Pre-Modern World

HISTORY 1500

PRE-MODERN WORLD

Fall 2016 – MWF 8:30-9:20 AM

EDUC 131

3credits

Dr. Tom J. Arnold

Office: Main 321E

Office hours: MWF 9:30am-10:30am and by appointment

435-797-1296

Graduate Assistant: Joanna Dobrowolska

Office hours MWF 12:30pm-1:30pm

REQUIRED BOOK

1.Bentley, Richard et al.,Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past Vol.I: From the Beginning to 1500

Additional Readings: Some required additional readings will be posted on Canvas or available from online sources.

Course Description:

In this course we will survey the human history of the world from its beginnings in Africa to the Age of Exploration and the Columbian Exchange. Along the way we will encounter and discuss philosophy, religion, culture, science, technology, and the natural world. We will see how ordinary people lived and died, and what forces shaped their world and ours.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: HIST 1500 isdesignedto develop:

 historical knowledge

• discuss how factors like race, gender, class, ethnicity, region and religion influence historical narratives
• focusing on complex issues of causation (in a course that will examine political ideologies, economic structures, social organization, cultural perceptions, and natural environments)

 historical thinking

• recognizing the radically different nature of past experience
• explain what influence the past has on the present
• avoiding the interpretive trap of “presentism” (which imposes the experiences, assumptions, and prejudices of our time on earlier figures who could not possibly anticipate the modern world)
• understanding and applying the variety of approaches to history
• understanding the contested nature of historical interpretation (i.e. historians do not agree on everything)

 historical skills

• focusing on careful, thoughtful reading of assigned texts,
• aiming for clear, coherent, and meaningful writing in essay exams, and
• developing critical appreciation of both primary and secondary historical sources

COURSE COMPONENTS

Readings: Be sure to keep up with the readings for each week. Class lectures and activities serve as a framework, not the entire class.

Lectures will generally involve PowerPoint presentations. I will try to keep my slides long on pictures and short on words, so you need to take notes in class.

I will also use websites, YouTube videos, art, music, movie clips and artifacts to help you understand the material. Please ask questions or ask me to repeat something if you do not understand.

Discussions & Activities look more closely at the readings and material covered in lecture, exploring major themes and exchanging opinions and insights. To that end, my classes are safe, tolerant environments for the free exchange of ideas. We will at times cover sensitive and/or controversial topics. I expect you to approach these ideas with civility, respect, and the critical distance appropriate to an academic setting, communicate your perspectives and arguments with appropriate sensitivity and sincerity, and respect others’ opinions. This is not Fox News or MSNBC; you will be asked to leave if your behavior is disruptive.

Terms Lists

The material each week will have a list of 10-15 terms associated with it. These will be posted on Canvas ahead of time. These terms serve as guideposts for each week’s readings, but just knowing terms is not enough. As you read, be sure you note the following about each term: Who, What, When, Where, and most importantly Why, i.e. why is it significant?

GRADING

Your Final Grade will consist of:

Essay Exams (4 X 15% each) 60%

Quizzes (10) 20%

Projects(2) 10%

Online Discussions10%

Exams

The four Essay Examswill have three essay questions: you will choose one of them. Questions will cover material from lectures, discussions, handouts (if any), and the textbook. They will cover only the material for that Unit. You must bring your own (blank) Blue Book (available at the Bookstore) to the exams. Each Essay Exam is worth 15% of your total grade for a total of 60%.

Weekly Quizzes

These will take place on Monday and be based on the material and Terms List from the previous week. There will be 13 quizzes overall. The best 10 will count for your grade.

Projects are short, fun and creative assignments that will ask you to evaluate different ways of studying and teaching history. There will be one Project due in each half of the semester

Online Discussions

Each Unit will have one Online Discussion on Canvas. This is a chance to share ideas and information with your classmates. Details to follow.

COURSE ETIQUETTE

Attending class, being on time, paying attention, asking questions and participating in discussions and activities will help your grade. Being late, not paying attention,

chatting with neighbors, reading newspapers, answering a ringing phone, browsing the web, updating social media accounts, nodding off to dreamland and being disrespectful of others will hurt your grade.Worse still, they break down the mutual respect between students and teacher that I wish to maintain.

If you have a question about lecture material during class, ask. You can figure out for yourself the importance of clearing up any possible confusion over lectures. Your comments and questions also benefit fellow students who might hesitate to raise the very same issues.

Electronic and Other Devices: No recording or filming is allowed in lecture without my prior permission, given only to students who have a legitimate need. Unless stated otherwise,phones (smart or other) must be turned off or on vibrate and be put away during class. On-call emergency personnel should see me as soon as possible if they need to be exempted from this rule.

Laptop Computers: The only use for a laptop or tablet during class sessions for this course is to take notes on the lectures, if you really feel it is necessary.Recent research has shown that taking notes by hand is more effective than using a laptop or tablet. I will post outlines of the PowerPoints beforehand. You make the call.

Otherwise, laptops should be shut off and closed.

I reserve the right to revoke this privilege.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

I expect students to abide by the policies on academic honesty outlined by Utah State University:

Review this statement of USU policy on cheating, falsification, and plagiarism.

E-mail

Students are invited to come to office hours,(or make an appointment) which is the best means of discussing questions on course material. If you cannot attend office hours, I am happy to respond to emails M-F, and will make every effort to respond by the next business day (unless otherwise announced). Please note that I am unable to answer individual requests for students who were absent about what was covered in class via email, nor do I discuss grades over e-mail.

ATTENDANCE

I do not take attendance. Recognize that it pays to show up regularly. Why?

In class you hear the particular points of a lecture as well as the general context in

which those points are raised. One without the other usually leads to problems

on exams.

In class you can ask for a clarification of confusing issues (rather than stumbling ona problem just before a test).

By attending regularly, you do not depend on someone else's notesnotes that

might turn out to be awful.

In class you can work on a skill that the nonattender never develops: notetaking

abilities. You cannot sharpen this talent just by copying notes but only by doing

the work yourself: being a good listener, becoming familiar with material in its

full form, and learning to discern, organize, and interrelate the critical

components of an argument. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of

these skills inside and outside the university.

In very practical terms, there are many announcements and note sheets in class thatyou will miss by not being present.

GRADING RUBRIC

LEARNING OUTCOME
HISTORICAL
KNOWLEDGE / Excellent mastery 15-14 / Good mastery
13-12 / Some mastery
11 / Minimal mastery 10-9 /
No mastery
8-0
Historical soundness of the argument
(student demonstrates an understanding of the key historical events related to the question)
15% of grade / -statements are correct, verifiable, and precise
-clear chronological understanding of events -complex grasp of causation
-analyzes a range of factors shaping the sequence and outcome of events
-reflects on larger themes informing specific events / -sound chronological framework
-good grasp of causation
-omits some key informing factors shaping events
-proposes a sufficient range of major themes / -some factual or chronological errors
-weak causal analysis
-narrow range of informing factors in the discussion
-little discussion of broader themes / -many chronological errors
-simplistic causal analysis
-few informing factors tied to the discussion
-thin discussion of wider themes / -multiple factual or chronological errors
-essay explores its subject in a historical vacuum with little
commentary on causation and larger themes
Pertinence of the argument
15% of grade / -all of the material in the essay directly relates to — and fully covers — the central issues posed in the question / -some parts of the essay digress from the central focus of the question
-good coverage of the historical material relevant to the question / -several parts of the essay digress from the central focus of the question
-fair coverage of the historical material relevant to the question (gaps in evidence) / -many parts of the essay digress from the central focus of the question
-major omissions of historical material relevant to the question / -material offered in the essay has no discernible bearing on the question asked
-no coverage of the historical material relevant to the question
HISTORICAL THINKING / Excellent mastery 40-36 / Good mastery
35-32 / Some mastery
31-28 / Minimal mastery 27-24 / No mastery
23-0
Explanation of the argument
(student responds to historical questions in a thoughtful, critical manner)
40% of grade / -full explanation of the problem under review
-essay defines and explores key terms / concepts / issues / ideas related to the question
-situates issues within their distinctive historical context
-essay clarifies the significance of the issue under review by answering the “why” and “because” questions
-essay reflects the complexity and depth of the material under review / -some key parts of the historical issue omitted
-most key terms defined
-some effort at contextualizing the question
-some gaps as the essay explores the meaning and significance of major issues
-at some points, critiques either inappropriate or unsubstantiated / -several key terms left undefined
-vagueness in response
-essay mentions (but does not explain) key issues
-weak contextualization
-significance of the material presented remains unclear
-critiques often unfair, irrelevant, or misinformed / -key terms often undefined
-broad, sweeping, imprecise statements
-little to no explanation of key issues
-little to no discussion of wider context of events
-essay raises more questions than it answers
-critiques commonly unfair, irrelevant, or misinformed. / -omission of key information
-omission of key explanations
-fails to analyze issues within their distinctive historical context
-critiques misplaced, inappropriate, or ahistorical
LEARNING OUTCOME
HISTORICAL SKILLS / Excellent mastery 15-14 / Good mastery
13-12 / Some mastery
11 / Minimal mastery 10-9 / No mastery
8-0
Organization of the argument
15% of grade / -argument unfolds through a logical sequence of points
-statements made in a straightforward, understandable, and persuasive manner
-structure of the argument is sound, understandable, and appropriate to the project. / -good organizational skills, though some parts of the essay move in unexpected directions
-line of argument generally clear / -difficult to detect a logical sequence of the points in the essay
-material presented in a scattershot fashion, making it hard to follow the line of argument / -confusing and puzzling sequence of points raised in the argument
-difficult to determine the meaning, appropriateness, or significance of the material offered / -organization of argument remains incomprehen-sible, moving in perplexing or random directions
Mechanics of the argument
15% of grade / Essay written using
-complete sentences
-well-formed paragraphs
-proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. / -occasional errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence, and paragraph construction; not severe enough to hinder an understanding of the essay’s main points / -numerous errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence, and paragraph construction make some sections of the essay unintelligible / -repeated errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence, and paragraph construction make several sections of the essay unintelligible / -problems in spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence, and paragraph construction so severe as to make the essay unintelligible
-(or material presented in outline -- rather than essay –form)
TOTAL: / 100-90 points: “A” range
100-97: A+; 96-93: A; 92-90: A-
89-80 points: “B” range
89-87; B+; 86-83: B; 82-80: B-
79-70 points: “C” range
79-77: C+; 76-73: C; 72-70: C-
69-60 points: “D” range
69-67: D+; 66-63: D; 62-60: D-
59- 0 points: “F” range
LETTER
GRADE:

COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to Change):

Unit 1: Organizing Nature and People

WEEK 1: August 29-Sept 2: Intro and Early Humans

Reading: Chapter 1

WEEK 2: Sept 5-9: Hydraulic Civilizations: The Middle East

Reading: Chapter 2

9/5: Labor Day: NO CLASS

9/7:QUIZ #1

WEEK 3: Sept 12-16: Hydraulic Civilizations: Africa & India

Reading: Chapters 3 & 4

9/12:QUIZ #2

WEEK 4: Sept 19-23: China & the Americas

Reading: Chapter5 & 6

9/19:QUIZ #3

9/23:EXAM #1

Unit 2: Ideas and Empires

WEEK 5: Sept 26-30: Figuring Out Life

Reading: Chapters 8-9

9/26:QUIZ #4

WEEK 6: Oct 3-7: It’s All Greeks to Me

Reading: Chapters 710, Canvas readings

10/3: QUIZ #5

WEEK 7: Oct 10-14: When in Rome…

Reading: Chapter 11

10/10:QUIZ #6

WEEK 8: Oct 17-21: Meet the New Boss: Chapter 12

Reading: Chapter 12

10/17: QUIZ #7

Thursday 10/20: Fall break makeup day: EXAM #2

Unit 3: the “Clash of Civilizations”

WEEK 9: Oct 24-28: The Islamic World

Reading: Chapter 13 (all), Chapter 15: 318-325

10/24:QUIZ #8

WEEK 10: Oct 31-Nov 4: Christendom & Crusades

Reading: Chapter 16 & Chapter 19: 404-412

10/31:QUIZ #9

WEEK 11: Nov 7-11: Vikings and Mongols: Oh My!

Reading: Chapter 17

11/7:QUIZ #10

WEEK 12: Nov 14-18: An Excursion to Africa and Asia

Reading: Chapter 14: 298-303Chapter 18(all)

11/14:QUIZ #11

11/18: EXAM #3

UNIT 4: “The Big Wide World”

WEEK 13: Nov 21-25: Pausing to Celebrate

Reading: TBA

11/21: Holidays and Festivals: QUIZ #12

11/23 & 11/25: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY: NO CLASS

WEEK 14: Nov 28-Dec 2: The Age of Exploration

Reading: Chapter 21

11/28:QUIZ #13

WEEK 15: Dec 5-9: The Columbian Exchange

Reading: Chapter 20excerpt from 1491 (handout)

12/9:LAST DAY OF CLASS

FINAL EXAM (EXAM #4): MONDAY, DEC 12

7:30am-9:20am