World Civilization I
HIST-18100-03
Ithaca College Department of History
Tuesday/Thursday 9:25-10:40AM
Friends 301
Jason Freitag
Muller Faculty Center Room 423
Phone x4-5798
E-mail:
Office Hours: Noon-1:30PM Wednesday; 1-2:00PM Thursday and by appointment.
This course is the first in a two-semester World Civilizations sequence, and in it we will cover the period from the beginnings of human society until approximately 1550 CE. The course will proceed chronologically, but has the objective of exploring certain crucial themes in the development of human history. Issues of migration, urbanization, tradition, family and social structure, identity (caste, class, race, sex, ethnicity), authority and resistance, globalization, technological innovation and cultural encounter will help to guide our thinking as we move through the early millennia of history. The course will introduce the world's major religions -- Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- and discuss their growth and impact. Finally, the course will look critically at "historiography," or the writing of history, as we try to understand how writers in the past have tried to understand their world historically.
The course will consider both primary sources (texts written by someone directly connected with the events and issues in question) and secondary sources (texts produced from an analysis of primary documents) to help us develop and engage our critical and analytical faculties. "Engagement" is the key word here. As you read, listen to and think about this material, try always to consider the author’s relationship to their topic, the larger issues they are addressing and the use to which they are putting their sources as they make their argument. A major objective of this course, and the ultimate measure of its success, will be the extent to which you powerfully enter into conversation in this way with the texts and ideas under study, as well as with each other, as we proceed along our historical journey. Each student’s active participation in the life of the class will ensure an interesting learning experience not just for them, but for the class as a whole.
Texts:
Required:
Stearns, P., Adas, M., Schwartz, S., Gilbert, M. World Civilizations: The Global Experience, 5th Edition, Volume I: Beginnings to 1750. Pearson Longman, 2007.
Reilly, K. Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, Third Edition, Volume I: to 1550. Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.
Recommended:
The following reference is extremely useful as a guide to researching and writing papers for history courses in particular, but has a wealth of information that will be generally applicable during your academic career:
Benjamin, J. A Student's Guide to History, Tenth Edition. Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston, 2007.
All texts are available for purchase at the Ithaca College Bookstore.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance at lecture is extremely important, and in grading you will be held responsible not only for the material in the texts, but in the lectures and class discussions as well. Accordingly, attendance will be taken on a regular basis. More than 3 unexcused absences will result in a 1/2 step reduction in your final grade (instead of an A-, there will be a step down to a B+). Documented illnesses or emergencies, as well as religious holidays, are excused absences, and do not count towards the three. If you are having issues or special circumstances that prevent you from coming to class, please come and see me so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Etiquette:
- Please turn OFF and put away all cell phones before the class begins.
- Please print your papers and turn them in to me. I do not accept papers by e-mail.
Requirements:
Examinations: There will be a midterm exam on October 16th, based on material from the readings, lectures and discussions up to that point. The final exam is scheduled for December 19th from 7:30-10:00AM.
Papers: There will be two 1-2-page response papers based on a primary source of your choosing. The first of these papers will be due by September 28th and the second by November 2nd. These papers are not a summary of the source, but a brief, analytical reaction to an issue in the text. In other words, these papers are truly meant to be your response to one of the primary source texts.
There will be one 3-5-page primary source response paper required for this class, and it will be due on December 7th. The assignment will ask you to choose and critically compare two or more primary source documents. You will receive further instructions and a series of guides for paper writing within the first month of class.
One-page written paper proposals will be due by November 30that the latest. I encourage you to get these in as early as possible so that we can meet and discuss your ideas for the paper. I also encourage you to produce drafts of your paper early, and have them read either by your colleagues in class or on campus, or by members of the writing center staff. I am also willing and happy to read drafts of your work, provided they are given to me at least ten days before the papers are due.
Oral presentations: There will be one oral presentation for this class. The presentation will be short (5-10 minutes maximum), and is designed to lead the class discussion on an assigned primary source reading. This presentation is not a summary of the text. Rather, it is meant to provide a brief analysis of the historical context from which the text arose, discuss the aims and issues you see in the text, and finally present the questions you feel will provoke and promote discussion of the text for that class session.
The oral presentation will count towards the attendance and class participation component of your grade.
Evaluation:
The midterm exam will count for 25% of your final grade.
The final exam will count for 25% of your final grade.
The primary source response papers will count for 30% (5-10-15) of your final grade.
Regular attendance, demonstrated reading, thoughtful participation and well-organized, engaged oral presentation will count for 20% of your final grade.
Schedule of Readings:
August / 30 / Introduction. What is World History?September / 4 / Birth of Civilization
S Ch. 1
R Docs. 1-4
6 / Rise of Civilization in the Middle East and Africa
S. Ch. 2
R Docs. 5-9
11 / Asia’s First Civilizations: India and China
S. Ch. 3
R. Docs. 11-14
13 / Unification and Consolidation in China
S Ch. 4
R Docs. 19, 22
18 / The Classical Mediterranean: Persia and Greece
S Ch. 5
R Docs. 10, 15-17
20 / Film: Black Athena
25 / India’s Golden Age
S Ch. 6
R Docs. 30-33
27 / The Roman Empire
S Ch. 7
R Docs. 18, 20, 21, 23
28 / First Paper Due
October / 2 / Universal Religion
R Docs. 34-39
4 /
Women in Classical SocietiesR Docs. 24-29
9 / People and Civilizations of the AmericasS Ch. 8
11 / Spread of Civilizations and the Movement of Peoples
S Ch. 9
16 /
Midterm Exam
18 / No Class: Fall Break23 / End of the Classical Era
S Ch. 10
R Docs 40, 41
25 / The Rise of Islam
S Ch. 11
R Docs. 42, 43, 48, 49
30 / Islam in Asia and Africa
S Ch. 12,13
R Docs. 44, 50
November / 1 / Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
S Ch. 14
R Docs. 39
2 /
Second Paper Due
6 /New Civilization in Western Europe
S Ch. 15R Docs. 45-47
8 / The First Crusade
R Docs. 60-67
13 / The Black Death
R Docs. 75-80
15 / Love and Marriage
R Docs. 54-59
20 / No Class: Thanksgiving Break
22 / No Class: Thanksgiving Break
27 / The Americas on the Eve of Invasion
S Ch. 16
29 / Tang and Song China
S Ch. 17, 18
R Docs. 51-53
30 / Paper Proposal Due
December / 4 / Ecology, Technology and Science
R Docs. 87-93
6 / “Barbarians” and Mongols
S Ch. 19
R Docs. 68-74
7 /
Third Paper Due
11 / On CitiesR Docs. 81-86
13 / The Rise of the West
S Ch. 20
19 / Final Exam 7:30-10:00AM