Core 191: Global History Since 1914

King’s College, Fall 2010

Cristofer Scarboro

Soldiers in the Belgian Congo, 1943

I.  Course Description: 

This course is intended as an introduction to the major political, cultural and economic developments in the 20^th Century.  As a starting point we will investigate the Twentieth Century as a period of “high modernity,” when regimes throughout the world sought to create and perfect particular types of subjects-citizens within competing universalizing ideological frameworks and visions of the future and past: Liberal Democratic Capitalism, Fascism, Communism Anti-Colonialism and Nationalism first among them.  Subjects discussed in the class will include such topics as the revolutionary transformation of daily life by new science and technologies; visions of a global economic interdependence arising out of rapid industrialization and urbanization; the rise of a mass consumer culture; socialism and socialist humanism; colonialism, decolonialization and the collapse of European Empires; the disintegration of the Soviet Union and socialist regimes in Eastern Europe; conflicts among evolving, ascendant and declining social classes and interest groups; contestation over cultural forms; liberal democracy and its discontents.

This course is based on a topical approach rather than a strictly chronological or national one:  major events will be addressed in roughly chronological order, but certain economic, political and social phenomena and intellectual and cultural movements will be explored over time in order to adequately trace their development and impact.  Also, in some instances, focus will rest on particular countries and examples that provide profound and striking illustrations of the key aspects of Global History in the Twentieth Century that we are discussing.

II. Purpose:

Among the objectives for the student is that he or she will become familiar with important, social, cultural, political and economic events and trends in world civilization in the last 500 years.  Central to the course is the principle that in taking the class the student will become familiar with historical methodology and thinking.  He or she should be able to locate, evaluate and interpret historical sources and place them in context.  The course’s paper will ask the student to critically engage and evaluate primary and secondary sources and present analyses of them in clear and persuasive writing.  These everyday tools of the historian will serve the student well in any field he or she chooses to enter. 

In addition to the more content-related objectives described above, this course has some general liberal-learning goals of developing academic skills. It is expected that successful completion of this course will help you improve your ability to: manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles; to understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated; to frame questions so as to more clearly clarify a problem topic or issue; to compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position; to organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in written form; to obtain practice in selecting and presenting information and arguments within a restricted environment, especially the limitations of time in exams

III. General Course Requirements:

A. Course Readings:

Césaire, Aimé, Discourse on Colonialism, Monthly Review Press, 2001

Conrad, Joseph, Heart of Darkness, Oxford University Press, 2008

Goff, Moss, Terry, Upshur and Schroeder, The Twentieth Century and Beyond: A Global History, Seventh Edition, 2007

Gourevitch, Philip, We Wish to Inform you that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families, Picador, 1999

Spiegelman, Art, Maus: A Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History / Here My Troubles Began (Boxed Set), Pantheon; Boxed edition, 1993

B.  Course Films:

The films for the course are an intrinsic part of the course--they will be the centerpiece of class discussion on the week they are shown, and viewing them is a requirement for the course.   The films will be available both in the King's College Library and in streaming form via the course's password protected Moodle site.  The films will be available on-line the week we will be discussing it and will then be unavailable for viewing on the course website.

Ernst D. Schoedsack, King Kong, 1933

Gillo Pontecorvo, Battle of Algiers, 1966

C.  Course Readings, Primary Sources:

Each week you will also be expected to examine a series of primary sources consisting of texts, visual art and/or short video clips.  These sources will either be websites (links are provided in the syllabus) or files found on the course moodle site: 

Moodle Site: <<http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=624>> 

These primary sources are to supplement the readings in the textbook and place you in dialogue with another time and place.  The primary sources in the course sharepoint site will be filed under the "shared documents" folder. You will need to examine these sources as a historian.  What can they tell us about the past and the worldview of past cultures?  How do they help us understand the historical theme of the week and the class as a whole?  Further, these documents will be the source upon which you will base your microthemes and paper for the class. 

D.  Microthemes:

Five times during this semester you will be responsible for writing a 1-2 page microtheme on the assigned primary source material covered during that time.  These microthemes are intended to allow you the opportunity to analyze and write about these sources historically and should consist of two parts: first, you should summarize the argument of the sources—you should ask and elucidate what the author, director or artist was trying to say.  Second, you should place the piece and argument within the larger context of the time and place.  What historical themes and trends is the artist or author tapping into?  How does it relate to larger issues in the class?  How are we to make sense of the work historically? 

Due dates for Microthemes:

D.  Written Assignment:

Your larger writing assignment is due in its final form on December 10^th.  This paper, totaling between 8-10 pages, will be much like a longer, more in depth, microtheme.  You are to take any of the primary sources and place them in historical conversation with one another.  Like the microthemes, you should seek to answer the meaning of the primary sources: what argument or worldviews were the authors/artists seeking to put forward?  How was this a product of the time and place in which they were living?  Importantly you are also to relate the sources to one another.  How do these sources help us understand global history of the past century?  What problems and opportunities do they articulate?  What larger issues are they wrestling with?  You are free to chose any two sources from the course—you may find it easiest however, to chose two within a similar theme. 

Importantly, you will need to ground your interpretation of your primary sources within the framework of historical scholarship.  Roughly speaking your paper should consist of two sections—the first reviewing the historical scholarship on your topic and the second placing your own interpretation of the primary sources within this discussion. 

This paper is to take place in several stages to facilitate the development and integration of these two parts of your paper: 

1)      Chose a topic that you are interested in answering and then begin thinking about the primary sources that you will need to utilize to answer these questions.  You will need to turn in a topic sentence September 13^th.  

2)      On September 27^th you will turn in your first annotated bibliography investigating your topic within the secondary literature.  This bibliography should include at least 5 secondary sources on the topic and should not include internet sources.  Your annotations should include the major thesis of the works and indicate how you intend to use them in your paper. 

3)      On October 11^th you will turn in your second annotated bibliography outlining the primary sources you will be using in paper.  You will need at least 5 primary sources and your annotations of the sources will indicate how these sources will fit within the secondary literature and the argument that you are developing.

4)      On October 18^th you will turn in your thesis statement explaining the central argument of your paper.  This statement should not be a statement of fact but rather of historical interpretation—explaining how we should understand your topic in dialogue with your secondary and primary sources.

5)      On November 8^th you will turn in a draft of your historiographical section of your paper (4-5 pages).  This will be the section of your paper where you review how other historians and scholars have understood your topic.

6)      On November  22^nd you will turn in your complete rough draft demonstrating a synthesis of your historiographical section with your own interpretation of a set of primary sources.  This draft will have to be accompanied by a stamp demonstrating that you have visited the King’s College Writing Center before turning it in.

7)      The final draft is Due on December 10^th.

E. Exams:

There will be three exams in this class: two midterms on September 29^th and November 1^st and a final given during finals week.  The exams will cover material from class lectures and discussions, the textbook and the primary sources. 

The exams will consist of three parts: 1) identifications—these terms will be taken from the list of key terms accompanying the outline for each day; 2) essay questions—these questions will be assigned randomly from the questions assigned to each class meeting on the syllabus; 3) source interpretation—you will be asked to interpret (place in time and assign a historical meaning to) a source (written or visual) that we have discussed in class. 

You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor. 

G.  Quizzes

 There will be ten short quizzes this semester taken on the course moodle site: <<http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=624>> .  These exams will primarily cover material covered in the course textbook.

Dates for Quizzes: 

H.  Class Discussion and Participation

As well as providing you with the methodological and analytical tools for engaging in historical thinking, this class will ask you to actively take part in a larger conversation of historical issues within the class.  I expect this class to allow us to delve deeply into the historical topics of each week’s readings.  To that end you need to make sure that you arrive to class on time ready to discuss the weekly readings, having carefully read and thought over the material.  You must take an active role in the class discussions.  Thus a portion of your grade will depend on your in-class performance and presence. 

In a class of this nature it goes without saying that a classroom environment in which everyone feels comfortable is essential.  You should treat your fellow classmates with respect, listen carefully to their comments and respond to them in a polite manner. 

I. Grading:

It is your responsibility to understand why you have achieved a certain grade, and what steps you can take to maintain or improve your grade.  You should consult with the instructor during office hours or by appointment before and after exams and written assignments.  Your final grade will be based on the following percentages

Your grade distribution for class assignments is as follows:

J. Academic Integrity:

The Department of History adheres to guidelines on academic integrity outlined in the Student Conduct Code in the Student Handbook: 

http://www.kings.edu/student_handbook/studentregulations_rights/conductcode.htm

Cheating and plagiarism will be penalized in accord with the penalties and procedures indicated in that source.  All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the definition of these infractions of academic honesty. 

K. Absences:

I will regularly take attendance in this class. Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official. You should consult with the professor about making up missed work in advance or as soon as possible after your return.  Other absences are unexcused and will lower the class participation portion of your grade. After any absence, you are responsible for requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments from me or borrowing notes from other students. If you miss an exam, contact me as possible. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.

L.  Disabilities:

King’s College and I will make every effort to accommodate students with a bona-fide disability that impacts on their ability to learn the course material.  Please meet with me privately so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help in the learning process.

IV. Course Schedule

Introduction

Monday, August 30^th

Modernism and Westernization: Setting the Stage

Wednesday, September 1^st

Question:  What are some of the defining characteristics of modernity?  What is its relationship to the process of westernization?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 1-41

**Primary Sources:  Chapters 1 and 2 from the Book of Genesis <<http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=148011116>> and Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species, (selections) <<http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/darwin.html>>

Discussion: “Knowing the Oriental”

Friday, September 3^rd

Question: How does Said understand the relationship between knowledge and power?  What ideological work does “knowing the Oriental” engage in?

**Readings: Said, “Knowing the Oriental” from Orientalism, 1979 <<Course Moodle Site>>

The Scramble for Africa

Wednesday, September 8^th

Question: What were the motivations for European imperialism in the 19^th century? What role did colonialism, racism and nationalism have to play?  What did European imperialism look like on the ground in Africa?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 42-55

**Primary Source: Rudyard Kipling, The White Man’s Burden, 1899 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html>>

***First Quiz***

Imperialism and Westernization in Asia

Friday, September 10^th

Question: How was ‘Europe’ created in ‘Asia’? How was westernization and  modernism resisted and transformed there?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 68-93

Primary Source: 1889 Japanese Constitution <<http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1889con.html>>

Discussion: Colonialism and Central Africa

Monday, September 13^th

Question: How are we to understand the impact of westernization and modernity in the Belgian Congo?

**Readings: Conrad, Heart of Darkness 

***Paper Topic Due***

Writing the American Nation

Wednesday, September 15^th

Question: What factors contributed to the development of European nationalism?  What forms did it take?  What was its impact on the traditional European state system?  How did Europe and then the world become divided politically into nation states?  How was the meaning of ‘Americanness’ puzzled out in the late 19^th and early 20^th Century?  What were the difficulties in defining the nation? 

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 55-68

**Primary Source: William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold Speech, 1896 <<http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/>>

Discussion: American Frontiers

Friday, September 17^th

Question: How does Frederick Jackson Turner account for the specificities of the American nation?  How does this correspond to the relationship between colonial missions and the development of the nation-state elsewhere?

**Primary Source: Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” 1893 <<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/>>

***Second Quiz***

Workshop: Thesis and Annotated Bibliographies

Monday, September 20^th

World War I and the Death of the Modern

Wednesday, September 22^nd

Question: How did the horror of World War I bring the notion of progress under question?  What were the effects of the war on interwar politics and culture?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 94-133

**Primary Source:  World War I Poetry << http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html>>

**First Microtheme Due**

Post War Crisis and the Age of Nationalism

Friday, September 24^th

Question: How did World War I complete the 19^th Century process of creating European nation-states? How did the question of the nation play out in interwar Germany?  What is the “logic of the nation-state?”

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 173-181

**Primary Source: Atatürk, Speech on the 10^th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, 1933  <<http://www.theturkishtimes.com/archive/02/11_01/f_speech.html>>

*** Third Quiz***

Russian Revolutions 1917

Monday, September 27^th

Question: Whose revolution (in theory) was the Russian Revolution?  How did the Russian Revolution seek to reorganize Soviet society?  How did it transform the politics and economy of the Russian Empire? What effect did it have on society and culture? 

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 134-148

**Primary Source: Lenin, State and Revolution, 1918 (excerpts) <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/lenin-staterev.html>>

***First Annotated Bibliography***

First Midterm

Wednesday, September 29^th

Age of Anxiety

Friday, October 1^st

Question: How did the Great Depression and the Destruction of the First World War Transform the worldview of the west in the 1920s and 1930s?  How was this age of anxiety reflected in art of the time?  How was it reflected in politics?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 167-172

**Primary Source:  Tzara, Dada Manifesto, 1921 <<http://www.ralphmag.org/AR/dada.html>>

Double Consciousness

Monday, October 4^th

Question: What is "double consciousness?  How is it a reflection of modernity?  How do Garvey and Dubois understand the issue?  How does it relate to the logic of the nation-state?

Primary Source:  W.E.B. Dubois, Souls of Black Folk, (excerpts) <<http://www.bartleby.com/114/1.html>>

***Fourth Quiz***

Discussion: King Kong, 1933

Wednesday, October 6^th

Question: How does King Kong reflect the general theme of anxiety during the interwar years?  What are people anxious about?  How is King Kong a story about modernity?

High Stalinism

Friday, October 8^th

Question:  How did the Soviet system seek to create a new type of subject: homo-sovieticus?  What programs were implemented to that end?  What were the results of these programs?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 218-230

**Primary Source:  Stalin, Dizzy with Success: Concerning Questions with the Collective Farm Movement, <<http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/dizzy.html>>

**Second Microtheme Due**

Degenerate Art

Monday, October 11^th

Question: What accounts for the rise of Fascism in Europe?  What are its motivating principles?  How does fascism as an ideology seek to order society?  How is fascism’s relationship to art a metaphor for its larger programs?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 218-230

**Primary Sources:  Mussolini, What is Fascism? 1932 << http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html>> and Bauer, Trust not a fox on his Green Heath, 1936 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Fifth Quiz***

***Second Annotated Bibliography***

Holocaust

Wednesday, October 13^th

Question: How is the Holocaust a reflection of Nazi ideology?  How does it compare to other attempts to create order in Europe and in the colonial world?  How does the Holocaust help us come to terms with the modernist attempt to create subjects?

**Primary Sources:  Jaegermann, Memories of My Childhood in the Holocaust, 1985 <<http://remember.org/witness/jagermann.html>> and The Jager Report, 1941 << http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/Resource/document/DocJager.htm>>

Discussion: Speigelman, Maus

Monday, October 18^th

Question:  How is the Holocaust transform the manner in which we understand the modern project?  How does Speigelman demonstrate the difficulties in questions of the Holocaust and memory?

***Thesis Statement***

“Sovietization” and “Normalization” in Europe

Wednesday, October 20^th

Question: What role did ideology play in the development of the Cold War?  How did the United States and the Soviet Union work to reorganize European societies?  How was the "good life" defined in each camp?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 270-312

**Primary Sources: Khrushchev, The Secret Speech to the 20^th Party Convention (excerpts), 1956 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Sixth Quiz***

Chinese Revolutions

Friday, October 22^nd

Question: Whose revolution was the Chinese Revolution?  How did it seek to reorganize Chinese society?  What programs did it institute?  What were the results of these programs?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 182-218, 334-339, 444-449

**Primary Sources: Chinese Posters <<Course Moodle Site>>

Decolonialism and the Question of the Nation: Indian Partition

Monday, October 25^th

Question:  How was the question of the nation-state understood by political actors in British India as they worked towards independence?  What were the challenges faced by the independence movements?  How did they meet these challenges?  What challenges remained after independence?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 340-353, 426-444

**Primary Sources: Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa, 1928 <<Course Moodle Site>> and Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan, 1956 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Seventh Quiz***

Cold War Latin America

Wednesday, October 27^th

Question: How did the cold war play out in the so-called Third World?  What were its impacts on the ground in places like Latin America? 

**Readings:  312-333, 410-426

**Primary Sources: Khruschchev, Speech to the RFSR Teacher's Congress, 1960 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1960khrushchev-cuba1.html>> and Kennedy, Lessons of Cuba, 1961 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1961-kennedy-cuba1.html>>

**Third Microtheme Due**

Discussion: Bananaland

Friday, October 29^th

Question: Where and what is Bananaland?  What ideological work does it engage in?

**Video: William J. Ganz Co., Journey to Banana land, 1950 << http://www.archive.org/details/18225Banana>>

Second Midterm

Monday, November 1^st

Cold War: Africa and Decolonialization

Wednesday, November 3^rd

Question:  What is the “Curse of the Nation-State”?  What is a Vampire State? What were the challenges of the Independence movements in Africa?  How did they meet their goals?  What role did the cold war play in Africa in the mid to late 20^th century?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 354-368, 462-476

**Primary Sources: Amíclar Cabral, National Liberation and Culture, 1970 <<Course Moodle Site>>

Discussion: Discourse on Colonialism

Friday, November 5^th

Question: Question: How does Cesaire understand colonialism?  What are his prescriptions for a new world order?

**Readings:, Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism

***Eighth Quiz***

Discussion: Colonialism and Violence

Monday, November 8^th

Question: How does Pontecorvo understand the relationship between nationalism and colonialism?  Modernity and violence? 

**Film: Battle of Algiers

***Historiographical Draft***

Atomic Civilization

Wednesday, November 10^th

Question: How did the Atomic bomb ensure that the cold war was a "cold" war in Europe?  How did the Soviet Union and the United States seek to demonstrate that they had arrived at (or were approaching) the "good society"?

**Primary Sources: Pop Art and Sots Art <<Course Moodle Site>>

Discussion: Bob Marley and the Postcolonial Moment

Friday, November 12^th

Question:  How does the music of Bob Marley help us understand the perils and possibilities of living in the colonial and post-colonial era?

**Readings: Bob Marley Lyrics <<Course Moodle Site>>

**Disc:  Bob Marley Selections

Post War Middle East

Monday, November 15^th

Question: How are the connections between nationalism, colonialism and post-colonialism demonstrated in the 20th century Middle East?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 368-393

**Primary Source: Gamal Abdul Nasser, The Arab Revolution, 1958 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Fourth Microtheme Due***

1968

Wednesday, November 17^th

Question:  How do the events of 1968 help us understand the socialist and capitalist visions of the ‘good life’ and the question of consumption?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 393-409

**Primary Sources: Paris Graffiti  <<Course Moodle Site >>and Paris Posters <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Ninth Quiz***

Discussion: Cold War and Convergence

Friday, November 19^th

Question: In what ways is the world split apart for Solzhenitsyn?  How does he understand the conflict between capitalism and communism?  The question of modernity?

**Readings: Solzhenitsyn, A World Split Apart [the Harvard Commencement Speech], 1978 << http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/solzhenitsyn/harvard1978.html>>

Iranian Revolution

Monday, November 22^nd

Question:  How is the Iranian Revolution a commentary on modernity?  Westernization?  Colonialism?

**Primary Source: Naipaul, Among the Believers, 1981 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Rough Draft Primary Source Synthesis***

1989 and 1991

Monday, November 29^th

Question:  What accounts for the collapse of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union?  Do the revolutions of 1989 and 1991 represent the triumph of liberal democratic capitalism?

**Readings:  The Twentieth Century, 476-500

**Primary Source:  A. Kuznetsov, Not All Theaters are Erotic, 1990 <<Course Moodle Site>>

Discussion: End of History?

Wednesday, December 1^st

Question: What does Fukuyama mean by the end of history?  Are we there?

**Readings: Fukuyama, “The End of History?” From the National Interest, 1989

<< http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm>>

Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the Nation-State

Friday, December 3^rd

Question: How does one locate the genocides in Rwanda and Yugoslavia historically?  How do they inform our understandings of the 20th century nationalist project?  The legacy of colonialism?

**Readings:  Bill Berkeley¸ Zaire: An African Horror Story, 1993 <<Course Moodle Site>>

***Fifth Microtheme Due***

Discussion: Post-Colonialism and Violence

Monday, December 6^th

Question: How does Rwanda help us understand the pathologies of post-colonialism? 

**Readings: Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You…

New World Order

Wednesday, December 8^th

Question: What remains of the modernist project to remake the world?  The four major modernist ideologies?  Where do we go from here?

**Readings, The Twentieth Century, 500-531

*Primary Source: Osama bin Laden, Jihad against Jews and Crusaders, 1998 <<http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm>> and George W. Bush,  History’s Unmarked Grave of Discarded Lies, 2001 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/2001Bush-speech-sep212001-onWTC.html>>

***Tenth Quiz***

Review for Final

Friday, December 10^th

***Final Paper Due***