Monday, 7:00-9:50pm; University Hall, Room 16

Important Information

Description:

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the broad outlines of world history and historiography. At the same time it is intended to strengthen students’ ability to research and teach in this field, by emphasizing primary historical sources and the emerging technology known as Geographic Information Systems.

Learning Outcomes:

  1. Students will be able to discuss key works and theories in the field of world or global history. Assessed in class discussions and final project.
  2. Students will be able to find, analyze and lead discussions of primary sources in world history. Assessed in primary source descriptions, discussions and presentation.
  3. Students will be able to use Geographic Information Systems [GIS] software to find, critique and analyze data about world history. Assessed in weekly GIS assignments.
  4. Students will be able to describe major arguments for and against the field of world or global history, including the utility and potential drawbacks of three specific tools, including books, theoretical frameworks, GIS and primary sources to study, research and teach world history. Assessed in final project.

Required Books:

  1. Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  2. Beckert, Sven. Empire of Cotton: A Global History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
  3. Christian, David. Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
  4. Crossley, Pamela Kyle. What Is Global History? Cambridge: Polity, 2008.
  5. Hunt, Lynn. Writing History in the Global Era. New York: Norton, 2014.
  6. Marks, Robert B. Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Environmental Narrative. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
  7. McNeill, John Robert, and William Hardy McNeill. The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.
  8. Ropp, Paul. China in World History. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780195381955
  9. Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.
  10. Wright, Donald R. The World and a Very Small Place in Africa: A History of Globalization in Niumi, the Gambia. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe, 2010.

Required [free] software [PC, Mac, and Linux but not Chromebook]

Grading:

At the end of the semester, students who have accumulated 900 or more
points will receive a “A”; 800 to 899 is a “B”; 700 to 799 is a “C”; etc.

Assignment Points
Graded world history notes (10) 150
GIS assignments (4) 200
Book summaries (4) 100
Primary source discussion leadership 100
Discussion/participation 100
Final map 100
Final essay 250
TOTAL 1000

Description of Major Assignments

Weekly world history notes

  • Every week I’ll ask you to upload a plain text file [not a Word Doc or PDF] to Blackboard showing me that you are taking careful notes on our books that you can use later as a teacher/researcher.

GIS assignments

  • Depending on your level of GIS skill, during the GIS portion of the course you’ll complete 4 assignments that will build your skills at using maps, software, and data about world history.
  • We’ll mostly use QGIS, an open-source Geographic Information Systems program

Discussion

  • Classroom participation is a big part of this course!
  • Simply attending class does not count in this area, though I do take attendance at every class meeting.

Book summaries

  • Using a plain-text editor, you’ll write a 500-word [approximate length] summary of the main ideas and supporting evidence for each of these books: Crossley, Christian, Said, and Beckert
  • Each summary will also contain a Zotero-generated bibliography listing three reviews of that book
  • Due dates: Crossley: <2017-02-06 Mon>; Christian: <2017-03-06 Mon>; Said: <2017-04-03 Mon>; Beckert: <2017-05-01 Mon>

Primary source discussion leadership

  • For this assignment, find a primary source from world [not US and preferably not European] history. Edit the document down so it fits well on one page. Bring 14 copies to class.
  • In class you’ll make a brief [no more than 5-minute] presentation to introduce the document and then conduct a 15-minute discussion.
  • I’ll grade you on the quality of the document and your introduction, but mostly on your success at getting every person to participate and in leading the group to develop meaningful insights from the document.

Final Map

Final Essay

  • You will write a 3,000 word essay describing what you think are the most important arguments in favor of and against the field of world history.
  • You will also describe the utility and drawbacks of three specific tools that could be used in a world history class.
  • These three tools can include specific books, theories, software, and types of primary sources we have used this semester.

Drop Policy:

Students may drop or swap (adding and dropping a class concurrently) classes through self-service in MyMav from the beginning of the registration period through the late registration period. After the late registration period, students must see their academic advisor to drop a class or withdraw. Undeclared students must see an advisor in the University Advising Center. Drops can continue through a point two-thirds of the way through the term or session. It is the student’s responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not plan to attend after registering. Students will not be automatically dropped for non-attendance. Repayment of certain types of financial aid administered through the University may be required as the result of dropping classes or withdrawing. Contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.

Attendance Policy:

At The University of Texas at Arlington, taking attendance is not required. Rather, each faculty member is free to develop his or her own methods of evaluating students’ academic performance, which includes establishing course-specific policies on attendance. As the instructor of this section, I take attendance at every class meeting. We count on your contributions to the discussion! If you have to miss a class, please contact me.

Academic Integrity:

All students enrolled in this course are expected to adhere to the UT Arlington Honor Code:

I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT Arlington’s tradition of academic integrity, a tradition that values hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.

I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group collaborations, and I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will follow the highest standards of integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.

UT Arlington faculty members may employ the Honor Code as they see fit in their courses, including (but not limited to) having students acknowledge the honor code as part of an examination or requiring students to incorporate the honor code into any work submitted. Per UT System Regents’ Rule 50101, §2.2, suspected violations of university’s standards for academic integrity (including the Honor Code) will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Violators will be disciplined in accordance with University policy, which may result in the student’s suspension or expulsion from the University.

Title IX:

The University of Texas at Arlington does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, genetic information, and/or veteran status in its educational programs or activities it operates. For more information, visit http://uta.edu/eos. For information regarding Title IX, visit http://www.uta.edu/titleIX.

Americans With Disabilities Act:

UT Arlington provides a variety of resources and programs designed to help students develop academic skills, deal with personal situations, and better understand concepts and information related to their courses. Resources include tutoring, major-based learning centers, developmental education, advising and mentoring, personal counseling, and federally funded programs. For individualized referrals, students may visit the reception desk at University College (Ransom Hall), call the Maverick Resource Hotline at 817-272-6107, send a message to resources@uta.edu, or view the information at www.uta.edu/resources.

Electronic Communication:

UT Arlington has adopted MavMail as its official means to communicate with students about important deadlines and events, as well as to transact university-related business regarding financial aid, tuition, grades, graduation, etc. All students are assigned a MavMail account and are responsible for checking the inbox regularly. There is no additional charge to students for using this account, which remains active even after graduation. Information about activating and using MavMail is available at http://www.uta.edu/oit/cs/email/mavmail.php.

Student Feedback Survey

At the end of each term, students enrolled in classes categorized as lecture, seminar, or laboratory shall be directed to complete a Student Feedback Survey (SFS). Instructions on how to access the SFS for this course will be sent directly to each student through MavMail approximately 10 days before the end of the term. Each student’s feedback enters the SFS database anonymously and is aggregated with that of other students enrolled in the course. UT Arlington’s effort to solicit, gather, tabulate, and publish student feedback is required by state law; students are strongly urged to participate. For more information, visit http://www.uta.edu/sfs.

Final Review Week:

A period of five class days prior to the first day of final examinations in the long sessions shall be designated as Final Review Week. The purpose of this week is to allow students sufficient time to prepare for final examinations. During this week, there shall be no scheduled activities such as required field trips or performances; and no instructor shall assign any themes, research problems or exercises of similar scope that have a completion date during or following this week unless specified in the class syllabus. During Final Review Week, an instructor shall not give any examinations constituting 10% or more of the final grade, except makeup tests and laboratory examinations. In addition, no instructor shall give any portion of the final examination during Final Review Week. During this week, classes are held as scheduled. In addition, instructors are not required to limit content to topics that have been previously covered; they may introduce new concepts as appropriate.

Student Support Services:

The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. These programs include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.

Emergency Exit Procedures

Should we experience an emergency event that requires us to vacate the building, students should exit the room and move toward the nearest exit, which is the stairwell located in the southeastern corner of University Hall. When exiting the building during an emergency, one should never take an elevator but should use the stairwells. Faculty members and instructional staff will assist students in selecting the safest route for evacuation and will make arrangements to assist individuals with disabilities.

Weekly Schedule

<2017-01-16 Mon> Week 1 No Class: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

  • Read Hunt Chaps 1 and 2 and Crossley, entire, for the first class meeting
  • Take notes on the readings in a plain-text editor [Google this, if you don’t know what this means]
  • Email me the notes before the class meeting where we’ll discuss this reading
  • Zotero: View the “Getting Started with Zotero: Using Zotero Standalone” tutorial on YouTube
    • Install Zotero as the tutorial describes
    • Find two more YouTube Zotero tutorials that look interesting and watch them. Take notes to share with the class
    • You may want to bookmark this link: http://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/zotero

<2017-01-23 Mon> Week 2: Read Hunt, Chs 1&2; discuss Crossley, entire

  • Bring a laptop to class
  • In class: Discuss Hunt and Crossley; Work through the Fusion Tables tutorial in the Mapping and GIS area of The Programming Historian, stopping when it gets to Google Earth
  • For next week: Take plain-text notes on McNeill; email me the notes before the class meeting where we’ll discuss this reading

<2017-01-30 Mon> Week 3: Read McNeill, 3-327

  • Primary sources: On Blackboard, sign up for one of the primary source presentation slots
  • In class we will, discuss McNeill and review how to install a recent version of QGIS on your laptop
  • For next week, there’s no reading. Instead:
    • On Blackboard, submit a plain-text summary of the Crossley book, with approximately 500 words of text plus a Zotero-generated bibliography listing three reviews of that book.
    • Install QGIS on a computer that you can bring to class
    • Experienced students: Complete the QGIS tutorials 1, 2, and 3 [including the “one step further” sections] in the Mapping and GIS for Historians tutorial page
    • New-to-GIS students:
      • complete the “Installation and Adding Layers” tutorial in the Mapping and GIS area of The Programming Historian
      • complete the “Creating New Vector Layers” tutorial in The Programming Historian

<2017-02-06 Mon> Week 4: GIS week 1; Crossley summary due

  • In class, we will
    • Learn how to find and import various shapefiles constructing the map of a Caribbean island
    • Manipulate and categorize the attribute tables that underly those shapefiles
    • Import a raster file containing a previously georeferenced historical map
    • We’ll also work with new geographic versions of this Caribbean island tutorial
  • We will also
    • Import two previously georeferenced maps of Louisiana
    • Create several new vector [data] layers based on data that you input from these two rasters, recording vanished towns, roads
    • We’ll also work with new geographic versions of this tutorial on GitHub, branched by experienced students
  • For next week,

<2017-02-13 Mon> Week 5: GIS week 2

  • In class we will
    • Complete a graded tutorial on how to georeference historical maps of Texas
    • Complete a graded tutorial on how to import historical data into QGIS and connect it to spatial data
  • For next week: Back to our books! Read Christian through Chap 8; take plain-text notes and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss this reading

<2017-02-20 Mon> Week 6: Read Christian, xv to 245 [Preface through Chap 8]

  • For next week: take plain text notes on the second half of Christian and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-02-27 Mon> Week 7: Read Christian, 248 to 491 [Chaps 9-15]

  • For next week:
    • take plain-text notes on the first half of Abu-Lughod and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading
    • on Blackboard, submit a plain-text summary of the Christian book, with approximately 500 words of text plus a Zotero-generated bibliography listing three reviews of that book.

<2017-03-06 Mon> Week 8: Read Abu-Lughod part 1; Christian summary due

  • For the week after Spring Break: take plain-text notes on the second half of Abu-Lughod and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-03-13 Mon> SPRING BREAK

<2017-03-20 Mon> Week 9: Abu-Lughod, part 2

  • For next week: take plain-text notes on the first half of Said and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-03-27 Mon> Week 10: Read Said 1-148

  • For next week:
    • take plain-text notes on the second half of Said and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading
    • on Blackboard, submit a plain-text summary of the Said book, with approximately 500 words of text plus a Zotero-generated bibliography listing three reviews of that book.

<2017-04-03 Mon> Week 11: Read Said 149-328; Said summary due

  • For next week: take plain-text notes on Ropp and Marks and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-04-10 Mon> Week 12: Read Ropp, entire; read Marks entire

  • For next week: take plain-text notes on the Wright book and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-04-17 Mon> Week 13: Read Wright, entire

  • For next week: take plain-text notes on the first half of Beckert and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading

<2017-04-24 Mon> Week 14: Read Beckert, ix-241 [Intro – Chap 7]

  • In class: Time to collaborate/troubleshoot maps
  • For next week:
    • take plain-text notes on the last half of Beckert and email them to me before the class meeting where we’ll discuss that reading
    • on Blackboard, submit a plain-text summary of the Beckert book, with approximately 500 words of text plus a Zotero-generated bibliography listing three reviews of that book.

<2017-05-01 Mon> Week 15: Read Beckert, 242-443 [Chaps 8-14]; Beckert summary due

  • Homework: Export your final map to PNG and email that image to me.

<2017-05-08 Mon> Week 16: Final paper and map due via Blackboard

As the instructor for this course, I reserve the right to adjust this schedule in any way that serves the educational needs of the students. John Garrigus