History 115-1

San Francisco State University

History 115.1: World History Since 1500

Instructor: Dr. Maziar Behrooz

Telephone: (415) 338-1776

Home Page: http://faculty.sfsu.edu/~mroozbeh

Course Description: This course is a survey of world history from 1500 to the present. By nature, the course has to be selective in order to be able to present the subject in a general and yet effective manner. Nevertheless, key aspects of human history during the last five hundred years will be examined and analyzed. The main theme of the course is the view that modern world history is a process of increasing contact and interaction between societies, leading eventually to our present age of “global village.@ Subjects such as modernity vs. traditionalism, nationalism vs. internationalism, colonialism, imperialism, socialism, etc., will be examined throughout the course. Documentary videos will be shown as time permits.

Fall 2022: MW 11-12:15 HSS 310

Office Hours: HUM 231, 12:30-1:30 PM or by appointment.

Course Outline:

Week 1: August 22-24

Introduction: Collision at Cajamarca & Atahualpa's predicament; the pre-modern world (to 1500s): Medieval Europe; Renaissance and early changes in Europe; Maritime Revolution; Mercantilism and early stages of capitalism.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 16 & pdf article Suleiman the Magnificent

Week 2: August 29-31

Early Modern World I (1500s-1700s): Moslem world; Sunnis and Shi’a Islam; the Ottoman Empire, Iran under the Safavids; Mughals of India.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 20 & pdf article Akbar Shah

Week 3: September 5-7 (No class on September 5-Labor Day)

Early Modern World II (1500s-1700s): Imperial China: Ming and Qing dynasties and Shogun Japan and Tokugawa.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 21 & pdf article Tokugawa

Week 4: September 12-14

World of Western Dominance: transformation of Europe and the Protestant Reformation; Absolutism and Parliament; wars of religion; early Russian History.

Reading: Bulliet, chapters 17 & pdf article Luther

MID-TERM EXAM I: September 14 [Postponed to Wednesday September 21]

Week 5: September 19-21

Slave Trade; Atlantic System; Colonial Economy and Expansion of Capitalism. English Revolution.

Reading: Bulliet chapter 19

Week 6: September 26-28

"Scientific Revolution"; Enlightenment; Russia under Peter and Catherine; Revolutionary Eighteenth Century: Industrial Revolution; America's War of Independence.

Reading: Bulliet, Chapter 22 & 23 & pdf article Voltaire

Week 7: October 3-5

French Revolution and the Birth of the First Republic; the Age of Napoleon Bonaparte and the First Empire; Toward the Nineteenth Century.

Reading: Bulliet chapter 23 & pdf article Napoleon.

Week 8: October 10-12

Impact of Western Dominance: Colonialism and Imperialism; Independence in Latin America; Emergence of the British Empire; Ottoman Empire and the Age of Tanzimat; Imperial China: the Opium War and Tongzhi Restoration.

Reading: Bulliet, chapters 24&25 & pdf article Bolivar

Week 9: October 17-19 (Oct. 19 is the last day to sign-up for CR/NCR)

India: British Colonialism and the End of the Mughals; Rise of Indian Nationalism.

The "Opening" of Japan: the End of Shogun Age and the Meigi Restoration; Colonialism in Africa; the Boar War.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 26 & pdf article Shaka Zu

MID TERM EXAM II: October 19

Week 10: October 24-26

Perspectives on the Nineteenth Century. Twentieth Century: World War I; Decline of European powers: End of Russian, Austrian, and Ottoman Empires; Russian Revolution, Birth of the Soviet Union and Rise of Communism, Stalinism.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 28 & pdf article Lenin

Week 11: October 31-November 2

Rise of Nationalism and Revolution: European Revolutions and Rise of the Industrial Working Class; the New Power Balance in Europe: Unification of Germany and Italy; Imperialism; Origins of Arab-Israel Conflict and the Birth of Zionism; Toward the New Century: Reflections on Western Intellectual Trends: Liberalism; Socialism; Europe and the World before World War I.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 27

Week 12: November 7-9

Revolution and National Independence: Mexican Revolution, Chinese Revolution; Independence Movement in India; the Middle East during inter-war years.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 29 & pdf article Gandhi & Mao

Week 13: November 14-15

Inter-war period: Crisis of Liberal Democracy; Nazism and Fascism in Germany and Italy; Militarization of Japan; the Great Depression; Spanish Civil War; Politics of appeasement and the Road to World War II.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 30 & pdf article Hitler

Week 14: November 21-23 (No classes: Thanksgiving Recess)

Week 15: November 28-30

World War II and its Consequences: Swastika Over Europe; fall of France and the Battle of Britain; Attack on the USSR; United States Enters the War; Advent of Nuclear Age; Holocaust and then War's Human Cost.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 30

Week 16 December 5-7

Post-World War II: Cold War and the Age of Super Powers; End of European Empires; Rise of the “Third World” and liberation movements.

Reading: Bulliet, chapter 31 & pdf article Mandela

Books:

Richard Bulliet, The Earth and its Peoples (Volume 2-Sixth Edition)

Naghuib Mahfouz, Midaq Alley

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Reading assignments for each week is based on the 6^th edition. It is fine to purchase a different edition but the page numbers will be different.

An inexpensive way to purchase the textbook (the 6th edition of Bulliet, The Earth and Its Peoples, Volume II) is to rent it directly from the publisher, Cengage Brain. Here is a link directly to the Bulliet text:

http://www.cengagebrain.com/tl1/en/US/storefront/US?cmd=catProductDetail&ISBN=978-1-4390-8475-5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Course Requirements: There will be two mid-term exams (25% each), a book review (10%) and a final exam (40%). Always have an Examination Book for your exams. Exams will be in the form of identification and essay questions and you will have a choice.
Your exams are based on the required readings and class lectures. Therefore, class attendance is necessary. Your final grade will be negatively influenced if you miss more than three classes without valid explanation (2 points off your final grade for 4 absents, 4 points for 6 absents, and so on).

Book Review: Write a review of 1000 words on the novel Midaq Alley. Book reviews are due on final exam day. To help you with your review, it should address the following question as well as containing your opinion and evaluation of the novel:

How are "modernity" and "tradition" portrayed in Mafouz's Midaq Alley? What would you say is Mahfouz's message about change in twentieth-century Egypt?

EXTRA CREDIT? Worth 5 points, talk to me (Only for those who attend class lectures regularly)

IMPORTANT: Do not miss any exam unless you have a very good reason and have prearranged everything with me.

Final Exams:

115-1: Wednesday December 14, 10:15-12:15 in classroom

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Please note the following information regarding university policy:

Senate Policy Resolution #SU21-292 Temporary Changes to #F10-257

Syllabus Policy to Enhance COVID-19 Communications

Health & Safety Commitments

Your health and safety are our paramount concern at SF State. We ask every member of our campus community to join a pledge to make and follow plans to keep fellow students, faculty, and staff safe and well. Feeling confident, safe and well will help you focus on your academic success. To participate in this class, all students are asked expected to:

• stay informed on the most up-to-date information related to SF State’s COVID-19 response and Campus Comeback plan

• plan ahead for possible class disruptions due to COVID-19 or other unexpected events, such as unhealthy air quality caused by smoke

• take care of yourself and others by staying home when you aren’t feeling well or believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, and

• follow all required health and safety guidelines, including verifying your proof of vaccination or exemption status before coming to class; and wearing a multilayered mask over your nose and mouth at all times when indoors on campus; and wash your hands as often as possible (i.e. soap and water, hand sanitizer).

For more information about SF State’s response to COVID-19 and how you can keep yourself and others safe and well, visit the Campus Comeback Website. To plan for how you will maintain your academic success when unexpected events disrupt regular teaching and learning activities, follow the information on the course syllabus and consult the Keep Learning guide.

This course can fulfill GE requirement and history major lower division requirement.

DISABILITY POLICY: Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact the instructor. The Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process. The DPRC is located in the Student Service Building and can be reached by telephone (voice/TTY 415-338-2472) or by email (dprc@sfsu.edu).” (http://www.sfsu.edu/~dprc/facultyfaq.html#1) (http://www.sfsu.edu/~dprc seems like a better reference)

DISCLOSURES OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE: SF State fosters a campus free of sexual violence including sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and/or any form of sex or gender discrimination. If you disclose a personal experience as an SF State student, the course instructor is required to notify the [Dean of Students]. To disclose any such violence confidentially, contact:

[The SAFE Place - (415) 338-2208; http://www.sfsu.edu/~safe_plc/]

[Counseling and Psychological Services Center - (415) 338-2208; http://psyservs.sfsu.edu/]

For more information on your rights and available resources: [http://titleix.sfsu.edu]

PLAGIARISM: Here is the university policy https://conduct.sfsu.edu/plagiarism#source

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Questions to consider (Exam I):

-Compare and contrast two of the following three societies during early modern period: Ottoman Empire; Mughal India; Japan; China

-Explain the Reformation and its significance.

-Compare and contrast the role of Islam in the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.

-What was the Atlantic system? How did it operate, what countries were involved, and what were their motivation? What was the system’s legacy?

Questions to consider (Exam II):

-Discuss French society before the French Revolution. How was society changed by the Revolution? Was the outcome of the Revolution all that the revolutionaries had hoped for? What legacy did it leave to the world? Give specific examples.

-The French Revolution witnessed a phase call the “Reign of Terror” under the leadership of the Jacobins (1793-94). Use your knowledge to explain this period in terms of its main actors, its major accomplishments as well as shortcomings. What was the outlook of France before and after the Jacobin rule?

-Was Napoleon a child or a betrayer of the Revolution?

-Compare and contrast the impact of European modernization on two of the following three. Use your knowledge to cover various aspects (religion, government, reform, colonial subjugation, etc) of each: India; Ottoman Empire; China; Japan.

Questions to consider (Final):

-What were the causes and consequences of WWI?

-What was the Bolshevik agenda and what did they accomplish?

-Discuss the significance, causes, major actors, and outcome of one of the following revolutionary or anti-colonial movements: India (1919-1947); China (1911-1949); Mexico (1910-1939).

-How do you explain the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany?

-What were the root causes of WWII? How do you respond to those who suggest that it was rooted in the peace settlement of WWI?

PDF Reading Material: