History 110 S11

Professor Kathleen Addison      

Kathleen.addison@csun.edu ** see syllabus

OH  11:45-12:45 MW, 11:00-12:00 T-Th; before class at the Arbor Grill from 6:30 pm; by appt; voicemail 818-677-2404

Resource Page:  http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/110home.htm

 

Time Immemorial to 1500

 

 

History…[is] here set down that the deeds of men may not be forgotten…

 --Herotodus

 

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.

--Karl Marx

 

Come senators and congressmen, please heed the call, don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall; for he that gets hurt could be he who has stalled; the battle outside is ragin’; will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times, they are a changin’

-- Bob Dylan

 

 This course in World Civilization is designed to be a broad-based survey course from the time of man’s earliest settlements to the world's transition in the wake of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  Throughout the journey of our course, we will have not only vast amounts of time, but vast expanses of cultures, events and types of history to discuss.  Yet, you will perhaps find  it surprising that the problems we encounter as we study these people of times long past, are easily identifiable as problems similar or identical to ones we face in society today.  If, as the saying goes, those who do not learn the lessons of the past (i.e., history) are doomed to repeat it, does this mean that we as a society are without hope?  I would argue rather that perhaps we need to learn to better recognize the roots of these issues and that doing so through the study of history will not only help you graduate from college, but will allow you a tool of better understanding the world around you today by knowing how and why we got here.  

 

 An Approach to the Class:  My philosophy on the study of history is that at its most basic, history is about how things change and why.  We are left with pieces of a puzzle (largely in the form of records or documents from the past) that can show us how other people lived, and why they changed in response to certain factors within their respective societies.  Within that context, my approach to teaching history is to emphasize "the big picture" -- I will very rarely ask you to know the exact date (there are some important ones that you will need to know and I will tell you those), but knowing the approximate location in time is important.  It is far more important to me that you gain an understanding of the events, actions, ideas and people. 

 

Grades: 

2 exams 20% each (40% total course)

3 take-home assignment 21%

1 final exam, 30%

WEEKLY READING DISCUSSIONS/QUIZZES 9%

 

The grades are calculated with a +/- scale; A = 94.00 and above; A- 90.00-93.99; B+ = 87.00-89.99; B = 84.00-86.99; B-=80.00-83.99; etc.  There is no grade curve.  There is no extra credit. 

 Exams:  The exam format is your choice of an essay or multiple choice format; you will see both options at the time of the exam and choose.  I strongly suggest the essay.  One of your four exams MUST be an essay or face a 10% drop for one exam score. 

 

Participation:  Each week's section will devote part of the class time to a given topic listed in lecture.  We will hold a class (or smaller group) discussions in order to shed light on the way that topic is shown in various societies we've seen in lectures and in reading source documents.  Your participation should be verbal, and you should also be able to summarize on a given day what points you made in class in a brief paragraph that you turn in to me at the end of that class (or by email within 24 hours) IF ASKED.  You may wish to prepare notes ahead of time based on your readings so you can access these during a discussion session. 

 

Academic Honesty:   You are required to do original work of your own research.   Cutting and pasting from an online source does not constitute your own research.  You may not share assignments or copy them from a friend, even if you work on them together.  (Study groups are a great method of preparing, but not if it excludes your own work process).   If you take material from a source in your assignments, CITE IT.  My expectation as you take apart primary sources is that you have read them and analyzed their significance and context yourself.   Wikipedia is unreliable as a source because it is open to altering information and ultimately you are responsible for what you turn in.    Use reliable, accredited resources of information, do it honestly, and prepare your own expertise.   Any deviation from the university’s code of academic standards on cheating and/or plagiarism will be grounds for failure of the class, disciplinary action with the Dean of Instruction, including but not limited to the possibility of 1) Fail not subject to repeat (meaning you cannot complete your major); 2) the possibility of suspension and/or expulsion; 3) notation on your transcript; and 4)  suspension or revocation of your financial aid.  Cheating on a test or an assignment is not worth the repercussions, and you should not risk it all for a stupid reason. 

 

Textbook:  Your textbook is Bulliet, Crossley and Headrick's The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History 5th edition (Wadsworth/Cenage publishing, 2010), Volume 1.  It is available in the bookstore (ISBN #9781439084748).  You may substitute another World Civ textbook and adjust the readings as necessary, as long as you are responsible for the information covered. 

 

 Additionally, as we will incorporate religion as a major component of this course in relationship to its impact on developing and maintaining societies, both as an institution and a belief, you should be prepared to read from at least two of the following sacred texts:  The Rig Veda and Upanishads (Hinduism); the Avesta (Zoroastrianism); Tao Te Ching (Taoism); [Buddhism handouts]; Hebrew ("Old") Testament (Judaism); Greek ("New") Testament (Christianity). 

 

 You will also be reading certain primary texts (or translations, rather) which I will provide to you in online reference on our class Moodle site. 

 

 It is worth mentioning in this troubled time of our society that we are a part of the global community, and that all cultures and traditions which we will study are to be treated equally with respect.   Part of the experience of education at a university is the exposure to ideas dissimilar than your own.  I do not require you to adopt or convert to them, or even that they necessarily challenge your own culture or tradition, but I do require you to treat your classmates with traditions different than your own with the same degree of respect and consideration you expect.   I hope that you will be enriched in your study of cultures and civilizations other than your own. 

 

Your success in this class will depend on your work.  It is very important that you stay current with the reading and that you come to class regularly.  While I will not be taking attendance on a daily basis, I will trust you to come to class in a responsible fashion, and that you will make up your reading and notes from a classmate if you don't.  It is incumbent upon you to do your assignments and study in a manner that provides you adequate coverage for the tests.  As we have a lot of material to cover, it is impossible to cover every aspect of every chapter.  You will be expected to “fill the gaps” by reading both the textbook and the primary sources for factual data to enhance the theme of the lecture.  Finally, it is incumbent on you to EARN THE GRADE YOU NEED.  I do not “give” grades, I assign them based on your scores.  These numbers are not a negotiating point.  Your grade is derived mathematically, and while I expect that you will of course “try hard,” you are graded on success, not effort. 

 

GENERAL RULES: 

--No makeup exams will be given. One exam may be missed and doubled later (not recommended);  if you miss more than one exam, the resulting grade will be a zero.

--The final exam may only be taken on the date and time scheduled

--Disputes about grades: I request that you wait 24 hours to dispute a grade, and then put into writing your specific disagreement with the grade in question.  Your reason for requesting a grade re-evaluation must stem from a calculation error or a disagreement on content with an outline of why you believe the grade was in error.  I will then re-evaluate and my determination at that point will be final.  Your dispute of the course grade must be made within ten days of the posting of grades (i.e., I must turn in grades by May 20,  you will submit your dispute no later than May  30); disputes of grades will not be considered after this date.  By remaining in the class after the first week, you indicate your acceptance of these terms. 

Incompletes will be granted only in the most extenuating, medically or otherwise documentable circumstances. 

 Email:  Before you email me, please be sure what you’re asking is not readily available in the syllabus, or if you have missed class and have a question, please check with a classmate first.  I do not have set hours for answering email but have had to limit my email accessibility due to both sheer volume of mails from students, the increased class size and abuse of email by students.  I apologize, but I have made myself available to my students at specific times for each class, and I am not available 24/7.    If you email me half an hour before a test for an urgent question, I am not likely to be checking then, so please plan accordingly.  If you have not heard a response from me in 48 hours, perhaps your email has been filtered; please check again.

-           Please identify yourself in your emails FULLY, including what class you’re in.  “This is Mike, a student in your history class” doesn’t help. 

-          Please understand that if I answer you with a one-line, quick response, I am not being rude, but am trying to get the most done that I can.  If your question is more complex, we may have to discuss it in office hours.

 

Exiting the class:  If you decide this is not the class for you, I don’t mind, but please take care of the paperwork yourself.  You must drop the class by Friday of the third week.  The Dean of Students has gotten very strict about the date for this and will now only approve late drop forms for “the most extenuating circumstances” – which do not include changes in work schedule, transportation difficulties, poor performance in a class, etc.  Much as I might sympathize with your difficulties, I will be required to assign you a grade. 

 

Finally:  You are all aware of the difficulties that the budget situation in California has created for not only the CSU but all levels of higher education.  I realize that it is very hard for you to finish your educational mission in light of impacted classes, outrageously elevated fees and restrictions on enrollment.   I strongly urge you to express your frustration s in writing to the President of the College, the Chancellor of CSU, the governor of California, and your individual representatives.    The California Budget wars come up each summer, and they MUST have your input to understand how deeply this affects you!

 

Schedule of Lectures (please bring your books to class):  NB:  These dates subject to change. 

 

Week 1       Intro, procedures, what is history, pre-history, what is civilization? 

1/25/                Importance of Geographic Conditioning :  River Valleys             

                                Read:  Chap 1-2

 

Week 2        Mesopotamia and the near East.  Who makes the Law?

2/1                          Ancient Near East/Fertile Crescent Civilizations

                     Egypt;  What is religion, and how does it work within civilization?

                        Indus Valley

                     Read:  Chap 2, online documents http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/110home.htm  

 

Week 3                  The effects of isolation

2/8       The Non-Western World:  Early China.  What is religion part II

                Early Americas

Discussion of readings, quiz.  Assignment 1 posted online (http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/110home.htm)

                    READ:  Chapters 3

 

Week 4      The Mediterranean and the Levant

2/15                        Israel.  What role of monotheism?

                                Greece in Western Civilization (early)

                                Assyria as inheritors of Fertile Crescent region

Read:   Chap 4, documents online

 

Week 5                  Western Encounters East:  Greece & Persia

2/22                        the “Hellenic Synthesis”

                                What is Philosophy, and how is this different than religion?

                                Read:  Chap 5, online documents.

 

Week 6:                 EXAM #1 Tuesday March 1; Assignment #1 DUE AT TEST

 

 

Week 7:                 Imperial China:  What does “class” mean in society?

3/8                          Imperial Rome:  Republic v. Empire

                                Read:  Chap 6, documents.

 

Week 8:                 India and SE Asia;

Buddhism's diffusion and adaptation

3/15                        Mauryan and Gupta India;

               Read:  chap 7 & 8 (esp 224-226, “spread of ideas), online docs

 

Week 9                  Networks of Connection:  What role does trade play in connecting the world?

3/22                        Read:  Chap 8, review the “spread of ideas” in the context of cultural exchange

 

Week 10                The Rise of Islamic Civilization, conflict with the West

3/29                              Medieval Europe and the Dark Ages

                                Read:  Chap 9, 10 thru p. 270

 

Week 11                 SPRING BREAK 4/2-10              

                               

 

WEEK 12              Byzantine Empire, Kievan Rus’

4/12                        The Rise of the Christian Empires

                                Rest of chap 10 

 

Week 13                exam #2; Assignment #2 due at exam.

4/19 

                      

Week   14              China and East Asia:  The Silk Road

4/26                        Civilizations of the Americas II:  What does technology mean?

                                What distinguishes "us" from "them" and why must there be a difference?

                                Read:  Review chap 11-12;

 

Week 15     The Mongol World and Eurasia

5/3                The Tropical World

                    Read:  Chap 13-14, online.

 

Week 16     Western Europe in the Middle Ages

5/10           Age of Discovery  

                        Chap 15

 

FINAL EXAM ON Tuesday MAY 17, 2010 AT  8:00 pm (note alternate time).  NO ALTERNATE TIMES CAN BE ACCOMMODATED.