Washburn
History Department
Early World History
12:00-1:15 MW
Office:
HC
311B
Office
Hours:
1:00-2:30 TR or by appointment
Office
phone:
670-2059
e-mail: kim.morse@washburn.edu
This
course is designated as a WU General Education course and fulfills the
following requirements:
Identified
Knowledge Area: World of human ideas,
aspirations, values, and institutions
General
Education Distribution Grouping: Social Sciences
General
Education Skills Addressed:
1. Read
intelligently
2.
Write effectively
3.
Process information both in terms of synthesis and analysis
General
Education Skills Evaluation:
1. Students' ability to
read intelligently will be assessed through quizzes, exams, and class exercises
based on assigned textbook and primary-source readings. Departmentally
developed rubrics will be used to evaluate the attainment of this skill.
2. Students' ability to
write effectively will be assessed through quizzes, exams, and class exercises
based on assigned textbook and primary-source readings. Departmentally
developed rubrics will be used to evaluate the attainment of this skill.
3. Students' ability to
process information will be assessed through quizzes, exams, and class
exercises based on assigned textbook and primary-source readings.
Departmentally developed rubrics will be used to evaluate the attainment of
this skill.
Course
Description: HI
100 surveys evolving world cultures and history from prehistory through 1200CE.
The course emphasizes doing history by introducing students to primary
sources--works produced at the time under study--and the methods historians
employ to interpret them; this will be supplemented by lectures, exercises, and
text material that demonstrate how historians shape material into historical
narratives and arrive at interpretations of the past. Students will be taught
how to think historically as well as learning the broad outlines of world
history and the basic information about the period.
Course
Objectives: Train
students to think historically, cover the departmentally agreed objectives of
content knowledge for HI 100, and develop students’ abilities to read
intelligently, write effectively, and process information. For a complete list
of the departmental objectives for this course see the department website at http://www.washburn.edu/cas/history/academics.html.
Course Evaluation: Defined by each
instructor of the course, as specified below.
Select
Mission of the University:
Washburn University shall prepare qualified
individuals for careers, further study and lifelong learning through excellence
in teaching and scholarly work. Washburn
University shall make a special effort to help individuals reach their full
academic potential. (Washburn
University Board of Regents, 1999)
Required
textbook:
Bulliet, et. al. The Earth and its
Peoples: A Global History, Part A. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Online Reserves
Several
times throughout the semester you will be required to access materials on
reserve at the library. You have two
options. You may go to the library and
request the material at the circulation desk.
This is a very good option because it requires you to actually go to the
library and converse with librarians.
This is always a good plan.
The
second option is to access the materials through online reserves at http://washburn.docutek.com/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=15.
The password is “hi100student.” From the
next page you may access all materials on reserve at the library for the
course.
Refer
to the syllabus to make sure to complete all assigned readings before class,
and pay attention to announcements in class.
I reserve the right to change reading assignments at any time during the
semester.
This
course is organized around five big questions.
These questions bring up themes that a recurrent throughout the time
period of study and also relevant in the world we live in today. Each class period will touch on one or more
of the big questions in one way or another.
Discussion and class activities will come back to them repeatedly. Oh yeah.
They are also the basis of your take home final.
1.
What
is the definition of civilization? Does
the definition of civilization change over time? If so, how and why?
2.
Can
“weaker” peoples or the “losers” in history exercise power? How?
3.
What
is the role of trade in world history?
4.
How
do geography and climate shape human history?
5.
How
do peoples use religion to shape societies, politics, and economics?
Final Exam
Your
final exam will be a take home exam drawn directly from the Big Questions. You
will have the opportunity to choose one and answer it in a well composed essay
of 3-4 pages, typed, doubled spaced, 1 inch margins,
12 point font. Your essay must contain a
clear answer to the big question you choose (thesis statement) in the
introduction and a well developed discussion of your thesis that includes three
examples from the cultures we have studied.
You should also show how your three examples are similar or different,
yet still support your thesis. You will
also include citations from at least two primary resources to support your
thesis. Finally, your essay will
conclude with a coherent conclusion that is much more than “I’m done now.”
Your
essay will be due the day the final is scheduled for this course. You will not have an in class final exam.
Critical Essays
Twice
in the course you will have the opportunity to build critical reading, writing,
and thinking skills in Critical Essay assignments. Critical Essays are three to
four page papers based on primary source documents to answer a question that I
provide. In these essays, writing counts. You will need to write a clear thesis
statement that gives your essay direction, use the evidence (primary documents)
to support the thesis statement, and write an effective conclusion that is more
than “I'm done now.” I provide extensive instructions and writing rules to help
you complete the essays successfully. I take these instructions and writing
rules seriously. They are what I will look for in your essays. They are grading criteria. And I encourage
you to give me drafts of all or part of your essays to review. I promise if you
take the time to do the drafts, your writing, and hence your grade, will
improve.
Participation
You
will notice that participation constitutes a large portion of the course
grade. It is difficult to participate if
you are not in class, and I do take attendance.
That said, participation is more than simply
occupying space in class. If you are not
prepared or if you are asleep, you cannot effectively participate. Trust me.
I notice.
Grading:
Participation
………………………………………. .100 points
Exams
(2) …………………………………………...200 points
Critical
Essays (2) ……………………………….. 450 points (225 each)
Academic Misconduct
Policy:
All students are expected to conduct themselves appropriately and ethically in their academic work. Inappropriate and unethical behavior includes (but is not limited to) giving or receiving unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of papers or other assignments, or knowingly misrepresenting the source of academic work. Washburn University’s Academic Impropriety Policy describes academically unethical behavior in greater detail and explains the actions that may be taken when such behavior occurs. For guidelines regarding protection of copyright, consultwww.washburn.edu/copyright/students. For a complete copy of the Academic Impropriety Policy, contact the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Morgan 262, or go on-line to: www.washburn.edu/admin/fac-handbook/FHSEC7.htm#VIII
Plagiarism
Cheating
is not just looking over someone’s shoulder on an exam. Another word for cheating is plagiarism,
defined as “steal[ing] and pass[ing] off (the ideas or words of another) as
one's own : use (another's production) without
crediting the source” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=plagiarizing
). This includes turning in a paper
copied off the internet or a paper with portions copied off the internet
without citation, having your roommate write your paper, or using any materials
in papers without citing your sources.
Incorrectly
paraphrasing a source is also considered plagiarism. Say for example that your source said this
about the colonial Spanish practice of coartación:
“This required the court to
determine the slave’s “just price” as evaluated by two assessors, one selected
by the slave and one selected by the owner.”
If you said instead:
“Coartación required the court to determine a slave’s “just price” evaluated by two
assessors selected by the slave and the owner.”
You would commit plagiarism. You could avoid plagiarism through
paraphrasing by rewriting the quote more substantially and citing the
source.
“If a slave wanted to
ascertain his or her “just price,” the slave could ask the court for a coartación. Through that process
two assessors, one chosen by the slave and one chosen by the owner, would
determine the “just price” of the slave.”
(Landers, 249)
The above quote is substantially different from the
original and includes the author and page number of the quote. In other words, the phrase is cited
correctly.
It is easy to avoid plagiarism. Whenever you use the exact words of a source,
those exact words must be in quotation marks and cited as above, author and
page number. You can use the title of the book, chapter, or article if there is
no author available. You MUST include
the page number or URL (that’s the Web address) if the source is from the
Internet. If you paraphrase a source you
do not have to put the phrase in quotation marks, but you must include the
citation. If you have any questions
about whether or not you should cite something or how to cite it, ASK!!! I want you to learn how to do things the
correct way. I do not want to see you
get yourself in trouble.
Speaking of trouble, minimum penalty for plagiarism is
a 0 on the assignment. Maximum penalty
is an F in the course. I will also refer
the case to the Dean of Students office for further consequences at the College
level.
For Further information on identifying and avoiding
plagiarism, see “Plagiarism:
What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It” at http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html. You may also go to “History Matters:
Reference Desk” at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/refdesk/.
Disability Services:
The
Student Services Office is responsible for assisting in arranging accommodations
and for identifying resources on campus for persons with disabilities. Qualified students with disabilities must
register with the office to be eligible for services. The office MUST have appropriate
documentation on file in order to provide services. Accommodations may include in-class note
takers, test readers and/or scribes, adaptive computer technology, brailled
materials. Requests for accommodations
should be submitted at least two months before services should begin; however,
if you need an accommodation this semester, please contact the Student Services
Office immediately.
Location: Student Services, Morgan Hall Room 150
Phone: 785-670-1629 or TDD 785-670-1025
E-Mail: student-services@washburn.edu
Students
may voluntarily identify themselves to the instructor for a referral to the
Student Services Office.
Center for Undergraduate Studies and Programs (CUSP):
As
a Washburn student, you may experience difficulty with issues such as studying,
personal problems, time management, or choice of major, classes, or
employment. The Center for Undergraduate
Studies and Programs (Office of Academic Advising ,
Educational Opportunity Program, and Office of Career Counseling, Testing and
Assessment) is available to help students either directly through academic
advising, mentoring, career counseling, testing and developing learning
strategies or by identifying the appropriate University resource. If you feel you need someone with whom to
discuss an issue confidentially and free of charge, contact CUSP in Morgan 122,
785-670-1299, advising@washburn.edu.
Withdrawal
Policy:
Students may withdraw from full semester
courses through the second week of class with no recorded grade. From the third through the eleventh week a
“W” is recorded for any dropped course.
Beginning with the start of the twelfth week, there are NO withdrawals,
and a grade will be assigned for the course.
Schedule
August
17: Introduction, Prehistory – All of those ‘lithics and ‘cenes
Bulliet, Chapter 1
August 19: Prehistory – All of
those ‘lithics and ‘cenes
Bulliet, Chapter 1
August
24: Building Civilization I
“The Hero Twins Devise the Harvest
Ritual”
From Hammurabi’s Code
“The Instructions of Ptahhotep”
Confucius, from The Analects
“How the Pueblo People Came to the
Middle Place”
*All of the above available through
online reserve.
August
26: Building Civilzation II
“The Hero Twins Devise the Harvest
Ritual”
From Hammurabi’s Code
“The Instructions of Ptahhotep”
Confucius, from The Analects
“How the Pueblo People Came to the
Middle Place”
*All of the above available through
online reserve.
The First River Valley Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 2
August
31: The First River Valley Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 2
September
2: The First River Valley Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 2
September
7: LABOR DAY – NO CLASS
September
9: The First River Valley Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 2
September
14: New Civilizations, East and West
Bulliet, Chapter 3
September
16: New Civilizations, East and West
Bulliet, Chapter 3
September
21: New Civilizations, East and West
Bulliet, Chapter 3
September
23: The Mediterranean and the Middle East
Bulliet, Chapter 4
September
28: The Mediterranean and the Middle East
Bulliet, Chapter 4
September
30: The Mediterranean and the Middle East
Bulliet, Chapter 4
October
5: The Mediterranean and the Middle East
Bulliet, Chapter 4
CRITICAL ESSAY ONE DUE
October
7: American Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 12, Teotihuacan and
The Maya
October
12: American Civilizations
Bulliet, Chapter 12, Northern
Peoples
EXAM REVIEW
October
14: EXAM ONE
October
19: New Cultural Communities
Bulliet, Chapter 5
October
21: New Cultural Communities
Bulliet, Chapter 5
October
26: New Cultural Communities
Bulliet, Chapter 5
October
28: Age of Empires
Bulliet, Chapter 6
November
2: Age of Empires
Bulliet, Chapter 6
CRITICAL ESSAY TWO DUE
November
4: Age of Empires
Bulliet, Chapter 6
November
9: India and Southeast Asia
Bulliet, Chapter 7
November
11: India and Southeast Asia
Bulliet, Chapter 7
Networks of Communication and
Exchange
Bulliet, Chapter 8
November
16: The Rise of Islam
Bulliet, Chapter 9
November
18: Review
November
23: EXAM TWO
November
25: THANKSGIVING BREAK!
November
30: The Rise of Islam
Bulliet, Chapter 9
December
2: The Rise of Islam
Bulliet, Chapter 9
December
4: Out of the Doldrums
Bulliet, Chapter 10
December
10: Final Exam Due 5:00pm HC311B