Professor Heather Streets

Washington State University

email: streetsh@wsu.edu

General Education 111 takes as its overall theme the development of a variety of world civilizations and their growing interconnectedness in the period 1500 to the present. With such a large geographical scope and long time span, it is impossible to "cover" all aspects of all civilizations in every time period. Instead, we will focus on key themes, events, and cultural expressions and discuss the ways in which they shaped civilizations and the experiences of global interactions.

While history will feature as an important disciplinary perspective in this course, we will also depend heavily on literature, anthropology, art, and music. Through the reader, we will also examine primary documents to get a better sense of cultural perspective and meaning from the events and processes we study.

The Global Past: 1500 to the Present (Volume II), by Lanny Fields, Russel Barber, and Cheryl Riggs.

The Global Past Reader.

This course will consist of lectures supplemented by visual material, small-group discussions, films, and in-class exercises designed to help you process course materials. Students are encouraged to ask questions during lectures and classes, and to meet with me in my office to discuss concerns, interests, or problems.

Weekly short quizzes 125 points (total)

Mid-term examination 100 points

Cultural assignment 50 points

World War One web-based paper 100 points

In-class assignments 50 points

Final exam 75 points

Total 500 points

• There are no provisions AT ALL for extra credit in this course.
• Students with a grade of zero for any of the above assignments will receive an "F" for the final grade. THERE WILL BE NO INCOMPLETES for failure to complete an assignment.
• Lectures will often focus on themes and issues substantially different from the textbook readings. Thus, because lecture material will feature heavily on quizzes and exams, and because in-class assignments and quizzes feature significantly in your grade, frequent absences will put your final grade in jeopardy.
• At the end of the semester, the lowest two quiz grades will be dropped from the final average. Students may make up only ONE quiz for the entire semester, except with dean’s excuses for sickness or for documented athletic absences.
• Readings assigned for a particular day are expected to be completed BEFORE class.

1. August 23, 25, 27 Introduction to Modernity

M: Introduction

W: Text, Ch. 22; Reader,

F: Text, pp. 557-565; Reader,

2. August 30, Sept. 1, 3 The Growth of Global Contact

M: Text, pp. 565-573; Reader

W: Text, pp. 575-586; Reader

F: Text, pp. 586-599; Reader

3. September 8, 10 The American Exchange

W: Text, Ch. 25; Reader

F: Text, pp. 623-632; Reader

4. September 13, 15, 17 Slave Trade; Gunpowder Empires (Safavids, Mughals,

Ottomans)

M: Text, pp. 632-642, 687-695

W: Text, pp. 645-654; Reader

F: Text, pp. 654-665; Reader

5. September 20, 22, 24 East Asian States

M: Text, 667-677; Reader

W: Text, 677-685; Reader

F: Text, 696-719; Reader

Movie: Samurai

6. September 27, 29, October 1 Europe’s Transformation

M: Text, 719-736

W: Text, 736-752; Reader,

F: Mid-term Examination

Movie: clip of peasant life from Return of Martin Guerre

7. October 4, 6, 8 Global Revolutions; Modernization

M: Text, 755-769

W: Text, 769-780

F: Text, 783-794

Movie: Meiji: Asia’s response to the West

8. October 11, 13, 15 Industrial Revolution; Global Nationalism

M: Text, 794-802

W: Text, 805-820

F: Text, 820-830

9. October 18, 20, 22 Imperialism and Ideology; British India and Africa

M: Text, 833-848

W: Text, 848-855

F: Text, 857-876

Movie: Africa: A Voyage of Discovery

10. October 25, 27, 29 World War I

M: Text, 889-899

W: Text, 899-911

F: Web-based Paper Due

Movie: Last part of Gallipoli

11. November 1, 3, 5 Revolution in Russia and China; Depression

M: Text, 913-925

W: Text, 925-937

F: Text, 939-954

Movie: Small Happiness, re. Women in China

12. November 8, 10, 12 National Socialism

M: Text, 957-967

W: Text, 967-975

F: Text, 977-983

13.    November 15, 17 World War II and the Holocaust

M: Text, 983-990, Reader

W: Text, 990-1001

No Class Friday

Movie: clip from memory of the camps

Clip from Hiroshima/Nagasaki

14. November 22, 24, 26 Thanksgiving Break!
15. November 29, Dec. 1, 3 Cold War/Post War/Decolonization

M: Text, 1015-1031

W: Text, 1031-1042

F: Text, 1042-1058

Movie: The Shining Path

**Last day to turn in Cultural Assignment

16. December 6, 8, 10 Ethnicity and Integration

M: Text, 1061-1067

W: Text, 1095-1104

F: Text, 1071-1080

Final exam—December 14, 3:10-5:10

Copyright © 2000 Project South Asia and Heather Streets.  May be copied for educational purposes only.  Commercial use is prohibited without permission of Heather Streets.