S 116 World Civilization up to 1500 – Spring 2009 Syllabus
(
Instructor: Dr. Joseph Stumpf. Office Hours:
HU 274 , MWF 9:55-10:55; TR 1:50-2:50.
I may be reached by email (joseph.stumpf@montgomerycollege.edu) or by
phone (240-567-7280)
The class: HS 116 is one of two related courses (with HS 117),
which may be taken in either order and which cover the world's great cultures,
religious and political systems. This course offers the student an opportunity
to understand contemporary life in terms of the accumulated cultural
experiences of the world and to appreciate the growing interdependence of
modern nations. HS 116 covers material from the ancient world to A.D. 1500 and
is a comparative inquiry into the emergence and flowering of ancient Near
Eastern and Mediterranean civilizations; the Christian Middle Ages and
Renaissance in Europe; China and the development of Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism; Hinduism and Indian empires; Islam--its conquests and the rise of
Ottoman Empire; civilizations of the Americas and African developments. We
shall discuss historical and cultural trends as well as pinpoint specific
events that shaped history in this part of the world. I hope that the accumulated legacies which
our own society has inherited from these civilizations will become
apparent. Because there is so much
material to cover, the format of the course will be primarily lecture
Outcomes
|
|
On
completion of this course students will be able to |
|
1. |
Chart
the spread of humanity from |
|
2. |
Explain
the geographical and environmental reasons for the varying rates of social
and historical development throughout the world. |
|
3. |
Trace
religious developments from ritualistic and communal forms to theologically
more sophisticated forms which allow for personal spirituality and contain
explicit codes of morality. |
|
4. |
Understand
how globalism or interconnectedness, as evidenced for example by the history
of Central Asiatic peoples and the Silk Road or by the |
|
5. |
Students
will be equipped with a basic chronological framework of world history and
will therefore be able to understand cause and effect and comment upon
contemporary developments in different parts of the world. |
To put this more generally, the
student is expected to gain familiarity with the broad trends of world history
and be conversant in the reasons, geographic, cultural and individual, that
created the world of 1500. Students will
be responsible for a basic geographic knowledge, in addition to the key
historical figures and events, and will be expected to think critically about
cause and effect in history, and about the relative value of historical
sources.
Attendance: Although much of the material can be had from the
books, I do not recommend skipping classes with the idea that you can simply
find all the subject matter in the books.
Much will be presented in class that is not found in the texts and vice
versa, and you will be responsible for all of it. In a
MWF class, I consider more than three absences to be excessive and detrimental
to your grade. If you foresee
missing class for some reason, please talk to me beforehand and if I believe
the excuse legitimate I may excuse the absence.
If you are ill, I will excuse the absence provided you furnish a valid
medical excuse. I will not give out notes
or lesson plans to those who were absent, excused or not. You will have to make arrangements with a
classmate to get the class notes. Lateness, especially chronic lateness is
disruptive and will be noted. If you
anticipate problems in arriving to class on time, come talk to me. Perhaps something can be arranged.
Classroom Conduct:
I expect a Civilization class
to be civilized. Be polite and courteous
and listen to the opinions of your classmates without interrupting them (even
if you violently disagree with what they’re saying). Insults or cursing are unacceptable: we may be
covering the barbarian invasions, but we don’t have to act them out. One other note: Please make sure your cell phones, pagers,
etc. have been turned off. Unless that’s
Caesar or Confucius on the phone, we don’t want to hear it. For further information, refer to your
Student Code of Conduct, section
Academic Honesty:
It is expected that the work
you turn in as your own is your own. Cheating on exams or quizzes will not be
tolerated and will result in an automatic F on the exam or quiz in question. Plagiarized papers will suffer a similar
fate. Not only are they pointless, but
they are often only mediocre work, which, with a little application, you could
easily better. Moreover, they are very
easy to detect. Don’t try it. For more information you may consult the
Student Code of Conduct, Section IV and please consult the attached sheet on
citation below.
Support Services: A student who may need an
accommodation due to a disability should make an appointment to see me during
my office hours. A letter from
Disability Support Services (
Those students who do not feel comfortable writing in the
English language may wish to avail themselves of the service provided in the
Writing and
Cancellation of Classes: Classes
may be cancelled in the event of (very) inclement weather, but only if the
school as a whole closes. If you do not
hear of this, assume that the class is being held. If for some reason I am
unable to hold class, I will do my best to let you know in advance.
Grades: There will be a total of 300 points possible
in the course. Thus 270-300 points
received will be an A, 240-269 a B, 210-239 a C, 180-209 a D. There will be no curve. Grades will consist of a midterm examination
comprising identifications and essays (worth 80 points), a map quiz (10
points), a paper (80 points) and a final examination including, again,
identifications and essays (100 points).
There are no make-ups for the examinations unless you can provide an
authorized medical excuse. Twenty points
will be reserved for short take home assignments or else a pop quiz. The remaining ten points are awarded at my
discretion and will reflect attendance and class participation. Late papers will be docked a letter grade. Papers later than one week will not be
accepted.
The texts: There are two texts for the class, though I
may decide to provide additional readings, either in handouts, on the web or on
reserve in the library. These books will
be found in the book store on campus.
▪ The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. 3rd ed. Bulliet et al. (abbreviated below as EP)
▪ The Human Record: Sources of Global History. 5th
ed. Andrea and Overfield (HR)
Provisional Schedule of
1. Jan. 26 (M): Introduction to the class
2. Jan. 28 (W): History and
sources HR P1-18
3. Jan. 30 (F): Human origins
and the Paleolithic Age EP 1-18.
Feb. 1 (S):
Last day to drop class with refund.
4. Feb. 2 (M): The Neolithic Revolution EP 18-21, 113-114
5. Feb. 4 (W): The Urban Revolution EP 22-25
6. Feb. 6 (F): Riverine Civilizations EP
28-52, 58-59; HR # 1, 2, 3
7. Feb. 9 (M): The Bronze and Iron Age Near East EP 82-93
8. Feb. 11 (W): The Age of Empires I EP 93-93, 110-111
9. Feb. 13 (F):
Feb. 15 (S): Last day
to drop without grade or switch credit/audit status.
10. Feb. 16 (M):
11. Feb. 18 (W): Phoenicians and Greeks EP 104-110, 128-130; HR # 11
12. Feb. 20 (F): The Greek City-States EP 130-142; HR # 25
13. Feb. 23 (M): The Greek Legacy HR # 24, 27
14. Feb. 25 (W): Alexander and the Hellenistic World EP 142-148
15. Feb. 27 (F): The Indo-Europeans and
16. Mar. 2 (M): Vedic
17. Mar. 4 (W): Buddhisma and Ashoka EP 184-185, 188-189, 224-226; HR # 16, 17,
34, 39
18. Mar. 6 (F): Hinduism and Later
19. Mar. 9 (M): Insurance
Mar.
11 (W): Midterm Examination.
20. Mar. 13 (F):
March 16-22: Spring
Break
21. Mar. 23 (M): Taoism
HR # 20, 23
22. Mar. 25 (W): The Age of Empires II – Qin and Han
23. Mar. 27 (F): The Pax Romana, Judaism and Christianity EP 162-163; HR # 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49.
24. Mar. 30 (M): The Central Asian Pastoralists and the Silk
Road EP 208-213
25. Apr. 1 (W): Islam
EP 230-237; HR # 55, 56, 57, 58
26. Apr. 3 (F): Islam by Land and Sea EP 213-221; HR # 59, 62, 77
27. Apr. 6 (M): Medieval
28. Apr. 8 (W): Medieval
29. Apr. 10 (F):
30. Apr. 13 (M): The Turks and the Crusades EP 275-278; HR # 75-76, 88, 89.
31. Apr. 15 (W): The High Middle Ages in
32. Apr. 17 (F):
Apr. 19 (S): Last
day to drop class with “W”
33. Apr. 20 (M): Southeast Asia and
34. Apr. 22 (W): The Mongols EP 337-354; HR # 100, 101, 102
35. Apr. 24 (F): Late Medieval Europe vs Ming China EP 354-358, 392-415, 421-423; HR # 107
36. Apr. 27 (M):
37. Apr. 29 (W):
38. May 1 (F): The
39. May 4 (M): The
40. May 6 (W): The Age of Discovery EP 424-441; HR # 109, 110, 111, 112.
41. May 8 (F):
Insurance
May 13 (W): 10:15-12:15. Final Examination
Paper Assignment
Write a five to seven page
essay on one of the following topics.
The essay should directly address the questions at hand and provide as
many specifics as appropriate. This is
not a research paper and you are not required to use any sources other than
your textbooks and class notes, but, of course, I will permit you to use other books
(preferably) or websites (grudgingly), provided they are properly credited and
cited. Papers are due April 23.
1. Describe some of the ways in which the
Western World is indebted, technologically, to
2. Describe some of the ways in which world
religions have moved from a matter of theology and ritual toward personal
spirituality, salvation and moral codes.
The subject is, obviously, huge, so I will grant you latitude on which
religions you choose to work with.
3. Over the course of the semester we will see
the creation (and destruction) of many far-flung, multiethnic empires. Select three of these to compare and contrast
and explain the reasons behind the ruling government’s successes. Were specific policies put in place that
abetted empire? Charismatic leaders and
serendipity? What problems did those in
power face in maintaining their control?
How did these empires fall? Some
examples that you may choose to work with include the Assyrians, the Persians,
the empire of Alexander, the Roman Empire, that of Asoka in India, the Ch’in
(or Qin), Han or Tang dynasties in China, the early Caliphates of Islam, the
khanates of Mongolia, the Incas and Aztecs.
The list goes on.
4. Discuss the merits and limitations of sacred
literatures as historical sources. How
can they be used by the historian with profit?
What sorts of information can be had from them? What factors must the historian keep in mind
and what precautions must he/she take?
You must cite specific passages to back up your arguments. Homer’s Iliad (for the sake of argument), the
Old and New Testaments, Christian hagiographies, the Koran and the Hadith, the
Rig Veda and Upanishads, the Confucian Classics of History or the Buddhist
Sutras might be possible examples.
Needless to say, these topics
are large, so you must exercise control over your prose. Practice concision. As the bard says, “brevity is the soul of
wit.”
Professor Stumpf’s Top Ten
Grammatical and Stylistic Pet Peeves:
1.
Spelling! Spellcheck is not
sufficient! The English language has an
endless supply of homonyms and confusing words.
Make sure your prose is saying what you want it to say.
There and their.
The second marks a possessive.
“There
is a Redskins football game on tonight.
It is in their home stadium.”
Than and then.
The first marks a comparative.
“More than...” “Greater
than…” The second marks a change in
time. “First she does this, then she
does that.”
Weather and whether.
The second is an adverb.
“I will go out whether
or not the weather is good.
2.
Possessives. Apostrophes are
used, among other things, for marking something as possessive. “John’s books.” “Graciela’s new car.” “The
3. Subjunctive
voice. Fairly rare in English, but you
should still know it. This is used in
sentences which do not state something as fact, but as a conditional
possibility. “If he gets an ‘A’ in
Biology, then he would [not will] be able to graduate.” Also note the use of “were” instead of
“was.” “If I were a rich man….” “He’d be a basketball star, if he were
a foot taller.”
4. Split
infinitives. I’m an old fashion stickler
for these. With all due regard to “Star
Trek”, but the
5. Subject-verb
agreement. Make sure plural nouns get a
plural verb, singular nouns a singular verb.
“The death of millions of men, women, and children in epidemics of
contagious diseases causes [not cause] immeasurable stress on a society.”
6. Appropriate
relative pronouns and modifiers.
Not “The girl that married me.” but
“The girl who married me.”
Not “Kings which kill their own subjects” but “Kings who kill their own…”
7.
Constructions which are not parallel.
Once you have started a clause using a particular grammatical
construction, you must maintain the construction through the entire sentence.
Wrong: “I love
swimming, hiking, biking, and to dance.”
Right: “I love swimming, hiking,
biking, and dancing.”
8. Avoid
contractions (“isn’t”, “doesn’t”, “won’t”, etc.) in formal writing.
9. As a general
stylistic rule, avoid starting sentences with “however.” This and other such words are “postpositive”,
that is best placed after an opening clause.
“However, Napoleon soon realized his mistake” would be better as “Napoleon, however, soon
realized his mistake.”
10. Avoid
colloquial expressions. This means that
casual conversational phrases are best left out of formal papers.
Bad: “Caesar
was a little late crossing the Rubicon, but Pompey was pretty scared anyway
cause he knew that Caesar was, like, crazy smart.”
Better: Almost anything
would be better. Perhaps something like
“Caesar was delayed crossing the Rubicon, but Pompey was fearful nonetheless,
knowing Caesar’s abilities.”
A note on plagiarism and proper
citation.
In case anyone is unclear
on the concept, plagiarism is attempting to pass off another’s research, ideas
and writing as one’s own. If you write a
paper telling me that
It is not only obscure facts that require citation. If you decide that another author has expressed an idea better that you could, you may quote (with recessed margins and single spacing) that author, again providing a citation: (Robertson 75). Quoting an author without this acknowledgement is plagiarism. In any case, quoting is generally overdone, and it is better for you to “paraphrase” a source. In such a case, you put the ideas of your source in your own words.
Example:
It is thought that Cleisthenes may have acted in concert with the
Spartan king Cleomenes to overthrow the tyranny of Hippias in
This might be paraphrased
Some think that Cleisthenes invited the Spartan ruler Cleomenes to help
remove Hippias, the tyrant of
If the idea or hypothesis expressed is a novel one that the average reader probably would not have thought of for him or herself, then you should cite a source, regardless of whether you have quoted or paraphrased.
Simply cutting and pasting material from books or web sites does not count as original work.