World
Civilizations 1453 to the Present
Scarboro,
Fall 2012
CORE 133
Nowa Huta Poland, 1965
Section A: MWF
8:00 (H-M 303)
Section B:
MWF 9:00 (H-M 303)
Section C:
MWF 11:00 (H-M 303)
Office:
Hafey-Marian 306
E-mail:
cristoferscarboro@kings.edu
Website:
http://staff.kings.edu/cristoferscarboro
Phone:
208-5900 ext. 5637 (o)
735-4762 (h)
Office Hours:
M/W 12:00-2:00; T/Th 10:00-12:00
Moodle Site:
http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=3
I. Description:
While contact between cultures and civilizations is as old
as recorded history, in the 15th century the world became knitted
together through trade and conquest as never before. This course traces
the development of this interconnectivity between and among cultures and
civilizations from the mid-fifteenth century to the present in order to better
understand the history and meaning of globalization, its horrors and triumphs,
perils and possibilities. Central to understanding these processes is the
relationship between the growing role of the state and the lives of its would-be
subjects or citizens. Modernity was
most importantly characterized by ever more powerful attempts to create ideal
subjects and societies (understood in among other things in terms of empire,
nation, religion and economic model).
Our discussion of the last 500 years will focus on the manner in which
societies sought to order, control and transform the world, communities and
individuals around them according to their own understanding of the correct
relationship between people, the state and ideology.
II. Purpose:
This class fulfills King’s College’s Core requirement in
the civilizations category.
Civilizations courses are intended to study humanity’s
shared past, its hopes and frustrations, failures and triumphs in order to
help the student both understand a complex world in a historical framework and
to take responsibility for shaping its future.
Civilization courses are designed to explore in some depth the complex
dimensions of world history and the cumulative experience of the past, to
provide an understanding of how yesterday influences today and the outlook for
tomorrow. Ultimately history and the civilizations categories are intended to be
self-reflective and we engage them because they tell us something of who we are.
Further, these courses are geared towards introducing the student to the
historical method as a powerful tool to shape and understand the past and
present. As George Orwell noted: “Who controls the past controls the
future: who controls the present controls the past.” The mechanics of this maxim
will be a guiding question of the class.
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.
C. General
Learning Outcomes for the Student:
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
Satrapi, Marjane, Persepolis, vol. I and II, (or complete boxed set)
Pantheon, 2005.
Singh, Khuswant, Train to Pakistan,
Penguin, 2011.
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 on
reserve at the King's
College Library (please remember that there are roughly 50 people taking
this class so plan accordingly). A
subscription to Netflix <<www.netflix.com>>
(shared or otherwise) is an inexpensive way to watch the films on your own time.
Ernst D. Schoedsack, King
Kong, 1933
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
<<http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=3>>
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.
C. 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:
First Microtheme |
Sept. 17th |
Second Microtheme |
Oct. 8th |
Third Microtheme |
Oct. 19th |
Fourth Microtheme |
Nov. 14th |
Fifth Microtheme |
Nov. 30th |
D. Written
Assignment:
Your larger writing assignment is due in its final form on
December 7th. 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 and with other scholars. 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 five hundred years?
What problems and opportunities do they articulate? What larger issues are
they wrestling with? You are free to chose any sources used in the course
(though you are not limited to these sources).
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 12th.
2)
On September 24th
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 15th
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 19th
you will turn in your preliminary 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 5th
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. Five pages
6)
Between November 2nd and
November 19th you will
need to visit the writing center in order to have them review your
historiographical draft and prepare for your second rough draft.
Please turn in a copy of your reviewed paper with the writing center
staff with your second rough draft on
November 28th.
7)
On November 28th
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 (8-10 pages). 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.
Eight pages
8)
The final draft is due December
7th.
E. Exams:
There will be three exams in this class: two midterms (due
on September 30th and
October 28th
respectively) and a final given during finals week. These exams will be
given on the course moodle site.
All exams will consist of short identifications quizzing knowledge of detail and
significance and essays demanding your understanding of the course material
through logical presentation of facts and explanation of historical trends.
The exams will cover both the material from the textbook and the primary
sources. 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. These exams will primarily cover material covered in
the course textbook.
Dates for Quizzes:
Quiz 1 |
8/30 |
Quiz 2 |
9/9 |
Quiz 3 |
9/13 |
Quiz 4 |
9/20 |
Quiz 5 |
10/2 |
Quiz 6 |
10/9 |
Quiz 7 |
10/21 |
Quiz 8 |
10/30 |
Quiz 9 |
11/11 |
Quiz 10 |
12/6 |
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
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 class assignments is as
follows:
First Midterm |
15% |
Second Midterm |
15% |
Final Exam |
15% |
Quizzes |
10% |
Microthemes |
10% |
First Bibliography |
2.5% |
Second Bibliography |
2.5% |
Thesis |
2.5% |
Historiography |
2.5% |
Rough Draft |
5% |
Final Paper |
10% |
Class Participation |
10% |
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: Sources
Monday, August 27th
Modernity,
Revolution and Ideology
Wednesday, August 29th
Question: What do we
mean by modernity? How is it
related to new and revolutionary ways of understanding the world and building
national, imperial and religious communities?
Exploration, Conquest and Trade
Friday, August 31st
Question: Why did
Europeans become the leaders in 15th century overseas exploration,
conquest and discovery? What models of colonization did they establish?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 22 (464-491)
*Primary Source: Christopher Columbus’ First
Impression, Bentley, 474
***First Quiz due August 30th at 11:00 pm on
the course moodle site***
Early Modern Europe
Wednesday, September 5th
Question: How
did the Protestant Reformation and the Wars of Religion remake Europe?
What was the impact of the Scientific Revolution in transforming the worldview
of those in Europe?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 23 (492-521)
*Primary Source: Adam Smith on Capitalist Markets,
Bentley, 513
“New Worlds” / “Old Worlds”
Friday, September 7th
Question: How
and why did the Spaniards conquer the Aztec Empire? How is this conquest
emblematic of other European conquests of the non-European world? How did this
conquest transform American Societies?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 24 (522-547)
*Primary Source: Captain Cook on the Hawaiians,
Bentley, 544
Absolutism and Enlightenment
Monday, September 10th
Question: How
was Absolutism an answer to the chaos of the European 16th Century? How
did it lead to the development of the European state system? How did it
seek to arrange the word around it? How did the Enlightenment challenge
traditional societal organization? How did it change the way in which
people understood their place in the world?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 23 (492-521)
***Second Quiz due September 9th at 11:00 pm
on the course moodle site***
Discussion:
Bougainville, Diderot and Colonial Ideologies
Wednesday, September 12th
Question: How does
Diderot's Bougainville's Voyage
help us understand the Enlightenment desire to catalogue and transform the
world? How is Diderot "inventing France" or notions of Western
Civilization? How is he "inventing Polynesia"?
*Reading: Diderot, Denis, “Supplement to the Voyage of
Bougainville” <<http://courses.essex.ac.uk/cs/cs101/txframe.htm>>
***Paper: Topic Sentence***
Black Atlantic
Friday, September 14th
Question: How did
racial slavery develop in contact between Africans and Europeans? What
were its effects on the Atlantic World?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 25 (548-569)
*Primary Source: King Alfonso I Protests the Slave Trade,
Bentley, 554
*Primary Source: Equiano on the Middle Passage,
Bentley, 562
***Third Quiz due September 13th at 11:00 pm
on the course moodle site***
Modernization and Centralization in East Asia
Monday, September 17th
Question: How did
Japan and China seek to modernize and centralize their states during the 15-19th
centuries? How did they respond to the challenges of European colonialism
and capitalism?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 26 (570-593)
*Primary Source: Quianlong on Chinese Trade,
Bentley, 581
*Primary Source: Fabian Fucan Rejects Christianity,
Bentley, 591
***First Microtheme***
The Rise of the Ottoman Empire
Wednesday, September 19th
Question: How
did the Ottoman Empire organize its society? How was difference
understood? What role did religion play? What was the role of nationalism?
What accounts for the empire's collapse?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 27 (594-619)
*Primary Source: Islam and the Jews: The Status of Jews and
Christians in Muslim Lands, 1772 CE <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1772-jewsinislam.html>>
Mughal India and the Coming of the British East India
Company
Friday, September 21st
Question: What
accounts for the success of the Mughal Empire under Akbar? What factors
account for its decline? Why were the British successful in colonizing the
Indian subcontinent?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 27 (594-619)
*Primary Source: Gardens of the Mughal Empire <<http://www.mughalgardens.org/html/fortress_gardens.html>>
*Primary Source: Robert Clive, Letter to William Pitt on
India 1759 <<http://www.oswego.edu/~pan/h209ma/robertclive_william%20pitt.html>>
***Fourth Quiz due September 20th at 11:00
pm on the course moodle site***
Revolution, Part I: France
Monday, September 24th
Question: Whose
Revolution was the French Revolution? What were its causes and effects?
What role did new social classes have to play in its development? How did
they each seek to organize newly revolutionary France? What role did nationalism
play?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 28 (620-649)
*Primary Source: Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen, Bentley, 628
*Primary Source: Declaration of the Rights of Woman and
Citizen, Bentley, 640
***Paper: Preliminary Annotated Bibliography Secondary
Sources***
Revolution, Part II: Haiti and the Americas
Wednesday, September 26th
Question: Whose
Revolutions were the Haitian and American Creole Revolutions? What were
its causes and effects? What role did new social classes have to play in
its development? How did they each seek to organize their newly
revolutionary societies? What role did nationalism play?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 28 (620-649)
*Primary Source: Slaves' Appeal to Thomas Gage, Royal
Governor of Massachusetts, May 25 1774 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1774slavesappeal.html>>
*Primary Source: Simón de Bolívar, Message to the
Congress of Angostura, 1819<<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1819bolivar.html>>
Revolution, Part III: Industrialization
Friday, September 28th
Question: Whose
revolution was the Industrial Revolution? How did the Industrial
Revolution remake European Society? How did it change the place of Europe
in the World?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 29 (650-675)
*Primary Source: Malthus on Population, Bentley, 664
*Primary Source: Marx and Engels on the Bourgeoisie and
Proletariat, Bentley,
***First Midterm
Due on Sept. 30th at
11:00 p.m. on the course moodle site***
19th Century Nationalism
Monday, October 1st
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?
What impact did it have across the world? What is the "logic of the
nation-state"?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 28 (620-649)
*Primary Sources: Johann Gottlieb Fichte, To the German
Nation, 1806 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1806fichte.html>>
*Sharepoint: Empire in Europe / Europe in Empire
European Imperialism (Scramble for Africa)
Wednesday, October 3rd
Question: What were
the motivations for European imperialism in the 19th century? What
role did imperialism, racism and nationalism have to play? What did
European imperialism look like on the ground in Africa?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 32 (730-761)
*Primary Source: Kipling, White Man’s Burden,
Bentely, 735
*Primary Source: Lord Lugard, Imperialism and Indirect
Rule, Bentley, 744
***Fifth Quiz due October 2nd at 11:00 pm on
the course moodle site***
Middle Class Society and its Discontents
Friday, October 5th
Question: How did
the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat seek to reorganize the world around them in
the 19th Century? How did they seek to define and organize
social class? What were the results of these processes?
*Primary Source: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals
(excerpts) <<http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MODERN/GENEAL.HTM>>
The Chinese 19th Century
Monday, October 8th
Question: What
factors contributed to the fall of the Qing Dynasty? What challenges did
European imperialism present? How did differing internal Chinese movements
seek to (re)organize Chinese society?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 31 (704-729)
*Primary Source: Xia Qinggao, selections from his account
of travels in Europe <<http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/hai-lu.html>>
*Primary Source: Attempted reforms of Emperor Kuang Hsu <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/1898kuantsu.html>>
***Second Microtheme***
Asia and "the West"
Wednesday, October 10th
Question: How
was Japan's 19th century unique in Asia? How did they come to terms with
European imperialism? Modernization? Nationalism?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 31 (704-729)
*Primary Sources: 1889 Japanese Constitution <<http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1889con.html>>
***Sixth Quiz due October 9th
at 11:00 pm on the course moodle site***
World War I and Versailles
Monday, October 15th
Question: How did
World War I complete the 19th Century process of creating European
nation-states? What was the war’s impact on the culture of the interwar
years? What was the war’s impact on interwar politics?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 33 (762-789)
*Sharepoint: World War I Poetry
***Preliminary
Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources***
Russian Revolutions
Wednesday, October 17th
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: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 34 (790-812)
*Primary Source:
Goals and Achievements of the First Five Year Plan, Bentley, 805
Age of Anxiety
Friday, October 19th
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: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 34 (790-812)
*Primary Sources: Tristan Tzara, Dada Manifesto, <http://www.ralphmag.org/AR/dada.html>
***Preliminary Thesis Statement***
***Third Microtheme***
America and the Question of "Double Consciousness"
Monday, October 22nd
Question: What is
"double consciousness? How is it a reflection of modernity? How do
Garvey and Dubois understand the issue?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 30 (676-703)
***Seventh Quiz Due October 21st on the
course moodle site***
Discussion: King Kong
Wednesday, October 24th
Question: How does
King Kong reflect the general theme of anxiety? What are people anxious
about?
High Stalinism
Friday, October 26th
Question: How
did Stalin seek to create a new type of subject: homo-sovieticus? What
programs did he implement? What were the results of these programs?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 34 (790-811)
*Primary Source: Powerpoint: Socialist Realism (moodle site
***Second Midterm
due by October 28th at 11:00 p.m. on course moodle site***
Fascism
Monday, October 29th
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?
*Reading: Bentley and Zeigler, Chapter 34 (790-811)
*Primary Source: Powerpoint: Trust not a Fox (moodle site)
World War II / Holocaust
Wednesday, October 31st
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?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 36 (834-860)
***Eighth Quiz due October 30th at 11:00 pm
on the course moodle site***
Chinese Revolutions
Friday, November 2nd
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: Bentley and Zeigler,
Chapter 35 (812-834)
Satyagraha
Monday, November 5th
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: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 37 (864-890)
*Primary Source: Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the Need for a
Muslim Pakistan, Bentley, 869
*Primary Source, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Self Rule is my
Birthright, Bentley, 817
***Historiographical Rough Draft***
Discussion: Train to Pakistan
Wednesday, November 7th
Question: How does partition look from Mano Majra?
What claims is Singh making about the creation of national communities?
Empire? Subjectivity?
*Readings: Khuswant Singh,
Train to Pakistan (entire)
Cold War, Part I: Ideology
Friday, November 9th
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?
*Primary Source: Khrushchev on the Capitalist Iron
Curtain, Bentley, 1074
*Primary Source: “Make Mine Freedom,” John Sutherland
Production, Extension Department of Harding College, 1949. <http://youtube.com/watch?v=v5eqNai4zhQ>
Cold War, Part II: The Atomic Age and the Question of
Consumption
Monday, November 12th
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 Source: Powerpoint: Pop Art (moodle site)
***Ninth Quiz due November 11th at 11:00 pm
on the course moodle site***
Cold War, Part III: The "Third World"--Latin America
Wednesday, November 14th
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?
*Primary Source: Journey to Bananaland <<http://www.archive.org/details/Journeyt1950>>
***Fourth Microtheme***
ASEEES Conference
Friday, November 16th
Decolonialization in Africa: The Vampire State
Monday, November 19th
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
20th century?
*Readings: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 36
(1005-1030) and 39 (1095-1130)
*Primary Sources, Marcus Garvey, Africa for Africans,
Bentley, 1019
***Visit the
Writing Center by November 18th for Review of your Rough Draft***
Discussion: Bob Marley
Monday, November 26th
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
Modern Middle East and the Question of Palestine
Wednesday, November 28th
Question: How
do nationalism and modernity play out in the Middle East?
*Primary Sources:
The Palestinian National Charter, 1968
<<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/plocov.asp>>
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel,
1948 <<http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace
Process/Guide to the Peace Process/Declaration of Establishment of State of
Israel>>
***Paper: Rough Draft***
Iranian Revolution and the Question of Modernity
Friday, November 30th
Question: How
is the Iranian Revolution a commentary on modernity? Westernization?
Colonialism?
*Primary Source: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, The
Uprising of Khurdad 15, 1979 <<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1979khom1.html>>
***Fifth Microtheme***
Discussion: Persepolis
Monday, December 3rd
Question: How
does Satrapi's work address the question of Modernity in the Context of the
Iranian Revolution? Boundaries of "East" and "West"?
*Readings: Satrapi, Persepolis vols. I and II
(entire)
1989/1991
Wednesday, December 5th
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: Bentley and Ziegler, Chapter 48 (890-924)
*Primary Source: Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address,
1994 <<http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/mandela.html>>
*Primary Source: Osama bin Laden, Jihad against Jews and
Crusaders, 1998 <<http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm>>
Yugoslavia, Rwanda
and the Question of the Nation-State
Friday, December 7th
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?
***Tenth Quiz Due December 6th at 11:00 p.m.
on the course moodle site***
***Final Paper***