I. Course Description
This course will survey Western Civilizations since the three great modern
revolutions--the Scientific, Industrial and French--with an emphasis on the
social and cultural forces and ideas that have shaped Western societies. In
coordination with other honors classes on Art, Literature, Philosophy and
Theology, this class will emphasize the political, social cultural and economic
perils and possibilities encountered by the “Western World” since the 17th
century.
Subjects discussed in the class will include such topics as,
the invention of the "West" and "Western Civilization" and its perils and
possibilities, the revolutionary transformation of daily life by new science and
technologies; visions of a global economic interdependence arising out of rapid
industrialization and urbanization; new understandings of the world created and
mirrored by revolutions in art and literature;
the rise of a mass consumer culture; socialism and socialist humanism; feminism;
colonialism, decolonialization and the collapse of European Empires; evolutions
in understandings of sex and leisure; the creation and 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.
II. Purpose
Civilization courses are designed to explore in some depth the complex
dimensions of our world and the cumulative experience of the past, to provide an
understanding of how yesterday influences today and the outlook for tomorrow.
We study the major developments of Western peoples because most of the problems
and institutions of contemporary society have distinguishable roots in the
historical past. Moreover, because of the physical and material expansion
of the West in the modern period, many of these forms have, for good or ill,
become global in nature. Understanding and critiquing the place of western
civilization is a fundamental to making sense of the world today.
Further, whatever your major or career goals may be, throughout your lives you
will be deluged with information, opinion, and interpretations about events
which you should be able to evaluate critically. Answering questions and
solving problems by critical analysis — not just memorization of data — is a
basic goal of education. Information is just the raw material in this
process and, though rational analysis must be based on factual data, memorizing
tidbits of information is not an end in itself. Our real goal is to
develop concepts which give order and meaning to the raw material of our
recorded past. Doing this requires comprehension beyond minimal factual
details of past events. Major emphasis will be on patterns, themes, and
concepts against which the factual data must be understood.
We hope that upon successful completion of this course you will have improved
your understanding of our civilization and have become a more perceptive judge
of the data, opinions, interpretations and explanations continuously offered to
you.
III. Course Objectives
Objectives for the student:
To be familiar with the main stages of civilization as an expanding force which
has produced important forms of political, social, economic and cultural
organization which are our common heritage.
To identify major events, persons and ideas which contributed to the development
of Western, including American and non-Western, attitudes and institutions.
To develop concepts which give meaning and order to the raw material of our
recorded past.
To identify and analyze significant problems and situations as they relate to
the continuing issues of contemporary life.
Goals
for the student:
To improve understanding of the major events which have influenced the modern
world.
To understand the influence of the past on contemporary events and problems, or,
in other words, to develop Historical Mindedness.
To be an intelligent consumer and evaluator of information about events in the
world.
To develop a global perspective which recognizes the political, economic and
cultural interdependence of all nations.
General
Learning
Outcomes for the student:
In addition to the more content-related objectives described above, this course
promotes 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 differentiate between facts, opinions and inferences.
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.
IV. General Course Requirements:
A. Course Readings:
Alloula, Malek, The Colonial Harem, University of Minnesota Press, 1986
Arendt, Hannah, Eichmann in Jerusalem:
A Report on the Banality of Evil,
Penguin Classics, 2006
Freud, Sigmund, Civilization and its Discontents, W. W. Norton, 2005
Pavlac, Brian, Supremacies and Diversities: A Review of Western Civilization,
Select
Sections, draft ed. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Zelbstdrook press, 2009.
Spiegelman, Art, Maus: A Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History / Here My
Troubles Began (Boxed Set), Pantheon; Boxed
edition, 1993
B. Course Films:
Becker, Wolfgang, Goodbye Lenin, Sony Pictures, 2003
Chaplin, Charlie, Modern Times, 1936
Kubrick, Stanley, 2001: A Space Odyssey,
1968
Schoedsack, King Kong, 1933
C. Class Participation and Class Attendance:
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.
King’s College regards student participation in class as essential to the
learning process. Therefore, regular class attendance is required of all
students. After three unexcused absences your class participation grade
will drop a letter grade (from A to B). Each subsequent absence will
result in another letter grade deduction. Please see the
King’s College Student Handbook
for policies regarding excusing absences and campus attendance policies.
Students are responsible for making up any work they miss while absent from
class. Work missed should be turned in the day you return from an excused
absence (unless otherwise agreed to). Late work due to an unexcused
absence will be penalized a 1/3 a grade (from A to A-) for each day late.
If you miss an exam, contact the instructor as soon as possible. You may
take a missed exam at the discretion of the instructor.
E. Leading Class Discussion:
You will be responsible for leading class discussion twice during this semester.
This will entail reading the assigned text, song collection or film closely,
arranging a list of topics and themes to discuss in class and preparing a series
of questions to discuss during class. You will e-mail a list of 8-10
questions to me and your classmates no later than 5:00 the evening before class
so that we will have time to reflect on them and prepare responses.
F. Written Assignments:
This class has two required written assignments: a research paper and a film or
book review.
On the first day of class you will chose two other people with whom you will be
working closely together both in preparing for your paper and in preparing and
presenting your final group project. Your first paper topic will be
closely coordinated with the other two members of your group as part of a larger
theme that will link all three of your papers and the larger group project.
As a group you will meet with me either January 26th to chose
your topics and lay the foundation for the rest of the semester’s group work.
Your individual papers will all contribute to the final project so you should
be sure to closely collaborate with your peers.
General paper topics and sub-topics are listed
here.
You will turn in several copies of your paper (one for me and each of your group
mates) on April 1st; the final draft is due April 22nd.
Your second writing assignment is a film or book review. You review which
should be 2-3 pages is to interpret one of the texts from this class. You
are to place the film or book in historical context, analyze and interpret its
message and meaning. This review will be due in class at any time before
April 29th
G. Final Group Presentation
You will chose your final group project in your first meeting with me on
January 26th and will be working on it in some fashion the entire
semester. Your papers will all deal with some aspect of the project and
give you the foundation for the final in class presentation to be held the last
meetings of the class. Your project will be allotted for 20-25 minutes
with a question and answer session to follow. You project should be
multi-media and can include power-point images, music and video clips. Like
your paper your final Project will take place in several steps:
1)
On April 1st the group will meet with me to plan the final
preparations work for the group project.
2)
On April 15th the group will present a written plan prospectus
for the final project including detailed outlines of the topics covered and
responsibilities designated to each group member.
3)
Your final group presentation will be during the classes meeting from April
24th through the 29th. After the presentation
you will be required to turn in a letter grade for each of your group-mates’
work on the project. This grade will factor into the final grade of each
member for his/her work on the project.
H. Exams:
This class will also require a midterm take-home examination to be turned in on
February 27th and a final examination to be held during finals week.
You will make up the questions for the examinations: you will need to turn in
the questions for the midterm on February 13th and for the final exam
on April 22nd.
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.
For your protection, in case of errors in record keeping, you should keep copies
of all
exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final
grade.
**Your final grade will be based on the following percentages
|
100-95
|
A
|
|
94-92
|
A-
|
|
91-85
|
B+
|
|
88-85
|
B
|
|
84-83
|
B-
|
|
82-80
|
C+
|
|
79-77
|
C
|
|
78-75
|
C-
|
|
74-70
|
D
|
|
69<
|
F
|
**Your grade distribution for assignments is as follows:
|
Class Part. / Leading Discussion
|
25%
|
|
Research Paper
|
25%
|
|
Film / Book Review
|
15%
|
|
Midterm Exam
|
20%
|
|
Final Exam
|
25%
|
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. Disabilities:
King’s College and this instructor 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:
I.
The Birth of the Modern
Introduction:
Monday, January 18th
What is the “West”? What is “Civilization”? What’s the Point?
Wednesday, January 20th
The Political, Social and Cultural World of the 18th Century:
Absolutism and Enlightenment
Friday, January 22nd
*Pavlac, Chapter IX (151-183)
**Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?, 1784 <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/kant.html>
**J. S. Bach, Fugue No. 4: C Sharp Minor, 1747
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~tas3/wtc/i04.html
**Sharepoint: "Gardens of Versailles"
Discipline and Punish
Monday, January 25th
**Michel
Foucault, Discipline and Punnish, 1976
Part I. "Torture: the Body Condemned" <http://foucault.info/documents/disciplineAndPunish/foucault.disciplineAndPunish.torture.en.html>
Part III. "Panopticism" <http://staff.kings.edu/cristoferscarboro/Panopticism.htm>
Birth of the Modern, Part I: the Scientific Revolution
Wednesday, January 27th
**The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1630galileo.html>
Birth of the Modern, Part II: the French Revolution and the Birth of the Nation
Friday, January 29th
**Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789 <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/rightsof.htm>
**Johann Gottfried von Herder, Materials for the Philosophy of the History of
Mankind (excerpts), 1784
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1784herder-mankind.html>
No Class: Group Meetings in my office for Paper and Group Assignments
Monday, February, 1st
Birth of the Modern, Part III: the Industrial Revolution
Wednesday, February 3rd
*Pavlac, Chapter X (183-207)
**Andrew Ure, The Philosophy of the Manufacturers, 1835 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1835ure.html>
Birth of the Modern, Part IV: Colonialism
Friday, February 5th
Pavlac, Chapter XI (207-237)
Discussion: Malek Alloula, Colonial Harem
Monday February 8th
**Alloula, Colonial Harem
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
The Making of the Western Middle Class and the Marxist Critique
Wednesday, February 10th
**Sharepoint: The Great Exhibition of 1851
**Freidrich Engels, Conditions of the Working Class in England, 1844
(excerpts) <http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/Engels.html>
Empire in Europe / Europe in Empire and the Rise of European Nationalism
Friday, February 12th
**Johann Gottlieb Fichte, To the German Nation, 1806 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1806fichte.html>
**Sharepoint: Europe in Empire /Empire in Europe
Gauguin and Colonial Fantasies
Monday, February 15th
II. Assault on the Modern: The Modern and the Absurd
Discussion: Freud, Civilization and its Discontents
Wednesday, February 17th
Freud, Civilization and its Discontents
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
***Questions for Midterm Due via e-mail by 5:00***
W. E. B. DuBois and “Double Consciousness”
Friday, February 19th
World War I and the Death of the Modern (?)
Monday, February 22nd
** World War I Posters <<http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/index.htm>>
The Great Depression and the Crisis of the Mind
Wednesday, February 24th
**Tzara, Dada Manifesto, <<
http://www.ralphmag.org/AR/dada.html>>
Discussion: Modern Times
Friday, Febraury 26th
Chaplin. Modern Times
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
Discussion: King Kong
Monday, March 1st
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
The Revolutions in Russia
Wednesday, March 3rd
*Pavlac, Chapter XII (237-271)
***Midterm Due in Class***
III. The Modern Strikes Back
High Stalinism
Friday, March 5th
***Assignment: Visit
http://www.katardat.org/russiarts/1919/index.html
and chose three paintings that you would like to discuss in class. You
will be assigned a year to focus on. E-mail them to me no later than
Friday, March 5th at 8:00 a.m.
Socialist Realism
Monday, March 15th
**Sharepoint: Socialist Realism 1920s and 1930s
Fascism and Degenerate Art
Wednesday, March 17th
**Sharepoint: "Degenerate Art"
The Holocaust and the Death of the Modern (!)
Friday, March 19th
**The Jager Report, 1941 <http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/resource/document/DocJager.htm>
**Sharepoint: Elwira Bauer, Trust no Fox on his Green Heath
Discusison: Spiegelman, Maus I and II
Monday, March 22nd
Speigelman, Maus
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
Discussion: Eichmann in Jerusalem
Wednesday, March 24th
**Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem
IV.
Postmodernism and its Discontents
“Sovietization” and “Normalization” in Europe
Friday, March 26th
*Pavlac, Chapter XIII (271-301)
Cold War and Atomic Civilization
Monday, March 29th
The Ironies of Normalcy: Pop Art and Sots Art
Wednesday, March 31st
**Sharepoint: Pop Art and Sots Art
Discussion: Bob Marley and Question of Decolonialization
Wednesday, April 7th
**Music: Bob Marley
**Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism, 1955 <Between
Colonizer and Colonized>
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
Discussion: 2001
Friday, April 9th
**Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey
~Discussant(s)
H:
H1:
Discussion: 1968
Monday, April 12th
**Sharepoint: Paris 1968 (Graffiti and Posters)
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
Stagnation
Wednesday, April 14th
***Rough Draft Due***
Solzhenitsyn and Harvard
Friday, April 16th
**Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Address at Harvard University, 1978 <http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/solzhenitsyn/harvard1978.html>
~Discussant(s)
H:
H1:
1989 and 1991
Monday, April 19th
*Pavlac, chapter XIV (301-320)
The “End of History” (!) (?)
Wednesday, April 21st
**Francis Fukuyama,"The End of History?" from the National Interest,
1989 <http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm>
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
***Prospectus for Group Projects due***
Class Meetings for Final Project
Friday, April 23rd
Discussion: Becker, Good Bye Lenin
Monday, April 26th
Becker, Goodbye Lenin
~Discussant(s):
H:
H1:
Placeholder for Whiteteeth
Wednesday, April 28th
***Final Papers Due***
***Questions for Final Due via e-mail by 5:00***
Group Presentation
Friday, April 30th
Group Presentation
Monday, May 3rd
Group Presentation
Wednesday, May 5th
