PROFESSOR: Jeff Cox.
OFFICE and PHONE: 109 Schaeffer Hall, 335-2298.
Messages also may be left for me at the History Department Office, 280 Schaeffer Hall, 335-2299
EMAIL: jeffrey-cox@uiowa.edu
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 2:30-3:30; Thursday 2:30-4:30 (also by appointment) I am usually in my office in the afternoon. You are welcome to come see me during office hours or at other times. If you cannot see me during office hours for any reason, please see me after class, or e-mail me, for an appointment.
WEB SITE: http://www.uiowa.edu/~c016003a/
TEACHING STAFF:
Josh Cochran, M.A., Western Michigan University 2003
Heather Cooper, M.A. University of Iowa 2008
John Eicher, M.A. University of Iowa 2008
Matine Spence, M.A. Boston University 1983
Kathy Wilson, M.A. University of York (Great Britain) 2004
OBJECTIVES: (1). This course is designed to give you a general overview of the history of Europe and the interaction of Europeans with the wider world since the eighteenth century (the 1700s). By the end of the course, you should be familiar with a basic narrative of major events of modern history, and should be able to recognize allusions to the important individuals, ideas, and social changes that have influenced the modern world. (2) This course is designed to improve your ability to read texts with critical insight, and write about them persuasively and with greater clarity. Western Civilization is a course in rhetoric as well as history. The exams are essay exams; your grade on the papers will be based in part on style. The communication skills that we emphasize in this course will be of great value to you in life after college.
DOING WELL IN THE COURSE I: Lecture Notes. It is important for you to attend every class, and to take notes on each lecture. The mid-term and the final will cover material discussed in the lectures. The outline on the website is no substitute for a good set of lecture notes. The lectures are designed to provide you with an opportunity to focus your attention on a particular aspect of history, and come to terms with the point of view of the lecturer. Please see me after the lecture if you have questions. Questions are also very welcome via e-mail. In e-mail messages, please use your spell checker, write in upper and lower case, and punctuate your message correctly. Use the textbook for additional information, and an additional point of view, on the material covered in the lectures.
DOING WELL IN THE COURSE II: Speak Up. Please see your Graduate Instructor or me for advice about any aspect of this course, especially if you are having problems or do not fully understand any of the course requirements or assignments. I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.
YOUR GRADE: Grades will be determined in the following manner: mid-term exam, 20%; final exam, 30%; work in section, including writing, participation, attendance, and quizzes, 50%. Both the mid-term and the final will be, for the most part, essay exams.
FINAL EXAM: The final will be given at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 15. The final exam (and the midterm exam) will not be administered early to accommodate nonrefundable airline tickets, or for any other reason.
THE CLASSROOM: In a large lecture hall, it is important to keep the noise level down. Please do your best to be on time, and to avoid eating, talking, or reading newspapers during the lecture. Remember to turn off your cell phone! Please do not leave before the end of lecture except in an emergency. As a courtesy to other students, please avoid shutting books or notes before the end of the lecture, which will always end promptly at 2:20 or before.
DROP/ADD SLIPS: Drop/add and change of section slips cannot be signed by any member of the teaching staff. The only person who can make these changes is the secretary in the History Office, 280SH, between 1-5 pm.
PLAGIARISM: When you submit a paper, it should be your own ideas conveyed in your own words. Do not submit a paper that contains material downloaded or copied from the web. Do not paraphrase the ideas of others and submit them as your own. Do not cite material without making it clear that it has been written by someone else. Do not submit a paper written for another course. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and the penalties for it range from an F for the written work to an F for the entire course to dismissal from the university. Withdrawing from the course does not negate the offense. For more information, refer to the CLAS handbook at http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml
COMPLAINTS: Complaints about academic matters should be directed to the chair of the History Department, Colin Gordon, 280 Schaeffer Hall, 335-2299. Complaints about discrimination or sexual harassment may go to the chair, or to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 335-0705. If you have a complaint, or are involved in a dispute, or just have a question about procedures at the university, you might wish to consult the office of the Ombudsperson, C108 Seashore Hall, 335-3608. Inquiries there are confidential, including queries by e-mail to ombudsperson@uiowa.edu
Reading and Writing
TEXTBOOK: Lynn Hunt, The Making of the West. Peoples and Cultures, Volume C since 1740, available at Iowa Book and Supply. The lectures and the textbook organize material in a different way, but the textbook has a useful index and table of contents to help you review after your initial reading. When reading the textbook, concentrate on the material that is covered in the lectures.
REFERENCE BOOKS: If you are confused about chronology, you might consult William Langer, An Encyclopedia of World History (D21 .L27 1972). For pre-twentieth century history an older encyclopedia is sometimes the best. I strongly recommend the famous Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition (1910), with supplemental volumes from 1926, in the reference section of the library. There is a link to an on-line version on the course web site, although it is scanned and filled with typographical errors.
READING: In order to understand history, it is important to approach the past from more than one point of view. The lectures provide one point of view, and the textbook another. The books listed below are meant to provide additional points of view not available in either lecture or textbook. They are all books worth reading as part of your general education and will be covered in your discussion sections.
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
Helen Zenna Smith, Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War
George Orwell, 1984
WRITING: As part of the General Education program at the University of Iowa, Western Civilization III emphasizes rhetoric, and the Graduate Instructors will focus on the improvement of both argumentation and style in your writing. Your grade on assigned papers will be based in part on your success in improving your writing, and in eliminating the most common writing errors, especially sentence fragments and run-on sentences. For help with your writing, see the extremely useful William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style (1918 ed. available on the course web site, although the new print editions are much better). For your papers, you should make use of the History Department Writing Center, 303 Schaeffer Hall, http://www.uiowa.edu/~histwrit/. Their efficient and friendly staff provides help on everything from getting started to improving your style.
Schedule of Lectures with Textbook Assignments
January
For the following lectures, read Hunt, Chapter 19
22 Europe and the Wider World in the Eighteenth Century.
24 Slavery and the Slave Trade.
29 The Enlightenment and the Revival of Protestantism.
31 Industrial Revolution in Great Britain.
February
Read Hunt, Chapter 20
05 The Democratic Revolutions in America and France.
Read Hunt, Chapter 21
07 Napoleon and his Empire. Read Hunt, Chapter 21.
12 Liberalism, Conservatism, and the Abolition of Slavery.
14 Romanticism
Read Hunt, Chapters 22 & 23
19 Great Britain: The Workshop of the World.
21 Karl Marx and Marxism
26 Charles Darwin and Natural Selection
28 Science, Religion, and the Bible in the Nineteenth Century.
March
Read Hunt, Chapter 24
04 State-building, Democracy and the New Socialism
06 The Second Industrial Revolution
11 Votes for Women
13 Mid-term Exam (will not be given early for any reason)
15 - 23 SPRING BREAK
Read Hunt, 25, re-read 24
25 Imperialism and Resistance.
27 Modern Thought: Einstein and Freud
April
01 Modern Art & Architecture
Read Hunt, 26
03 World War I
08 The Russian Revolution
10 The Versailles Treaty and the Rise of Fascism.
Read Hunt, 27
15 The Great Depression and the Rise of Hitler
17 The Soviet Union and Stalin
22 World War II
Read Hunt, Chapter 28, 29
24 America and the Soviet Union
29 The Cold War and Western Prosperity
May
01 The End of the European Empires?
Read Hunt, Chapter 30
06 The Fall of Communism
08 Globalization and America's Drive for World Supremacy
15 Final Exam - 7:30 A.M. Thursday, May 15.
Please note that the final exam will not be given early for any reason.