History 130-3
Modern World History
Lectures Thursdays:
10:00—11:50
Tutorials Thursdays: 12:30—13:20, 14:30—15:20; 15:30—16:20
Semester: Spring
2007 - Surrey
Instructor: Brian Campbell, Ph.D.
E-mail: bwcampbe@sfu.ca
Phone: (778) 371-8486
Course Description:
This introduction to global history will focus on historical events and trends which have linked disparate societies since the beginning of the fifteenth century. During this period, societies and cultures which had been relatively isolated from one another came into more frequent contact leading to an increasing exchange of goods, ideas, and violence. Beginning with the age of European exploration and colonization, the course will follow the global impact of industrialization and nationalism emerging from Europe on the one hand, and the adaptation and resistance to these ideas on the other. The course concludes with the phenomenon of globalization, as cultures both accommodate themselves to global culture while they resist and contribute to it.
Required Texts:
Alfred Andrea and James Overfield The Human Record: Sources of Global History
Volume II: Since 1500
Robert Tignor, et. al., Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the Modern
World from the Mongol Empire to the Present
Additional readings will be online or on reserve as indicated in the syllabus.
Grading and Evaluation:
This class is designed to teach you how to read and analyze original documents within the framework of existing historical writing. At an introductory level, this is done through the use of original documents along side a text book and is, in a simplified fashion, what historians do. The first essay will require you to write an original paper with a well defined thesis using the sources we have read in the class. Your second paper will be a short research paper using at least one book length primary or secondary source. You will receive suggested essay topics for the first paper in week three with the paper due in week eight. I will provide suggested ways of organizing a research paper at week three also.
The mid-term and final exam will consist of identification questions, a short essay question and identifying locations on a blank map. While I have not determined the final format, the exams will look something like this: Two weeks before the exam, I will present you with a list of about twenty terms, ten of which will be on the exam and you will have to answer six. You will be expected to provide the correct date, place, and people involved with the term and, more importantly, that term's historical importance. You will also be given the essay questions and you will have a choice between them. You will be expected to write a concise essay with a thesis using evidence from the sources you have read. Map questions will be based on the maps in your textbook.
The in class presentation will require you to give a brief (5-10 minute) analysis of one of the readings for that week before the class. The presentations will be used to spark class discussion and you are expected to offer questions for the class to consider. Class participation is based on attendance and participation. Attendance is required at all lectures and tutorials. Students will be not be penalized if there is a valid excuse. If you have some conflict or problem, please let me know ahead of time.
Papers will be penalized if late at my discretion. If you have conflicting deadlines or other problems, let me know ahead of time. I do grant extensions, but not ex post facto. It is easier to grade all of an assignment at once instead of dragging it out over weeks. If you hand in a late paper, you can expect to get a late response. If a paper demonstrates noticeable weaknesses, I will allow revisions. I consider revision to be part of the writing process and am more interested in developing student skills than penalizing poor work. Keep in mind that as far as "poor work" goes, I do make a distinction between the need to develop skills and negligence. I generally do not award extra credit, however.
Attendance is required at all lectures and tutorials. Students will be not be penalized if there is a valid excuse. If you have some conflict or problem, please let me know ahead of time.
Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism and academic dishonesty has increased significantly since the appearance of study guides and so-called paper mills on the Internet. Instructors in turn have developed their own resources to discover cases of plagiarism, therefore it is necessary to remind students that any work submitted for a grade must be their own.
Simon Fraser University specifically defines plagiarism as the following: Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which an individual submits or presents the work of another person as his or her own. Scholarship quite properly rests upon examining and referring to the thoughts and writings of others. However, when excerpts are used in paragraphs or essays, the author must be acknowledged using an accepted format for the underlying discipline. Footnotes, endnotes, references and bibliographies must be complete. Plagiarism exists when all or part of an essay is copied from an author, or composed by another person, and presented as original work. Plagiarism also exists when there is inadequate recognition given to the author for phrases, sentences, or ideas of the author incorporated into an essay. A draft paper, proposal, thesis or other assignment may be subject to penalty for academic dishonesty provided the instructor/supervisor has informed the student(s) before the work is submitted.
Simon Fraser University has a detailed description of what constitutes academic dishonesty. For more information, visit: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-02.htm. Penalties for academic dishonesty will be severe and may result in a failing grade for the assignment or class. Especially egregious cases will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities at SFU. For more information on specific policies on penalties, visit: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-03.htm.