HIST 100 Section 047
Weekly Focus Page
On this page you will find the issues, themes, facts, and questions that will be emphasized in
each week's class meeting. Here you will also find what to know for quizzes and other written
assignments.
This vase depicts the ancient Greek goddess Athena, goddess of warfare, artisanry, and learning.
In this picture she has laid down her battle shield and is writing on a tablet. The image comes from
the Perseus collection.
***Your final exam will be held on May 14 from 7:30 to 10:15 AM in our
regular classroom. Here is a study guide.***
Due in Week 1, January 29
Topic: The Ancient World; Egypt; the Near East
Readings:
- In Western Civilization: A Brief History, by J. Spielvogel, read Chapters 1-3. (This is the
book with a picture of a banquet on the cover.)There is a great deal of information in those
chapters, so for purposes of our section of HIST 100 I recommend that you focus on the
following pages and sections:
the Introduction (pages xxx-xxxi); the Focus Questions at the beginnings of Chapters 1, 2, and 3;
the Conclusions at the ends of Chapters 1 and 2; pages 5 - 7; look at the Code of Hammurabi on
page 9 (we will be dealing with it somewhat later); pages 10 (starting with "Culture of
Mesopotamia") - 13; pages 15 - 21; pages 27 (starting with "The Hebrews") - 33; pages 36
(starting with "The Persian Empire") - 42 (we will be emphasizing the relationships among
religion, justice system, government, and economy in various cultures, so concentrate on that in
reading about the Persians); pages 45 - 54; page 57 (on Herodotus)
- In the Course Reader, read Chapter 1. Make sure you can answer the questions on p. 3,
under "The lecture: Questions and Issues", after watching the video lecture.
Videotaped Lecture: Lecture 1 (the first lecture on the first tape): Prof. Mattusch.
Things to know for the class meeting and the quiz on Jan. 29
(These are NOT the exact questions that I will ask on the quiz. They represent general issues that
I will ask about, and I will ask about only THREE of them on the quiz. The rest will be needed
for the class discussion. You will be able to get all the information you need by watching the first
videotaped lecture, reading the Spielvogel textbook, and consulting your notes from 1/22.)
1. Know what the terms BC, AD, BCE, and CE stand for. Know which time period each term
refers to.
2. Other than old or ancient writings, what are some things that historians examine in order to
study the past? What are some questions that historians ask in order to try to understand the past?
3. What did the Egyptians use pyramids for?
4. What are some differences between ancient Egyptian, ancient Hebrew/Jewish, and ancient
Persian/Zoroastrian religions? (Consider things such as what these religions said people were,
whether they saw all people as the same, how many gods or divine beings they believed in, and
what role their god(s) or divine being(s) played in government and law, as far as these issues are
mentioned in your text.) (This question will NOT be part of the quiz, but class discussion will not
proceed unless students can answer the question.)
5. Know what is meant by the term 'classical.' What is evidence that Greek, Roman, or Egyptian
architecture is viewed as 'classical' today?
6. What are some features that historians say characterize a civilization? Approximately when
did the first Western (actually Middle Eastern) civilizations flourish?
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Due in Week 2, February 5
Topic: Ancient Greece and Rome
- Written Work: Write an essay on the topic given below. The paper should be one to two
pages in length, typed double-spaced in a font size no larger than 12-pt., with margins of no
more than 1" (one inch) all around. (This instruction sheet is typed in a 12-pt. font, with 1"
margins. These instructions are single-spaced; your paper should be double-spaced.) If you
absolutely cannot get to a computer or typewriter, make sure your paper is 300-600 words
long. Longer papers will be accepted; shorter ones will not.
Essay topic
Read the selection from Code of Hammurabi (page 9 of the Spielvogel text) and the selection
from the Twelve Tables (page 97 of the Spielvogel text). Then select either Option 1 OR Option
2. (IF YOU DID NOT TAKE THE QUIZ ON JAN. 29, please write an essay on Option 1 AND
an essay on Option 2, as a make-up. If you did take the quiz, do just one option.)
Option 1. Of the ancient laws listed in these selections, which law seems to you the strangest, or
the most different from the laws you are used to? Explain: in what ways is it strange or different
from the laws you are accustomed to? How if at all do the values reflected in this law seem to
differ from the ones you are accustomed to? Explain. Compare the way this ancient law portrays
humans and their relationships to the way you see them.
Option 2. Of the ancient laws listed in these selections, which law seems to you the most similar
to the laws you are used to? Explain: In what ways is it similar to the laws you are accustomed
to? In what if any ways is it different? How do the values reflected in this law seem to be similar
to the ones you are accustomed to? Explain. Compare the way this ancient law portrays humans
and their relationships to the way you see them.
- Reading Assignment: In the Spielvogel textbook (the book with a picture of a banquet on
the cover), read Chapters 3 through 6. For purposes of our section, here's what to focus on:
- the Focus Questions and Conclusions to Chapters 3-6 (if you read the Focus Questions first,
and then just seek out those parts of the chapters that answer the Focus Questions, you will
pick up all the important points, and you'll understand the chapters better).
- Who was Homer and what is the importance of his work to historians?
- Why did the early Greeks (say, before 400 BCE) set up colonies? Were the colonies
dependent on or independent of their source countries? What was a polis? (The video lecture
will help here.)
- pages 49-64; 67-76; 78-81 - focus on the nature of Alexander's empire, the development of
science and philosophy and religion in the "Hellenistic" period (what does "Hellenistic"
mean?), the interaction and spread of Greek and other ideas to new places that maintained
cultural and political autonomy; 83-88 [to "Roman Conquest of Italy"] and 90-96 (get an idea
of the periods of Roman history); 99-104; 106-113; 116 ("Roman Law")-126.
In the Course Reader (the book with pictures of buildings on the cover), read pages 21-23 (on
the state humans are supposedly in, and what we should do given our situation), 25 (same issues,
contrasting perspective), 27-28 and 30-31 (to get an idea of what the "research techniques" of
ancient Greek historians were), 32-35 (What kind of democracy is Pericles praising? Why does
he feel he needs to defend it in a speech?), 37-39 (on the nature of ancient Roman democracy,
and its differences and similarities with respect to ancient Greek democracy, and modern
democracies).
- Videotaped lecture: Lecture 2 (second lecture on the first tape): Prof. Lytton.
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Due in Week 3, February 12
Topic: Late Antiquity, Early Christianity, the Byzantine Empire, Early
Christianity
- There is no written work due this week.
- Reading Assignment: In the Spielvogel textbook (the book with a picture of a banquet on
the cover), read Chapters 7 and 8. Read so as to be able to answer the Focus Questions at the
beginning of each chapter. Other points to consider:
- Intercultural influences and interactions among Germanic tribes, Vikings, Slavs, Romans,
Greeks, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, etc. Which ideas and ways of living spread widely?
How? What roles do cities play?
- Changes in ways of life for large numbers of people: What is writing used for? (Recall that the
ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hebrews, and Mycenaeans used writing mainly for religious
purposes, royal decrees, and in some cases accounting. The Greeks and Romans used writing
for these purposes plus literature, philosophy, and science, not only for religious and royal
purposes but for a wider population.) Who is literate in Byzantine society, in Viking society,
in the Western Roman Empire? How does trade change in the period under study? How is
land ownership organized in rural areas in Europe in the period under study? What are the
general reasons for the various wars that are fought during this period? (For example, are they
fought for religious reasons? Economic reasons? Reasons of political consolidation? Invasions
by nomads?)
- Introduction and development of new ideals and ways of living: the monastic system in
Christianity; Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scholarship with different goals than earlier Greek
and Roman scholarship; spread of new ideas and restrictions about social life, family life,
morality in general
- Differences and divisions that arose between the Western and Eastern (Byzantine) parts of the
Roman Empire
In the Course Reader (the book with pictures of buildings on the cover), read pages 43-49 and
66-73. (You are welcome to read the other selections in that chapter of the Course Reader as
well, of course, but pages 43-49 and 66-73 are the ones on which we will focus. Don't neglect the
Course Reader; your mid-semester paper will use material from it!)
- Videotaped lecture: Lecture 3, the first lecture on the second tape (Prof. Butler).
- Optional: If you want to know more about the Roman Empire, many Roman writings have
survived to this day and have been translated into clear English. The great general and ruler
Julius Caesar wrote a history of his experiences fighting in France in The Gallic Wars.The
work of the orator, politician, and philosopher Cicero is still read today by those who are
interested in the question of how best to govern, and how best to live. The philosophers
Seneca and Epictetus considered the problems of living and working in a time of political and
social turmoil; Epictetus even wrote a "life handbook" called the Encheiridion. On the seamy
side of things, a good and very readable first-hand account of the lives of some (mostly pretty
bad) emperors survives: The Twelve Caesars. Suetonius probably embellished some of the
wild stories he tells, but many of the outrageous doings that he reports have been verified. All
of these books are available in Fenwick Library. HIST 100 is a way of opening a door and
showing you a variety of interesting and important subjects for further study.
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This paper will be due in class on March 5. It is to be 4 to 5 pages long (1200-1500 words), typed
double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins all around. Longer papers will be accepted;
shorter ones will not. Do not copy the question you choose into the paper; just answer it.
Choose ONE of the following two topics. Be sure to answer all parts of each numbered topic you
select. Do not simply copy information from the text; your paper must show that you can both
summarize and analyze sources, and that you can support your assertions with reasons and
explanations. You do not need to use any sources other than the Spielvogel textbook, the
CourseReader, and your class notes. It is all right to use quotations from sources, as long as those
quotations make up no more than one-fifth of the total length of your paper. You must also
explain what you think the quotations mean. Be sure to document properly any quotations you
use: give the title of the source, the author, and the page number. If you do not know how to do
this, consult your instructor, or the Writing Center (Robinson A, first floor), or the Library
Reference section (either in person or on-line). For more information and tips on writing papers
for HIST 100, go to www.gmu.edu/courses/phil/ancient/hppr2.htm. (This site is also reachable
from our main Section 047 site.) For information about grading, see the course syllabus, under
"Course Requirements."
Topic Questions (CHOOSE ONE)
Topic 1. Go over the essay on pages 45-49 of the Course Reader. This essay was originally a
chapter of a longer work by the historian Peter Brown, entitled The World of Late Antiquity AD
150-750. Brown claims that the Christian church grew in the second and third centuries AD (CE)
largely because it offered a "radical sense of community" (page 49) at a time when the towns and
cities of the Roman Empire had become impersonal places, places where many people no longer
knew their role in society. Briefly summarize Brown's explanation of the growth of the Christian
church in the second and third centuries, and then analyze Brown's explanation in terms of the
following questions and issues: What evidence does Brown offer to support his claims? Find (in
his essay) three examples of such evidence -- stories of individuals, archeological evidence,
artistic evidence, texts, or anything else that interests you. Explain what Brown tries to prove
with each one of these examples. In each case, do you think that Brown provides adequate
evidence to support the point he is trying to make with the example you mention? Why or why
not?
Topic 2. Go over historian Irfan Shahid's essay "Byzantium and the Islamic World," on pages
67-73 of the Course Reader. As Prof. Butler points out in his introduction to Shahid's essay,
Shahid has worked to show "the Arabs and early Islam as part of, not separate from, the
Mediterranean world of late antiquity" (page 66). Shahid demonstrates the longstanding
connection between Islam and what we now call the West by describing the key role Muslim
Arabs played in transmitting Greek ideas to Europe in the Middle Ages. Briefly summarize
Shahid's explanation of this process, and then analyze it in terms of the following questions and
issues: What evidence does Shahid offer to support his claims? Find three examples of such
evidence -- stories of individuals or families, geographical evidence, "loan words", texts,
mathematical and scientific developments, or whatever else interests you. Explain what Shahid
tries to prove with each of these examples. In each case, do you think that Shahid provides
adequate evidence to support the point he is trying to make with the example you mention? Why
or why not?
Note. Students will not be graded on what their opinions are, nor on whether they agree with the
instructor on matters of opinion. Students will be graded on their comprehension of texts, their
knowledge of factual information from the course, and their explanations and support of their
assertions.
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Due in Week 4, February 19
Topic: The Middle Ages
- Written Work: There will be a quiz on February 19
The quiz will cover the readings listed below.
Specific things you will need to know for the quiz and the class discussion:
- What were the Crusades? What was at least one of the centuries in which Crusades occurred?
Who fought whom in the Crusades? (Be able to identify two religions and at least one country
or region involved.) Where did the fighting take place? (Give at least one city, country, or
region.) Why were the Crusades fought? (Give at least one reason.)
- What was the manorial system? Under the manorial system, what was the relationship
between a lord of the manor and a serf? What was a vassal?
- Identify: Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Saladin, Joan of Arc. (Be able to name at least one
thing each of them did that is of historical significance, and be able to match each person with
his or her century.)
- What were burghers or bourgeois? (The two terms mean the same thing; 'burghers' is the
German term and 'bourgeois' is the French term.) How did the burghers or bourgeois change
Europe politically and socially?
- What was the Black Death? Why was it called "Black"? Name one way that the Black Death
changed Europe (other than the mere fact that it reduced the number of people).
In the Course Reader (the book with pictures of buildings on the cover): In Chapter 4,
Introduction and Glossary. (You don't have to memorize all the words in the Glossary, but you
should read it before doing the rest of the readings. In doing the readings and watching the video
you should consult the Glossary whenever an unfamiliar term appears.)
In the Spielvogel textbook (the book with a picture of a banquet on the cover): Read Chapters 9
through 11. Review pages 131-135 and 154-170 in Chapter 8; they will help with the video
lecture and with Chapters 9 through 11.
Read the Glossary in the Course Reader first, do the Spielvogel textbook reading second, and
THEN watch the video lecture. Professor Miller, who gives the video lecture, designed the
lecture to be viewed after the reading, as she notes in the Introduction to Course Reader Ch. 4.
- Video Lecture: Lecture 4, the second lecture on the second tape (Prof. Miller).
- Some further issues of importance:
- During the Middle Ages or Medieval Period, no one called their time period "the Middle
Ages"! The period got that name later, during a period that designated itself the "Modern Era."
At that time, people in Europe and the Americas wanted to acknowledge that there had been
certain widespread changes in ways of life, forms of government, religious traditions, and so
on. At least, these particular changes had happened in much of Europe and parts of the Middle
East. There had been several waves of such changes since the "Ancient Period" or "Antiquity"
(a period that is supposed to extend roughly from the beginning of Middle Eastern
civilizations to the end of the Roman Empire). There were other periods that came in the
"middle" between the Ancient and Modern periods, and the longest and most widespread of
these came to be known as the "Middle Ages." In between the Middle Ages and the Modern
period historians identify at least 2 other periods, which we will read about shortly. These
periods are the Humanistic Period and the Renaissance. Their dates vary from region to
region, because they represent changes and developments that occurred in different places at
different times. In some places in Europe these developments did not arrive at all, and it is
sometimes said that these places moved directly from the Middle Ages (or a medieval way of
life) directly into the Modern Era. Russia, for example, ended its feudal landholding system
and freed its serfs only in 1861, centuries after the rest of Europe.
- It is in the Middle Ages that we see the development of cultural, political, and religious
divisions that will separate Western and Northern Europe from Eastern Europe, the Eastern
Mediterranean, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. At the same time, these cultural,
political, and religious alignments united the various parts of Western and Northern Europe in
ways that they had never been united before. The Christianity of the Byzantine Empire united
far-flung peoples too, even after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Islam also brought together
diverse peoples politically, culturally, and religiously in this period. Although Jews were a
minority in Europe and the Middle East, they spread throughout all of these areas as well.
- In reading, consider how during the Middle Ages life in Northern and Western Europe became
different from life in the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires to the East, and vice-versa; consider
also whether they retained similarities. For example, in each area, what is the main or official
language? What are the main economic activities? What is the social structure? What are the
relationships between people of different social positions--what if anything are they expected
to do for one another? What is the educational system like: Who can get an education? What
subjects will these people learn? Who will teach them (religious figures? someone else? are
these teachers trained, or can anyone who decides to teach do so?)? What books will they
read? What languages are used in education?
- What opportunities does a person in Western or Northern Europe in the Midle Ages have to
meet people from other areas, people of other religions, and so on? What others is he or she
likely to meet? (This will of course vary somewhat by area and social rank.) Similarly, what
opportunities does a person in the Byzantine Empire or the Ottoman Empire have to meet
people of other religions and areas? Do you think that the opportunities (or lacks or
opportunities) for contact had anything to do with the Crusades, with religious persecutions,
etc.? Why/why not?
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Due in Week 5, February 26
Topic: The Renaissance in Europe
- Written Work: There is no new writing assignment for this week. Continue to work on your
mid-semester paper, which is due March 5. An on-line version of the topic questions is
available on this page, between the section on Week 3 and the section on week 4.
- In the Spielvogel textbook (the book with a picture of a banquet on the cover), read Chapters
12 and 13. In Chapter 13, we will look this week mainly at issues from pages 260-266 top,
and 273 to the end of the chapter. We'll look at the rest of the chapter the next week.Again,
read with each chapter's Focus Questions and the Conclusions in mind. In the case of Chapter
13, skip the third focus question for now.
- In the Course reader (the book with pictures of buildings on the cover): pages 119-120,
131-133, 135. (You are certainly encouraged to read the other parts of Chapter 5, and to ask
questions about them in class.) When reading these selections, ask yourself: how does the
writer see himself? What does he think distinguishes him from previous generations, or from
people of other lands? (Notice that at least some of these writers seem to be concerned to
show that they are doing something new, or doing something that has not been done for a very
long time.)
Lecture 5, the first lecture on the third tape.
- Further issues of importance:
- The Renaissance was a movement mainly of the middle classes and the nobility. How if at all
did it affect people of other social classes?
2. (This question will be addressed more directly in Week 6, but the background for the answer is
found in this week's reading.) The Protestant Reformations and Catholic Counter-Reformation
had significant support from farmers and artisans (but also others). How did these movements
affect others in Europe?
3. We will look in Weeks 6 and 7 at the rise of science in Europe, and also at the beginning of
European exploration and colonization outside of Europe. What do you think the Renaissance
and Reformations (Protestant and Catholic), or the forces that gave rise to them, had to do with
these further developments?
4. The European Renaissance was a period when many influential people considered themselves
to have broken away from the kind of life and interests of the past few centuries. The people who
felt they were part of a "Renaissance" (literally, "rebirth") thought that they were returning to the
great things of the earlier (Greek and Roman) past, things that had been lost, forgotten, or
ignored through the Middle Ages. At the same time, even the people who saw theirs as a new era
did not think they were returning entirely to the ways of the ancient times they saw as "classical";
they thought they were making new developments too. And they acknowledged that much of
what had developed in the Middle Ages persisted into the Renaissance. Therefore in doing the
reading for this week, consider in what senses the Renaissance represented a return to things of
the Greek and Roman past; in what ways it presented completely new developments; and in what
ways it continued things that had developed over the Middle Ages.
5.The Renaissance did not happen all over Europe at the same time. Similar movements in art,
thought, politics, business, economics, literature, and science developed in different places at
different times. Italy was the first to see such developments, and was perhaps the most strongly
affected by them. Be aware of when, if at all, these developments occurred in other parts of
Europe. Russia, for example, was barely affected by them.
6. This leads to 2 other questions: Why are the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean
(Greece, for example) not mentioned in our text at this point? And, why are the scholars and
artists of the Renaissance interested so much in Greek and Roman learning, as opposed
toEgyptian, Babylonian, and Persian learning?
These questions are related. The Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean areas are under
Byzantine Christian and Muslim rule during the time of the Italian Renaissance, and by 1453 are
all under Muslim rule. As we have seen, the Byzantine Christians and the Muslims had different
social, economic, and political organizations from the Western Europeans, and did not develop
the manorial system, nor the burgh system that later complemented it. The study of ancient Greek
and Roman (and Persian) texts remained strong in both Byzantine Christian and Muslim
institutions of higher learning, from antiquity straight through this period. So too did
scientificand particularly mathematical research, especially in the Muslim universities. People in
these regions did not see a need for a rebirth, since they did not feel that the ancient learning had
died. (They did see that it had been transformed by its contact with monotheistic religion.)
As for why European scholars were interested mainly in Greek and Roman works, one major
factor is that that is what was available. In fact, there was a great interest on the part of
Europeans in the ancient Egyptians, but very little information about them was available in
Europe. No one in Europe or the Middle East knew hieroglyphics (the ancient Egyptian writing
system, no longer in use in Egypt at the time), so the only information on the Egyptians that was
available in Europe was in Greek and Roman and Arabic texts. Some material on Persian ideas
was also available, but not much. Europeans knew Latin (it was still the language of the Catholic
Church), and some knew ancient Greek (many Christian texts were in Greek), and some knew
Arabic -- the language of Muslim scholarship, which was valued by Europeans especially in
science. Many Greek and Roman works were by this time available only in Arabic translation. So
the main branches of ancient learning that were available were Greek and Roman.
Moreover, when rich Italians wanted to build new palaces, it seems that everywhere theydug a
foundation they uncovered ancient Roman (and sometimes Greek) ruins! Some of the things they
uncovered were boxes and storerooms containing ancient writings. When they went to visit
libraries in monasteries, they also found forgotten writings. So ancient Greek and Roman
materials were all around them. And since the Italians were living in what had been the central
part of ancient Rome, and many must have been the descendants of ancient Romans, they saw
Roman works especially as the works that formed their heritage.
While people in other parts of Europe did not see themselves as descendants of the Romans or
Greeks, they recognized Greek and Roman learning as useful and interesting -- and added twists
of their own.
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Due in Week 6: March 5
Topic: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: Religious Reformations,
Overseas Exploration, the Beginning of the Modern Period in Europe
- In the Spielvogel textbook (picture of a banquet on cover), read Chapters 13 through 15. As
always, use the Focus Questions at the beginnings of chapters and the Conclusions at the ends
of chapters as a guide to the main points of the reading. Pages and sections to focus on in
Ch. 13: pages 260 to 268 (up to "The Spread of the Protestant Reformation"), 271 ("The
Reformation in England") to 278. In Ch. 14: 280 to 296, 301. In Ch. 15: 303 to 320 (up to
"The World of European Culture"), section "West Meets East" on 321, 323.
- In the Course Reader (pictures of buildings on cover): pages 191-197 (introduction and
questions by Prof. Holt of GMU; excerpts from essays by Juan Gines de Sepulveda and
Bartolome de las Casas). Read with Prof. Holt's questions in mind.
Certainly you are welcome to read more of Chapter 6 of the Course Reader, and to ask questions
about it in class, but that is not required.
- Video Lecture: Lecture 6, the second lecture on the third tape (Prof. Holt).
- Further issues of importance:
- So far in this course we have studied about many wars and many countries' attempts, by war
and other means, to expand their territory or conquer others. The sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries in Europe saw much more war and expansion. Often, though, the reasons for the
wars and expansions were different from what had gone on in the past. The ways in which
wars and expansions were carried out often were different too. Consider each of the wars and
territorial expansions you will read about in these chapters. When and how are the reasons for
the wars or expansions similar to the ones we have read about from earlier times? When and
how are the reasons different? When and how are the means by which these wars and
expansions are carried out different from what we have seen of earlier times? (Some wars are
not aimed at territorial expansion, of course, and some territorial expansions are not carried
out by force, so you should look at each separately.)
- In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries several countries of Western Europe tried to explore
and to colonize other areas: parts of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In what ways were the
explorations and colonies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries similar to the
explorations and colonies of the ancient Greeks, and in what ways were they different? Were
the reasons for colonization and exploration the same in both cases?
- In all of these developments in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (war, expansion of
various types, colonization, exploration) what is the role (or roles) of religion?What new civil
rights do some people obtain in some countries of Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries? Where does this occur? Within the countries where the new rights are granted, who
gets these rights, and who does not?
- What new ideas do the philosophers Hobbes and Locke develop concerning the nature of
human beings, the rights of human beings, and the kinds of government that are most
appropriate? (In the reading for Week 7, we will see how these ideas are developed further
and put into action.)
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Due in Week 7: March 19
Topic: The Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the French
Revolution
- In the Spielvogel textbook (brown cover with picture of a banquet), read Chapters 16 through
19. As always, use the Focus Questions at the beginnings of chapters and the Conclusions at
the ends of chapters as a guide to the main points of the reading. See also "Additional Issues"
below for a general idea of things to be aware of.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 16: The chapter is short and pretty much all of it is
important. However, you will NOT be required to know the details of the various scientific and
philosophical theories that are sketched in this chapter! The important points to know are the
following:
a. The new ideas that develop in this period concerning the relationships between the earth, the
other planets, the sun, and the other stars;
b. The new emphasis on observation, calculation, and eventually scientific method as ways to
learn about the universe and the things in it;
c. Newton's notion of a universe that worked like a machine, with mathematically predictable
behavior according to universal laws of motion; and his introduction of the idea of gravity;
d. How and why conflicts arose between this new science and the teachings of the religious
universities;
e. How some scientists and philosophers tried to resolve these conflicts;
f. The role of women in the development of the new science.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 17:
a. Pages 343 to the top of 350;
b. "The 'Woman Question'" on 351 to the top of 353 (before "Culture and Society");
c. The sections entitled "Crime and Punishment," "Religion and the Churches," and "Toleration
and Religious Minorities" on 357-358.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 18:
a. "Enlightened Absolutism?" on 363-364;
b. "Great Britain" on 364, through the left side of 373;
c. "New Methods of Finance and Industry" on 374 (pay attention also to the map on 374) through
380.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 19: Once again, pretty much the whole chapter is
important. Issues to focus on:
a. Reasons why the American Revolution and French Revolution occurred;
b. New types of government and laws (including constitutions) that were put into place in the
new American and French republics;
c. How Napoleon became Emperor of France, what principles he tried to introduce into Europe
during his brief Grand Empire, and what factors led to his downfall.
2. In the Course Reader (blue cover with pictures of buildings):
The section entitled "Declarations of Rights" on 221-230. The questions on page 221 make a
good guide. Although only pages 222-226 were written during the 18th century, the U.N.
document of 1948 on 227-230 shows the ways in which people of countries world-wide in the
20th century thought that the 18th-century notions of rights should be developed; the attempts to
extend these notions of rights to people all over the world; and the attempts to develop an
agreement about human rights that would be in effect not only within countries, but also
amongcountries.
- Video Lecture: Lecture 7, the first lecture on the fourth tape (Prof. Censer).
- What is the importance of the notion of the "universal" that becomes prominent in science
(consider Newton, for example) and in political and social thought (consider the French
"Declaration of the Rights of Man" - presumably, of all of mankind - and its influence on the
later "Universal Declaration of Human Rights")?
- How do government and learning begin to separate from religious domination during the 18th
century in Europe and North America? Instead of referring to religious authorities to explain
why scientific principles were true or why certain laws were appropriate, what new reasons
did some scientists (Galileo, Newton, etc.) begin to seek when asked why a scientific principle
was true; what new reasons did political thinkers (Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu) begin to
seek when asked why their political principles were appropriate? (This question is related to
#1; can you see how?) Note that the thinkers of the Scientific Revolution and the
Enlightenment did not always reject religion entirely; many of them invoked the
Judeo-Christian idea of God in their work, and considered themselves to be people of faith.
But they used the notion of a divine being in new ways, and they did not generally accept
traditional religious teachings where they thought that these teaching conflicted with reason.
(They thought that God gave humans the power to reason, and that if we failed to use this
power wherever it was appropriate, we were being ungrateful and disrespectful to God.
Reason and faith, they thought, could co-exist in the same person.)
- At the same time that new notions of human rights were being written into law, the Atlantic
slave trade was thriving. Slavery in the Americas, as described by the French writer cited on
page 377 of the Spielvogel textbook, was more brutal than what was practiced in the ancient
world (and unlike slavery in the ancient Mediterranean, slaves in the Americas had virtually
no chance of earning their freedom). Serfdom still existed in Russia. There was also
indentured servitude, where wealthier people who owned property in the Americas would pay
to have a poor European sent to work for them in the Americas. In principle, the poor person
was only supposed to serve the wealthier person for a few years, until the price of his or her
boat fare and food had been earned; but in practice the indentured servants were often bound
to servitude for most of their lives. Slavery and indentured servitude existed not only in
colonies of countries that had no declaration of rights (the colonies of Spain, for example), but
also in British and French colonies and the new United States -- places that were supposed to
guarantee rights and freedoms of all people. In some cases, slaves who had become free could
not vote.
This conflict between law and actual practice was noticed in the 18th century, both by slaves
(there were numerous slave revolts around the Caribbean around the time of the French
Revolution; many of these were successful) and by others. However, governments were slow to
act to change things. There were those people who, like Sepulveda in last week's Course Reader
selection, believed that slavery was appropriate or even beneficial for some groups of enslaved
people.
4. At the same time, even as more women in Europe began to work in science, philosophy,
literature, and the arts, and even as these women's work was praised by some of the top men in
their fields, there was also an increase in attempts to prove that women were incapable of real
intellectual and cultural achievement. (For example, the influential male philosophers Rene
Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke took very seriously the work of female philosophers
such as Damaris Masham, Margaret Cavendish, and Queen Christina of Sweden. Yet today, few
people have heard of the work of these women.)
Despite the declarations of rights, many also felt that women should not have the same rights as
men. (For example, women did not have the same voting rights or property rights as men in
Western Europe and the U.S. until the 19th and 20th centuries.)
5. Ancient Greece and Rome made use of the idea of civil rights -- rights and protections that a
community granted to a person who was a citizen or a member of a citizen's family. (Residents
who were not citizens had fewer rights and protections.) In general, these rights came with
responsibilities and duties.
In the 18th century we see the development of the notion of human rights -- rights and
protections that are to be granted to all humans by all governments. Of course, each community
still sets its own civil rights, which we say are not supposed to interfere with our human rights.
What are the advantages of the notion of human rights? Do you see any disadvantages? Can you
see any reasons why it might be difficult to get nations and peoples to agree on what is a human
right?
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Due in Week 8, March 26
Topic: The Industrial Revolution and the Course of the Nineteenth Century
- Written Work: There will be a quiz on March 26. The questions will be drawn from the
following topics:
- Workers in Europe and later the U.S. came to feel that emancipation from slavery or serfdom
was not enough to ensure a decent life -- or sometimes any life at all (death from starvation
and disease was a real danger for 19th - century factory workers, farmers, and city dwellers).
What further rights (or protections of existing rights) did they begin to demand? What reforms
did they call for? (See pages 420-421, 469-470.)
- Identify: James Watt. (See hints for answering identification questions.) Be sure to include in
your answer something about the effect of his invention on some industry (it affected several
industries, but you only need to mention one here).
- Identify: Garibaldi.
- Identify: liberalism (in the 19th-century sense), nationalism, socialism (see also the Glossary in
the Spielvogel text).
- In the Spielvogel textbook (picture of a banquet on cover), read Chapters 20 through 22 and
also pages 464 to the bottom of 470 in Chapter 23. As always, use the Focus Questions at the
beginnings of chapters and the Conclusions at the ends of chapters as a guide to the main
points of the reading. (In Chapter 23, you don't need to look at the Conclusion yet, and only
the first two focus questions will be relevant for this week.)
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 20: This chapter is short and pretty much all of it is
important as background for what is to come.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 21: 423 through "The Greek Revolt" on 428; "The
Ideologies of Change" (very important!) on 429 through top left of 438.
Pages and sections to focus on in Chapter 22: 443 through the left side of 459. You don't need to
memorize all of the names of the smaller kingdoms and provinces that came together to form the
nations of Italy and Germany. Just pay attention to when Italy became a unified nation and when
Germany became a unified nation; and pay attention to the processes that each unification
involved (wars, treaties and negotiations, etc.) For example, it is important to know that Germany
became unified when the kingdom of Prussia came to dominate other areas, while Italy became
unified through a combination of factors: The kingdom of Piedmont in the north annexed some
areas after a war with Austria, then several other areas joined themselves to Piedmont;
meanwhile a military leader named Garibaldi unified most of southern Italy by a combination of
war and negotiation; then Garibaldi voluntarily turned over the lands he had won to unify them
with the lands the kingdom of Piedmont had won.
2. In the Course Reader (pictures of buildings on cover): pages 233-234; 238-240; 246-247; 248
through the bottom of the last full paragraph on 250; 253-257. (These should help as background
to the video lecture.)
- Video Lecture: Lecture 8, the second lecture on the fourth tape.
- Additional issues to focus on:
- Why did the Industrial Revolution arrive in different places at different times?
- How did the Industrial Revolution affect population movements both within Europe and
between Europe and the rest of the world? How were politics and economics in the Caribbean
and Latin America affected by the combination of local independence movements and
industrialization in Europe and the U.S.?
- How did the freeing of the Russian serfs differ from the freeing of the American slaves?
(Look not only at the box on 453, but also at pages 451-454 and 454-455 in the Spielvogel
text.)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Due in Week 9, April 2
Topic: Mass Society; the "New Imperialism" of the Late 19th Century
Identifications: I have learned that the final exam is to include identification questions, so it is a
good idea to practice answering that sort of question. (The final exam will also include essays,
and you have been preparing to answer that sort of question in your short writing assignments
and your mid-semester paper.) Here are some things to know for class on April 2. You will not
have to hand these in to me, but you will be asked about them, and class discussion will not
proceed unless students have prepared these identifications.
- Reform Act of 1884 (in Great Britain)
- New Imperialism (how is it different from earlier imperialism?)
- Women's Suffrage movement ("suffragettes")
- Social Darwinism
Readings:
- In the Spielvogel textbook (cover with picture of a banquet), read Chapters 23 and 24. You
might also find it helpful to review Chapters 20 and 22 on the Industrial Revolution and the
changes it brought to social, economic, and political life in Europe - and the impact of these
changes on other parts of the world, such as the European colonies and former colonies. In
Chapter 24, pages 492 through 494 and 506-509 will be of less importance in Week 9, but we
will return to them in Week 10.
As always, use the Focus Questions at the beginnings of chapters and the Conclusions at the ends
of chapters as a guide to the main points of the reading. Keep in mind also the main questions for
the course, as outlined in the Syllabus.
- In the Course Reader (cover with pictures of buildings), read the Introduction to Chapter 9
(pages 271-273), plus 287-292, 299-301, 306-312.
Pay attention to the "Questions" section of the Introduction to Chapter 9 in the Course Reader.
The readings above have to do with Questions 2, 6 (just Hobson's position) under "Imperialism,"
and Questions 1-4 under "Women's Rights."
Video Lecture: Lecture 9 (first lecture on the fifth tape).
General Notes:
- Students have asked about the fact that certain chapters are assigned more than once - for
example, Chapter 24 is assigned for Week 9 as well as for Week 10. Students have also
mentioned that they find it difficult to see connections among the different topics that are
included in any one chapter - for example, they are unclear about the relationships between
national unification movements and the Industrial Revolution. These two difficulties that
students have asked about can be answered in the same way. In each chapter, our text is
informing readers about a variety of events, movements, and trends that appeared over a
certain period of years. Sometimes, the relationships among these events, movements, and
trends is evident within the time period in which they appeared. In other cases, the
relationships are not immediately clear. But your text is mentioning all of these events,
movements, and trends because they will come together to contribute to later events,
movements, and trends. For example, national unifications, nationalism, the Industrial
Revolution, mass production, several new political ideologies, questions about the role of
religion in political states, questions about the eligibility of ethnic and religious minorities to
be citizens, and changing gender roles will all have parts to play in the First World War, the
Russian Revolution, and the Second World War. Things that may not have seemed to be
related originally will turn out to work together (or to come into conflict) in later years. That is
also why it is important to read some chapters more than once: each time you read it you will
be looking at different aspects of what the chapter deals with; and each time you read it you
will have a different perspective based on the reading you HAVE DONE, the classes you
HAVE PARTICIPATED in, and the video lectures you HAVE WATCHED.
- Students have expressed some confusion about the meaning of the term 'mass society' that is
used in Spielvogel Chapter 23 and Video Lecture 9. Here are some points that may help.
- Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines 'mass society' this way: "modern urban
industrialized society: the society of the mass man, especially when held to be marked by
anonymity, high mobility, lack of individuality, and a general dominance of impersonal
relationships."
- But, what does that mean and what does it have to do with the later 19th century in Western
Europe and North America (where "mass society" was supposed to have arisen)? The same
dictionary defines one sense of 'mass' as "an aggregate of particles or things making one body
or quantity usually of considerable size." That is the relevant sense here. Consider the changes
in industrial production and consumption, and the consequent social developments, in the late
19th century in the countries under study. At this time, industry is able to produce large
quantities of essentially identical things (bars of soap, for example) very quickly. A
soapmaker in the 17th century, say, could make perhaps 100 bars of soap in a week, and thus
supply a village or group of villages with soap. Even if this soapmaker could have produced a
little more, it would have been too expensive to transport it on foot or horseback. A team of
10 workers in a soap factory in the late 19th century could turn out hundreds of bars of soap in
a day, and thus supply a large region, or a whole country, with soap. This is "mass
production." Railroads and steamships make the transportation and distribution cheaper and
easier. New modes of communication (telegraph, telephone) enable needs to be expressed and
decisions made quickly. As competition between soap factories increases, and more soap is
available, prices go down, and people can afford more soap (before soap became cheap,
poorer people used things such as certain plants for washing, and sometimes had to go without
cleansers at all). Thus there is "mass consumption" of soap: large quantities ("aggregates" in
the dictionary definition) of people are buying soap. And they are buying the same,
centrally-produced soaps, not local products that are made only in small quantities. Also, the
soap factories begin to look for new markets to make more money, so the soaps begin to be
available all over the world. Even larger masses of soap are produced, and even larger masses
of people are buying them.
This means that large numbers ("masses") of people are linked socially and economically, yet in
impersonal ways: the producers and consumers may never see one another; many of the factory
workers do not see the finished product but only work on part of it or one stage of its production.
Also, large numbers of people begin to live in close proximity to one another, without perhaps
knowing one another well; they work together or in connected jobs, and form part of a large mass
of urban people. These masses of people may have come from different parts of a country or of
the world, may be of different faiths, etc.; but they are all somehow involved in industry or are
serving those who are (doctors, for example, may set up offices in a city to treat diseases of
factory workers). These urban masses had something in common, both within each city and
across newly industrialized cities, and they shared some political interests. New newspapers
began to address this ("mass press" and today "mass media"); new activities became available
and profitable (sports and popular music became "mass entertainment" as they addressed needs
and interests of the new urban dwellers); new political groups formed ("mass politics"). Thus
"mass society" was so named because it contrasted with the localized, mostly small-scale ways of
life and kinds of society that predominated in Western Europe earlier. (This is not to say that the
older ways of life and kinds of society disappeared from Western Europe or anywhere else; it's
just to say that the old ways were no longer the dominant force in Western Europe.) In the 17th
century in Western Europe, most of the things the average person did were focused on his or her
local area: farming to produce for one's family and local markets, making pottery that would be
used in local areas (or, if one did produce for exporting to foreign markets, one was producing
luxury items to be used by only a few people). In the 17th century, most of what the average
person used had been made locally or not far away; there were imports but they tended to be
expensive. At the end of the late 19th century in Western Europe, the average person was
working for or connected to an industry that produced or transported goods over long distances
as well as short ones. The average person was also using products that had been made far away as
well as those that had been made nearby. The average person in late 19th-century Western
Europe was thus part of a large "mass" of people who were economically and socially connected,
who used many of the same products (products which were shipped worldwide), and who were
anonymously connected to others the world over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due in Week 10, 4/9
Topic: The Beginning of the Twentieth Century; Artistic and Cultural
Modernism in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
- Written Work: There will be a quiz on 4/9. Here are the topics from which the quiz questions
will be taken.
- By the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was divided economically in new ways. First, as
we have seen, there were great differences in wealth and standard of living within many
countries. But there were also differences between regions or countries. Some countries and
regions made their living primarily through industrial production and transportation, had high
rates of literacy, and had modern forms of communication and transportation (telegraph,
telephone, railroads, steamships, etc.) and the latest in medicine. Other countries or regions
made their living primarily through agriculture and the gathering of natural resources (coal,
trees, etc.). This second group generally had low literacy rates, very little in the way of modern
communication and transportation, and very little new agricultural technology or medicine.
This division among countries will play an important role in Weeks 11 and 12. ----Name 2
countries or regions of Europe that were heavily involved in industrial production by
1900. Name 2 countries or regions of Europe that were not heavily industrialized by
1900.
- By 1900 many artists, writers, and thinkers had begun to believe that there was much more to
the world than natural science could explain. They held that unseen, often irrational (not
necessarily divine) forces contributed at least as much to human experience as scientifically
measurable factors did. This drew some to re-explore religion; but others did not find what
they were looking for in religious belief. One thinker who explored these questions was
Sigmund Freud. ----According to Freud, what is "repression"? How does it affect
people's lives?
- ----Who was Cecil Rhodes? What is a colony that he founded, and why did he found it?
----Name a colony that Great Britain held in Africa around 1900; name a colony that
Great Britain held in Asia around 1900.----Name a colony that France held in Africa
around 1900; name a colony that France held in Asia around 1900.
- What was the Triple Alliance? What was the Triple Entente?
- Give 2 examples of how colonization, annexation, or racist policies led to nationalism or
independence movements among conquered peoples or religious or ethnic minorities in
Europe between 1880 and 1914.
1. In the Spielvogel textbook (cover with picture of a banquet), read Chapters 23 through 25.
In Chapter 23, the most important sections will be pages 465 to the bottom of 470 (the economic
and psychological effects of the development of the assembly line and specialized mass
production will be important); "The Social Structure of Mass Society" on 474-476; "Education
and Leisure in the Mass Society" on 477, through 484.
In Chapter 24, important sections will be pages 486 through the top of 488; "Sigmund Freud..."
on 489 through the top of 500; [review "The New Imperialism" on 500-501 if needed]; "The
Scramble for Africa" on 501 through "India" on 506. "International Rivalry and the Coming of
War" on 506 through 509 will be more important in a couple of weeks, but go over it at least
once this week. (In the sections of the chapter on science, psychology, and art, it is not necessary
to know specific details of things like Freud's theory of behavior, the Curies' discoveries about
atoms, the details of Picasso's paintings, and so on. What is more important for purposes of this
course is knowing how these theories and ideas differed from what had been offered in the past;
how these new theories and ideas continued or developed past trends; how if at all these new
theories and ideas responded to or reflected new social and political developments; and how
they influenced societies and later events.)
In Chapter 25, please do read the whole chapter this week, and then again when it is reassigned;
the events of the first 19 years of the 20th century are complex. However, what will be most
important this week is: pages 511 to the top of 520; 523 through 526.
As always, pay attention to the Focus Questions and introductions at the beginnings of chapters,
and to the Conclusions at the ends of chapters.
2. In the Course Reader (cover with pictures of buildings), read the Introduction (pages
315-316); the Bergson selections (317-320); the Freud selection (329-332); and the Eliot
selection (333-335). Make sure to keep in mind the questions posed (by Prof. Orens) at the
beginning of each selection while you read. If you are interested, please do look at the other
selections. You are welcome to discuss or ask questions about them in class.
3. If you haven't done so already, see the section of this page on Week 9 (above) for a discussion
of what 'mass society' means
- Videotaped Lecture: Lecture 10, the second lecture on the fifth tape.
- Information concerning the final exam:
- The exam will include essay questions, identification questions, and "relative chronology"
questions (questions about the order in which events occurred; you won't have to give exact
dates). There will NOT be multiple-choice or true-false questions.
- The exam will cover the period beginning with the Reformations and overseas exploration. It
will not cover the ancient, medieval, or Renaissance periods. You are welcome to mention
these earlier periods in your exam answers, but you will not be asked questions specifically
about the earlier periods.
- The topics for the exam are set by the History Department. However, each HIST 100
instructor writes exam questions for his or her own classes, based on these topics. This means
that you will only be asked questions about the things your own section has covered, in the
way your own section has covered them.
- The topics have not yet been conveyed to the instructors. Once I receive them, I will post a
review page for our section, letting you know what the topics are and what kinds of thing you
will be asked about.
- If students wish, an optional review session can be scheduled. If you are interested, think
about what dates and times would work for you.
- The exam for our section will be held on May 14 from 7:30 to 10:15 AM in our regular
classroom.
- Information on make-up quizzes and extra-credit work: This week I will post some short
writing assignments on the HIST 100/ Section 047 main page. If you missed a quiz or if you
feel you did not do well on a quiz, you can do one of these assignments. You can hand them in
up to the last day of classes. (You can do as many as you need in order to make up for missed
work.) As of 4/2/02 there have been three quizzes and a short writing assignment; there will
be another quiz on 4/9. If you have done fewer than this number, you have the option of doing
make-up work. (If you are unsure of how many quizzes you have taken, please contact your
instructor.)
*********************************************************
Due in Week 11, 4/16
Topic: Russia, the West, and Revolution
- In-class questions/ preparation for the final exam: The History Department has informed
instructors that the final exam for HIST 100 should include at least one essay question and
some identification questions. You are already preparing for writing essays by writing your
papers for HIST 100/ ENGL 101 assignments, and more will be said about the final exam
essays when more information is made available to instructors.
Let us therefore begin practicing for answering identification questions. From now until the end
of classes, each week I will put some identification questions on this page. Each week before
coming to class, students should look up in the textbook the people, places, things, and events
listed here under "Identifications." Write down in your notebook one or two sentences (three at
most) that clearly characterize who or what these people, places, things, or events were. Be sure
to show why these people, places, etc. were or are important. I will then ask you to answer the
questions in class. You will be able to read from your notes when you do this practice
exercise in class (ALTHOUGH USE OF NOTES WILL NOT BE PERMITTED DURING
THE FINAL EXAM), but keep your textbook closed during that part of the class. This is
not a quiz (though there will be at least one quiz in weeks to come); it is not graded. However, it
is in your interest to do these identification assignments: first, class lectures will not proceed
until students have answered the identification questions when they are asked to do so in
class; second, this will help you prepare for the final exam. If you became confused when you
tried to answer the questions in your notes before class, please say what you were able to come
up with, and ask about the parts that confused you.
- Identifications for this week:
- Archduke Francis Ferdinand
- total war (hint: look it up in the glossary in your textbook)
- Tsar Nicholas II (note: 'tsar' and 'czar' mean the same thing, namely 'grand ruler' or 'emperor';
these different spellings are 2 different ways to represent a Russian word using the Latin
alphabet)
- Alexander Kerensky
- Bolsheviks
- Lenin
- U.S.S.R.
- Stalin
- totalitarian state (look it up in the glossary if it is not clear from Chapter 26 of the Spielvogel
textbook)
1. In the Spielvogel textbook (cover with a picture of a banquet), read Chapters 25-27.
Specific pages and sections to focus on: In Chapter 25, pages 511 through the left side of 520;
523 through the top right side of 527; 529 through 532. In Chapter 26, "Retreat from Democracy"
on 538; "The Soviet Union" on 545 through the top right side of 548. In Chapter 27, the passages
on 559 and 560 dealing with Stalin's negotiations with Britain, France, and Germany; "A German
Soldier at Stalingrad" on 564; the passages on life in the Soviet Union during World War Two on
570; "The Aftermath of the War" on 573-576.
(We will be returning to these chapters when we study the World Wars in greater depth in weeks
to come.)
As always, pay close attention to the Introductions and Focus Questions at the beginning of each
chapter, and to the Conclusions at the end of each chapter.
Some additional questions to help with your understanding of the Russian Revolution and its
aftermath:
a. When and why did Russia enter World War One?
b. When and why did Russia pull out of World War One?
c. What events and conditions led to the Russian Revolution, and how did the Revolution begin?
d. What political positions and ideas were promoted by the Bolsheviks, and how did these differ
from those of the other parties and groups that took part in the Russian Revolution?
e. How did Lenin and his followers change the political, social, and economic order of their
country?
f. To what parts of the world did Communist political ideas spread after World War Two? How?
(For example, which other countries took up these ideas independently, and which were pushed
to do so by Stalin and other Soviet officials?)
2. In the Course Reader (pictures of buildings on the cover), read the Introduction and the
italicized paragraphs that introduce the documents. Try to answer the focus questions on pages
353-354 (in your notes; you don't need to hand this in). Answering these questions may require
reading somewhat more than just the italicized paragraphs, but not much more. Just look for the
things that answer these questions.
- Video lecture: Lecture 11, the first lecture on the sixth tape.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Due in Week 12, 4/23
Topic: World Wars of the 20th Century; Totalitarianism
General note 1: The majority of the students have expressed a preference for an OPTIONAL
review session on Tuesday May 7 at our regular class time in our regular classroom. This day is
designated "Reading Day," so there are no classes or exams scheduled during that day.
General note 2: Some of the readings and video images may be very disturbing. This week's
topic deals among other things with genocide (extermination of groups of people) and brutal
warfare. This course has covered other events of terrible violence and cruelty (the Crusades, the
Inquisition, the extermination of American Indians by Europeans, the Atlantic slave trade, the
Terror after the French Revolution, etc., etc.). But there were not photographs and films of these
earlier events as there are of the events of the 20th century, and seeing such records tends to
make the terrible events seem more immediate for many people.
- Written Work: There will be a quiz during the first 10 minutes of the class session. The
format will be the same as that of the quizzes earlier in the semester. There will be three
questions, some of which will have more than one part. Specific topics you will need to
know for the quiz and the class discussion:
- Name at least one country that fought on the same side as Austria-Hungary in World War
One. Name two countries that fought on the same side as Great Britain (England) in World
War One. Name two countries that fought on the same side as Germany in World War Two
(these countries are known as the Axis powers). Name two countries that fought on the same
side as Great Britain (England) in World War Two (these countries are known as the Allied
powers or Allies).
- What was the Treaty of Versailles? Why were Germans dissatisfied with it?
- What was fascism? (Do not simply state which countries had fascist governments; name at
least one aspect of fascism that distinguishes it from democracy, for example.Remember the
guidelines for answering identification questions, as given in last week's assignment.)
- What events led to the declaration of war by Britain and France in 1939? What was the
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939, and who broke it? How?
- The Nazis' ambitions for Europe involved moving Germans into other parts of Europe, and
moving other groups around (often into Germany) to work and/or be exterminated. Why?
(Simply saying that the Nazis thought that Germans, or certain Germans, were better than
other people is not enough. You need to say why they thought some people were better than
others, and what they thought this meant: how this was related to the massive efforts to move
people around and/or kill them.)
- During World War Two, many Americans moved to new locations within the country. Who
moved to the industrial cities, and why? Who was relocated against their will (note: being
drafted into the armed forces does not mean being relocated against one's will, since a person
who is unwilling to serve in the armed forces can ask for Conscientious Objector status and do
some other service).
- Name one way in which nationalism played a role in World War One (either in the events
leading up to the war, or in the events of the war itself). Name one way in which nationalism
played a role in World War Two (either in the events leading up to the war, or in the events of
the war itself).
If some of these topics do not appear on the quiz, they will be part of the in-class discussion.
In-class questions/ preparation for the final exam: This week that part of the class session will
involve going over those of the questions above that did not appear on the quiz.
- In the Spielvogel textbook (brown cover with a picture of a banquet), read Chapters 26 and
27, plus part of 28 (as described below). You may need to review some things in Chapter 25
as well, in order to understand 26. (This represents a slight modification of the assignment in
the syllabus. The syllabus followed the official schedule of readings for HIST 100. However,
the video lectures follow a somewhat different sequence than the official schedule of readings,
though the videos and the readings will have covered the same material by the end of the
course. Therefore in order to make the readings and the video for this week fit together better,
the readings are modified slightly.)
- In Chapter 25, the main things to review are pages 515 through 522, and "The Peace
Settlement" on 527 through 531. Know which countries fought on each side in World War
One.
- In Chapter 26, the main pages and sections to focus on are pages 534 through the top left side
of 545, and "Authoritarian States" and "The Expansion of Mass Culture and Mass Leisure" on
548 through 549. (The section on "Cultural and Intellectual Trends" that follows is certainly
worth reading, but you will not be tested on it.)
- Pretty much all of Chapter 27 is important for this week's subject. But you will not be asked
about details of battles on pages 560-563. It is important, however, to know which countries
fought on each side in World War Two.
- In Chapter 28, the main pages and sections to focus on are pages 579 through the top right
side of 583; and "Eastern Europe" on 589, through the top partial paragraph on the left side of
592.
- As always, pay attention to the Introductions and Focus Questions at the beginnings of
chapters, and the Conclusions at the ends of chapters.
- In the Course Reader (blue cover with pictures of buildings), read the Introduction and Focus
Questions to Chapter 12 (pages 389-390). Then read:
- Either pages 393 to 396 (Note: the writer of this piece often refers to "Huns." "Huns" as used
here is a derogatory British word for "Germans"; Germans are actually not related to Huns)
OR 397 to 400 (you are welcome to read both if you like); and
- 401 through 404 (just look over briefly to understand some of the issues at stake in World
War One and just after it); and
- Pages 405 through 412 (look over to see the Fascists' political aims and Hitler's political aims
and beliefs) (Note 1: Both Mussolini's government in Italy and Hitler's government in
Germany are considered fascist governments; the basic political ideologies were the same.)
(Note 2: "Aryan" is the name for the set of ethnic groups to which Hitler thought Germans
belonged, and which he thought were the only peoples worthy of use of the Earth; he came to
feel that Germans and perhaps Scandinavians were the only "real" Aryans. However, "Aryan"
actually refers to a group of people who originated in India and who spread all over Europe
and much of Asia; not only Germans should be included as descendants of the original
Aryans, and Germans have non-Aryan ancestors as well. In other words, Hitler had no interest
in the real meanings of the terms and ideas he used in his theory.); and
- Either 423 through 431 OR 432 through 438 (or both if you wish).
- Videotaped Lecture: Lecture 12, the second lecture on the sixth tape.
- Further issues of interest:
- The two World Wars resulted in boundary shifts and new patterns of rule not only in Europe
but also in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. In Chapter 28 we will see how
various peoples and nationalities came to rule one another or to throw off another's rule after
World War Two. In many cases, ethnic or religious groups that were rivals or even enemies
wound up sharing one country after a region shook off colonial rule, and this has been a
continuing source of conflict (see the "Outlook" section of Sunday 11/18/01's Washington
Post for an example of this kind of situation in today's Afghanistan).
- Your text shows some of the important differences between fascist and democratic forms of
government. It is less clear on the differences between fascist and socialist forms of
government, and this is made more confusing by the fact that the name "Nazi" originally stood
for "National Socialists" yet the Nazis were fascist and anti-socialist. If you read pages
541-542 carefully, though, you can see that Hitler was just using the name without any
intention of socialist policies. As your text notes, the Nazis tried to win support by promising
different (and often conflicting) things to different people.
But whereas socialism would call for an end to private ownership of the means of production
(farms, factories, railroads, etc.), the Nazis encouraged private ownership of and investment in all
kinds of production - as long as the owners supported the Nazis and gave them what they asked
for. Whereas socialism is not necessarily anti-democratic or authoritarian (in fact, the communist
regime in the U.S.S.R. was considered by many socialists to be not socialist at all), Nazism and
all forms of fascism are by definition anti-democratic and authoritarian (see also pages 539-540).
Modern Sweden is considered a socialist country, and other countries such as Canada, the United
Kingdom, and France have adopted certain policies advocated by socialists (free or low-cost
health care for all, for example) -- and these countries are democratic and not authoritarian. So,
socialists can democratic or anti-democratic, authoritarian or anti-authoritarian; and
anti-democratic parties can be socialist or anti-socialist, etc.
++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++
Due in Week 13, 4/30
Topic: Europe from 1945 to the Present
In-class questions/ preparation for the final exam: Here is a list of identifications to prepare
for class. You do not need to submit them to me. You do need to know these things, because if
students do not know them the class discussion will not proceed.
- Cold War
- Marshall Plan
- Cuban Missile Crisis (your answer should include the countries and leaders involved)
- NATO (your answer should include an indication of what the letters stand for)
- Civil Rights Act of 1964
- perestroika
- glasnost
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
- Berlin Wall
- Solidarity (name of political party or movement)
Readings:
- In the Spielvogel textbook (brown cover with a picture of a banquet), read Chapters 28 and
29. Specific sections and pages to focus on: It is important to read all of Chapter 28.
However, it will not be necessary to memorize the exact dates when the all of the former
colonies of Europe and the U.S. became independent. It is important to be aware of the
approximate times when independence came to the various regions: for example, in the 1940's
and '50's many Asian countries became independent; in the Middle East, some countries
became independent in the '40's and '50's and then others in the late 1960's and '70's; in Africa
a few gained their independence in the 1950's, most in the '60's, and a few in the '70's and a
few gained their independence in the 1950's, most in the '60's, and a few in the '70's and later.
Similarly, it is not necessary to memorize when each Eastern European country came under
Soviet domination. However, it is important to know approximately when these things happened.
In Chapter 29, you do not need to memorize things like details of Gorbachev's life or the exact
sequence of events in the transition of communist Czechoslovakia into independent Czech and
Slovak republics. However, it is important to know how the Eastern European countries freed
themselves from Soviet domination and how the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) dissolved -- and what
became of it.
The sections on Great Britain and France on pages 615-617, and the section on "Trends in Art
and Literature" on 621-622, will not be of great importance for the class discussion.
As always, the Introductions and Focus Questions at the beginnings of chapters, and the
Conclusions at the ends of chapters, are a helpful guide.
- In the Course Reader, read the Introduction on page 441; then read pages 442-444 and
454-461.
Videotaped Lecture: Lecture 13.
There will be an optional review session on May 7, in our regular classroom,
at regular class time (9:00 - 10:15 AM).
Your final exam will be held on Tuesday May 14, in our regular
classroom, from 7:30 - 10:15 AM.
Make-up final exams for all sections of HIST 100 will be held on Saturday May 11 from
10:30 AM - 1:15 PM in AQ 103. If you are going to have to miss our regularly scheduled
final exam, please notify me by May 9 so that I can have a make-up final ready for you for
May 11.