1) Jeff Sears will be available to help with blog and wiki postings as well as papers.  Please email Jeff to set up an appointment at jsears2ATgmu.edu.  You should bring a print copy of paper drafts and assignments to your meetings.   Office hours in Eisenhower and The Writing Center: 

• Mon 12:30-1:30pm and 5:30-7:30pm at the Writing Center.  Tutoring by appointment only at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu or 993-1200
• Wed 1-4pm till March 17^th and 4:30-7pm after that.  Tutoring by appointment only using jsears2ATgmu.edu.  Jeff will not be present in Eisenhower unless you contact him in advance 
• Sun 12-4pm walk-in hours in Eisenhower.  No appointment necessary but you should bring a print copy of their draft and the assignment (applies to all visits). 

2) Mike Dupuy and Shamama Moosvi.  To schedule appointments, you should go to http://writingcenter.gmu.edu and register as clients. Then, you will gain access to a drop-down menu where they'll see the "Mason Topics Students ONLY" schedule link.

• Mike Dupuy's hours are Tues/Thurs 10:30-12:30

• Shamama Moosvi's hours are Wed 9:30-11:30 and Thurs 5:30-7:30

Mike is also available to help you with technology related questions, as is Jeff Sears

Introduce yourself to the class on the blog at  http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/  The first time you go to the site you will need to register on WordPress unless you already have an account.  Use the Sign Up Now Button at the top of the wordpress.com page.   Enter your GMU user name and email address and write down your password (or use one you will remember).  Leave Gimme a blog unchecked. I will use your GMU email address to give you write privileges on the blog.  Because this may take a while, you may want to begin your writing using an HTML editor or Word (saving the file as a web page ).  Once you are fully have registered, you should see a New Post link at the top of the page (if you don't see it try using Firefox rather than IE).  Give your post a title like "Introduction," and enter the text of your post in the box under Post.  You should see a check box with your name under People at the top right of the Write page as one of the categories.  Also check Introductions before you click on Publish.   

Then start reading in class The Science of Deduction and The Statement of the Case from The University of Adelaide online edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four .  If the Adelaide site is down, use the UVa e-text.  During or after class, post a paragraph to the blog on the kind of problem Mary Morstan brings to Watson and Holmes in chapter 2 of The Sign of Four and another paragraph on the introduction to Holmes method in chapter 1 of the story.  In our study of Sherlock Holmes, I will argue that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle popularized the idea that ordinary problems could be resolved by consulting a scientific professional.  Make sure to check your name and Sherlock Holmes in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.     

In-class showing and blog posting on Conan Doyle's story and the Granada TV adaptation of The Sign of Four.  See Page 05a on the blog at http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/
 

Greece and Rome

In-class showing and blog posting on Conan Doyle's story and the Granada TV adaptation of The Sign of Four.  See Page 05b on the blog at http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/

The Middle Ages

Tue
Jan 29

In-class work on science and industry in the Islamic world.  We will begin by watching the second set of videos (Istanbul) on Alan Macfarlane's page at  http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/global/prog3.htm  You will then post your summary and response to the points Professor Macfarlane makes on the blog at http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/  

Also review Part II of the PBS documentary Islam: Empire of Faith (DVD chapters 9 & 10) on Islamic science in Baghdad and Spain in preparation for your debate in History 100.  See the online version at YouTube, Google Video or Islamic Videos.net.   In preparation for your paper due on March 6th, I also suggest you look at the Library of Congress talk by George Saliba, Islamic Science and the Makings of Renaissance Europe and the Ancient Roots of Modern Science (NPR) with Dick Teresi, Jamil Ragep and Roger Hart, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=885213  

Medieval Spain - Group A

Before class, watch Part III (250 years) of The Day the World Took Off available at 
http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/global/roots_narrations.htm  The video is  also available at YouTube as well as Cambridge University's DSpace.  You will post your summary and response to the points in the video on the blog at http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/ 

The seminar at Cambridge selectively included in the documentary is available at
http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/global/converse3.htm 
(Extra credit if you add a 2nd post on the seminar as well as the finished documentary)

We will finish the Granada TV adaptation of The Sign of Four in class and you will complete blog posting 5b during or after our meeting

Feb 6th--Last day to drop with no tuition liability and last day to add classes

Medieval Spain - Group B

Paper Workshop:  Post a 250-500 draft of your paper on The Sign of Four to the blog at http://201mt3s08.wordpress.com/    

For the last 30 minutes of class, we will watch the documentary, The Age of Discovery (DVD 2003). 

For Saturday Feb 9th by 5pm write a 3-4 page paper (typed and double spaced) on The Sign of Four.  Write about the methods Sherlock Holmes uses to solve his cases.  Include as many components of Holmes method as you can and cite specific examples from the stories to back up your points.  Use MLA in-text citations; I am not requiring a works-cited page at this point.  For proper documentation formats, see Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online and/or your spiral writing handbook, pp. 128-135.  You can draw on your blog postings in writing the paper but need to pull your ideas together, polish your writing, and provide specific examples. Note: If you hand in the paper Saturday, you probably won’t be able to get access to my box in Enterprise Hall but should email me your paper.  Make sure to put your name and the paper assignment title in the subject box of your message as well as on the paper itself.  

Supplemental reading:  you may want to read the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet in developing your analysis and consider whether the demonstrations at the beginning of the stories introduce methods Holmes uses in solving his cases.   

New Worlds - East

FEB 7TH: Trevor Owens of CHNM will run an introductory training session on Zotero.  Our Mason Topics teaching assistant Jeff Sears will be introduce himself.  He will be available to help you with the program during his tutoring hours, listed at the top of the syllabus

Read Years of Rice and Salt, Book 1.  Quiz on the reading and individual blog postings on at least one historical reference you had trouble following or wanted to learn more about.    Extra Credit:  read Years of Rice and Salt, Book 2 and post a blog entry on the chapter by Tues Feb 19th.  

We will set up groups for research on the historical references in Years of Rice and Salt. There will be groups to cover each book assigned as well as to cover the scientific and technological references and the idea/practice of alternative history. You will initially post individual entries on the blog and then combine them into a report on the class wiki.  Jeff Sears will meet with representatives from each group during his office hours in one of the group study rooms in Eisenhower to go over Wetpaint Wiki procedures and your report. Each group is responsible for making an appointment to consult Jeff. You can contact him at jsears2 AT gmu.edu. There will also be a quiz at the beginning of class on Feb 12h, 14th, March 4th and 18th covering the reading for that day in Robinson.

New Worlds - West

Read Years of Rice and Salt, Book 3 (Ocean Continents);  if you have time, read Timothy Burke's blog posting on counterfactual history and the review of the novel by Laura Miller.  Quiz on the reading and individual blog postings on at least one historical reference you had trouble following or wanted to learn more about.   

In preparation for reading Book 3, see the section on Chinese culture and civilization on Professor Alan Macfarlane's page at http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/global/prog5.htm  These videos are preliminary films for Part V of The Day the World Took Off, a documentary on the origins of the Industrial Revolution.   

Before class, read Mr. Sherlock Holmes and The Science of Deduction from A Study in Scarlet in the Bantam Sherlock Holmes, vol. 1, pp. 3-20 .  Also read E.J. Wagner, The Science of Sherlock Homes, pp. 1-60, 76-131 (choose chapters from these pages that interest you but read at least 50 pages).  Post to the blog before class your thoughts on whether Holmes' methods are scientific in these two chapters and how they compare to the history of forensics in Wagner.  Make sure to define what you mean by science and analyze in detail two examples from beginning of The Study in Scarlet. 

If there is time at the end of class, read "Mr. Sherlock Holmes" and "The Curse of the Baskervilles," chapter 1 & 2 of The Hound of the Baskervilles, at  http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/d/doyle/arthur_conan/d75ho/. 

The Experimental Tradition

Feb 23rd--Last day to drop classes

The Practical Tradition

The Philosophical Tradition

The Collecting Tradition

Thur Feb 28

Read Years of Rice and Salt, Book 4 (The Alchemist).  Quiz on the reading. 

One representative of the Wiki group for Robinson, Book IV should meet with Jeff Sears during his office hours Sun, Mon or Wed of this week (see above) to go over how to use your group's Wiki page as an index to each group members entry on historical references in Robinson's alternative history of the scientific revolution.  Individual wiki entries are due before class today (Tues Mar 4th) and the group intro and index page by Wed at 9pm.  It is therefore essential that each group member do their individual Wiki entry as they are reading the book over the weekend and consult with Jeff Sears on Sunday or Monday if you are not sure how to use the Wiki.                  

In preparation for your paper due on March 6th, I suggest you look at the Library of Congress talk by George Saliba, Islamic Science and the Makings of Renaissance Europe and listen to the Ancient Roots of Modern Science (NPR) at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=885213   Also review the DVD Islam: Empire of Faith, chapters 9 & 10, on Islamic science in Baghdad and Spain.  See the online version at YouTube, Google Video or Islamic Videos.net.   Finally, you should review the material you already studied on science and technology in the Islamic world (Istanbul) at
http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/global/prog3.htm

Because class is cancelled to give you more time to work on your papers, make sure to watch over break Part I (Day One) of The Day the World Took Off, a documentary on the origins of the Industrial Revolution.  Also study carefully to the first seminar (Day One) of the six seminars held at Cambridge University in preparation for making the documentary.    

Opinion paper, class cancelled, paper due before 5pm

See Simon Schama on the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England at http://youtube.com/watch?v=MllrnSZxTkY (an excerpt from the documentary, A History of Britain.  Also look at The Internet Modern History Sourcebook on the Industrial Revolution.  Review Part I (Day One) of The Day the World Took Off and if you have time, the first seminar (Day One) of the six seminars held at Cambridge University in preparation for making the documentary.    

Wiki reports for Book 1, 3 & 4 should be completed; individual wiki report on Book 7 should be up before class today with the group index page completed before class on Thurs.   

Extra Credit assignments, due Tues March 18th in class: 

1.  Read either A Scandal in Bohemia, The Speckled Band, or The Musgrave Ritual (from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in the Modern Library Classics) and write a 2 page paper on:  a) the implications of Holmes attitude toward women for his approach to science and investigation in A Scandal in Bohemia; b) the way India functions in The Speckled Band; or c) the role of measurement in The Musgrave Ritual OR
2. Post a summary of one of the chapters in Years of Rice and Salt we did not read to the blog on Robinson's work. 

Popular Science in the Enlightenment

Read The Devil in the White City, pp. 1-111.  See the Digital Archive of American Architecture site on the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893 at  http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/1893fair.html and the list of resources on Chicago and the Fair at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~kthomps4/201-MT3-s08/chicago-resources.htm

We will watch selections from the PBS documentary, Chicago:  City of the Century 

March  23rd Midterm grades due; incomplete work from Fall 2006 due to instructor; last day to withdraw

Read The Devil in the White City, pp. 111-233.  Quiz on the reading.  Listen to the NPR interview with Erik Larson on the novel at: 
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1221345

See Crystal Palace Photos at http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/default.asp?file=Photo_Gallery
and animations at
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/london/model/animation.html#

Also see, Queen Victoria's Empire, Engines of Change, at
http://www.pbs.org/empires/victoria/history/index.html and the section on The Great Exhibition

The Industrial Revolution and the Great Exhibition

Read The Devil in the White City, pp. 233-337.  We will watch selections from a documentary on the World's Columbian Exposition to help you identify items (introduced in The Devil in the White City) that you would like to research further.  The documentary is titled  Expo:  The Magic of the White City and is available in the JC Library (call number T500.B1 E96 2005). 

Remember to sign up for appointments with one of the Mason Topics tutors if you want to take advantage of the one week extension of the guided research paper.  If you take this option, you will have to bring a substantial draft to a tutor at least a day or two before the paper is due and set up an appointment at least two classes before Thurs April 10th, the due date for the paper.   

Mar 31--Incomplete grade changes fall 04 due to Registrar

Consumer Culture

Note the upcoming blog postings:   

1. By Fri April 4th at midnight, post an account of those items covered in Expo: The Magic of the White City (T500.B1 E96 2005) you found interesting and potentially worth writing about in your paper
2. By Sat April 5th at midnight, post a short response to 1932 film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  In your post, compare the novella and the film.  Discuss in detail at least two differences and indicate which version you liked best and why.
3. Before class on Tues April 8th, study the image of the transformation scene from the Mansfield and Sullivan dramatization we looked at last week. During class, you will post to the blog a response to the image and comparison to the 1st transformation scene in Stevenson (p. 80) and the 1932 film. 
4. By Fri April 11th at midnight two Optional Extra Credit blog postings are due:  1) Post a 1-2 page summary and response to Stephen Arata's article The Sedulous Ape:  Atavism, Professionalism and Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; OR 2) Post a response to the 1941 film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Discuss what you thought about the film and describe in detail what you consider the most significant differences in the versions of the story you have read/seen (the 1932 and 1941 films and the novella).  Indicate which version you liked best and why.  

No class, work on guided research paper

Extra Credit film report on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) using the blog

Read the excerpt from William Booth's In Darkest England and the Way Out, pp. 178-183, the articles on the Ripper case from the Sept 9th, 1888 New York Times, the Sept 10th Times (London), and Sept 15th and Sept 29th editions of Punch.  Finally, read D.G. Halstead's reminiscences of the case pp. 184-187, 190-191 and 195-6 (all in the Broadview). 

Before class, study the  image of the transformation scene from the Mansfield and Sullivan dramatization we looked at last week.  During class, you will post to the blog a response to the image and comparison to the first transformation scene in Stevenson (p. 80) and the 1932 film.   

Extra Credit Assignments due Fri April 11th at midnight: 

1. Post to the blog a 1-2 page summary and response to Stephen Arata's article The Sedulous Ape:  Atavism, Professionalism and Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  and/or
2. Post to the blog a response to the 1941 film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Discuss what you thought about the film and describe in detail what you consider the most significant differences in the versions of the story you have read/seen (the 1932 and 1941 films and the novella).  Indicate which version you liked best and why. 

The Mind of Man

Guided research paper due.  If you see a Mason Topics tutor, you can have a one week extension (to April 17th).  If you take this option, you will have to bring a substantial draft to a tutor at least a day or two before the paper is due and set up an appointment at least two classes before today (by April 3rd).  If you have any difficulty making an appointment, please contact Dr. Thompson    

See the online resources and interviews with Steven Johnson at
http://www.theghostmap.com/ 

Note on Blog Postings:  we will be reading and discussing Johnson's Ghost Map over the course of the next four or five classes.  During that time, you are required to post at least two responses to the reading on the class blog.   

World War I

You will discuss the role of technology in determining the kind of wars that developed in the 20th century

See the online resources and interviews with Steven Johnson at
http://www.theghostmap.com/ 

Note on Blog Postings:  we will be reading and discussing Johnson's Ghost Map over the course of the next four or five classes.  During that time, you are required to post at least two responses to the reading on the class blog.   

World War II

• Johnson's on the "existential doubts" many Victorians had about the long term survival of large cities like London (p. 90)
• Johnson's account of why many Victorians found the Miasma theory attractive and Snow was able to resist it (pp. 126-135)
• Johnson's claims about the disastrous consequences of  Edwin Chadwick's actions in the 1850s and his long-term contributions to the modern conception of the state (pp. 113-125) 

See the online resources and interviews with Steven Johnson at
http://www.theghostmap.com/  

Note on Blog Postings:  we will be reading and discussing Johnson's Ghost Map over the course of the next four or five classes.  During that time, you are required to post at least two responses to the reading on the class blog.   

The Atomic Age - Group A

See the online resources and interviews with Steven Johnson at
http://www.theghostmap.com/  

Note on Blog Postings:  we will be reading and discussing Johnson's Ghost Map over the course of the next four or five classes.  During that time, you are required to post at least two responses to the reading on the class blog.   

The Atomic Age - Group B

Blog posting on Ghost Map and the threat of biological and nuclear terrorism focusing on the role that forensics, epidemiology, public health, and computers might play in countering the threat.   

Review for Final Exam

May 5th--Last day of classes; exam period--May 8th-16th

What is history? What is Science? (Review Session)

1. What are the similarities and differences between detection as practiced by Sherlock Holmes and the development and use of forensics, epidemiology, and public health during the Cholera epidemics of the mid-19th century?
2. Exactly what role did John Snow's two maps play in resolving the Cholera epidemic of 1854?  What longer term contribution did these maps make?  How did they combine local knowledge and the "bird's eye view"  Johnson talks about? 
3. What does Steven Johnson think about the potential fragility of urban industrial life and the role that public health played in enabling cities to expand.  Is public health still important today? What role do information technology and the web play in Johnson's hopes for the future?   
4. What can we learn about dealing with the possibility of nuclear and biological terrorism today by studying the Cholera epidemics of the 1850s?   Why is Johnson optimistic about dealing with biological but not nuclear terrorism in the long run?  

In writing your essays, begin with Steven Johnson's account in Ghost Map but try to bring in what you have learned from your other readings in Engl201 and Hist100 this semester.  Be as specific as you can and use details from Johnson in developing your answers.  (Note:  you may also want to consult the websites from UCLA and Michigan State listed on Johnson's Ghost map site but these resources should supplement, not replace, Johnson's book.) 

You can either write the in-class section of the exam in a blue book or print it using one of the printers in Innovation Hall.  To print in-class writing, you will need to add money to your Mason ID card for printing before the exam by going to http://masonmoney.gmu.edu and clicking on the link “Buy Online.” On the next page, click “Deposit Online Now” at the top. On the next page that opens, enter your G number and your pin. If you have never used the site before, your pin is 1111. You can then use a credit card to add Mason Money to your ID.