History 107 Political and Social History of the United States



History 1: History of World Civilizations 1

Fall 2016

Instructor: Daniel Borses, PhD

Section 48559

Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 9:35-11:00 am, Location: QD 213

Contact info:

E-mail: daniel.borses@rcc.edu

Office: QD 23F, Phone: (951) 222-8862

Office Hours:

Mondays: 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Tuesdays: 4 pm – 5 pm

Wednesdays: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Thursdays: 8 am – 9 am

Required Texts:

McKay, Ebrey, Beck, et al..., A History of World Societies, Volume 1. to 1600. 10th Edition, Bedford St. Martin’s, ISBN 978-1-4576-8532-3, 2015.

Walter Ward and Denis Gainty, ed., Sources of World Societies, Vol 1. To 1600, 2nd Edition, Bedford St. Martin’s, ISBN 978-0-312-56970-9, 2012

There will be copies of both books in the course reserves at the Digital Library.

Prerequisite(s): None.

Advisory: Advisory: REA-83 and qualification for ENG-1A.

Course description:

A survey of the historical development of global societies, major social, political, and economic ideas and institutions from their origins until the 16th century. Principal areas to be covered are African civilizations of the Nile and sub-Saharan areas, Mesopotamian civilizations, and Greek and Roman Civilizations,

Course requirements:

Reading: The assigned reading is an integral part of the course. Please complete the reading assignments by the start of class on the day noted on the syllabus.

Reading quizzes: Please bring notebook paper for occasional pop quizzes on the day’s assigned reading. All quiz questions will be drawn from the material assigned for the day of the quiz. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes under any circumstance, though your lowest quiz score will be dropped. Your quiz score may be discarded if you leave class early the day of the quiz.

Primary Source Explications: Students will complete three primary source explication assignments during the semester. Students will receive a separate handout describing this assignment.

Exams: There will be two midterm exams and a final exam as noted in the schedule. The midterm exam will contain several term identifications and one essay question. I will provide an exam study guide at least one week prior to each exam date. Exam questions will be drawn straight from the study guide. The final exam is not cumulative, though much of the course will build on ideas discussed earlier in the course.

You will need to bring in three blank green books or bluebooks (green books are more environmentally friendly!) by the date posted in the schedule for use during your exams. Exams must be written in ink, not pencil. There will be no make-up examinations except in the case of excused absences, which must be documented by a doctor's note, a note from the Dean, or advance notice from the Athletic Director. Students must write exams based on their knowledge and interpretation of the material. During exams, students may not speak to one another and may not access proscribed materials such as electronic devices, books, notes, or the exam materials of another student. Smartwatches (watches that can access the internet) must be removed during the exam. Students are required to follow the instructor’s directions throughout the exam. Violation of these policies is considered academic dishonesty (see below.)

Grading Scale:

Quizzes: 100 points (5 x 25 pts, lowest score is dropped)

Primary Source Explications (x3): 100 points each (300 points total)

Midterm exams (x2): 200 points each (400 points total)

Final Exam: 200 points

A = 900 points and above, B = 800-899 points, C = 700-799 points, D = 600-699 points, F = below 600 points. This course does not use the +/- grading system.

Schedule:

Week 1

Monday, August 29 - Introductions

Readings: This syllabus

Wednesday, August 31 – Migration and Prehistoric Humans

Textbook: Chapter 1 (all)

Week 2:

Monday, September 5 – Labor Day, No Class

Wednesday, September 7 – Structure of the State: Mesopotamia and the Ancient Egyptians

Textbook: Chapter 2, pp. 30-49

Primary Source: Document 2-2, “Hammurabi’s Code: Laws on Society and Family

Life,” p. 23-28

[Please note that September 9th is the last day to add the class]

Week 3:

Monday, September 12 – Hebrews, Assyrians and Persians

Textbook: Chapter 2, pp. 49-57

Primary Source: Document 2-5, “Book of Exodus: Moses Leads the Hebrews from

Egypt,” pp. 36-41

Wednesday, September 14 – Foundations of Indian Society

Textbook: Chapter 3 (all)

Primary Source: Document 3-3, “From the Upanishads: On the Nature of the Soul,”

pp. 54-57

Week 4:

Monday, September 19 – China’s Classical Age

Textbook: Chapter 4, pp. 87-102

Primary Source: Document 4-3, “Confucius, From Analects,” pp. 76-79

Wednesday, September 21

Textbook: Chapter 4, pp. 102-110

Primary Source: Document 4-4, Laozi “Administering the Empire,” pp. 79-81

Primary Source Explication #1 due

Week 5:

Monday, September 26 – The Greek Experience

Textbook: Chapter 5 (all)

Wednesday, September 28 – Midterm Exam #1 (Covers chapters 1-4)

Week 6:

Monday, October 3 – The World of Rome

Textbook: Chapter 6, pp. 143-163

Primary Source: Document 6-3, Plutarch “On Julius Caesar,” pp. 124-127

Wednesday, October 5 – Christian Rome

Textbook: Chapter 6, pp. 163-171

Primary Source: Document 6-6, Pliny the Younger, Letters to and from the Emperor

Trajan on Christians, pp. 134-137.

Week 7:

Monday, October 10 – East Asia and the Spread of Buddhism

Textbook: Chapter 7 (all)

Wednesday, October 12 – Byzantine Europe

Textbook: Chapter 8 (all)

Week 8:

Monday, October 17 – Origins of Islam

Textbook: Chapter 9, pp. 232-243

Primary Source: Document 9-2, Muhammad, The Constitution of Media, pp. 190-192

Wednesday, October 19 – Creation of the Islamic World

Textbook: Chapter 9, pp. 243-263

Primary Source: Document 9-6, Ibn Khaldun, On Shi’ite Succession, pp. 200-204

Primary Source Explication #2 due

Week 9:

Monday, October 24 – The Land and People of Africa

Textbook: Chapter 10, pp. 266-276

Primary Source: Document 10-2, Abu Ubaydallah al-Bakri, Book of Routes and

Realms, pp. 208-211.

Wednesday, October 26 – African Kingdoms and Empires

Textbook: Chapter 10, pp. 277-293

Primary Source: Document 10-4, Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, pp. 215-

219.

Week 10:

Monday, October 31—Midterm Exam #2

Wednesday, November 2 – America Before the European Invasions

Textbook: Chapter 11, pp. 296-304

Primary Source: Document 11-3, Pedro de Cieza de León, “On the Inca,” pp. 229-

233.

Week 11:

Monday, November 7 – American Empires

Textbook: Chapter 11, pp. 304-325

Primary Source: Document 11-4. Diego Durán, Book of the Gods and Rites, pp. 233-

236.

Wednesday, November 9 – The Mongol Empire in Central Asia

Textbook: Chapter 12, pp. 328-343

Primary Source: Document 12-1, The Secret History of the Mongols, pp. 244-250.

Week 12:

Monday, November 14 – The South Asian Trade World

Textbook: Chapter 12, pp. 343-358

Primary Source: Marco Polo, Travels: Description of the World, pp. 256-260.

Wednesday, November 16 – Economic Revolution in the Song and Hong Dynasties

Textbook: Chapter 13, pp. 361-374

Primary Source: Document 13-5, Statistical Tables on Chinese Civil Service Exams, pp. 282-286.

[Please note that November 18th is the last day to drop the class]

Week 13:

Monday, November 21—Korea and Japan

Textbook: Chapter 13, pp. 374-384

Primary Source: Document 13-1, Murasaki Shikibu, Tale of Genji, pp. 269-271.

Wednesday, November 23 – Feudalism and the Crusades

Textbook: Chapter 14, pp. 387-402

Primary Source: Document 14-2, Fulcher of Chartes, “The Call for Crusade,” 293-

295.

Week 14:

Monday, November 28 – Life and Death in Medieval Europe

Textbook: Chapter 14, pp. 402-419

Wednesday, November 30 – A Renaissance, but for Whom?

Textbook: Chapter 15, pp. 422-436

Primary Source Explication #3 due

Week 15:

Monday, December 5 – Reformation and Counterreformation

Textbook: Chapter 15, pp. 437-454

Primary Source: Document 15-5, Martin Luther, “Address to the Christian Nobility,”

pp. 329-332

Wednesday, December 7 – The Afroeurasian Trade World circa 1500

Textbook: Chapter 16, pp. 458-463

Finals Week:

Monday, December 12 – Final Exam – 8 am – 10:30 am (NOTE TIME DIFFERENCE)

Course Policies

Attendance: Because we cover a great deal of material in this course, prompt and regular attendance is a necessity. If you miss class, you do so at your own risk. I cannot be responsible for providing you with information you may have missed because of an absence. I highly recommend that you make arrangements with one or more of your classmates to share notes in case of unexpected absences.

Classroom Environment: A positive classroom environment is critical for student learning. Feel free to ask questions and express opinions in this course, and to approach readings and ideas actively and critically. As you do so, however, please strive to be courteous to your fellow students. In order to create a respectful and productive environment, please avoid unnecessary distractions during class meetings. Feel free to express opinions relevant to the material during class, but use common sense regarding timing and refrain from making offensive comments or using pejorative terms. It is okay for you to disagree with me or your classmates (after all, much of college-level history is a matter of interpretation) but attempts to elicit a “rise” will be construed as misconduct and be dealt with accordingly.

Disruptive behavior is grounds for removal from the course for the remainder of the class session, or, in extreme circumstances, for the semester with the agreement of administration. Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, talking, whispering, sleeping, passing notes, sending text messages on any device, wandering around the room (wait until class is over to throw away trash!), allowing electronic devices to emit sounds, uncivil utterances, consistently arriving late, leaving early without prior authorization, reading or doing homework in class, and violating the electronic devices policy below.

Electronic Devices: The use of cell phones, tablets, laptops and other electronic devices is not permitted in this class. All electronic devices must be silenced and stowed away before the start of class. Smart watches (any watch that can access the internet) must be put away during exams and quizzes, and may not be used to access to internet or play games during class. Texting is not permitted on any device while class is in session. Students who do so may be removed from class for the day on the first offense. Additional offenses may result in referral to the Dean of Student Affairs for further sanctions.

Emergency Procedures: Please be aware of campus emergency procedures.

E-mail: I am happy to answer questions by e-mail, but please allow me reasonable time to reply. Please keep in mind that e-mail is best suited to short, specific questions. If you would like to discuss something more broadly, please come see me during office hours. Also, I may send useful announcements to your campus e-mail address. If your campus email is not your primary account you should make sure that your campus email forwards to an account you check regularly. 

Progress Reports: If you need a mid-semester progress report for athletics or any other program you can get one in one of two ways. 1) You can come to my regularly scheduled office hours where I will be able to check my gradebook and provide the best possible answer. 2) You can e-mail me at least 24 hours before class so that I can have the required information ready for transfer to your forms a few minutes before the start of or after the end of class. I will not sign progress reports blindly a few minutes before the start of or after the end of class.

Online Course Materials: Some online course materials (study guides, Powerpoint presentations and supplemental documents) will be available online. I will let the class know as soon as I determine their location.

Academic dishonesty: Academic honesty and integrity are core values of the Riverside Community College District. Students are expected to perform their work independently (except when collaboration is expressly permitted by the course instructor.) Believing in and maintaining a climate of honesty is integral to ensuring fair grading for all students. Acts of academic dishonesty entail plagiarizing—using another’s words, ideas, data, or product without appropriate acknowledgement—and cheating—the intentional use of or attempted use of unauthorized material, information, or study aids on any academic exercise. Students who violate the standards of student conduct will be subject to disciplinary action as stated in the “Standards of Student Conduct,” listed in the Student Handbook. Faculty, students, and administrators all share the responsibility to maintain an environment which practices academic integrity.

The minimum sanction for plagiarism on a paper is a zero on the assignment in question and a report to the appropriate academic administrator. The minimum sanction for cheating on an exam (the use of proscribed materials such as notes, books or electronic devices during the exam, allowing another student access to proscribed materials, or viewing the paper of another student, providing information to another student during the exam, failing to follow instructions regarding blue books or test sheets) is a zero on the assignment in question and a report to the appropriate academic administrator. In cases in which exam cheating is clearly premeditated (including but not limited to attempting to fill out an exam book in advance) and large in scope, offenders may receive a summary grade of F for the course in addition to a report to the appropriate academic administrator

Accommodations of Disabilities: Riverside City College provides services to students with disabilities through the Disability Resource Center (DRC), located in the AD 121. To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please visit the DRC or contact the DRC staff at (951) 222-8060. A DRC staff member will confidentially review your concerns with you to determine any required accommodations. Once your accommodations are approved through the DRC, please bring your DRC documentation to your instructor so we may discuss your accommodations.

Syllabus Caveat: Per campus policy, I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus with advanced notice. I will not do so without sound pedagogical reasons.

Entry Skills:

Before entering the course, students will be able to:

1. Critically discuss and analyze primary and secondary texts, recognizing key ideas and

responding in both oral and written form.

ENG 50 - Recognize thesis, audience, purpose and evidence in advanced pre-collegiate

texts.

ENG 50 - Compose developed, unified, stylistically competent essays of 650 -1000+

words that: Are relatively free from errors in grammar and mechanics; Employ one or

more patterns of development; Respond to advanced pre-collegiate texts; Adjust for

audience and purpose with advanced-intermediate skill; Control voice, tone, and level

of formality with advanced- intermediate skill; Use evidence effectively, with

advanced- intermediate skill, to support a thesis; Demonstrate awareness of the

writing process and an ability to critique their own work and the work of

others with advanced-intermediate skill. Employ, at advanced-intermediate level,

the standard methods of academic written discourse for

guiding readers through an analysis or argument (e.g.,

introductions and conclusions, transitions, topic sentences).

ENG 80 - Compose intelligible, source-based, multi-paragraph essays that employ

rhetorical strategies for situating, developing, and communicating a controlling idea;

ENG 80 - Apply the higher-order cognitive skills necessary for critical participation in

the ongoing conversations and debates of our culture and polity;

REA 83 - Critically analyze college-level reading materials in various modes of

discourse based on an understanding of author’s purpose, tone, connotative language,

bias, and use of fact and opinion;

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Analyze broad patterns of change on both interregional scales and within complex societies.

• Demonstrate an understanding of civilization through multiple analytical categories such as race, class, gender and ethnicity.

• Compare distinctive forms of political, social, and economic organization in the world and explain their historical significance.

• Identify major discoveries, inventions, and scientific achievements and explain their historical significance.

• Explain the historical significance of cultural developments such as art, music, architecture, literature and religion.

• Compare ideals, practices, and historical developments of major belief systems.

• Analyze historical developments across national, regional, and cultural boundaries.

• Demonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support.

Critical Thinking:

• Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are possible.

• Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses.

• Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of others.

• Explain ways in which the world’s physical and natural environment has affected and been affected by developments in human history.

Communication Skills:

• Students will be able to communicate effectively in diverse situations.

• They will be able to create, express, and interpret meaning in oral, visual, and written forms.

• They will also be able to demonstrate quantitative literacy and the ability to use graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods to analyze, organize, and interpret data.

• Analyze ways in which human groups have interacted with one another, including trade, migration, warfare, cultural exchange, and biological exchange, from early times to 1500 C.E.

Self-Development & Global Awareness

• Students will be able to develop goals and devise strategies for personal development and well-being.

• They will be able to demonstrate an understanding of what it means to be an ethical human being and an effective citizen in their awareness of diversity and various cultural viewpoints.

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