History 1310 —  Fall 2008
G. Shanafelt

World Civ to 1500

Books

Text: Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 4th ed., vol. 1
Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Six articles on electronic reserve, as specified in the lecture and assignment schedule:
   Jared Diamond. “Easter’s End.”
    Lionel Casson. “The First Olympics: Competing ‘For the Greater Glory of Zeus’.”
   Bernard Lewis. “The Muslim View of the World.” The Muslim Discovery of Europe.
   Guy Gugliotta. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin.”
   Morris Bishop. “1066.”
   David Landes. “Clocks: Revolution in Time.”

Course Objectives

As described in the McMurry University Catalog, this course seeks to examine the origins and major characteristics of the chief civilizations of the world to about 1500, the “great traditions” as one historian calls them. More specifically, you will be expected to
1.  Compare and contrast the main features of the early traditions of civilization (China, India, Middle East, Greece/Rome, pre-Columbian Western Hemisphere, Africa);
2. Discuss the chief features of the major world belief systems (Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity);
3.  Analyze the development and interaction of post-classical civilizations (Abbasid Caliphate, Tang/Song China, India, Japan, Byzantine Empire, Medieval and Renaissance Europe);
4. Understand the spatial location of geographic features and civilizations in relation to each other; and
5. Explain specific items within each of the above contexts as detailed on three study sheets, one for each test.

Paper

Everyone in the class will write a short (3-4 page) typed, double-spaced paper based on Weatherford’s Genghis Khan. The paper will be graded on both originality of content and clarity of expression. The specific assignment will be forthcoming later in the semester. Late papers will LOSE TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS for every day past the stated due date, including weekends. Moral: plan to turn your paper in on time!

Evaluating Your Performance

How well you’ve attained the objectives of the course will be measured by three (3) tests during the semester (two midterms and a final), six (6) brief reading quizzes, and the paper. The tests will be half objective and half essay, the objective sections to test your factual knowledge and the essays to evaluate how you conceptualize those facts. Each test will include a map section. Make-up tests are likely to be more difficult than the original versions unless you like all-essay tests. The six quizzes can NOT be made up: a no-show counts as a zero. However, the two lowest quiz grades will not be counted in computing your final grade.

Attendance

You’re responsible for the material covered at every class meeting. That means if you miss a class, you should get the notes from someone else. If you miss a lot, you’ll be reported to the Registrar’s Office. Excessive unexcused absences can lead to your being administratively dropped from the course. The Feds don’t like people who take their money in financial aid and then fail to show up in class. The current McMurry Catalog defines “excessive” as three or more such unexcused absences. While I won’t take off points from your grade for specific numbers of days missed, bear in mind that there is generally a direct relationship between attendance and grades.

Work

You get out of a course what you put into it. There will be no provision in this class to make up substandard work; it is assumed that you will give everything your best shot the first time around. If you need it, the textbook includes on-line study material for each chapter (summaries, quizzes, etc.) These can be found on the Internet at www.mhhe.com/bentley4. If you plagiarize a test or other assignment in this class (that is, deliberately copy someone else’s work and pawn it off as your own), you should expect a zero grade for the assignment, with no possibility of making it up. In egregious cases, you can be expelled from the class or from the University.

Students with Disabilities

McMurry University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stipulates that no otherwise qualified student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” If you have a documented disability that may impact your performance in this class and for which you may be requesting accommodation, you must be registered with and provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Services Office, located in Old Main Room 102. Arrangements will be made for students needing special accommodations.

Cell Phones and Other Non-Class-Related Activities

Expect to be held accountable to the basic rules of considerate behavior as described in the McMurry University Council Fire. Cell phones should be turned off during class. You should not explore web sites on your computer which distract other students from the lectures. Of course, if you fall asleep during one of Dr. Shanafelt’s brilliant lectures, you should endeavor not to snore.

Grade

The final course grade will be computed as follows: 21% each for the two midterm tests, the paper, and the final; and 16% for the average of the top four quizzes. The grade scale will be A: 90 to 100, B: 80 to 89, C: 70 to 79, D: 60 to 69, F: 59 and below. Within those parameters, plus and minus grades will be given: A: 93-100, A-: 90-92, B+: 87-89, B: 83-86, B-: 80-82, etc. There will be no A+ grades and no plus or minus grades for an F. Borderline cases (e.g., 89.6 or 79.8) will be decided on the basis of improvement in the course, class participation, and regularity of attendance.


Proposed Lecture and Assignment Schedule
Aug. 25: Introduction

Aug. 27, 29: Setting the Stage
Browse Bentley, ch.1
Sept. 1: First quiz on Diamond

Sept. 1, 3, 5: The Ancient Near East
Bentley, chs. 2, 3, 7

Sept. 8, 10: From Aryans to Indians
Bentley, chs. 4, 9

Sept. 12, 15: Classical Greece and the Birth of the West
Bentley, ch. 10
Sept. 17: Second quiz on Casson

Sept. 17, 19, 22: The Origins of China
Bentley, chs. 5, 8

Sept. 24, 26: Rome: Republic and Empire
Bentley, ch. 11

Sept. 29: FIRST TEST

Oct. 1, 3: The End of the Classical World
Bentley, ch. 12

Oct. 6, 8: Byzantium and the Origins of Eastern Europe
Bentley, ch. 13

Oct. 10, 13, 15: The Triumphs of Islam
Bentley, ch. 14
Oct. 17: Third quiz on Lewis

Oct. 17: East Meets East: India after Muhammad
Bentley, ch. 16
 Oct. 20, 22: Early Civilization in the Americas
Bentley, ch. 6
Oct. 22: Fourth quiz on Gugliotta

[Oct. 24: Homecoming — no class]

Oct. 27, 29, 31: East Asian Flowering
Bentley, ch. 15

Nov. 3: SECOND TEST

Nov. 5, 7: The West: Dark Ages
Bentley, ch. 17
Nov. 10: Fifth quiz on Bishop

Nov. 10, 12: From Chinggis to Timur
Bentley, ch. 18

Nov. 17: PAPERS DUE

Nov. 14, 17: African Civilizations
Bentley, ch. 19

Nov. 19, 21: The West: High Middle Ages
Bentley, ch. 20
Nov. 21: Sixth quiz on Landes

Nov. 24, Dec. 1: Aztecs and Incas
Bentley, ch. 21

[Nov. 26-28: Thanksgiving Recess]

Dec. 3, 5: Toward the Modern World
Bentley, ch. 22

Dec. 10, 10:30-12:30: THIRD TEST