Books

Text: Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, 3rd edition, vol. 2
John Lukacs, Five Days in London, May 1940
Six articles on electronic reserve, as specified in the lecture and assignment schedule:
      Walter Karp, “Sir Isaac Newton”
      Mary Cable, “The Grand Seraglio”
      J. W. Burrow,“The Many Faces of Karl Marx”
      J. H. Plumb, “The Opium War”
      Edmund Stillman, “Sarajevo: The End of Innocence”
      John Broomfield, “Gandhi: A Twentieth-Century Anomaly?”

Course Objectives

This course seeks to examine the development and interaction of the major civilizations of the world since about 1500. During the semester, you will be expected to

1.	Discuss the major changes that impacted Western Europe through the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment;
2.	Understand the impact of European economic and colonial expansion into the non-Western world and how the major non-Western centers of civilization responded to it;
3.	Analyze the origins and impact of what has been called the “dual revolution” in Western Europe— the political, economic, social, and intellectual changes set in train by the French and Industrial Revolutions;
4.	Compare and contrast the process of modernization throughout the world in the 20th century, specifically the role of fascism, communism, national liberation movements, and the development of a global economy;
5.	Understand the spatial location of geographic features and civilizations in relation to each other; and
6.	Explain specific items within each of the above contexts as detailed on three study sheets, one for each test.

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 U.S. Government doesn’t like people who take its money in financial aid and then fail to show up in class. The McMurry Catalog defines “excessive” as three or more such 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. Since the same material is covered at both the 9:00 and the 11:00 sessions, you have two opportunities per day to get to the lectures.

Tests and Quizzes

There will be a total of three (3) noncomprehensive tests during the semester (two midterms and a final). They will be half objective and half essay and will include map sections. Material will come from both the lectures and the reading assignments. Make-up tests are likely to be more difficult than the original versions unless you like all-essay tests. There will also be 6 brief quizzes, based on the electronic reserve articles, which 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.

Paper

Everyone in the class will write a short (3-4 page) typed, double-spaced paper based on Lukacs’ Five Days in London. Specific details will be provided later in the semester. Late papers will lose two percentage points for every day past the stated due date, including weekends, up to a max of 10 points. Moral: plan to turn in your paper on time!

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/bentley3. 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.

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.

Grade

The final course grade will be computed as follows: 21% for each of the three tests, 21% for the paper, 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.