History 151 F  2008

Kathleen Addison (kathleen.addison@csun.edu)

Sierra Tower 606, Office Hours MW 10:30-11:30, by appt

818-389-7915; main office of history dept 677-3566

Resource page:  http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/151home.htm

 

 

 

Who controls the past, controls the future.  Who controls the future, controls the present.  -- George Orwell

 

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe – H.G. Wells.

 

The point is not to observe history; the point is to change it.  – Karl Marx

 

History bears the scars of our civil wars – Guns n’ Roses

 

 

Western Civilization, Renaissance to Present

 

 

This course is a survey of western civilization, centered primarily in Europe, from approximately 1500 to the present day.  This represents an extremely dynamic period in history that has seen some of mankind’s greatest accomplishments in terms of humanism, via the creation of art, technology, science and medicine.  Conversely, it is also the period containing what are arguably some of the bloodiest, most savage acts of cruelty towards all humanity of recorded time.  Indeed, as Dickens noted, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”  In this class we shall explore the transition from medieval/Middle Ages Europe with its unravelling in the age of Reformation, its transition to a “World Superpower,” the onset of modernity through various processes, into the post-modern era of the global community. 

 

My philosophy to history is that it is not comprised of names and dates; there are plenty of those.  History is about how things change and why; and my emphasis on teaching the class is to see the big picture importance of these events.  Your emphasis as a student does require some knowledge of the names and dates, as these do represent a necessary part of your working vocabulary.  However, your preparation guideline should be to ask the question, why is this important? Context is everything.

 

Exams:  There are two midterms and a final.  These are your choice of either m/c with short IDs, or bluebook exams, i.e., essay, which will be done in class; you will only write one essay per exam.  I do not give the questions out ahead of time.  My study guides will include “directed topics” for your focus, but will be along the lines of “wars of religion” and similarly broad topics. 

 

Grades:  I grade on a straight 90-80-70 basis with plus/minus breaks at 93-90-87.  Curving the exam is detrimental to those at the high and low ends; if you make a 93%, you get the A, regardless of whether there are more than 10% who should be assigned an A according to a calculated curve.

 

Grade breakdown of class: 

Exams:                                     25% (x2)

Take home/study guide              15%

Final                                         30%

Attendance and participation:     5%

 

Extra credit:  Extra credit will be offered for the completion of all online exercises from the publisher’s support site, www.wwnorton.com/studyspace for the chapters assigned below.  The maximum assigned extra credit will be 5% of the entire course grade. 

 

Study Guide/Take-Home:  Rated at 7.5% respectively, you will have two out of class assignments for preparation.    See below regarding academic honesty.

 

The second portion of the takehome assignment will be a short, five-page reaction paper to specific readers you will do from your reader, answering a focused question which I will provide you.  This will be due in the 12th week of class.  Late papers will be ‘fined’ a half grade a day.  Email submissions will not be accepted.   All papers must be presented through turnitin.com, with your identification and logon to follow. 

 

Text:   Your text in this class is Coffin and Stacey’s Western Civilization, vol 2, 16th edition (WW Norton press, with Study Space).   I encourage you to look for it online and at other sources. You may use a previous edition by the same publisher.  You are also welcome to substitute any other western civ textbook you may have access to, pending approval; we will modify your reading assignments.   Please do the readings ahead of time so that you will be familiar with the material at the lecture.  You will also read primary source documents from the publisher’s supplementary site, and finally you will read Elie Wiesel’s Night and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.   Please note that you are only required to buy ONE of the copies of Night available in the bookstore.  

  

Lastly, from time to time I will post articles of use and primary sources on the website.  Direct links are included below.  You may also find my classroom powerpoints, study guides and other resources  available at

http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/151home.htm

 

Academic Honesty, behavior in the classroom, or an object lesson in the Social Contract:  Please turn off all cell phones and pagers when in classroom (unless you are awaiting an organ transplant or birth of a child).  Interruptions of class will be subject to your dismissal or a negative impact on your grade.  Interruption of an exam will result in your immediate removal from the classroom and an F on the test.  I am serious.  Equally serious:  Academic honesty.  Be familiar with the terms and definitions of your expected behavior in this regard as found in the school catalog.  This includes collaborative efforts on work, cheating, plagiarism, turning in work for a previous class, or the dissemination of any work represented as original which is attributable to anyone else (with or without their permission).  If you have a question, ask ahead of time.  Thieving isn’t acceptable, be it of material objects or intellectual property.  Academic dishonesty will be dealt with in the strongest terms possible: your case will be forwarded to the dean, and you will receive an F for the class which is not subject to ‘do-over.’  The reasons for your F will be noted on the transcript, and that looks really bad when you’re applying to law school.  You are also subject to suspension or expulsion, even if you’re a graduating senior with a fabulous job or grad school ahead of you.  Please don’t risk it; I will be glad to show you the file of student works (names deleted) of seniors who were all set to graduate, and didn’t.  I will show no mercy.  As noted above, you may not use any internet sources, cited or otherwise, for your written work.  There are some sites which are useful for instructional enhancement, study exercises, etc, and I leave that to your judgment. 


 

Office Hours:  The hours are noted above.  You are welcome to come by and discuss problems or questions you have with the class, history in general, or chat about happy things that won’t depress me.  If you need to consult with me in an off-hours period, chances are if it’s MWF, I am probably there anyway; if I am busy at that exact moment I will tell you but generally if I can, I will make the time.  In terms of generally contacting me, while you do have my cell phone, it is almost always on voice mail and truthfully, because I really hate phones (nothing personal), I may not always know where it is.  So if you need an immediate response to something, your best bet is to email me. 

 

Exiting the class:  If for any reason you decide this is not the class, for you, or your reading load is too much, etc, you must do so by Friday Sept 19;  that is the last day to withdraw from the class.  The Dean of Students has gotten very strict about these dates and will now only approve late drop forms for the “most extenuating circumstances” – which do not include changes in work schedule, poor performance in a class, problems with transportation, childcare, etc.  I will be required to assign a grade for the class after this date, however I might sympathize with your plight. 

 

Schedule of Lectures and Readings:

Proviso: These are subject to revision and represent a suggested guideline; it may be modified accordingly

 

Week 1:            Intro:  Preconditions, Renaissance, Reformation; Tudor England and Conflicts

8/25, 27, 29       with France; background for the Wars of Religion.  Read: : Western Civilization [hereafter WC], chap 12 and half of 13

 

Week 2:            HOLIDAY 9/1 LABOR DAY

9/3, 5               Wars of Religion & Nationalism, Stuart England;

                        Read chap 13 (2nd half) and 14

                        Luther’s Letter to the German Nobility

 

Week 3             Wars of Religion and Nationalism II; Tudor-Stuart England, France Ascendant

9/8/10-12         Read WC chap 15

 

Week 4             Absolutism:  France of Louis XIV; England’s Time of Troubles; Commercial

9/15-19            Revolution and Triangle Trade

                        READ:  Chap 16; digital history reader:  Madame de Sevigne at the court of L-14; be prepared to discuss in class

 

Week 5             Scientific Rev à Enlightenment; French Rev;

9/22-26           READ:  Review 16; read chap 17 thoroughly.  Digital documents: Galileo’s Letter to Duchess Christina.

 

Week 7             Video on Fr. Rev; review; Exam #1 Friday Oct 3 covering chaps 12-17 and all

9/29-10/3         primary source documents.

                        Read:  Chap 18, Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen  

 

Week 7             Rise and Fall of Napoleon; Industrial and Social problems;

10/16-10          why this is now “modern” Europe

                                    Read:  Chap 19; Marx excerpt

 

Week 8             The Age of Diplomacy;  the social problems of modernization; a new revolution

10/20-24          Read:  chap 20

 

Week 9             Nationalism, Liberalism and Autocracy; The “Eastern Question”

10/27-31          Chap 21, discuss

 

Week 10           exam #2 MONDAY 11/3; Unification of Germany and

11/3-7              Italy;  Imperialism and Colonialism

read chap 22-23,

            

 

Week 11:          And just where has Russia been all this time? Crises of the 1890s; starting WW I

11/10-14           read: Chap 24; Digital reader:  Bloody Sunday; Start One Day and Night.

                                   

Week 12           Revolution interruptus: Russia again; Weimar Republic and Totalitarianism;  11/17-21         Continue reading One Day and Night.  Read:  Chap 24 and start 25

        

Week 13          Interwar Europe and the Rise of Fascism

11/24, 26          build-up to WW II; FINISH READING LEVI.  THANKSGIVING BREAK

                        Read: Chap 25, start 26

 

Week 14           WW II; the Holocaust; Cold War

12/1-5              read:  chap 27; Digital Reader: Testimony on Hiroshima;

PAPER ON READINGS DUE FRI 12/5 and through turnitin.com

 

Week 15          End of the Cold War, the new Modern World

                        Read:  Chap 28 and 29.

 

 Final Exam:  Monday December 15, 8:00-10:00 am  – note the earlier time– No exceptions for any reason, please adjust your schedules, vacations, sporting events, etc accordingly.  

 

All extra credit and the final takehome assignment are due at the Final Exam.  NO LATE HAND INS beyond this date.  Don’t even think about asking.  J