HIST277JJY - Introduction to Modern World History from the 1500s to the Present

HIST277JJY – Introduction to Modern World History from the 1500s to the Present

Please be advised that students are responsible for reading every single word of this syllabus in its entirety!

Course Information

Instructor: Albert Daniel James Jacobson

Contact: The best way to reach me is through office hours. If you cannot attend my office hours, I am available via e-mail as well. Information in this regard will only be given in class.

Hours of availability: I will be available for office hours Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 15:10pm-17:10pm in Room H330A.

Class Meeting Times: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 13:10pm to 15:00pm. Please make every effort to come to class on time and give me ten minutes or so to make it to office hours.

Course Description: This course takes a Eurocentric approach to the study of modern history from the 1500s to the present time period. We will begin with topics that explore the sixteenth century such as Europe and the Renaissance. We will then move onto looking at the seventeenth century where we will discuss the fall of great powers and will swiftly move into the eighteenth century where we will look at Asia and Africa and the New World and New Age. After we look at the earlier portions of the modern period as per the course, we will move into The Era of the French Revolution and will explore topics relating to the last part of the 18^th C and the Napoleonic Epoch. In the latter half of this course, we will investigate the nineteenth century and look at the two World Wars and the Cold War. For more contemporary history, we will look at some of the historical issues in the 1970s to the present with special emphasis on the Cold War Era, War in the Balkans, Wars in Africa, The Africa Question and The Matter with the East. Here we will examine the historical relations with the Western and Eastern parts of the world by looking at specific case studies of Western interest and disinterest in the Old World and its troubles.

The following are core objectives of this course:

·    To give students insights into the study and historiography relating to Modern History

·    To enhance students’ speaking skills through participation in tutorials and lecture meetings

·    To enhance students’ writing skills through completion of core assignments

·    To give students a broad overview of Modern History

·    To aid students in developing their critical analytic and thinking skills

The Course Textbook is Paul Hamlyn’s: Larousse Encyclopedia of Modern History: From 1500 to the Present. It is available at the UBookStore.  A note on this text is that it is fairly old, but it contains the information that you will need to know for this class. The book is not expensive and can be purchased from other booksellers such as www.amazon.ca or Barnes and Noble. Be forewarned that this book may not be available in all of these places so your best bet may be to purchase it at our Bookstore.

Course Requirements: This course tends to be fairly large. Consequently, in order for you to succeed the following are a few “rules:”

·    Before each and every class, you must make sure that you have completed your readings. This should not be much to ask for. You have to read usually a chapter or two per week and occasionally a few pages from outside sources that I provide links to on our course website.

·    Fully participate in all components of HIS277JJY – this means more than just showing up and taking notes in class and tutorial, but also talking a few times throughout the semester. You will find the experience a lot more enjoyable if you communicate your ideas. It is not necessary to participate constantly in lectures, but you should have at least one comment during each tutorial.

·    Attend each of your tutorials with questions, comments, and concerns in mind. Those who attend tutorials are also more prepared for assignments and tests because all of this is covered during tutorial meetings.

·    Your tutorial leaders are there to help you. Please come to tutorials with insights and be prepared to address answers to questions.

·    Be positive and thoughtful – turn off all cellphones and the like or better yet – do not bring these apparatuses to class!

·    If you are using a laptop, please do not play games or engage in other activities of that sort – chatting using messengers and watching videos are not allowed. Those caught will be asked to leave the classroom.

·    Take responsibility for your own learning and work produced. Please come and see me in office hours if you need help. Besides your teaching assistants, I am also here to help you.

·    If you need to leave class early on a certain day, please sit near the doors and leave as quietly and as quickly as possible.

·    Do not come into the classroom late. If I have started lecturing do not come into the room from the front doors, instead please use the top stairwell doors. Please also stay silent throughout lectures – this means that you should not talk to those sitting in front of you, next to you, or behind you. I will give ten to fifteen minute breaks after the first hour which will allow you to converse with fellow colleagues if you so choose. You should also use this time for bathroom breaks and to get any drinks. You are only allowed to consume water in the classroom. Please do not bring any other beverages and no food is allowed in the lecture hall unless permission is given by the instructor.

Assessments

Tutorial Participation – 20%

Summary and Review of Readings – 5 textbook chapters 5% per chapter – 25%

Middle of the Term Testing – 20%

Final Paper in Stages:

Stage 1: Thesis and Annotated Bibliography – 10%

Stage 2: Final Paper – 25%

Totals – 100%

Details of each Assessment

Tutorial Participation – 20%

Tutorials will occur weekly where students must come and be prepared to fully participate. This means that above all, students must have read all chapters from the textbook and are ready to pose any questions, comments and concerns that they may have. Students should also be ready to respond to questions, comments and concerns from other students and their teaching assistants. Most tutorials will also consist of a “5-Minute Write-Up” where students will be given 5 minutes to respond in writing, to a very broad question based on course materials. The questions will be fairly easy and not hard at all provided that you have read the weekly readings which consist of about a chapter or so per week. The teaching assistants will give you points for each “5-Minute Write-Up” you complete. Consequently, it is imperative that you attend every tutorial. If you must miss a tutorial for some reason, you must come to the instructor to answer the five minute question during office hours if you wish to acquire participation points for the day you missed tutorials.

Summary and Review of Readings – 5 textbook chapters 5% per chapter – 25%

Students will complete summary and review assignments for the chapters that are within the second half of the textbook. Namely students will be responsible for chapters 11 to 22 and will summarize and review the weekly readings in lieu of lectures and other course materials such as videos and any extra readings. This means that students will have to summarize what the chapters in question discuss, include a review where strengths and weaknesses of the chapters are talked about and analysis where students must connect the chapters to lecture points. These assignments will not be long approximately 4 to 5 pages double spaced. All necessary instructions will be provided in class.

Middle of the Term Testing – 20%

This course warrants a mid-term examination. It will consist of identifications and long-essay questions. All terms and questions will be devised using the first 10 chapters of the course textbook and the course lectures that pertain to these chapters. Students will be given an outline of potential questions for both sections of the testing. The instructor will also provide students with information regarding the most likely people/places/events etc. that will appear on the testing. Possible essay questions will also be given in advance for preparatory purposes.

Final Paper in Stages:

This term, in an effort to help out students as much as possible in the writing of their final paper, there will be two stages to completing the final paper product. The first stage will consist of a thesis and annotations of sources. The second section will be the finished product itself, which students may submit a draft of to either the course instructor or the course teaching assistants so that they can read through and provide extra assistance before the submission of the final product. Further details will be given in class on how to complete these tasks as well as in tutorials.

Stage 1: Thesis and Annotated Bibliography – 10%

You will submit a 4 to 8 page thesis and annotated bibliography. In the first paragraph of this write-up you are to discuss the topic that you chose and discuss what your paper will address ending with a clear or working thesis. The annotated bibliography will take you a longer time to complete. You will use Chicago Manual of Style to indicate your sources and below that you will write annotations that address how your sources that you have chosen will help you in completing the final paper. Please make certain that all of your sources are scholarly, that is, that they come from an academic printing press. The instructor expects you to use at least 8 sources in your annotated bibliography and 10 sources for your finished product. The instructor does not expect you to annotate online readings, but if you must do so please use a maximum of 3. There is no maximum number of books that you can use as these sources will probably be most accessible and most beneficial to your cause. Furthermore, your annotated bibliography can be as long as necessary provided that you include the necessary information. A detailed set of instructions will be distributed in class.

Stage 2: Final Paper – 25%

Format

Material you might find useful

Here is a list of websites that you might find of interest for your papers or for your perusal:

The Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Early Modern History

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook03.html

The Internet Modern History Sourcebook:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

Electronic Historical Text Collections

http://history.hanover.edu/etexts.html

Virtual Library: Early Modern History

http://www.geschichte.fb15.uni-dortmund.de/fnz/revolution.html ; http://www.historisches-centrum.de/index.php?id=66

Quizlet Site on Modern World History:

Procedure and Policies

Please note that the midterm testing for this course will be held during a time period that is set aside by the Office of the Registrar. You will be told when this test will be held when the Registrar publishes the dates and information approximately one month into the course. You must not make any commitments on the date of the testing. If you do you will not gain any marks as you will have missed the test. There are no make-ups which will be granted unless you have proof that you have missed the test for a legitimate reason. See the appendix for examples of legitimate reasons as set aside by the Registrar’s office.

Submission of Assignments: Assignments such as the Summaries and Reviews of literature, theses and annotated bibliographies and all final papers will be submitted in class. They are in fact due within the context of the class and are not considered late until the day is over. Therefore, you can submit all of the assignments including the final paper after the class is over by 17:10PM in my office hours. Just drop by my office and hand in the respective assessments on my desk. Do not use the drop-box unless you are handing in the assignment after 17:10PM on the due date or days after it is due. Consider this an “extension.” If you need a further extension, you must talk to the instructor of this course only at least ten days before the assignment or paper in question is due. Please note that you may be required to submit some of these assessments to Turnitin.com. You should review the school’s policy regarding the use of this resource for tracking plagiarism.

Late Penalties: The following are late penalties for each assignment

Summaries and Reviews of Readings will be deducted -1% for every day they are not submitted.

Theses and Annotated Bibliographies will be deducted -0.5% for every day they are not submitted.

Final Papers will be deducted -1% for every day they are not submitted.

2.   Cite everything that you have used in your paper that cannot be classified as “common knowledge.” For instance, Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean in 1492 is common knowledge, however, something more concrete like an argumentative statement from an author that you may have found is not so you would need to cite that.

3.   When in doubt always cite. Cite every sentence to avoid plagiarism (especially if Turnitin.com makes you weary).

4.   Do not copy down word for word every single thing that an author that you are looking at for your research states. Instead, paraphrase all of the information or as much as possible.

5.   Your paper cannot legitimately be labelled as containing plagiarism for common words used in the English language, such as “the, it, an, and, are, there, their, that, this, those, these…” and so on and so forth.

6.   If the instructor allows you to check your own paper for plagiarism before officially submitting it in hard copy yourself, please do not neglect to do so.

7.   If you are given permission to look at your paper or assignment that you have sent to Turnitin.com, please check for the line graph indicating the percentage of your paper that is “original.” Lower percentages indicate high rates of originality (meaning little to signs of plagiarism) while higher percentages indicate low rates of originality (meaning there are a couple to many signs of plagiarism in your paper). As long as the line is green, you should not worry. If the bar is yellow, orange or red then you should seriously consider redoing elements of your paper (or your entire paper) depending on the colour you see.

8.   To avoid plagiarism write in your own words as much as you possibly can.

9.   Quote to avoid plagiarism if you want your audience to get something important that you have found in your own research that you cannot paraphrase appropriately to get the same meaning across.

10. When in doubt about what you must cite, please speak to either your teaching assistant(s) or the instructor of this course. We will all be glad to help you. The library also contains plenty of free literature which details information on plagiarism as well as the different ways in which you can cite sources. Use the Library as a place of reference frequently!

A Note on Grading Policies

The Teaching Assistants have been given the task to grade you for your contributions in this course. They will grade all of the assignments that you must submit including the final paper as well as the mid-term testing. Where possible, the instructor will also grade some assignments as necessary. Before the grades are made official, every single teaching assistant must sit down with the instructor for this course to discuss student grades. After the grades have been seen and finalized by the teaching assistants and the instructor, they will be posted on the course website for students to track their development. Teaching assistants do not have the right to post your grades. The instructor is the only person in authority to do this for this course. This is done to ensure that all students are graded fairly for the work that they are produced with the input of the teaching assistants as well.

Querying a Grade

After students have received back their graded assignments and they have questions or concerns about their grade in that/those particular assignment(s) in question, they may certainly bring these questions to the instructor. All students who wish to query a grade must write an e-mail to the instructor concerning their question and a time they wish to meet in office hours to discuss their grade. The instructor will be more than happy to talk about your progress in this course with you at all times provided.

Please note that if you resubmit pieces of information in to be remarked your grade may:

a.   Increase (in most cases student marks increase between 2 and 10 percentage points)

b.   Decrease (in most cases student marks decrease between 1 and 5 percentage points)

c.   Stay the same (in most cases, situation a. is more likely to happen than b. or c.)

*****With this being said and done, whenever you have issues with your grades please write me and come and speak to me in office hours. I will do everything in my power to assist you!*****

Grades

The grades are distributed by the following percentages and their letter equivalents

*****!Please note the grades in this course are distributed fairly. We do not mark according to a “bell curve” or any methods of the sort so as to give all students a chance to succeed in HIST277JJY. In fact, my teaching assistants and I do not use “bell curves” for any courses I teach!*****

In-Class Screenings

Throughout the term, students will be required to view videos in-class. After the videos students will be asked to respond to a question based on the films. They will be given around 5 to 10 minutes to do this depending on the time they need. We will then discuss our responses to the videos as a class in an in-class discussion. The 5 to 10 minute responses will then be collected by the instructor and they may count towards the participation grade. Those of you who are absent for the screenings will be required to watch these films at home (or at the library or elsewhere) and present a one-page hand-written response to the films. Please write on lined paper. Submit this response to your instructor upon your return. These links will be available on our course website for your perusal. Some of these videos we will watch in class, while others we may hone in on in tutorials depending on time. I will update the list of films that you must watch on our course website as well. You will not need to know anything about these films on the tests or any of the assignments. They are used to enlighten you and are also used as interactive tools to engage you with the course content beyond the scope of the textbook and the lecture. Please be attentive to all lectures as much as possible to get the most of the lectures, readings and films. Be advised that there are videos for every chapter of the course textbook to enhance your learning experience. It is a good idea for you to take notes while you are watching these videos both in class and independently. It will allow you to gain more information so you can use it on the mid-term (especially for the historical significance part).

As you are watching the film, I would advise you to create a chart (either before the film starts or during the film) that looks like this:

The chart will work like a graphic organizer enabling you to jot down quick notes based on the subject(s) in question.

The Sixteenth Century

John Cabot: A Man of the Renaissance: http://www.nfb.ca/film/john_cabot_a_man_of_the_renaissance/

The Protestant Reformation Part I:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h025a8GFlyI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePwNQ9o03ig&feature=related part II

Optional: Leonardo da Vinci: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3qOFuheB4

The Aztec Empire Part I:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ56FxE3rSE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snbae82hUlc&feature=related part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvEY9bWsDHQ&feature=related part III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmM1wTivcaQ&feature=related part IV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBMLC4fdRQ4&feature=related part V

The Seventeenth Century

Versailles: The Dream of a King Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzzZVLelXDg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jecpccNgfCA&feature=related part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0TnxYYLTNw&feature=related part III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPVmSVyxLH8&feature=related part V

The Eighteenth Century

The History of Slavery in America Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1RbUxQv4E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPXHrMDvBm0&feature=related part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZkpU_ioRKw&feature=related part III

John Adams: Declaration of Independence Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKaU&feature=related

The French Revolution Part I:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EvakM9Waus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2oHmIFNW_A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8FMDHhth5A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkBMuinXEmg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmIsrxmZgXY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFoJqn0GISo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zF9cmRKbBQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgNfK7RaNE8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agMMDI-84bk&feature=related

The Nineteenth Century

Literature, Romanticism and Revolution Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPm72iKVqaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77L4PoxU85o&feature=related part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWe-ZDcKQhc&feature=related part III

The Children Who Built Victorian Britain Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JPmVBxsTa8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0fF0ygtAU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCcIhz0p1Lo&feature=watch_response

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rV7xNYyUf0&feature=watch_response

Crimean War

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1840693300638450167#

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1840693300638450167#docid=3382771328539290667 part II

Ottoman Empire Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5jE7y5vT5M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NREKSPVOLkE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mwPhTS3GTw&feature=related

The American Civil War Part I*cannot find much of the rest eps 4-9/9

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8374525609478249503#

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8374525609478249503#docid=5160719952322747305

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4284825845451252663#

The Greatest Heroes in History  - Abraham Lincoln Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2lp_bXY7Ek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d91IpWAM2cE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF4kl46e-Vg&feature=related

The First Balkan War

Marching off to World War I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgC_tD_4rT4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csbdf4zyVh8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snGYsb3sn3g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXxumYWHF78&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ycyHP3R_4o&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRMyzfe7hWQ&feature=related

or others…

The Treaty of Versailles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShRA8HRMR4Q

Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace

Optional: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5680530360797443942#

Optional: The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War: Prelude to Tragedy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOwnPuZr-Eo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YYOVdnvyj8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YrWCo2ziA4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzum_CU44jk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HsUr_PNwl4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgf9UIr0SMA&feature=related

The Second World War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPCl9wh1G4  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVA11oDOl-8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl4eXcoU6A0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJg2e3szUzI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itEextt7BLo&feature=related

The History of World War Two: Part One http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2209294970412676169#

The History of World War Two: Part Two http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1550600545103813635#

Apocalypse: The Second World War: THE AGGRESSION PART 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRSWbKaL9ws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItuuiqusL_A part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hFsR92knt4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEsTwfgZ9m4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7205m6cUMw&feature=related There are a wide variety of other films on the Second World War of which we will look at clips and discuss further.

The Cold War Part 1: From World War to Cold War

Accessibility

Everyone is welcome in HIST277JJY – Introduction to Modern World History from the 1500s to the Present. If you have concerns about your abilities to perform well in this course and will need some assistance in terms of note-taking, test taking and the like, please inform me as quickly as possible as well as the Academic Skills Centre so that we can help you to have the best experience as possible in this and other courses. Those of you who have learning disabilities and require extra assistance must establish a relationship with the Academic Skills and Resources Facility located on the 4^th floor of the School Library as quickly as possible and preferably in your 1^st year of studies. The Academic Skills and Resources Facility will provide you with everything you need in order to succeed in all of your classes. Furthermore, the Academic Skills and Resources Facility is open to all students and are there to give you advise and help on your writing and your assignments. These are only some of the strands that they offer help in:

1.   Written communication

2.   Reading comprehension

3.   Essaying (as related to 1 and 2) including how to write an essay; help with essays; guidance and advice on your essays (they will look at your rough drafts, read them and improve them for you)

4.   Numeracy (wide variety of mathematical topics and guidance with them)

5.   Science help including all strands of Biology, Chemistry and Physics

6.   Library Skills (how to find excellent, reputable and academic sources, how to find articles)

7.   Reviews (an adviser will read your work and edit it thoroughly for you)

8.   Academic Advice (please do not ask questions that can be answered only by the Office of the Registrar such as “should I drop this course? What are my options? Etc.) At the Academic Skills and Resources Facility you should ask questions such as “how should I go about studying for the tests in this course? Approaching the assignment? Etc.”

9.   Test and Exam taking tips (there are mini tutorials for this daily which you may sign up. It is worth looking into getting advice on tests and exams at least 1 week beforehand).

10. Note-taking strategies

And so much more!

Note on Recording of Lectures

Students who wish to record my lectures are more than welcome to do so provided that they have my explicit permission in writing. If you wish to record my lectures, please sit in the first few rows of the lecture theatre. Remember it is an academic offense to copy and distribute any recordings. Those caught will be charged according to the rules as set out by the Office of the Registrar and its authoritative bodies.

In order for you to be able to record my lectures, please print out the bottom portion and hand it to me to sign and date and return to you as quickly as possible. In fact you should do this ONCE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS SYLLABUS only if you plan on recording my lectures. Treat the form below as a contract. If you abuse it, you will be found out and subsequently penalized.

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Your name:

Your Student Number:

Course Code:

I, ________________________ give permission to _________________ to record my lectures throughout the term.

_________________                                                                          ________________

Signature of instructor                                                                         Date

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