History 122 Syllabus

PROPOSED SYLLABUS
HISTORY 122
(Western Civilization II)

Art Marmorstein

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Western Civilization I and II are the quintessential general education classes, required or optional components of the general education programs at almost every university in the country. In South Dakota in particular, Western Civilizations I and II are among the most useful courses for helping students meet the expectations the Board of Regents has established for general education.

This course should be especially helpful to you in meeting SD Board of Regents General Education Goal 4 (understanding the human community through the humanities), and BOR Goal 7 (cultural diversity). Since history is both a humanities and a social sciences discipline, it also will help you address Goal 3 (understanding the human community through the social sciences).

As will almost all the courses you will take at NSU, this course also will help you be better prepared to demonstrate your achievement of BOR Goals 1 and 2 (goals which have to do with reading, writing, listening, and speaking). This course will address BOR Goals 3, 4, and 7 as follows:

BOR GOAL #3: Students will understand the structures and possibilities of the human community through study of the social sciences.

To meet this goal, students in this will do each of the following:

1. Indentify and apply the basic concepts, terminology and theories of the social sciences in different spatial, temporal, cultural and/or institutional context.

2. Apply social science concepts and theories to contemporary issues

3. Identify and explain the social or aesthetic values of different cultures.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the origin and evolution of human institutions

5. Demonstrate an understanding of the allocation of human or natural resources within societies

6. Demonstrate an understanding of diverse philosophical, ethical, and religious views

To achieve SL Outcome 1, students will prepare for exams requiring them to use the historical method in analyzing the cultural, social, and political developments of the modern world. They will also be asked to indentify and explain the significance of historical figures and events. In addition, students will be able to discuss and analyze the impact of European civilization on other cultures around the world.

To achieve SL Outcome 2, students will participate in discussions asking them to find contemporary parallels to historical
events.

To achieve SL Outcome 3, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate various artistic and literary movements ranging from the development of the Baroque style in the 17th century to the Cubist and Surrealist movements of the 20th century. They will read and evaluate selections from various writers particularly representative of the time periods discussed in class, (e.g., Voltaire for the 18th century, Dostoyevsky for the 19th century).

To achieve SL Outcome 4, students will prepare for exams requiring them to trace the development of political systems ranging from absolute monarchy to representative government to 20th century totalitarianism.

To achieve SL Outcome 5, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate the interactions among economic, political, and social changes associated with developments like the Industrial Revolution and European colonialism.

To achieve SL Outcome 6, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate political ideas of thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Bossuet and Marx and the religious and philosophical ideas of figures like Descartes, Pascal, Hegel, Kant, and Sartre.

BOR GOAL #4: Students will understand and appreciate the human experience through arts and humanities.

To meet this goal, students in this will do each of the following:

1. Students will demonstrate the knowledge of the diversity of values, beliefs, and ideas embodied in the human experience
2. Identify and explain the basic concepts of history
3. Identify and explain the contributions of other cultures from the perspective of history
4. Demonstrate creative and aesthetic understanding
5. Explain and interpret fromal and stylistic elements of the literary and fine arts

To achieve SL Outcome 1, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate political ideas of thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Bossuet and Marx and the religious and philosophical ideas of figures like Descartes, Pascal, Hegel, Kant, and Sartre.

To achieve SL Outcomes 2, students will prepare for exams requiring them to use the historical method in analyzing the cultural, social, and political developments of the modern world. They will also be asked to evaluate the significance of major historical figures and events.

To achieve SL Outcome 3, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century political, social, and cultural developments in various European countries and to discuss the impact of these developments on Europe and on other cultures around the world. They will also discuss the impact other cultures have had on Europe during the modern period.

To achieve SL Outcomes 4 and 5 students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate various artistic and literary movements ranging from the development of the Baroque style in the 17th century to the Cubist and Surrealist movements of the 20th century. They will read and evaluate selections from various writers particularly representative of the time periods discussed in class, (e.g., Voltaire for the 18th century, Dostoyevsky for the 19th century).

BOR GOAL #7: Students will understand and be sensitive to cultural diversity so that they are prepared to live and work in an international and multicultural environment.

To meet this goal, students in this class will do each of the following:

1. Identify and analyze contemporary global issues including how multiple perspectives impact such issues.
2. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the concept of globalization.

To achieve SL Outcome 1, students will prepare for exams asking them to evaluate the influence of European civilization on the rest of the world and of non-European influences on Europe. Students will evaluate the impact of European colonialism and the break of colonial empires in the 20th century. Students will be asked to evaluate the impact of European expansion in the modern world and to discusss the lasting economic, political, and social changes brought about by that exansion.

To achieve SL Outcome 2, students will prepare for exams asking them to compare and contrast the social and aesthetic values of different European countries and to contrast general European cultural values with those of other civilizations. Students will be asked to evaluate both the benefits and potential dangers inherent in the meeting of different cultures.

Assessement Tools: Your achievement of these goals and outcomes will be measured formally by course-embedded tests and quizzes and informally through class discussions.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

The Mainstream of Civilization (Chodorow)
Discourse on Method (Descartes)
Pensees (Pascal)
Candide (Voltaire)
The Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels)
Notes From Underground (Dostoyevsky)
Night (Wiesel)

The main text for this class, Chodorow's Mainstream of Civilization, will give you a different perspective on the figures and events discussed in class and serve as an excellent supplement to your lecture notes as you prepare for your midterm and final exams. You will probably find the maps, charts, and time lines in the Chodorow book particularly helpful. You do not need to bring the Chodorow book to class, and it doesn't really matter whether you do the Chodorow readings before or after the associated lecture.

The other readings (Descartes, Pascal, etc.) must be done before class on the day assigned. We will be discussing these works in class, and you will be lost and confused if you haven't done the reading. In addition, there are often surprise quizzes on these readings.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES AND READINGS:

9/1 Introduction
9/3 The 17th Century: A Search for Order (Mainstream, Ch. 18)

9/6   *** Labor Day: No Class ***
9/8    Conflict between Science and Religion? (Mainstream, 531-539)
9/10   France in the 16th and 17th Centuries (Mainstream, Ch. 20)

9/13   Britain in the 16th and 17th Centuries
9/15   Britain in the 16th and 17th Centuries
9/17   Hobbes, Locke, and Bossuet

9/20   Bacon and Descartes (Discourse on Method)
9/22   Descartes
9/24   Pascal (Pensees)

9/27   Discussion of Pascal and Descartes
9/29   Baroque Art, Music and Literature
10/1   Baroque Art, Music, and Literature

10/4   ******** MIDTERM I *********
10/6   The 18th Century: The Age of Reason (Mainstream, Ch. 22)
10/8   Enlightened Despots

10/11 *** Native American Day: No Class ***
10/13 The Philosophes: Diderot, Condorcet (Mainstream, Ch. 21)
10/15 The Philosophes: Rousseau, Leibnitz, Voltaire

10/18 The Philosophes: Kant, Voltaire (Candide)
10/20 The French Revolution (Mainstream, Ch. 23)
10/22 The French Revolution/Napoleon

10/25 The 19th Century: The Age of Progress? (Mains. Ch. 24, 26)
10/27 Nationalism and Nation Building
10/29 European Impact on the World (Mainstream, Ch. 27)

11/1   European Impact on the World
11/3   ******** MIDTERM II ********
11/5   Believers in Progress (Mainstream, Ch. 25)

11/8 Believers in Progress (The Communist Manifesto)
11/10 Romantics/Realists/Dostoyevsky ("Dream of a Ridiculous Man")
11/12 Dostoyevsky (Notes from Underground)

11/15 The 20th Century: The Age of Violence (Mainstream, Ch. 30)
11/17 World War I
11/21 The Rise of Communism: The Russian Revolution (Main. Ch. 31)

11/22 The Rise of Communism: Harvest of Despair (Main. Ch. 32)
11/24 National Socialism (Mainstream, Ch. 33)
11/26 *** Thanksgiving: No Class ***

11/30 World War II (Wiesel: Night)
12/1 Aftermath of World War II (Mainstream, Ch. 34)
12/3 The End of Imperialism (Mainstream, Ch. 35)

12/6 The End of Imperialism (Mainstream, Ch. 36)
12/8 Art, Music, and Literature in the 20th Century
12/10 Art, Music, and Literature in the 20th Century

FINAL EXAM:

Tuesday, December 14, 7:30-9:00 a.m., Johnson Center Theater

GRADING:

Your grade for this course will be based primarily on your midterm and final exams, each of which will count approximately 25% when I determine your final grade. In addition, I will take into account attendance, participation, and quiz scores.

EXAM FORMAT:

Midterms and Final exam--8 ID's, 1 essay

ID's will be selected from the terms put on the board at the beginning of each lecture. You will be asked not only to identify the terms, but also to explain their historical significance. I am impressed when students can include plenty of detailed information, but I am even more impressed when students can show how the ID terms relate to important themes discussed in this class.

Essay questions will deal with major themes discussed in the lectures. Most often, the exam question will be a generalization I have made in class with the additional word, "comment."

A student who studies hard and does the required reading should have plenty to say in response to each of these questions. You will be given 50 minutes for each midterm and two hours for the final exam. Most students will need the full time to do a good job.

What is a good job? I tell students over and over again that a good essay consists of a series of good generalizations based on the exam question and backed up with specific support from the lectures and the readings. I am particularly impressed when students include in their essays references to primary source material.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR TAKING EXAMS:

1. Bring a blue book. Make sure there are no pages torn out.
2. Use pen.
3. Don't sit by anyone with whom you studied.
4. Plan on spending the full time writing your exam.
5. Do the ID terms first.

PLEASE NOTE: Any student caught cheating in this class at any time (even on a one point "sign your name" quiz) will receive a failing grade for the course. Cheating includes the use of any notes during midterm or final exams. Please place no marks of any kind on or in your blue book before I give the signal to begin taking the exams.

It is not cheating to study with another student or to prepare essays or ID's together.

READINGS AND QUIZZES:

In order to make sure students are keeping up with the reading, I will give 5-8 “book” quizzes. You can earn up to five points for each quiz: one point for including your name and circling the correct section time, one point for starting each paragraph with a good topic sentence, one point for convincing me you at least looked at the book, and one or two points for convincing me you actually read and understood the book. I also on occasion give surprise quizzes. Be prepared!

DISCOURSE ON METHOD:

I would like you to read all of Descartes' Discourse on Method. However, for the quiz (and to understand what goes on in lecture), you need only to have read Parts I, II, III and IV (pp. 2-21). Use the following questions as a guide for your reading.

1. Why does Descartes begin the essay the way he does? Is he serious when he says that good sense is the most evenly distributed quality in the world?

2. What subjects did Descartes study in school? What pleased him about each of these fields of study? Why was he dissatisfied with what he had learned in school?

3. What did Descartes hope to gain through traveling in various places around Europe? Why was he disappointed by his travel experiences?

4. What are the four basic steps of Descartes' Method?

5. In addition to the basic steps of the "method," what other practical advice to Descartes give those who seek the truth?

6. How does Descartes attempt to prove the existence of God and of the human soul? How convincing to you find his proof?

PENSEES:

Pascal died at the age of 39, before he could put together his "pensees" (thoughts) for publication. What we have is only his partly organized notes. Some of his remarks are cryptic, e.g. "Cleopatra's nose." Don't spend a lot of time trying to figure these out. Concentrate on what you can understand. Please read as much as you can of Pensees. Pay special attention to the material on pp. 33-55, 60-87, and 143-181. Use the following questions as a guide to your reading.

1. What evidence does Pascal give to make people wish Christianity were true? What evidence does he give to show that it is true?

2. What evidence does he give to show that people without God are unhappy? How convincing is this evidence?

3. What is there about the Scriptures that particularly impresses Pascal? What is there about Jesus that impresses him?

4. What is Pascal's attitude to religions and philosophies other than Christianity? What does he find to praise? Where does he think these religions and philosophies fall short?

5. Pascal is one of the most quoted men in all history. Why do you think that is so?

6. What particularly good insights does Pascal have into the ways people really think and behave? Are there any comments you disagree with?

CANDIDE:

Please read all of Candide. Almost all students find this easy reading and most like the story. Some students may dislike the violence. If you find the story distasteful, you may read instead Condorcet's Progress of the Human Mind. See me for a copy. Use the following questions as a guide for your reading.

1. Why does Voltaire subtitle the book "Optimism"? What does he think of the Optimist idea that this is the best of all possible worlds?

2. What type of humor does Voltaire use in Candide? Are there any lines/episodes that make you laugh? Why, or why not?

3. Why would some students find Candide distasteful?

4. Candide seems to be happiest in the land of El Dorado. What makes El Dorado so wonderful?

5. What is Voltaire's attitude toward nobles and clergymen? What does he particularly dislike about these groups?

6. Which of the characters in Candide does Voltaire view positively? What qualities does Voltaire seem to value most in people?

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO:

Please read The Communist Manifesto. Use the following questions as a guide for your reading.

1. According to Marx and Engels, how has the bourgeoisie changed the social, economic, and political structure of Europe and the world? What positive changes has the bourgeoisie brought about? What harm has the bourgeoisie done to human society?

2. What has happened to the proletariat as a result of the changes brought about through capitalism?

3. The communists were accused of advocating the abolition of private property. How do Marx and Engels respond to this charge?

4. The communists were accused of advocating the abolition of marriage and the family. How do Marx and Engels respond to this charge?

5. What specific steps to Marx and Engels advocate in the move toward communism?

6. How do Marx and Engels criticize non-communist forms of socialism? What does communism offer that other forms of socialism do not?

DOSTOYEVSKY:

Please read "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" (pp. 204-226 of the Signet Notes from Underground and Other Stories and Notes from Underground (pp. 90-203 of the Signet Notes from Underground, and Other Stories).

Many consider Dostoyevsky the greatest novelist of all time. He is certainly one of the greatest. Unfortunately, he is not always easy to understand, and you will probably have some difficulty here.

Please note: both of these stories are written in the "first person," i.e., from the point of view of the main character. But Dostoyevsky is not describing his own life in either of these stories. He is simply inventing characters and allowing his characters to speak for themselves.

You may find Notes from Underground particularly difficult. The first half of the book particularly will seem strange to you--there's no action whatsoever! The second half of the book is more straightforward, but still not easy reading. Persevere! It's worth it!

Please use the following questions as a guide for your reading.

1. Why does Dostoyevsky use "first person" narration in these stories? Why does neither character have a name?

2. In what ways are the narrators of the two stories alike? In what ways are they different?

3. Discuss the "dream" itself. How does Dostoyevsky describe the origin and progress of evil in the dream world? Why is it that this once-happy society has so much trouble going back to their earlier, happier ways?

4. What makes the "underground man" such an unattractive figure? Why does he behave as he does? Does he have any admirable characteristics?

5. What evidence does the underground man give to show that modern "believers in progress" (especially the realists) are misguided?

6. Why do you think Dostoyevsky is considered one of the greatest of all novelists? What do you think scholars find so impressive in his writing?

NIGHT:

Please read all of Eli Wiesel's Night. You should find this easy and, in a way, enjoyable reading. Use the following questions as a guide for your reading.

1. Why does Wiesel call his book Night? In what ways is this an appropriate title for the book?

2. How do the Jews react to the approaching Holocaust? Why are they so slow in reacting?

3. How do Wiesel's religious views change as a result of what happens to him?

4. What is Wiesel's relationship to his father like at the beginning of the book? How does it change as a result of the things they experience?

5. What seems to motivate those who run the concentration camps and those who collaborate with them? What makes these people different from other human beings?

EXTRA CREDIT:

As an incentive to attend campus events and to explore subjects beyond those I address in class, I occasionally offer extra credit for one thing or another. Extra credit work isn't worth a lot in terms of your grade, but you will get a more rounded education by doing the extra credit assignments. Also, you may do extra credit reports on Descartes' Meditations, or any of the short stories in the Signet Dostoyevsky volume. I especially recommend "White Nights."

FIRST MIDTERM: PRELIMINARY STUDY GUIDE

ID'S:

COLUMBUS, THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR, HABSBURGS, THE DEFENESTRATION OF PRAGUE, WALLENSTEIN, PEACE OF WESTPHALIA

COLUMBUS, HARVEY, COPERNICUS, TYCHO BRACHE, KEPLER, GALILEO, NEWTON

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY MASSACRE, HENRY IV, EDICT OF NANTES, MARIE DE' MEDICI, LOUIS XIII, ANNE OF AUSTRIA, VERSAILLES, LOUIS XIV

ELIZABETH I, LATITUDINARIANISM, JAMES I, GUNPOWDER PLOT, CHARLES I, CROMWELL, CHARLES II, JAMES II, GLORIOUS REVOLUTION

BOSSUET, HOBBES, LEVIATHAN, STATE OF NATURE, LOCKE, NATURAL RIGHTS

BACON, DESCARTES, COGITO ERGO SUM, DISCOURSE ON METHOD, MEDITATIONS PASCAL, PENSEES, PASCAL'S WAGER

CARRAVAGIO, MONTEVERDI, RUBENS, CORELLI, BERNINI, REMBRANDT
BACH, HANDEL

ESSAYS:

1. The 17th century began on the brink of chaos. Nearly everything taken for granted in earlier centuries had changed, was changing, or was about to change. While in the long run many of these changes may have been good, the short-term result was often disaster, both for the people of the new world and the old. Comment.

2. Religion is often viewed as a force standing in the way of scientific progress and other sorts of discovery. In the 16th and 17th century, religious beliefs did sometimes impede the acceptance of new ideas. However, religion was far more often a spur to discovery, and the greatest resistance to new ideas came, not from religion, but from within the scientific community itself. Comment.

3. During the 16th and 17th centuries, France was troubled by the same kinds of problems as the rest of Europe--political, economic, and social tensions made worse by religious division. Even competent rulers and officials had a great deal of difficulty trying to govern the country. Comment.

4. During the 16th and 17th centuries, England was troubled by the same kinds of problems as the rest of Europe--political, economic, and social tensions made worse by religious division. Even competent rulers and officials had a great deal of difficulty trying to govern the country. Comment.

5. Bossuet and Hobbes make convincing cases for unlimited governmental authority. John Locke, on the other hand, makes an even better case for limiting government. Comment.

6. Bacon, Descartes, and Pascal all did an excellent job in helping people find order and assurance amid the chaos of the 17th century. Comment.

7. The great Baroque artists did an excellent job helping people find order and assurance amid the chaos of the 17th century. Comment.

MIDTERM II: PRELIMINARY STUDY GUIDE

ID'S:

LOUIS XIV, LOUIS XV, FREDERICK WILLIAM I, FREDERICK THE GREAT, MARIA THERESA, JOSEPH II, PETER THE GREAT, CATHERINE THE GREAT

PHILOSOPHES, CONDORCET, DIDEROT, ROUSSEAU, CONFESSIONS, THE SOCIAL CONTRACT, CIVIL LIBERTY, DEISM, VOLTAIRE, CANDIDE, LEIBNITZ, OPTIMISM, KANT

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN, LOUIS XVI, THE CONVENTION, ROBESPIERRE, COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY, REIGN OF TERROR, THE DIRECTORY, NAPOLEON

CONGRESS OF VIENNA, ALEXANDER I, LIBERALISM, LAISSEZ-FAIRE, NATIONALISM, CRIMEAN WAR, CAVOUR, GARIBALDI, BISMARCK, FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR

HINDUISM, CASTE SYSTEM, KALI, SATI, EAST INDIA COMPANY, WHITE MAN'S BURDEN, OCEAN DEVILS, OPIUM WAR, TAIPING REBELLION, MAO TSE-TUNG

ESSAYS:

1. While in some ways the 18th century was an age of enlightenment, it was not a very enlightened age. The mixture of enlightenment and folly is particularly evident when one looks at the European monarchs of this century. Comment.

2. The philosophes of the 18th century turned to reason for answers to mankind's problems. They believed that reason would end poverty and injustice. They believed that reason would help them create the ideal social and political system. They even believed that reason would provide the ultimate answers in religion. One might even say that they carried their faith in reason to an irrational extreme. Comment.

3. During the French Revolution, the French tried to make wonderful improvements in their form of government, but, in many cases, these improvements were not so wonderful after all. Comment.

4. The 19th century in some ways merits the name "The Age of Progress." Interestingly enough, this progress came through an odd mixture of conservative and liberal ideas. Comment.

5. Europeans and European civilization have dominated the modern world—sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Comment.

FINAL EXAM STUDY QUESTIONS

ID'S:

COMTE, HEGEL, DARWIN, NIETZSCHE, MARX, ROMANTICISM, REALISM, DOSTOYEVSKY, NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND, DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN

SCHLIEFFEN PLAN, RISK THEORY, BALKANS, TRENCH WARFARE, ARMENIANS, WOODROW WILSON, VERSAILLES TREATY

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, LENIN, STALIN, HARVEST OF DESPAIR, MUSSOLINI, NATIONAL SOCIALISM, HITLER, WORLD WAR II, NIGHT, WIESEL, YALTA, POTSDAM

PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH, LEBANON, PALESTINE, ALGERIA, ZAIRE, UGANDA, VIETNAM, CAMBODIA

ATONAL MUSIC, ALEATORIC MUSIC, DADA, SURREALISM, CUBISM, POP ART, T.S. ELIOT, JAMES JOYCE, BECKETT, IONESCO, SARTRE, BRECHT, (ARABEL)

ESSAYS:

1. Most 19th century European thinkers, artists, and writers were convinced that their century was an age of progress, but it is not at all clear that what some of these men called progress was such a good thing after all. Comment.

2. World War I is an excellent example of the senseless violence of the 20th century. Comment.

3. The rise of totalitarian movements like Communism, Fascism, and National Socialism is probably the most troubling development of the 20th century. Comment. (Note: in commenting on this generalization, I'd like you to discuss totalitarian regimes before, during, and after World War II).

4. The break-up of the European colonial empires may turn out to be a good thing in the long run, but the transition from colonial rule to independence was a difficult and sometimes horrible process for the countries involved. Comment.

5. Three main tendencies of art, music, and literature in the 20th century are the following: a tendency to be less and less accessible to the average man, a tendency to glorify art itself, and a tendency to undercut rather than reinforce traditional standards and beliefs. Comment.