Modern World History: 2011

Week of December 11th

Monday, Dec. 12

Read: Strayer 499-504
Lecture: American Independence
Workshop: Reading Primary Source Documents

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Read: John Locke & Declaration of Independence
Lecture: Political Philosophy and the Age of Revolution
Due: guided reading questions for John Locke article

Friday, Dec. 16

Read: none
In-class: holiday celebration
Due: Declaration of Independence guided reading questions and Locke/Jefferson letter

Week of December 4th

Tuesday, Dec. 6

EXAM 3

Thursday, Dec. 8

Read: Strayer 491-495
Lecture: Intro to Late Modern Period
Workshop: Annotated Bibliography
Due: 1-3 annotations

Week of November 27th

Monday

Reading: none
Lecture: Scientific Revolution
Workshop: Scientist biography
Due: Matteo Ricci reading questions (the ones we worked on in class before Thanksgiving)

Wednesday

Reading: Strayer 477-482
Lecture: Enlightenment
Workshop: Scientist biographies
Due: reading note check

Friday

Reading: Strayer 482-486
Lecture: Spread of Western Thought
Workshop: Exam Prep
Due: Scientist biography

Week of November 13

Tuesday

Lecture: Protestant Reformation
Reading: Strayer 461-467
Notebook check: reading notes
Homework check: Comparative Chart

Compare New World slavery to Old World slavery using 3-4 analytic categories of your choice.

Thursday

Lecture: Missionary Activity
Reading: Strayer 467-472
Due: Comparative Essay

In a 2-3 page essay, compare and contrast New World slavery with Old World slavery. Be sure to include a comparative thesis.

Great job on exam # 2!! I was very pleased with the results and it is clear that what we're doing in class is working. We have now completed one quarter of the school year and you all have adapted admirably to the rigors of Modern World History. I recognize that it was a challenging transition in several ways. At this point, we have been through all of the major components of the course at least once, and hopefully you will take comfort in the fact that for the rest of the year things will be similar. Looking forward, we will be moving on to our next unit, which encompasses the global impact of religious and scientific developments emanating from Europe in the early modern period.

Tuesday

Lecture: Slave Trade
Workshop: reading notes
Reading: Strayer 449-457

this is the reading that was assigned for last Tuesday, but that we didn't get to in class. you may want to review the reading to help you answer the homework question.

Due: 2-paragraph reading response (devote 1 paragraph to each question)

How did the Atlantic slave trade differ from earlier forms of slavery in the Old World? How did the Atlantic slave trade disrupt native African societies?

Thursday

Read: Olaudah Equiano's autobiography
Discussion: Equiano's account and its historical uses
Due: 1-paragraph reading response

What are the three things about Equiano's story that you find most surprising. Explain why they surprise you, considering what you know about slavery in the Americas?

Week of October 30th

Great job on the research proposals! You all outlined some very interesting projects and I can't wait to move forward and watch them take shape over the remainder of the year. But first we need to turn our attention this week to the second quarterly exam, which will take place on Thursday. We will work to prepare you for that on Tuesday. There will be opportunities to ask questions about terms you are unsure of and most importantly the lecture will be specifically targeted to provide you with the information you'll need to write the long essays; you won't want to miss this one! See you soon...

Tuesday

Read: Strayer 449-457
Due: notebook check (including exam review)

terms should be defined and short essays outlined
we will discuss long essays in class

Silver economy & slave trade lecture
Exam review

Thursday

exam 2

Week of October 23rd

I am getting excited about these research projects. I have been very impressed with the breadth and diversity of your interests, and how readily you have been able to relate those interests to the development of an inter-connected world. I want you to focus all of your efforts on that assignment over the weekend. We will continue our regular course content (textbook and lecture content) as the week unfolds. I have posted our itinerary for the next two weeks so you can plan for what's coming. Note that we'll have an exam at the end of next week and reading each day between now and then. Please stay on top of your notebook as that will help ensure your success on the exam. I will check them twice in the next two weeks so bring them to class each day.

Monday

Read: none
Due: draft of your research project proposal
In-class: comparative empires lecture

Wednesday

Read: Strayer 433-439
Due: notebook check
In-class: trading-post empires lecture

Friday

Read: Strayer 439-445
Due: revised proposal
In-class: silver economy lecture

Week of October 16th

Great job with the exams last week. Overall I am very pleased with how hard everyone has been working in the course and I think that work is reflected in the exam scores. No doubt some of you will want to make some adjustments to some of your study habits. There was a strong correlation between exam scores and the notebooks, so we will discuss that in class this week. But I am reassured that we now have a solid foundation in the primary aspects of the course, and this will now allow us to have some fun with the individual projects that we talked about on Friday. For Tuesday, I would like to take some time to meet with you one-on-one to talk about your ideas. Please take a few minutes to jot down some interests that you would like to explore. Don't worry if you can't immediately see how it relates to world history, I can help you with that. Bring this to class on Tuesday, and be sure to keep up with the reading.

Tuesday

Read: Strayer 445-448; 421-424
In-class: reading quiz
Due: statement of interest for research project

Thursday

Read: Strayer 424-429
Due: 1-paragraph reading response

Compare the Mughal emperors Akbar & Aurangzeb.

Week of October 9th

We will be completing our first major unit of study this week with an exam on Wednesday. You now have the review sheet which includes all of the information that will be on the test, and we had a chance to go over that material one last time in class on Friday. Please spend some time preparing your essays, in particular. Also, remember that you have to submit your notebook with the exam, and that the notebook grade will be averaged with your raw exam score if it is higher, but not if it is lower.

Looking ahead, we will turn our attention to the study of empire and colonialism in the early modern world. We will begin by employing our comparative skills to the study of Russian, Chinese and Muslim empire-making to learn if those examples differed from European empires in the Americas.

Wednesday

Read: none
Due: notebook
In-class: exam

Friday

Read: Strayer, 417-421
Due: 1 paragraph response to reading question: What motivated Russian empire building?
In-class: Russian expansion & the fur trade

Week of October 2nd

We are nearing the end of our first unit, which has included an overview of world cultures in the 15th century and an introduction to colonial societies in 16th century America. Over the next week and a half we will assess our learning in several ways, including a paper and an exam. Please keep in mind that your performance on these two items will be graded in five distinct components (paper - intro, draft 1 & draft 2; exam - score & notebook). Try to focus on each of these smaller tasks one at a time. That will make each one much more manageable, and add up to the highest achievement possible overall.

Monday - Oct. 3

Read: none
Due: complete draft of China/Europe essay
Lecture: Colonialism in the Americas

Wednesday - Oct. 5

Read: Strayer 409-417
Due: completed review sheet
Lecture: Colonialism in the Americas, continued

Friday - Oct.7

Read: none
Due: revised draft of China/Europe essay
In class: review session

**Looking Ahead - We will hold our first quarterly exam on Wednesday, Oct. 12th. Please remember that you must submit your notebook on the day of the exam, and it will be scored to account for 1/2 of your exam grade.

Week of September 25

Monday, Sept. 26

Read: Strayer 403-409

*in-class quiz*

Lecture: Columbian Exchange

Wednesday, Sept. 28

Read: Strayer 382-388
Lecture: Indigenous America

Week of Sept. 18

I will assign your first argumentative essay this week, which will ask you to compare European and Chinese civilizations during the 15th century. Because our reading and writing on this subject is spread out over several days it will be necessary for you to begin the comparative work as you read. For Tuesday, please draw up a simple chart that shows differences and commonalities between the two societies, similar to the quiz we took on Friday but in greater detail. You can draw on Friday's reading from Strayer, as well as Tuesday's reading from the packet. We will conduct a workshop on this subject in class Tuesday, and the first component of the paper will be turned in next week.

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Read: first 1/2 of reading packet (introductory mtl. and 2 essays on Zheng He)
Homework: begin to document the comparison of Europe & China (described above)

Thursday, Sept. 22

Read: second 1/2 of packet (2 selections on Columbus)
Homework: continue to document the comparison using analytic categories.
Due: turn in homework from Tuesday and Thursday

should include one broad comparison between Europe and China, then the details of that comparison broken into analytic categories

Week 1 - Welcome & Introduction

Welcome to Modern World History. We will introduce the course in class this week, including the many functions this blog serves. The most important is that you can always find reading and homework assignments posted here. So for this week you have three things to do:

Wednesday Sept. 14th

Read: Strayer, 363-369

Friday Sept. 16th

Read: Strayer, 369-378
DUE: Summer reading assignment
DUE: Map exercise (see below)

**Please identify the regions that the following cultures inhabit on the map of Africa that I distributed in class:

Yoruba
Bini
Igbo
Fulbe

I'd like you to use the internet (Google, Wikipedia, I'm not particular) to try and identify where these people were living during the 15th century. Also see if you can find out some basic information about them to share with the class on Friday. This doesn't have to be a big deal, just spend a few minutes learning more about these examples that the textbook gives, because they will help us make the broader processes of cultural exchange more tangible.

See you soon...

link to film clip

Here is a link to one of the final scenes of the film. We will watch the last 10 minutes or so in class on Thursday, but you should now be able to write the analysis even without seeing the ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91lZ7xQOdPc

Links to Film Resources

"100 Films Reviewed by Historians" page discussed in class:

http://blog.historians.org/resources/1316/100-films-reviewed-by-historians

Internet Movie Database

http://www.imdb.com/

History on Film - Check out the "historical background" tab to search for films about a given subject. Also, the "movie reviews" and "commentary" tabs may be helpful to read what others have already said about the film you're researching.

http://www.historyonfilm.com/

Reel History - A column on historical films in an independent British newspaper.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/series/reelhistory

world-history-movies.com - Searchable by era

http://www.world-history-movies.com/

Week of May 29th

Last week of classes!!

Tuesday

Due - one substantial paragraph of the historical context of Fat Man and Little Boy

Be sure to write about the historical setting of the film, as well as the context in which it was made (1940s & 1990). Discuss the reasons the film was made, including the ideological perspectives of the filmmakers.

In class - finish viewing the film

Thursday

Due - 2-3 page film analysis essay (per the rubric distributed last week)

Week of May 22

Monday

Read - Strayer 681-688
Lecture - end of Cold War; historical film analysis
Assignment - final project

Wednesday

Read - film analysis packet
Discuss - reading
Begin viewing

Week of May 15th

Tuesday

Read - Strayer, 675-681
Lecture - Cold War, review for Thursday's exam
Hand back - exam preparation homework

Thursday

We will be taking the last regular exam of the year today. Review sheet posted below.
No reading or homework, other than studying.

Exam 7 Review Sheet

World History 10 - exam 7 review sheet

Term Identifications - 50% (8 will appear on exam; you will answer 7)

Nuremberg Laws
Munich Conference
Appeasement
Molotov-Ribbentropp Non-Aggression Pact
Phony War
Neville Chamberlain
Battle of Britain
Sudetenland
Anti-Comintern Pact
Erwin Rommel

Short Essay - 20% (prepare for both - 1 will appear on exam)

Discuss the rise of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany. How were anti-semitic policies codified into law during the 1930s, and how did they impact the war effort?
Compare and contrast the circumstances under which Britain, France, Russia and the United States entered WWII.

Long Essay - 30% (this question will appear on exam)

Chart the progression of military campaigns during WWII. Did the bombing of Pearl Harbor make a European conflict into a world war?

Week of May 8th

This week we will begin our penultimate unit of the year, on communism & the Cold War. We will also begin preparations for our last regular exam of the year, which will take place on Thursday, May 19th.

Monday

read - no reading due
lecture - compare Chinese and Russian Revolutions
due - War Crimes paper
distribute - exam 7 review sheet

Wednesday

read - Strayer 662-667 (we already read a few of these pages when we discussed the Russian Revolution, but it will be good to review Russia so we can compare with China)
lecture - consolidating the revolutions and beginnings of global conflict with capitalism

Friday

read - Strayer 668-675
lecture - height of the Cold War and communist collapse
due - exam preparation (completed ids and essay outlines - to be handed back on Tuesday, May 17th)

Week of May 1st

Tuesday

War Crimes lecture
begin Nuremberg Trials video
no reading or homework due

Thursday

Read - War Crimes packet
finish Nuremberg video
Discuss video and reading

Nota bene - remember that the paper is due on Monday. By the end of this week you will have all the information you need to write it. If you have questions, please bring them to class on Thursday at the latest.

Week of April 24

Wednesday April 27

Lecture - outbreak of WWII

Friday April 29

Lecture - Conclusion of WWII
Read - Reilly (on Treblinka & Rape of Nanking)
Assign - three-page essay (see below - due Monday May 9th)

Write a two-three page essay (double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1" margins) addressing the following prompt:

Analyze the development of the concept of "war crimes" during the twentieth century. Explain how earlier customs were codified as law at the Hague and Geneva Conventions, which then led to the prosecutions of Nazi and Japanese officers during the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.

Week of April 10th

Plan for the week:

Monday

Read Strayer 645-653
complete Nazi Germany lecture
review for Wednesday's exam

Wednesday

Examination on WWI & Inter-war period

Friday

no homework
relaxing day of World History enrichment

Week of April 3rd

Plan for the week:

Tuesday

Lecture on Russian Revolution and Great Depression
Read Strayer 662-665 & 633-636
Reading Question - How did WWI lead to economic depression?

Thursday

Lecture on Great Depression & Rise of Fascism
Read Strayer 636-645
Reading Question - How did economic depression lead to authoritarian forms of government?

Notes

Please type your responses to the reading questions, and submit them at the beginning of class each day
We will have our next exam on Wednesday, April 13th, and it will cover World War I and the interwar period.

Week of March 27th

Here is an outline of this week's activities:

Monday, March 28th

finish watching Gallipoli
assign 2-page essay due Friday

The Gallipoli Campaign was a military failure, but it was important for several reasons. Explain how it was significant, and to whom.

distribute Gallipoli reading due Wednesday

Wednesday, March 30th

reading due: Gallipoli article
WWI lecture
work on essay development (time permitting)

Friday, April 1st

complete WWI unit lecture
begin Depression/Fascism unit
2-page essays due

Exam on Tuesday, March 22

Our next exam will be held on Tuesday. Please use the weekend to prepare. If you have not turned in your preparation please email me questions over the weekend for feedback.

Reading and Homework for Friday, March 18th

Please read Strayer 625-632 and write a one-paragraph, typed response to the following prompt.

Identify at least three ways in which WWI was significantly different than previous conflicts.

Homework for Wednesday, March 16

Your homework for the long weekend is to prepare for our next written exam. The test will cover Chapter 20. Write identifications for the following terms in bullet form, and prepare outlines for the essay questions below. Please type these. You will hand them in on Wednesday and I will return them Friday with feedback.

Chapter 20 Written Exam

Identification terms

1. Indian Mutiny
2. Leopold II
3. Swami Vivekananda
4. Igbo & Nyakyuso
5. Berlin Conference of 1884
6. Gendered division of labor

Essay questions

1. Describe the various ways that Europeans integrated non-Europeans into their colonial economies during the nineteenth century.

2. How did nineteenth-century imperialism bring about changes in the identities of colonized peoples?

Reading and Homework for Thursday, March 10th

Please read Strayer 604-614 and answer the following question in one-two page typed response (double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1" margins).

How did European ideas about education, religion, race and tribe bring about new identities for colonized peoples?

Reading for Tuesday, March 8th

Please read Strayer 598-603.

Reading for Friday, March 4th

Please read Strayer 594-598.

Homework for Wednesday, March 2nd

Complete the portfolio reflection assignment (refer to previous post for details) and read Strayer 589-594.

Winter Break

While there is no homework due Monday after the break, I wanted to remind you about the first assignment we'll be working on, which will be due Wednesday, March 2nd. It is a mid-course reflection, which will help you prepare a component of your portfolio in advance of the student-led conferences. It includes three parts:

1. one-page typed response to questions distributed (address all 3 sections)
2. selection of one or two artifacts that showcase your growth
3. one-paragraph typed explanation of how it does that

Please type your response using the standard format (1" margins, 12 pt. font, in this case single-space)

Week of February 13th

No reading this week, just review. We'll take the term identification part of the exam on Tuesday, and write the essays in class on Thursday.

Homework for Friday, Feb.11

Please create 12 point outlines for all three essays on next week's exam. These are due at the beginning of class, and will be assigned a grade. I will provide feedback and return them to you on Tuesday of next week. We will complete the ids on Tuesday, and write the essays in class on Thursday.

Reading for Wednesday, Feb. 9

Please read Strayer 577-586.

Homework for Monday, Feb. 7th

Please read Strayer 571-577. Write a 1-2 page response to the following prompt:

Briefly describe how the Taiping Uprising, Opium Wars and Boxer Rebellion were all Chinese responses to European imperialism.

Your response should be more than one page in length, (typed, double-spaced, 1" margins, 12 pt. font).

It is due at the beginning of class. If it is not printed and ready for submission you will incur a point deduction.

Reading for Week of January 23rd

For Wednesday, please read Strayer 559-564. For Friday, read 564-571. That is all.

Week of January 16th

This week we will be completing our second quarterly exam. The notable difference from past exams is that we will take it in two parts. On Tuesday we will complete the identification component and the essays will be written Thursday. Also for Tuesday, please bring completed outlines of your essays to class. We will have 40 minutes to complete the ids, and the remainder of the class will be set aside for essay preparation and a couple more presenters who weren't able to go last week (you know who you are).

Week of January 9th

The reading for this week is Strayer, 548-555. It was originally scheduled to be completed by Tuesday, but as we've fallen a little behind in our lectures we will push it back to Thursday. Please use the extra time to make some progress on your timeline assignment. Bring the information you have gathered on your topic to class on Tuesday and we will discuss the final preparations for that assignment. I would like us to present our findings to the class on Thursday.

Homework for Friday, Jan. 7th

Please read Strayer 541-548 and complete the following ids:

Progressives
Model T
V.I. Lenin
Bolsheviks

Homework for Wednesday, January 5th

Please read pages 534-541 and prepare ids for the following terms:

Industrialization
Urbanization
Middle class
Karl Marx
proletariat

Also, if you did not complete the reading for Monday, please do so by Wednesday. Note that the first two terms above were defined/discussed in class.