensive reading and writing, and small group discussions. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

You are expected to engage with weekly readings carefully and critically and participate actively in class discussions, 10% of your course grade will depend upon class discussion of various films and readings. This class will also require use of internet resources. 

Informal Writing: You will be expected to write short critical responses to works of fiction, primary documents, and films. 

Map Quiz: There will be 1 map quiz in class, you will be asked to identify specific places on an outline map from a list of places handed out in class ahead of time. 

Class Debate: There will be 1 debate in class, the topic and readings for which will be handed out ahead of the assignment. 

Mid-Term Exam: There will be an in-class mid-term exam. The format of which will be discussed in class.

Final Exam: In-class final exam will consist of essay questions drawn from a list handed out in class two weeks prior to the exam. 
 

COURSE GRADES

Grades for the course will be calculated in the following way:

Class Discussion 10%; Informal writing 10%; Map Quiz 10%; Debate 10%; Mid-term Exam 25%; and Final Exam 35%.

TOTAL FOR COURSE 100%

The grading scale for the course will be as follows: 

90%+ = A; 80 - 89%= B; 70-79%= C; 60-69%= D; below 60%= F.

ASSIGNED TEXTS

Howard Spodek, The World's History: Volume II-Since 1100(REQUIRED)

Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Taste of Paradise(REQUIRED)

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossian, Sultana's Dream(REQUIRED)

Ronald Takaki, Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb(REQUIRED)
 

All these texts have been ordered at the NAU Bookstore. 
 

A set of REQUIRED readings will also be available on E- reserve at the Cline Library and on the World Wide Web (WWW). 

COURSE POLICIES

ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN CLASS.
 

PLEASE NOTE: I do not give extensions, incompletes, or make-up exams, except in cases allowed for by University Policy. 
 

Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any of the assignments, and will result in failing the course. Please consult the section on "Academic Integrity" in the NAU Policy Statements appended to this syllabus for further details. IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY. 
 

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

While I will not take regular roll, however, frequent and repeated absence and/or lack of punctuality could effect your grade. As pointed out above 10% of your class grade will depend on participation in the various class discussions assigned in the syllabus. Whatever your reasons for arriving late or missing a class, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to arrange to meet or call a classmate and find out what happened in that class. 
 

COURSE SCHEDULE: SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION 
 

January 13: Introduction.
 

January 15: Why World History? Dominant themes to be covered in the course.

Reading: Spodek, "Introduction," PP: 1-16. 
 

January 20: Changing World in 1500: Trade, Politics, and Society

January 20: Class Lecture.

Readings: Spodek, "Chapter 12: Channels of Communication," PP: 372-408 and "Chapter 13: The Unification of World Trade," PP: 409-443. 

E-RESERVE: Raymond Hylton, ed., Documents Set, "Chapter 12," PP: 205-218. (HenceforthDocuments Set.) 
 

January 22 & 27: Demography and Migration-1500-1770s.

January 22: Class Lecture.

January 27: Film "Faces of Slavery" and Class Discussion of Taste of Paradise

Readings: Spodek, "Chapter 14: Demography and Migration," PP: 444-474; Schivelbusch, Taste of Paradise

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP 244-246; 250-254; Antoinette Burton eds., Politics and Empire in Victorian Britain, "Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince." (1831): 45-58. 

January 29-February10: Political Revolutions in Europe and the Americas: 1688-1850.

January 29: Revolution and ideas; English Revolution--1688.

February 3: American Revolution-- 1775-1783.

February 5: French Revolution-- 1789-1799. 

February 10: Revolt in Haiti-- 1791.

Comparative analysis and importance of the revolutions-Class Discussion.

Readings: Spodek, "Chapter 15: Western Revolutions and their Export," PP: 478-507. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP 255-264; Russell Barber eds., Reading the Global Past: Selected Historical Documents: Volume II 1500 to the Present, " Olympe de Gouges, 'Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen," 65-72; Barber, "Edmund Burke, The Errors of the French Revolution," 75-84. 
 

February 12: Industrial Revolution-1740-1914.

February 12: Britain and Europe; Impact on the world outside Europe: India, China and Africa.

Readings: Spodek, "Chapter 16: The Industrial Revolution," PP: 517-556. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP: 278-286.

Marx, Communist Manifesto. Available on line.

Please make a print out from the following site:http://csf.colorado.edu/psn/marx/Archive/1848-CM/
 

February17- Class discussion of Communist Manifesto.
 

February 19- 26: Social Revolutions- 1830-1914

February 19: Gender Politics and the Emergence of the "Woman's Question."

February 24-26: Film "Doll House."

Readings, Spodek, "Chapter 17: Social Revolutions," PP: 557-575. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, Chapter 17, PP 288-291, 306-311; Burton, "Isabella Beeton, The Book of Household Management, 65-68; Burton, "Richard twopenny on Servants in Australia,"68-70.
 

March 2: Mid term review!
 

March 4: MID-TERM EXAM!! PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BLUE BOOKS!! 
 

March 9-11: Colonialism and Politics of Nationalisms- 1830-1914.

March 9 : Class Lecture

March 11: "Story of Sarah Baartman"

Readings: Class handout-Rudyard Kipling, "White Man's Burden"; Spodek, "Chapter 17: Social Revolutions," PP: 575-593; Toer, This Earth of Mankind.

E-RESERVE: Burton, "Lieutenant John Ouchterloony, The Chinese War," 71-74; Burton, "William Greg, 'Shall we Retain our Colonies?' 1851," 81-85; Burton, "Karl Marx on the Events of 1875," 102-104; Burton, "Convict Experiences-- 1837-38,"15-18; Burton, "Thomas Macaulay, Minutes on Education in India 1835," 18-20; Burton, "East India Contagious Diseases Acts 1868," 126-130; Burton, "Edward Fry, China, England, and Opium, 1876," 220-222; Burton, "Henry Stanley, Through the Dark Continent 1879," 232-234; Burton, "F.A.Steel and G. Gardner, The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook, 1888" 257-259; Dennis Sherman eds.,World Civilizations: Sources, Images and Interpretations, "Friedrich Fabri, "Does Germany Need Colonies," 210-211; Barber ed., "Cecil Rhodes, "Confession of Faith," 79-83; Barber ed., "Hashimoto Kingoro, "The Need for Emigration and Expansion," 83-84. 
 

March 16-18 SPRING BREAK! 
 

March 23: In Class Map Quiz! Paper on Sultana's Dream, due in class! 
 

March 25, 30 & April1: Technologies of Destruction: 1914-2000.

March 25: Class lecture - World War I. 

March 30: World War II.- Film "Coming Out Under Fire."

April 1: Class discussion ofRonald Takaki's book! 

Readings, Spodek, "Chapter 18: Technologies of Mass Production and Destruction," PP: 594-639; Ronald Takaki, Hiroshima

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP: 312-325; Barber eds., "Voices of Working Women in World War I: Selections from Angela Woolacott," 127-132. 
 

April 6: Soviet Union and Japan 1914-2000.

April 6: Class Lecture--Soviet Union and Japan: A Historical Comparison

Readings, Spodek, Chapter 19: Soviet Union and Japan," PP 640-676. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP: 339-349; 359-362.
 

April 8-13: India and China 1914-2000.

April 8 : India 

April 13 China 

Readings, Spodek"Chapter 20: China and India," PP 677-712. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP: 363-386; 

M. K. Gandhi, Hind SwarajAvailable on Line.

Please make a print out from the following site:

http://www.swaraj.org/mkgandhiswaraj.htm
 

April 15: Latin America 1870s-2000.

April 15: Latin America.

Readings, Spodek, "Chapter 23: Latin America," PP: 774-804. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, 432-437. 
 

April 20-27: Africa and Arab World 1870s-2000.

April 20: Lecture

April: 22: In class preparation for debate on the Middle East. 

April 27: In class debate on the Middle East. 

Readings, Spodek, "Chapter 21: The Middle East and North Africa," PP: 713-15; 720-721; 727-740; Spodek," Chapter 22: Sub-Saharan Africa," PP: 741-773. 

E-RESERVE:Documents Set, PP: 387-392; 401-410; 423-431; James Overfield, Sources of Twentieth-Century Global History, "France lets go of Algeria," 285-288; 
 

April 29: FINAL EXAM REVIEW!
 

May 6: 12.30-2.30 PM. FINAL EXAM-PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BLUE BOOKS!!!