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WOH1023, sec. 3 - Prof. Charles
Upchurch
MWF - 1:25 PM to 2:15 PM
room 007 BEL
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~cupchurc
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Office: room 460, Bellamy
Office phone: 644-5297
Office Hrs: Wed 2:30-3:30
& Thru 2-3
Email: cupchurc@mailer.fsu.edu
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World History: 1400 to
1815
Course Description: This
course will explore major themes and events of the early modern period
of world history. The period begins with the start of a new level
of sustained commerce and communication between the world’s major
cultural centers. It ends at the moment when ideological and
technological innovations within Europe put
that region on the verge of economic, political, and military dominance
in the world. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can be
considered a period of European preeminence, but this has often led to
an erroneous projection of those advantages into earlier centuries. For
the early modern period as a whole it is much more accurate to think in
terms of multi-sided and relatively open-ended competitions between
cultures, states, groups, and individuals in the arenas of trade,
warfare, state-building, intellectual achievement, and religious
conversion. A topic as vast as world history is necessarily composed of
a series of overlapping, disparate, and often conflicting narratives,
and the unities that are created out of this material should be
considered necessarily contingent and open for debate. Keeping this in
mind, this course will explore the events of the early modern period in
world history, the interpretations that have been placed on those
events, and the consequences of those interpretations.
Course Requirements: Students are required to take two
in-class examinations, complete two short essays of between three and
five pages (described below). Students are also required to attend and
participate in class discussions. Percentages for each of these areas
as a total of the student’s final grade are given below. Grades are
based on the student’s ability to master the material presented in the
assigned readings and classroom lectures. Plagiarism and other forms of
cheating will be reported to the administration. For the rules
governing academic honesty, see the section titled “Academic Honor
Code” in the Student Handbook or online at: http://www.fsu.edu/~union/honor.htm.
Required Books:
Robert Tignor, et. al., Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of
the Modern World from the Mongol Empire to the Present (New York,
W. W. Norton, 2002)
Ibn Battuta, Said Hamdun, ed., Ibn Battuta in Black Africa
(Markus Wiener, 1995)
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other
Writings (New York, Penguin Books, 2003)
Shen Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life (New York,
Penguin, 1983)
Thomas Paine, Common Sense and the Rights of Man
(London, Phoenix Press, 2000)
Plus a selection of Online Reserves
Reserve Readings: A
number of reserve readings are available at Strozier Library and on the
library's Online Reserve system. Reserve readings will be central to
some class discussions. Use the first week of class to ensure that you
can access the online reserve system so there will be no problems when
we begin using this material.
Grading:
10% - Attendance and Discussion Quiz grades
40% - Papers
25% - Mid-term Exam
25% - Final Exam
Grade Scale:
A =
100-93
B =
86-83 C
= 76-73
D = 66-63
A- =
92-90
B- =
82-80
C- =
72-70
D- = 62-60
B+ =
89-87
C+ = 79-77
D+ =
69-67
F = 59 and under
Attendance will be taken on discussion days, sometimes
by means of a short quiz that will check for a very basic level of
comprehension for that day’s readings. Student participation will be
recorded at all class discussions. A sign-in sheet may also be passed
around on other class days.
Papers will center on two of the primary source works,
and will require you to relate those works to the lectures and other
readings presented in the class. Papers should be between three and
five pages, and must address the question asked. The due date for each
paper is listed on the class schedule below. Work turned in late will
be marked down one letter grade for each week that passes after the
deadline.
- QUESTION ONE -
- QUESTION TWO -
Mid-term and Final Exam: The mid-term and final
exam will be based on IDs and a choice of essay question. IDs will be
drawn from the Key Terms given with each lecture, and should be
identified according to the standard “who/what, when, where, why
significant” formula. Additional Key Terms drawn from the class readings may also appear on the exam. These
terms will be posted on the class website linked to that day’s
discussion. Essay questions will require students to relate broad
themes across several lectures or readings. Medical or other similar
emergencies are the only valid excuse for requesting the postponement
of an exam.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities
Act should follow these steps:
Provide documentation of your disability to
the Student Disability Resource Center
108 Student Services Building, attached to
Parking Garage #2
Telephone: 644-9566; e-mail:
website: from FSU home page, go to Current Students and then to Student
Life and Resources.
Bring a statement from the Student
Disability Resource
Center to your
instructor the first week of class, indicating that you have registered
with them. The statement should indicate
the special accommodations you require.
Week 1: Background to 1400
Monday, August 29 - First Day of Class
Wednesday, August 31 - Themes in World
History: Disease and the Black Death
Friday, September 2 - Chinese Culture
and the Ming Dynasty
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 3-26, 43-48.
Week 2: India
Monday, September 5 - Labor Day - No class
Wednesday, September 7 - The Mosaic
of India and the Mughal Empire
Friday, September 9 - Discussion of the Documents 1 and 2 primary sources
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 26-40, 59-66.
Online Reserves:
Documents 1, The Mongol Era: Conquests and Connections,
pp. 163-178.
Documents 2, Merchants and Trade, pp.
151-162.
Week 3: Islam
Monday, September 12 - Islamic
World: Foundations to the Sack of Baghdad
Wednesday, September 14 - Islamic
Culture and the Ottoman Empire
Friday, September 16 - Discussion of the
Voll and Tucker readings
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 48-58.
Online Reserves:
John Obert Voll, "Islam as a Special World-System," Journal of
World History 5 (1994), pp. 213-226.
Judith Tucker, "Gender and Islamic History," in Adas, ed. Islamic
and European Expansion, pp. 37-55.
Week 4: Europe: Renaissance and Reformation
Monday, September 19 - Italian
City-States and the Reintegration of Europe
Wednesday, September 21 - Reformation
and State-building in Northern Europe
Friday, September 23 - Empires and
Cultures of Africa
Readings:
Ibn Battuta, Ibn Battuta: Travels in Black Africa,
entire book.
Week 5: Changes in Trade and
Warfare
Monday, September 26 - Themes
in World History: The Revival of World Trade
Wednesday, September 28 - Themes in World History: Gunpowder Empires
and the Military Revolution
Friday, September 30 - Discussion
of Ibn Battuta - FIRST PAPER DUE
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 66-76, 79-93, 106-116.
Week 6: Americas: Before
and After the Contact
Monday, October 3 - Civilizations in
the Americas Before Columbus
Wednesday, October 5 - Spain’s New
World Empire
Friday, October 7 - Discussion – First
part of The Interesting Narrative
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 93-106.
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, pp. 31-94.
Week 7: The Atlantic World
Monday, October 10 - Themes
in World History: Comparative Expansions
Wednesday, October 12 - Origins
and Development of the Plantation Complex
Friday, October 14 - Discussion of
the online readings and Exam Preparation
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart pp. 119-136.
Online Reserves:
Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery, ch. 1, "The Origin of
Negro Slavery," pp. 3-29.
Documents 3, Europeans and American Indians: Explorers,
Conquerors, and Aztec Reactions, pp. 201-216.
Week 8: Midterm Exam Week
Monday, October 17 - Linking Art,
Architecture, Religion, and Culture
Wednesday, October 19 - Film selection - the Mahabharata: Part One –
the Game of Dice
Friday, October 21 - MID-TERM EXAM
Readings:
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, pp. 95-177.
Week 9: The Islamic World in
the 17th and18th Centuries
Monday, October 24 - The Safavid Empire
and Shi’ite Islam
Wednesday, October 26 - The Ottoman
Empire: Adaptation and Decline
Friday, October 28 – No Class: Homecoming
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 136-141, 163-171.
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, pp. 178-236.
Week 10: India and Comparative Empires
Monday, October 31 - Height of Mughal
India: Akbar to Aurangzeb
Wednesday, November 2 - Comparative
Empires: Europeans in Java and India
Friday, November 4 - Discussion of Linda
Shaffer’s “Southernization” article
Readings:
Shen Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life, pp. 9-69.
Online Reserves:
Linda Shaffer, "Southernization," Journal of World History," 5
(1994), pp. 1-21.
Week 11: East Asia in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Monday, November 7 - China: from the
Ming to Qing Dynasty
Wednesday, November 9 - Japan: Standing
Apart
Friday, November 11 - Veteran’s Day – No Classes
Readings:
Shen Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life, pp.
73-144.
Week 12: Europe: Science,
Enlightenment and Absolutism
Monday, November 14 - SECOND PAPER DUE - Discussion of Six Records of a Floating
Life
Wednesday, November 16 – Absolutism in the Eighteenth Century
Friday, November 18 – The
Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 141-160, 171-194.
Week 13: The Modern
World: Part I - the French and Atlantic Revolutions
Monday, November 21 – The French and
Atlantic Revolutions: Part I, The French Revolution
Wednesday, November 23 - Optional Discussion: Common Sense
Friday, November 25 - Thanksgiving Break - No Classes
Readings:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 197-223.
Paine, Common Sense, pp. 3-52.
Week 14: The Modern World:
Part II - Industrial Revolution
Monday, November 28 – The
French and Atlantic Revolutions: Part II, The Haitian Revolution
Wednesday, November 30 – The Early Industrial Revolution
Friday, December 2 - Discussion
of The Rights of Man: Part One
Readings:
Paine, The Rights of Man, Part One, pp. 63-161.
Online Reserves:
Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery, chapter 5, "British
Industry and the Triangular Trade," pp. 98-107.
Patrick O'Brien, "European Economic Development: The Contribution of
the Periphery," The Economic History Review 35 (1982), pp.
1-18.
(O’Brien article
available on JSTOR database, from the Strozier Library webpage)
Week 15: Assessment: The
World and the Nineteenth Century
Monday, December 5 - Industrial
Revolution and High Imperialism and the Williams / O’Brien Debate
Wednesday, December 7 – Ottoman
Empire in the Early Nineteenth Century
Friday, December 9 – China
and the First Opium War and Discussion: The Rights of
Man: Part Two
Reading:
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, pp. 223-235.
Paine, The Rights of Man, Part Two, only skim chapters
1 through 4, but read chapter 5 very carefully.
FINAL EXAM
Friday, December 16 - 7:30 to
9:30 AM
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