History 224 Course Requirments

Required Texts:
T.C.W. Blanning The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789-1914
Kathleen Canning Languages of Labor and Gender: Female Factory Work in Germany 1850-1914
Adam Hochschild King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Wolfgang Schivelbusch The Railway Journey: The Industrialization of Time and Space
Carl Schorske Fin de Ciecle Vienna: Politics and Culture
Eugen Weber Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France

Grading and evaluation:
15% 4-5 page mid-term essay
10% Short mid-term examination
35% Final examination and take home essay questions (6-8 pages)
30% 4-5 page book review and in-class presentation
10% Class participation and attendance

For the book review and in-class presentation, you will be expected to choose a book related to that week's readings and analyze it. You will be expected to define the work's importance in relationship to the readings and analyze its argument. The purpose of the assignment is to get you to read historical works in relationship to one another to understand how historical arguments function. You can either choose a historical work, or a written piece from the period with historical importance. The written portion will consist of a brief, one page summary of the book and its argument for the class and a 3-4 page analysis to be handed in up to three weeks later, unless you report during the last three weeks, when it will be due on the last day of class. This will give your classmates a dossier of reviews on 19th century Europe historical works which they can refer to in the future.

The mid-term will consist of a brief, in-class examination where you will be expected to identify terms and provide a brief analysis. I haven't determined the exact format yet, but it will probably be along the lines of a list of 25 items, 10 of which will be on the test and you will have to answer 6. I will provide you a list of terms two weeks before the exam. The mid-term essay will be a take home essay assignment based on the readings up to that point.

For the final exam, there will be a brief in-class examination as with the mid-term. There will also be an essay as with the mid-term, however the questions will cover the readings and ideas from the entire course, with an emphasis on the second half. Students may, as an option, write a short research report on a topic of their choice, analyzing a particular event or phenomenon in European history during this period. This will allow students to pursue individual interests in more depth and detail. You will not be expected to conduct original research for the paper, but you should develop some depth of understanding about your paper's subject. If you choose to write a research report, please consult with me 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.