History 221A/B: The World in the Twentieth Century

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1 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 1 History 221A/B: The World in the Twentieth Century Instructor: Dr. Bill Wisser Office: Powell wwisser@elon.edu Phone: x6424 Office Hours: T-TH 1-4 A: Location: Alamance 218 Class Time: MWF 9.25am 10.35am B: Location: Alamance 218 Class Time: MWF 10.50am 12noon Course Description World History in the Twentieth Century will introduce you to select major themes, areas, and points of conflict from 1900 to Obviously, the world is a big place. No one course could even begin to cover the range of topics, events, or themes present at any one single moment in world history. Compound that general problem with the enormous amount of information created and preserved in the last 100+ years and you find that the title of this course is really a misnomer. Instead of examining the entirety of world history in the past half century an impossible task this course takes a three-fold approach to world history. First, we will examine three major patterns that have defined the modern world: Imperialism, the Cold War, and the continuing conflicts in the Middle East. Second, we will view how the decisions, actions, and policies of the developed world affected politics, culture, and society in the developing world. Course Objective The main course objective is that students will become more informed citizens of the world. Specifically, by the end of the course I hope that each student will be able to pick up a major newspaper and closely follow every article in the international section of the paper. This goal is harder than it may first appear. On any given day, the New York Times ( is likely to carry articles as diverse as the effort to draft an Iraqi constitution, increasing violence during the Israeli pullout of the Gaza strip, mounting corruption scandals in Brazil, and the continuing search for alleged terrorists responsible for the London bombings (all from NYT 15 August 2005). In this class, students will gain a broad knowledge of world events, but, perhaps more importantly, they will gain a sense of how current world events are shaped by long-standing patterns that can claim their roots in the last 100 years. Course Goals 1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of three major themes in modern world history. Specifically, they will use the midterm and final to show how given specific events demonstrate general patterns. 2. Students will explore three major themes in modern world history through examining, critiquing, and responding to multiple types of media. 3. Students will learn several key aspects of historical inquiry, specifically: a. how to identify a primary source document b. how to analyze primary source documents c. how to place primary source documents within their historical context d. how to draft and support an original argument 1

2 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 2 Required Texts (available in the bookstore): Achebe, Things Fall Apart De Brunhoff, The Story of Babar Goff, The Twentieth Century: A Brief Global History 7 th edition (note, if you have the 6 th edition see me for page number updates) Heng, Son of the Revolution Satrapi, Persepolis Note: other readings will be assigned during the semester and either placed on Blackboard or handed out in class. The Textbook readings (Goff, The Twentieth Century) are listed on the syllabus as Text: The Blackboard readings are designated both on this syllabus and on Blackboard as BB1: BB2:, etc. Assignments Participation: In this course we will explore the three main themes through lectures, films, primary documents, and guided readings. Occasionally, you will respond to the readings by answering questions that may or may not be handed out before class. The success of the class depends on your interaction with the material. Therefore, it is imperative that you do the reading assigned by the date listed on the syllabus. Also, be sure to bring the assigned material with you to class. Film Review: We will watch two films in their entirety (in addition to sections of a documentary). You will choose one of the films (Gallipoli / Paradise Now) and critique it in a 3-5 page paper. Your critique will assess the value of this film (and film in general) in a history course. Some questions that may help guide your critique are: What does the film add to your understanding of the topic? How does film allow you to see the topic in a new way? Does the medium detract from the message? If you wish to write critiques for both films, the higher grade will count. Response Papers: You will write three short (3-5 pages) response papers based on Things Fall Apart/Babar, Son of the Revolution, and Persepolis. I ll tell you more about the response papers closer to the dates they are due. You ll note that the papers are due on the class period after we discuss the books. It is very important that you finish reading the books by the day we discuss them. That way, you can participate in the discussion and receive concrete help as you begin to formulate your papers. Midterm: The midterm will consist of an analysis of a primary source, and essays. The exam will assess everything you have learned in the first half of the course. Online Presentation: On the first day of class you will choose a topic that you are particularly interested in. You will follow that topic in a major international newspaper throughout the semester. I will group you with others who are interested in the topic. Over the course of the semester you will create an online presentation on a wiki page covering ongoing current events within that topic. By the day assigned on the syllabus, your presentation should be complete. The class will read your presentation, and you will 2

3 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 3 be expected to take the lead in discussion that day. Your grade will be based on your constructive participation in creating the online presentation, the educational value and completeness of the content, and your oral participation on the day assigned for your topic. Map Quiz: On the first day of the course you will be handed a blank map of the world and asked to identify certain countries and areas. The quiz will be used to spark discussion and assess previous learning. The quiz will not be graded on the first day. However, on the last day of class you will be handed a similar blank world map. Your answers to that map quiz will be graded. Final: The final will follow a similar format to the midterm with the addition of one cumulative essay question. The cumulative question will ask you to take the information gleaned during the preparation of the online presentation and place that information into the context of the past. You can bring a page of notes with relevant quotations and data to the exam. Assessment Map Quiz: 5% Film Review: 5% Participation: 10% Reaction Papers (10% each): 30% Midterm: 15% Online Presentation: 15% Final: 20% Grading: The grade structure will be as follows. Standard rounding applies (i.e., A- = ): A A B B B C C C D D D F 59 and below 3

4 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 4 Course Design Date Topic Readings Assignments August 29 Introduction to the course The World at 1900 Section I: Imperialism and its Discontents August 31 Scramble for Africa Text: Neocolonialism in Africa BB1: Heart of Darkness excerpt 5 Resistance to Imperialism in Africa BB2: British conquest of the Sudan BB3: River War excerpt 7 Discuss Babar and Things Fall Apart 10 Imperialism in Asia Text: Things Fall Apart Reaction paper due 12 Imperialism in Latin America Text:

5 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 5 14 Imperialism BB4: White Man s Burden BB5: Political cartoons Section II: Hot and Cold Wars 17 Prelude to WWI Text: WWI Film: Gallipoli Text: WWI Film: Gallipoli BB6: A German soldier s view 24 USSR Revolution Film excerpt: Battleship Potemkin Text: BB7: Socialist Parties Optional film review due 26 USSR Revolution BB7: Ten Days that Shook the World BB8: Joseph Stalin on the essentials 28 Fascism and the Spanish Civil War Text: BB9: Orwell and the Spanish Revolution Text: October 1 WWII BB10: The Depression devastates Germany BB11: Hitler seizes the Sudetenland 5

6 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 6 October 3 WWII October 5 Midterm October 8 Origins of the Cold War I Film: Atomic Café Text: BB12: Kennan Long Telegram BB13: Novikov Report to Foreign Minister BB14:: Truman Doctrine BB15: Zhadnov Speech at the Inauguration BB16: NSC 68 October 10 Origins of the Cold War II Film: Atomic Cafe October 12 Chinese Revolution Text: ; BB17: Mao on organizing peasants October 15 Fall Break October 17 Chinese Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution Text: BB18: Chinese Cultural Revolution posters 6

7 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 7 October 19 Discuss Son of the Revolution October 22 Korean conflict Current N. Korean issues Read Wiki page on N. Korea Son of the Revolution reaction paper due Text: ; October 24 Vietnam BB19: Ho Chi Minh on why he became a communist BB20: Ho declares Vietnamese independence Text: October 26 Cold War in Latin America BB21: Kennedy s response BB22: History will absolve me October 29 End of Cold War in Latin America Current Latin American issues Read wiki page on Latin America Text: October 31 Decolonization and Cold War in Africa BB23: Kenyatta describes the nationalist struggle BB24: The Kenyan independence movement 2 Current African issues Read wiki page on Africa 7

8 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 8 5 End of Cold War in USSR Text: BB25: Gorbachev outlines Glasnost and Perestroika End of Cold War in Europe Origins of the Modern Middle East Animated map series Iraq Section III: Modern Middle East 14 Iran Text: BB26: Ayatollah Khomeini s Islamic Challenge 16 Discuss Persepolis 19 Current Iran issues Read wiki on Iran Persepolis paper due 21 Thanksgiving 23 Thanksgiving 8

9 HST 221A/B Fall 2007 Wisser 9 26 Israel/Palestine Text: BB27: Conflicting agreements regarding the Middle East BB28: Israeli and Palestinian independence BB29: The Arab case against a Jewish state BB30: The Zionist claim to land BB31: The Islamic Resistance Movement 28 Israel/Palestine Film: Paradise Now Text: Israel/Palestine Film: Paradise Now Read wiki on Israel/Palestine December 3 Afghanistan BB32: Osama bin Laden... BB33: Edward W. Said rejects the clash thesis Optional film review due December 5 Classes end Final review Final A: 12 December 8.30am-11.30am B: Tuesday 11 December 8.30am-11.30am 9

The Cold War in Latin America

University of Mississippi Department of History History 470-1: Undergraduate Research Seminar The Cold War in Latin America Instructor: Oliver Dinius Office: Bishop Hall 304 Contact: dinius@olemiss.edu,