II. Course Description

An historical survey tracing the continuing development of civilization from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the present day, with attention to the governmental, social, religious, economic, political, intellectual, and aesthetic movements and activities that contributed to their development, with special consideration of the movements, ideologies, revolutions, and wars that helped to shape modern history.

History 120 is the second half of the World History sequence. This course is designed to help students improve their proficiency in reading, writing and critical thinking. It offers students additional opportunities to develop skills in note-taking, word-processing, library research, and public speaking. 

The most pervasive theme of the modern historical period is the rise of the West and its influence on the rest of the world through a combination of domination, imitation, and adaptation. History 120 investigates the reasons for this influence and its effect on other world civilizations.

History 120 reflects a global emphasis in its representation of major civilizations and their contributions to the human experience. The course emphasizes the social history of civilizations through the ages and around the world, recreating the everyday life of ordinary people in the context of their economic, political, intellectual, cultural, religious, and geographic environment.

III. Objectives and Competencies

Goals and skills below refer to the SDPI "Social Studies Curriculum, Goals and Objectives: High School World History." Numbers in brackets refer to the DPI Curriculum Guidelines for Middle Grades Social Studies Teachers. In addition, This course meets the following National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and National Council for Social Studies Program Standards in Social Studies: 1.2, 1.3, 1.9, 2.1. 

• "GOAL 5: Rise of the West. The learner will trace events and evaluate the significance of mvements associated with the rise of the West (1400-1914) [1.1, 1.5].
• 5.3 Cite major costs and benefits of the scientific and commercial revolutions for different segments of European society (1600-1800).
• 5.4 Trace the progress of the Industrial Revolution and assess its effects on Europe and the World (1750-1914).
• 5.5 Analyze the causes and assess the influence of political revolutions in England, North America, and France on individuals, governing bodies, and church-state relations (1640-1815) [1.2].
• 5.6 Analyze the impact of European expansion on societies in the Western Hemisphere.

• "GOAL 6: European Domination. The learner will examine causes and consequences of Europe's world domination (1750-1945) [1.1, 1.2, 1.5].
• 6.1 Analyze the forces that both caused and allowed European nations to acquire colonial possessions and trading privileges in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• 6.2 Assess the influence of the church, aristocracies, and colonial export economies on Latin American society.
• 6.3 Compare the effects of voluntary and forced Westernization on societies in Russia, North Africa, and Southwest Asia.
• 6.4 Describe the changes that resulted when European commercial networks were replaced with political domination by the late nineteenth century.
• 6.5 Evaluate the effects of colonialism on African, Asian, and European societies [1.3].

• "GOAL 7: Twentieth Century Turmoil. The learner will analyze causes and effects of world events in early twentieth century (1914-1945) [1.1, 1.2, 1.5].
• 7.1 Analyze the causes and assess the consequences of World War I.
• 7.2 Judge the causes and effects of the Russian Revolution for Russia and the world.
• 7.3 Evaluate the causes and consequences of the Great Depression on industrial societies.
• 7.4 Evaluate World War II as the end of one era and the beginning of another [1.4].

• "GOAL 8: Modern Economic, Political, and Social Conditions. The learner will analyze problems and assess prospects of an interdependent world (1945-present) [1.1, 1.2].
• 8.1 Trace the development of relationships between the Former Soviet Republics and the United States and cite consequences of these relationships for the world.
• 8.2 Analyze economic and political recovery in Japan and Europe.
• 8.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of independence movements in Asia and Africa as challenges to the European world domination established in the nineteenth century [1.3, 1.5].
• 8.4 Judge the effects of European domination on societies in Africa, Asia, and Southwest Asia as they reestablished their own economies and institutions of self-government [1.3, 1.4].
• 8.5 Assess the degree to which the international community is capable of resolving recurring global dilemmas [1.4, 1.5].

• "GOAL 9: Patterns of History. The learner will draw relationships between continuity and change in explaining human history [1.1].
• 9.1 Analyze and trace developments in literary, artistic, and religious traditions over time as legacies of past societies [1.3].
• 9.2 Cite those phenomena which represent revolutionary breaks with the past and assess their impact on human history.
• 9.3 Assess the degree to which discoveries, innovations, and technologies have accelerated change [1.4].
• 9.4 Distinguish what is meant by "civilized behavior" or "civilization" in different times and places and link such meanings to the societies of which they were or are a part." [1.3, 1.5]

• Students will use a computer to get class assignments.

IV. Teaching Strategies

This course is taught primary through lecture. Collaborative study groups will be used for homework assignments. A companion website will supplement lectures, provide assignment guidelines, and facilitate communication.

V. Textbook

• Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L. et al. World History: Comprehensive Volume. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: West/Wadsworth, 2002.
• Blackboard website (see Locator information above). This web site contains a number of handouts, readings, and exercises that are REQUIRED as part of the course.  Consult the course website regularly to keep up with announcements and/or necessary changes in the schedule.

To access Blackboard, you will need your student e-mail account information.  On the FSU Home Page (http://www.uncfsu.edu), under Student Resources, click Web for Students, then Look Up Your FSU Email Account.  Enter your social security number (with hyphens) in the Student ID.  Click Submit Query.  Write down your username (User ID) and password.  Once you have your e-mail account, you can exit Web for Students and return to the Blackboard gateway.  Log in to Blackboard using your username and password.

VI. Evaluation

Grades will be based on the following assignments:

Exemption from Exam 4. Students may be exempted from Exam 4 if they meet ALL of the following conditions:

1. they have an A average on all assignments due through Jun 17--i.e., they have accumulated at least 92% of the total possible points;
2. they have NO unexcused absences during the period between Exam 3 and Exam 4; AND
3. they turn in Homework 4 on the due date.

Students exempted from Exam 4 will have their grade calculated on the basis of 812.5 points rather than 1000.

Incompletes are granted only if the student is unable to complete specific course requirements for reasons beyond his or her control. Incompletes are granted only if the student contacts the instructor before the end of the term, and then only if the instructor agrees that the circumstances merit an incomplete. The student and the instructor must complete an Incomplete Grade Form.

VII. Course Requirements and Policies

Assignments are outlined under Evaluation above. Guidelines, instructions, and rubrics are available on the course website. Students are responsible for accessing assignment guidelines on the website.

Attendance

This course follows the university's attendance policy: Students who accumulate unexcused absences exceeding 10% of the course meeting hours will be withdrawn from the course for non-attendance (WN). For summer classes meeting five days each week, that means three (3) absences. In addition, students who miss two consecutive classes without an excuse will also be withdrawn from the course. Students may appeal withdrawal for nonattendance, but approval of appeals is at the discretion of the instructor. See the Catalog for further information and the Course Schedule for deadlines.

Tardiness disrupts the class and is also discouraged. Any student arriving after the instructor has finished calling the roll may be considered tardy, and two incidents of unexcused tardiness count as one unexcused absence.

Participation

Students are expected to observe normal courtesy in class. They are expected to pay attention to the instructor, to take detailed notes, to refrain from personal conversation, and to avoid any other behavior that disturbs others. Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off or set to silent. A student who does not observe these courtesies may be asked to leave the room.

Academic Honesty

Team assignments require a special note. Each member of the study team is expected to contribute to the assignment. Every member of the team gets the same grade for the assignment. Students who do not contribute are essentially misrepresenting someone else's words and ideas as their own. This is academic dishonesty, and it will be treated as such.

VIII. Outline

Readings for specific dates will be announced in class. They may vary slightly from the following table as the pace of the class dictates. Students are responsible for keeping up with any such changes, which will also be posted on this web site. Chapter and page references are to Upshur, World History, 4th ed.

The Unit numbers correspond to Units in the Course Documents area of the website. Links will be available at the beginning of each section. WARNING: The Unit pages are no substitute for class attendance! They are intended to help students review important topics and points covered in class.

IX. Bibliography

A recent controversy in the historiography of early modern world history involves the relative "progress" of Europe and "stagnation" of Asian economies in the period between 1600 and 1800 CE.  The traditional account characterizes the early modern period as that during which Europeans establish a global trade network that drives the world economy and gives Europe dominance over non-European countries. That dominance is held to be the result of many progressive elements in modern European culture: capitalism, modern science and technology, the modern state, etc. A recent account of modern world history that more or less follows in this tradition is that of David Landes in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

An increasing amount of research is calling into question the alleged superiority of Europe by finding more and more of the supposedly unique qualities of European civilization in other civilizations. China, in particular, had a robust and dynamic economy well into the eighteenth century, an economy that was much larger than that of any European country. This research is synthesized in ReOrient, by André Gunder Frank.

Eminent world historian William McNeill wrote an insightful if critical review of Landes for the New York Review of Books.

• Landes, David S. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some are so Rich and Some so Poor. New York : W.W. Norton, 1998.
• Frank, Andre Gunder. ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1998.
• McNeill, William H. Review of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, by David Landes. The New York Review of Books 45, No. 7 (1998): 37.

Other printed sources:

• Bennett, Norman R. Africa and Europe: From Roman Times to National Independence, 2nd Edition, New York: Africana Publishing, 1982. 
• Crosby, A. The Columbian Exchange. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972.   
• Curtin, P. Cross-Cultural Trade in World History. New Rochelle, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
• Hansberry, William Leo. Africa and Africans as seen by Classical Writers. Volume II, Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1981.
• Hodgson, Marshall G.S. Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam, and World History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• McNeill, William H. A History of the Human Community. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987.
• Northrup, David. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co., 1994
• Stavrianos, L. S. A Global History. 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988. 
• Tracy, James D. The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long-Distance Trade in the Early Modern World 1350-1750. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Web Resources

For web pages related to world history, see my links page.

Created by John I. Brooks III. Last updated 05/20/04.