Western Civilization Since 1650
(42.126) Sections 03, 04
M.
Hickey Old Science Hall Office 130
389-4161 hickey@planetx.bloomu.edu
Navigation links for this syllabus
Brief Description Class Participation Mid-Term Exam Term Paper Final Exam
Required Texts On Quoting and Citation Form Weekly Schedule
MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE ANSWER KEY
FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE ANSWER KEY
Brief Description: This course is a survey of "Western Civilization" since the mid-1600s. We will concentrate mostly on societies on the European continent. (Although you could define "Western Civilization" in this period to include history of societies in the Americas, Australia, etc.) Between the 1600s and the present, Europe has witnessed enormous changes that have shaped life in the entire world. We often refer these changes as "revolutions"--the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, etc. We will examine these changes as "themes" that cut across the chronology of events in the last several centuries.
Here is a short list of some of the world-shaping developments that took place in Europe in the 1600s-2000 that we will follow as themes this semester:
1) the development of the centralizing "state," the birth of the modern notion of the "nation state,"
and the expanding claims of the state over new areas of people's lives
2) the development of modern science and its application to not only to technology, but also to
thinking about society (for instance, in the ideas of the Enlightenment and then in the great "isms"
of the 19th and 20th century), and the ongoing friction between rational and non-rational ways of thinking
3) the development of a way of organizing economic activity known as capitalism (and particularly of
industrial capitalism), and how the changing capitalist economy has created new social classes and conflicts,
shaped every aspect of people's daily lives, and led steadily towards "globalization"
4) the development of modern concepts of politics, government, and of rights, and the development
of conflicts over how and by whom rights are defined and who "gets" them (for instance, in revolutions)
5) the development of intellectual and social movements (or "isms") that have shaped how people understand
the world and directed their efforts to change it (for instance, Liberalism, Conservativism, Nationalism,
Anarchism, Socialism, Communism, Fascism, etc.).
6) the development of new methods by which states and other political/social actors mobilize, control, or
eliminate mass populations (for instance, propaganda, warfare, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and we can't forget
about marketing and advertising!)
Most of our class sessions will be in lecture format, but I will be asking you a lot of questions during the lectures (about the readings, about your interpretation of ideas and events, etc.), and I hope that your answers will lead us into class discussions. Also, some class sessions will be devoted specifically to discussion of assigned readings.
The Final Grade in this course is based upon four components: Class Participation (10 percent); a Mid-Term Exam (30 percent); a Term Paper (20 percent); and a Final Exam (40 Percent). In grading all of your written work, my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic, although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters, such as grammar and proper citation form.
I will enforce university policy on cheating and plagiarism as defined at the website http://www.bloomu.edu/academic/acadpol.shtml.
Class Participation: (10 percent of final grade.) The first thing to remember about your class participation grade is that you can not participate if you are not in class. Therefore, attendance is built into the participation grade. Your grade will fall in direct proportion to the percentage of sessions that you miss (excused absences require documentation from the university, a doctor, etc.); for instance, if you "blow off" 3 sessions, that means that you have missed 10 percent of our classes, and your participation grade will fall by 10 percent. Your participation grade will also be based upon the quality of your contributions to class sessions, as a listener, in asking and answering questions, and taking part in discussions. And from time to time I may collect your answers to study questions (see below), and include these in your participation grade.
Mid-Term Exam: (30 percent of final grade.) You will take a mid-term exam, which will include questions in a variety of formats (multiple choice, true-false, short answer, short essay). The exam will take place in the 8th week of class (17 October), and will cover all of the material from the previous seven weeks. I will not schedule "make-up" exams unless I receive notification from the University administration that your absence is excused for the day of the exam. I will grade the multiple-choice and true-false portions of the exam on the basis of the accuracy of your answers; in grading the short answer and short essay sections my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic, although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters such as grammar.
Term Paper: (20 percent of final grade.) You will write a short paper (4-5 pages typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, with 1-inch margins) based upon a comparison of two novels about life in prison camps--Night, Elie Wiesel's fictionalized account of his own experiences in a Nazi "death camp" during World War Two; and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's fictionalized account based upon his own experience in Soviet labor camps after World War Two. Your paper will answer one of the following questions (you chose one):
1) How did the Nazi regime "choose" the prisoners in its death camps, how did the Soviet regime "choose" the prisoners in its labor camps, and what does the difference between the "types" of people in each camp tell you about the differences between the Nazi regime and the Soviet regime?
2) In what ways and why did the main characters in these two novels have to abandon the values that they had when the entered the camps, and what does this tell us about the experience of living and dying in these camps?
3) Many historians and political scientists argue that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were both "totalitarian" regimes, that sought to control every aspect of people's lives; what do these two stories of life and death in the camps tell us about the similarities between the Nazi and Soviet regimes?
Your paper must be based upon detailed analysis of the evidence in the two novels. That means that you must refer to specific evidence in the novels that supports your answer. You must make sure that you quote properly (etc), and you must document all sources with endnotes (please read the directions at the linked page on quoting and on source citations).
To write this paper, you must first read both of the novels. But you do not have to read any additional essays or books; if you do read any additional sources, you must list these in a bibliography at the end of the paper (this includes any internet sites).
Tips:
1) Be sure that you paper has an introductory paragraph that lets the reader know what your main question is and what your main point is. Your main point is also called your thesis. The thesis should be a logical statement that answers the paper's main question. The reader should know what your thesis is by the end of the introduction.
2) To explain and prove your thesis, you need to break it down into several main ideas and provide evidence to prove these ideas. That is the function of the body paragraphs in your paper. Be sure that each paragraph in the body of your paper is devoted to explaining a single main idea (one main idea per paragraph). That main idea should help us understand your thesis. Each paragraph needs to include evidence about that main idea (to illustrate or prove your point), and you must explain what the evidence means (don't assume that it is obvious).
3) Be sure that you end your paper with a concluding paragraph that sums up you main ideas and makes clear how all of these ideas add up to your main point (thesis), and how your main point answers the main question of your paper.
The term paper will be due on 5 December (Thursday), although you also can turn it in before that.
Final Exam: (40 percent of final grade.) You will take a Final Exam, which will include questions in a variety of formats (multiple choice, true-false, short answer, short essay). The exam for Section 03 will take place on 11 December (Weds.) at 10:30; the exam for Section 04 will be on 9 December (Mon.) at 8:00. The final exam will cover all of the material since the Mid-Term Exam. I will not schedule "make-up" exams unless I receive notification from the University administration that your absence is excused for the day of the exam. I will grade the multiple-choice and true-false portions of the exam on the basis of the accuracy of your answers; in grading the short answer and short essay sections my primary concern will be your accuracy, clarity, and logic, although I will also take into consideration "technical" matters such as grammar.
Required Texts: All books are required.
Judith G. Coffin, et al., Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture, Vol. 2, 14th Edition (New York: Norton, 2002).
Stephen Wessley, Study Guide for Coffin (et al), Western Civilizations Volume 2 14th Edition (New York: Norton, 2002).
Elie Wiesel, Night ( New York: Bantam, 1982).
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (New York: Signet, 1998).
Notes on the Texts:
Judith G. Coffin, et al., Western Civilizations is our basic textbook for the course. Each chapter begins with a set of "focus questions," and is organized to answer these questions. I may pick some of these focus questions as essay questions for your mid-term and final exams, and I may ask you to discuss these questions in class (as part of your participation grade). Each chapter also has one or more primary source documents (documents from the time period covered in the chapter), which are on pages with gray backgrounds; I will be asking you questions about these documents in class (as part of your participation grade).
The textbook and my lectures often cover the same material, but I will not lecture on every issue that is covered in the textbook. Also, my interpretations in the lectures are often different from those in the textbook. So it is vital that you read the textbook and attend lectures; it is also important that you be aware of differences in interpretation and emphasis between my lectures and the textbook.
Stephen Wessley, Study Guide for Coffin (et al) provides you with very good study questions and sample exam questions on each chapter of the textbook. Answering these study questions and sample exam questions will help you prepare for the mid-term and final exams. I may collect your answers to the study questions from time to time, to be sure that you are keeping up with the work; if I do so, it will count as part of your participation grade (having answered the questions will equal participation; having not answered the questions will equal not participating).
Each chapter in the study guide also includes one or more primary source documents (documents from the time period covered in the chapter); I will be asking you questions about these documents in class (as part of your participation grade).
Elie Wiesel, Night, is a work of fiction by a man who really lived through the Holocaust. It tells the story of a young Jewish boy (based on Wiesel himself) who ends up in the Nazi death camps. Like many survivors of the camps, Weisel could not stand to discuss or write about his experience for almost a decade after World War Two; this book was his first attempt to write about his experiences, and its is probably the most famous book written by a Holocaust survivor.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is also a work of fiction, by a Russian who really was imprisoned in one of Stalin's labor camps after World War Two. Solzhenitsyn wrote this book in the 1950s, but because of censorship in the USSR he could not have it published. The book was finally published in the early 1960s at the orders of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who wished to discredit the former Stalin leadership. But soon afterwards the Soviet government resumed its censorship of Solzhenitsyn's writings, and he was forced to leave the USSR in the early 1970s.
Weekly schedule:
Note: Coffin refers to Judith G. Coffin, et al., Western Civilizations; Wessley refers to Stephen Wessley, Study Guide for Coffin (et al). For each week, I indicate the reading assignments that should be finished by Tuesday (the exception, of course, is our first class session). I also indicate the pages on which you will find documents that we might discuss in class that week.
Also please note that this is a provisional schedule--I may find it necessary to change the dates of some assignments during the semester.
Week I (27, 29 Aug): Introduction to the course; Life in Early Modern Europe
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 16; Wessley, Chapter 16.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 559, 569-70, 579, 588; documents in Wessley, pp. 25-27.
Week II (3, 5 Sept): Life and Politics in Early Modern Europe
Readings: In addition to the Week I readings, Coffin, Chapter 17; Wessley, Chapter 17.
For Discussion: in addition to Week I readings, documents in Coffin, pp. 596-97, 601, 605, 611; documents in Wessley, pp. 31-34.
Week III (10, 12 Sept): Science and the Enlightenment
Readings: Coffin, Chapters 18 and 19; Wessley, Chapters 18 and 19.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 636, 639-40, 645, 659, 661, 663, 666-67; documents in Wessley, pp. 36-37, 41-44.
Week IV (17, 19 Sept): finish lecture on the Enlightenment (Tuesday's lecture); The French Revolution (Thursday's lecture)
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 20; Wessley, Chapter 20.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 690, 695, 696, 700-701, 707, 715-16; documents in Wessley, pp. 47-49.
Week V (24, 26 Sept): The French Revolution (Tuesday); The Industrial Revolution (Thursday)
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 21; Wessley, Chapter 21.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 728, 729, 732-33; documents in Wessley, pp. 52-58.
Week VI (1, 3 Oct): The Industrial Revolution ;
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 22; Wessley, Chapter 22.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 748-49, 752, 757-58; documents in Wessley, pp. 61-62.
Week VII (7, 9 Oct): A New Kind of Society, with New Forms of Conflict: Social Change, Social Class, and Politics in the Early 1800s
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 23; Wessley, Chapter 23.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 790, 794, 801-802; documents in Wessley, pp. 65-67
Week VIII (15, 17 Oct): The Revolutions of 1848: the Politics of Reaction, Revolution, and Reaction in the mid-1800s
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 24; Wessley, Chapter 24.
MID-TERM EXAM ON THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER
Week IX (22, 24 Oct): Tuesday: The Revolutions of 1848: the Politics of Reaction, Revolution, and Reaction in the mid-1800s; Thursday: Mass Politics and State Authority in Europe, 1850-1914
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 25; Wessley, Chapter 25.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 854, 863, 870-71; documents in Wessley, p. 78.
Week X (29, 31 Oct): Tuesday: Mass Politics and State Authority in Europe, 1850-1914 Thursday, end of lecture on politics and state authority; beginning of lecture on Imperialism and the Origins of World War One
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 26; Wessley, Chapter 26.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 882, 894, 901, 908-09; documents in Wessley, pp. 84-89.
Week XI (5, 7 Nov): World War One, the "War to End All Wars" and its Consequences
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 27; Wessley, Chapter 27.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 924-25, 938, 944; documents in Wessley, pp. 94-98.
Week XII (12, 14 Nov): The Russian Revolution; Fascism and Nazism in Central Europe
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 28; Wessley, Chapter 28.
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 960-61, 972-73; documents in Wessley, pp. 101-103.
Week XIII (19, 21 Nov): Nazi Rule; World War Two
Readings: Coffin, Chapter 29; Wessley, Chapter 29; Wiesel, Night (entire book).
We will see a film on Thursday, 21 November. You MUST attend--the final exam will have an essay question that REQUIRES that you consider evidence from this film..
Week XIV (26 Nov): Origins of the Cold War Era
Readings: Coffin, Chapters 30-31 (to page 1069); Wessley, Chapters 30-31; Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (entire book).
For Discussion: documents in Coffin, pp. 1039-40; documents in Wessley, pp. 114-16, 118-120.
Week XV (3, 5 Dec): The Cold War Era, the End of the Cold War and Facing a Post-Cold War World
Readings: Coffin, Chapters 30 (from p. 1069) and 31; Wessley, Chapter 31.
For Discussion: Let's make a point to discuss anything you want to this week!
TERM PAPER DUE ON THURSDAY, 5 DECEMBER
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