| Benjamin C. Brower | Mark Ravina | Charalampos Minasidis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| office | Garrison 3.204 | Garrison 3.502 | - |
| office hours | Wednesday and Friday 2:00-3:00 | Monday and Tuesday 3:00-4:00 | Monday and Wednesdays 2:00-3:00 at Caffe Medici (2222 Guadalupe St) |
| phone | 512-475-6813 | - | - |
| benbrower@utexas.edu | Canvas for course related matters. Otherwise mark.ravina@austin.utexas.edu | ch.minasidis@utexas.edu |
This course examines select themes in the history of the world over the past millennium. We will concentrate on the movements of people and ideas, technology, economy, and institutions that created an interconnected world. We will devote time to concepts and methodologies of global history as well as to the content of empirical historical developments.
Students will learn the skills of historical analysis and interpretation, along with the historical material itself. This will include the ability to grasp the complexity of historical debates and rethink received knowledge in light of new research, as well as mastering a sizable range of historical events, individuals, and key concepts. The overarching goal is to inspire students to engage their world critically and give them the intellectual tools and diversity of perspective to do. Coursework and evaluations will focus on students’ ability to articulate coherent and sustained arguments in writing and verbally. There are no pre-requisites.
You will need to purchase the textbook, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, which has been ordered at the University Coop.
In addition:
David J. Lu, Japan: A Documentary History, available on-line from the library. I recommended downloading the book in sections for easier, regular access.
For reference, or just to satisfy your own curiosity, the text Hane and Perez, Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey is also available for free download from the library
Other readings will be made available on Canvas.
Five Quizzes: 50% total 10% each. These will assess your command of the materials in the lectures, textbook, and outside readings and films.
Class participation and attendance: 10%
Paper: 20%. Prompt distributed on March 06 (Monday). Paper due April 05 (Wednesday). Write roughly 1500-2000 words, fully documented with citations (Chicago Manual of Style) and a bibliography. Be thoughtful about your sources. Rely on JSTOR, EBSCO, or Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed research and primary sources. Do not cite random websites. Submit the essays via Canvas in .doc or .docx format. Please avoid pdfs.
Online discussion participation 20%: You will use Canvas’s discussion feature (“Discussions”) to collectively work through the arguments, themes, and significance of an assigned text or film. There will be multiple (at least five) online discussion sessions scheduled this semester; you are required to contribute (minimum one question and one answer) to four (4) sessions. Due date: Sunday midnight on the end of appropriate week.
Plus/Minus grading will be used for all grading in this course. The grade scale is as follows:
The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
All work for this course will be that of the student and original contributions. When I suspect plagiarism or cheating, I militantly pursue cases through the office of Student Judicial Services.
The University of Texas at Austin provides accommodations for students with disabilities. Contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 512-471-6259 or 512-232-2937 (video phone).
Under Senate Bill 212 (SB 212), the professor and TAs for this course are required to report for further investigation any information concerning incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking committed by or against a UT student or employee. Federal law and university policy also requires reporting incidents of sex- and gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct (collectively known as Title IX incidents). This means we cannot keep confidential information about any such incidents that you share with us. If you need to talk with someone who can maintain confidentiality, please contact University Health Services (512-471-4955 or 512-475-6877) or the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center (512-471-3515 or 512-471-2255). I strongly urge you make use of these services for any needed support and that you report any Title IX incidents to the Title IX Office.
(subject to revisions and changes)
January 09 (Monday): Course Overview
January 11 (Wednesday): Islam’s World
January 13 (Friday): Confucian and Buddhist Thought
Readings:
January 16 (Monday): MLK Day: No class
January 18 (Wednesday): Islam and Christendom — A Clash of Civilizations?
January 20 (Friday): East Asia in 1500
Readings:
Discussion “The Greater Learning,” and Zhu Xi “Principle and Material-Force”
January 23 (Monday): Japan — Tokugawa consolidation
January 25 (Wednesday): Christendom Splits: Reformation and Religious Wars
January 27 (Friday): Quiz #1 and Ming-Qing transition
Readings:
Discussion: Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s “Sword Hunt Edict,” and Tokugawa Buke shohatto
January 30 (Monday): Ottoman Empire and European Absolutism
February 01 (Wednesday): Pax Asiatica — Early Modern East Asia
February 03 (Friday): The Great Qing and its challenges
Readings:
February 06 (Monday): A World Made by Slaves: The Atlantic Economy
February 08 (Wednesday): “What is Enlightenment?”
February 10 (Friday): French Revolution and the World
Readings:
Discussion: Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”
February 13 (Monday): China — The Taiping Rebellion
February 15 (Wednesday): Japan — Nativism and “New Religions”
February 17 (Friday): Quiz #2 and East Asia: New Ideas and Movements
Readings:
Discussion: The Taiping Economic Program, and Ōshio Heihachirō manifesto
February 20 (Monday): Industrial Revolution
February 22 (Wednesday): Conquest of Algeria
February 24 (Friday): Islamic Reform Movement
Readings:
Discussion: Abd al-Qadir, “On Jihad”
February 27 (Monday): Tokugawa Japan — The Meiji Restoration
March 01 (Wednesday): Marxism and the Workers Movement
March 03 (Friday): China — Late Qing reforms
Readings:
Discussion: Marx and Engels, “Manifesto of the Communist Party”
March 06 (Monday): Japan — Meiji Imperialism
March 08 (Wednesday): Quiz #3 and Europe’s New Imperialism, 1880-1914
Readings:
March 20 (Monday): War in the Trenches & Revolution in Russia
March 22 (Wednesday): China — the Fall of Qing and ROC
March 24 (Friday): Japan — Rise and Fall of prewar liberalism
Readings:
March 27 (Monday): Fascism
March 29 (Wednesday): The “Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere” and WWII in East Asia
March 31 (Friday): Quiz #4 and WWII in Europe
Readings:
April 03 (Monday): China under Mao
April 05 (Wednesday): Japan under US Occupation
April 07 (Friday): The Cold War
Readings:
April 10 (Monday): The New Left
April 12 (Wednesday): The Rise of “Japan Inc.”
April 12 (Wednesday): Paper due
April 14 (Friday): Decolonization in Africa and the Middle East
Readings:
Film Discussion: Gillo Pontecorvo, “The Battle of Algiers” (1966), streaming available through the UT library catalog (Kanopy).
April 19 (Wednesday): China after Mao
April 17 (Monday): Post-Colonial Middle East and Africa
April 21 (Friday): Japan — The “Bubble” and Aftermath
Readings: