42.126.04     Western Civilization Since 1650    

Fall 2009    Time:  Tues-Thurs., 3:00-4:45        Room:  OSH G20 

Professor:  M. Hickey    Office:  OSH 130  x-4161  mhickey@bloomu.edu 

Office hours:  T-Th, 2:00-3:15; Wed., 3:00-5:30

Navigation links for this syllabus 

NOTICE---I have made slight changes to reading assignments for the last 6 weeks of class, and I have added notes

to the weekly syllabus to make clear what documents will be required in the primary source journals!

LINK TO FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS!!!

LINK TO MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS

Basic course information:

Explanations of graded course assignments:

Weekly Schedule    

___________

Brief Introduction to the Course


This course is a survey (an overview) of Western Civilization since the mid-1600s with a primary concentration on European history.    

Among the topics we will examine this semester:   

·         the development of the modern nation state

·         the development of science and its application to social thought

·         the development capitalism and in particular of industrial capitalism 

·         the development of modern concepts of politics and government

·         the development of modern concepts of rights

·         conflicts over who defines rights and who "gets" them

·         the development of modern intellectual and social movements (e.g., Liberalism, Conservativism, Nationalism, Anarchism, Socialism, Communism, Fascism) 

·         methods by which modern states and other political actors mobilize and control (and destroy) mass populations 

 

There is a very heavy emphasis in this class on reading for analysis, on discussing what you have read, and on writing about what you have read. 

 

Course Objectives: 

·         Improve your skills as an analytical reader and listener

·         Improve your communication skills, and in particular your writing skills

·         Develop skill contextualizing and analyzing historical documents

·         Gain a usable introductory knowledge of modern European history

·         Consider ways to apply historical methods to studying contemporary issues

 

Course Methods:  

·             Lectures and class discussions (attendance and participation required!)

·             Readings in course textbook, web-linked documents, and supplementary texts

·             Readings journals that answer questions on the textbook and web-linked

            documents

·             A take-home mid-term exam on all assigned readings/ lectures to the mid-term

·             A take-home final exam on all assigned readings/lectures since the mid-term 

 

 

Required Texts:  

 

The following books are required for this course (you can buy them at the University Store or on-line, but you must have them): 

Frank Kidner, et. al., Making Europe:  People, Politics, and Culture, Vol. 2:  Since 1550.  Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2009.   

Voltaire, Candide.  Norton Critical Edition.  New York:  Norton, 1991.   

Viktor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness:  A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941.    Modern Library Paperback Edition.   New York:  Modern Library, 1999.   

In addition, documents linked to the Weekly Schedule.

 

Grade Components and Grade Scale:

Your grade in this course is based upon: 

Course grade scale:  A = >92; A- = 91.9-90; B+ =89-88; B = 87.9-82; B- = 81.9-80; C+ = 79-78; C =77.9-72; C- = 71.9-70; D+ = 69-68; D = 67.9-60; E = <60

 

Be sure to read the following policies regarding this course:

 

An additional warning about plagiarism and other forms of cheating: 

I will not tolerate plagiarism or cheating in any form.  You must read the discussion of quoting (etc) vs. plagiarism linked to this syllabus, in which I define the behavior that I will consider plagiarism/cheating. 

If I determine that you have plagiarized or cheated on any assignment, I will strictly follow university guidelines by filing a formal complaint with BU’s Student Standards Board.  Students found to have cheated or plagiarized on any graded assignment will fail the course and may be removed from the University. 

On absences and late assignments:   

I will consider absences "excused" only in cases of medical, family, or university/work-related events about which you have informed me in writing in advance, or in cases that are documented in writing by the university administration. 

*Your class participation grade will fall by 5 percent for every unexcused absence.   

*The mid-term and final take home exams must be e-mailed to me (as Microsoft Word files) by 5 PM on the day indicated in the syllabus.  Do not consider your paper received until I send you a message saying that I have received and opened the file.   

*I will deduct 10 percent from the grade for every day (5 pm) that passes until you turn in the paper.  The only circumstance under which I will allow a paper to be late is if you have a valid medical excuse, etc. (see above). 

 

Graded Assignments:

 

Class participation (10 percent): 

The most basic component of participation is being present in class.  Therefore, I will deduct points from your participation grade for each unexcused absence.   When you come to class:

What do I mean by "in an informed manner"?   Your participation should indicate that you have read and thought about the course assignments. (No BS, ok?!) 

Your grade will be based upon the quality of your participation (not on how many times you spoke).  But again, unexcused absences will lower your grade. 

 

Textbook reading journal (10 percent): 

Each week you will have a reading assignment in Kidner, et. al, Making Europe.  You will find that each chapter is divided into subsections (generally, five per chapter).  After the subsection titles (which are in bold red type), there are pale green boxes that have red downward arrows followed by questions.  The text’s authors provide two questions per every subsection.  At the end of each chapter, in the Summary section (again, bold red type), there are two or three Review Questions. 

Your job in your readings journal is to answer the subsection and review questions.  That means that you will answer (on average) 13 questions for each chapter. 

Your answers must be completely in your own words.  If you simply quote the text or do a bad paraphrase, I will not consider the question answered.  The point is to understand what you’ve read.  Explaining in your own words is the best way to do that. 

Format for the textbook reading journal:   

·         Keep a separate notebook (you may need several) for this journal.  (Because you will bring these to class, paper is better than a computer file)

·         Make sure that your name is on the notebook.

·         Each chapter must have a chapter heading (example:  Ch. 17), and each chapter must begin on a new page.

·         Write outat least part of each question, then write your answer.

·         Your answers must be completely in your own words.

·         I do not care about spelling or grammar on this assignment—I care about content. 

Grades on the textbook reading journal: 

I expect you to bring these to class each day, so that you can consult your notes during our discussions.  On random days during the semester, I will collect the journal in class.  You will not have advanced notice.   

Each time I collect the journal, I will grade it. 

I will grade each chapter as its own “unit”—that means you have a total of 12 units.   

Your final journal grade will be the average of the grades from those 12 units. 

When I collect the journals, the grade will be based upon two components:   

1)      completion of the unit (answering all questions) = 50 percent (deductions based on the percentage of unanswered questions);

2)      the quality of answers (correctness, thoroughness) = 50 percent. 

 

 

Primary source readings journal (10 percent): 

You will find several primary source documents linked to the syllabus’ Weekly Schedule.   You will keep a journal on these documents.  You also will use that journal to take notes on study questions regarding Voltaire’s Candide and Klemperer’s I Will Bear Witness. 

A primary source is any document from the past that was created during the time period under study.  So, the diary of a woman who lived during England's "Glorious Revolution" could be a primary source on life in England in the late 1600s.  Work rules posted at a factory in Paris in 1844 would be a primary source on life in France in the 1840s.  A photograph taken by a soldier during a battle in World War One would be a primary source on the experience of soldiers during that war.  A law issued by the German government in 1935 would be a primary source on the policies of Nazi Germany.  (You get the idea.)   

Your primary source readings journal will contain your notes on the documents linked to the Weekly Schedule. 

Format for the primary source readings journal:   

·         Keep a separate notebook (you may need several) for this journal.  (Because you will bring these to class, paper is better than a computer file)

·         Make sure that your name is on the notebook.

·         Each week must have a heading (example:  Week III Galileo document) and begin on a new page.

·         For each document, write out answers to the standard document questions.

·         Write the question number, and then your answer.

·         Your answers must be completely in your own words, except for questions 5 and 7.

·         I do not care about spelling or grammar on this assignment—I care about content.

·         In a separate section of this journal/notebook, write outlines for answers to the exam study questions on Candide and I Will Bear Witness.

 

For each document, you must answer the following questions:

  1. When, where and by whom was this document written?
  2. Who seems to have been the intended audience?
  3. What is most important about the document’s context (the background)?  If the context is not clear from the document’s text of the document, then look in your textbook to see what you can learn about the context (that time/place/person).
  4. What does the document say at its "surface level"?  In other words, what is the document’s most obvious meaning?
  5. What specific evidence in the document supports your interpretation of its "surface" meaning?  (Here you have permission to quote.)
  6. Beneath the surface level, what main point (or points) was the document’s author making?
  7. What specific evidence in the document supports your interpretation of its "deeper" meaning? (Here you have permission to quote.)

In addition, you must use to journal to write outline answers for the exam study questions on Candide and I Will Bear Witness (see below).

Grades on the primary source readings journal: 

I expect you to bring these to class on days when we discuss documents, so that you can consult your notes during our discussions.  On random days during the semester, I will collect the journal in class.  You will not have advanced notice.   

Each time I collect the journal, I will grade it.  I will count each document as its own “unit,” and I will consider the notes on Candide and I Will Bear Witness as their own units.   That means that you have a total of 11 units (9 document sets and the two books).  Your final journal grade will be based upon the average on those 11 units. 

When I collect the journals, the grade each unit based upon:   

1)      completion of questions on assigned documents since the last collection (answering all questions) = 50 percent (deductions based on the percentage of unanswered questions)

2)      the quality of answers on assigned documents (correctness, thoroughness) = 50 percent.   

 

Midterm Exam (30 percent) and Final Exams (40 percent):

Both of your exams will be take-home essays.  The midterm exam will cover all of the reading and lectures in first six weeks the course.  The final exam will cover all the material since the midterm exam.   

Each exam will have two sections, with one question per sections. Your answers must be essays that make use of evidence from our reading assignments and cite that evidence (you can use parenthetical citations).  You will e-mail me your exam answers as files in MS Word, using the format specified below.  

The best way to study for the exam is to:

90 percent of the grade on take-home exams will be based upon the accuracy, clarity, and logic of your answers and your use of our assigned readings as evidence.   10 percent of your exam grades on use of proper form and grammar.   

Mandatory exam format 

 

 

Exam study questions on Voltaire’s Candide and Viktor Klemperer’s diary:

On Voltaire: 

Be ready to refer to specific passages in Candide (pages 1-75 in the Norton Critical Edition) to answer these three questions.  Your answers must demonstrate that you have read the whole story. 

1.  Voltaire was an Enlightenment philosopher, and Candide reflects Enlightenment skepticism towards “received wisdom” (such as religion and superstition) and the Enlightenment insistence on clear, logical reasoning.  Explain at least three different episodes in Candide that provide satirical criticism of religion or various forms of seriously-flawed reasoning.

 

2. Voltaire’s book was first published in 1759, and he sets the story against the background of several real historical events.  Identify at least three of the actual historical events depicted in Candide and explain a) how Voltaire treats these events (does he view them satirically—how and why?); b) what we know about these events from other sources (the Kidner textbook and documents/materials in the Norton Critical Edition, pages 77-126).

 

3. Parts of Voltaire’s Candide are set in Europe, parts in America, and parts in the Ottoman Empire.  In the course of the story, Candide witnesses several different forms and styles of government.  What does Voltaire seem to be saying about the difference between good (enlightened) government and poor (unenlightened) government?  Explain at least three different episodes that support your generalizations.

 

On Klemperer’s diary I Will Bear Witness: 

Be ready to refer to specific passages in the diary to answer these four questions.  On the final exam, I will ask you one (1) of these questions.   Your answers must use evidence from at least 3 different years of the diary.

1.      Based upon this diary, what did Jews in Nazi Germany think Nazi rule would mean for them?  Did all of the Jews that Klemperer knew agree about this?  Did their views evolve over time?  How and why?

 

2.      When and in what ways did Klemperer and his Jewish family and acquaintances begin to experience racial (anti-Jewish) hostility from ordinary Germans?  Did that hostility intensify?  When, how, and why?

 

3.      How and when did the restrictions that the Nazi government placed upon Jews impact the Klemperers’ life.  Be certain to discuss specific policies put in place at specific times and how these shaped life for the Klemperers and for other Jews who they knew.

 

4.      Why didn’t Klemperer simply leave Germany?  Did his thinking about this question change over time?  If so, how?

Weekly schedule: 

This is a provisional schedule.  I may find it necessary to change the dates of some assignments during the semester, and I may at times run a bit ahead or behind the syllabus.

 

Week I:  Introduction to the course; The State in Early Modern Europe

(M=31 August) 

Readings: 

                                                                       

Week II :  The State in Early Modern Europe

(M=7 September) 

Readings: 

                                                
Week III:  Science and the Enlightenment

(M=14 September) 

Readings: 

 

Week IV:  Early Modern European Society

(M=21 September)

Readings:

·         Kidner, Chapter 18

·         Discuss Voltaire

 

Week V:  The French Revolution

(M=28 September) 

Readings:   

 

Week VI:  Post-Revolutionary Politics and Society, 1815-1847

(M=5 October) 

Readings:

·         Kidner, Chapter 20

 

Week VII:  The Industrial Revolution and Social Change

(M=12 October) 

Readings: 

                                                                               

Week VIII:  The Revolutions of 1848

(M=19 October) 

Readings: 

 

Midterm exam due, via email, by 5 PM on Friday 23 October.

 

Week IX:  Mass Politics and Mass Society, 1850-1914  

(M=26 October) 

Readings: 

 

Week X:  Imperialism, 1870-1914

(M=2 November) 

Readings: 

 

Week XI:  World War One

(M= 9 November)

Readings: 

*French soldiers using a trench periscope in

      Alsace:http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin13/imag1289.jpg

*French attack on German trenches:

      http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin11/imag1006.jpg

*French and German dead at

      Champagne:http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin13/imag1287.jpg

*Russian mass grave: http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin08/imag0704.jpg

*Ruins of Vaux: http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin02/imag0169.jpg

*Ruins of St. Quentin: http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin10/imag0964.jpg

*Poles searching through the ashes of their former home:

                  http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin16/imag1600.jpg

 

Week XII:  The Russian Revolution

(M =16 November) 

Readings: 

                 

Week XIII:  Thanksgiving Recess

(M=23 November.  Thursday =Thanksgiving Day)  

Begin Reading Klemperer!   REQUIRED FOR JOURNAL

 

Week XIV:  The failure of post-war stabilization in Europe (Fascism and Nazism)

(M=30 November) 

Readings: 

 

Week XV:  Nazi Rule and World War Two

(M=7 December) 

Readings: 

 

_______________

Week XVI:  Final exam due via email by 5 PM on Monday, 14 December.