111 Winter 2002

Foundations of the Modern Age
Winter Semester 2002
Frank Luttmer
108 Classic Hall
M W F: 10-11
866-7205 (office) 866-4073 (home)
historians@hanover.edu

Course Description and Objectives
Foundations of the Modern Age is a historical introduction to the ideas, institutions, and events that shaped modern Western civilization. The course is designed both to develop essential knowledge of the origins and evolution of the modern world and to encourage a basic understanding of historical perspective and context. It also seeks to promote the skills essential to historical inquiry, including the capacity to define historical questions, analyze primary documents carefully, evaluate alternative interpretations critically, develop original arguments, and write essays clearly and effectively.

Required Readings
1. Thomas Greer and Gavin Lewis, A Brief History of the Western World, 8th edition, vol. 2
2. Robert Strayer, et al, The Making of the Modern World (on reserve in the Duggan Library)
3. Electronic Texts and Images from the Internet

Grades
Final grades will be based on an evaluation of the following.

1. Two mid-term exams (15% each) and a final exam (20%)

Exams will consist of short-answer questions and large essay questions. Each of the three exams will cover roughly one-third of the course; the third exam will also include a comprehensive section. Links to the study questions appear on the syllabus under the date of the review session for the exam
2. A research paper submitted in two drafts (15% for the first draft and 25% for the second)

Your paper may be on any topic in European or American history since 1400. The paper is to be analytical and interpretive, not simply descriptive. It should present a thesis and develop an argument. It is incumbent upon you to define and develop a thesis. The first draft should be approximately four to six pages in length, and the second draft six to eight.
Secondary sources should consist mostly of scholarly articles and books, not simply reference material and textbooks. First drafts may be limited to sources available in the Duggan Library, but you are expected to use Interlibrary Loan to obtain additional sources for the final draft. You should include with your first draft a bibliography based on a comprehensive search for sources.
The grade of each draft will be based on the quality of the thesis and argument, the quality of the evidence and logic, and the quality of the writing. The grade of the first draft will also reflect the quality of your bibliography (based on a comprehensive search), and the second draft will reflect the quality of the sources used. You should consult with me about your paper at least a week before each draft is due.
Consider for a paper topic a single primary text (or a few texts) from the course readings. Although points of emphasis will vary, your paper could include an analysis of the text itself, the author's objectives and assumptions, the audience, and the historical context. You would work with the complete text, not simply the excerpts assigned in class. Your thesis could focus on a section of the text, but your interpretation of that section would be informed by a reading of the entire text. Internet links to complete texts appear at the beginning of each reading assigment. Whenever possible, however, you should consult recent editions of the text, most of which will be in copyright and only available in print. If you choose to focus on a single primary text, you would also need to use secondary sources that have bearing on the text, author, audience, and historical context. Please see the Guide for Historical Writing.
3. Class participation (10%)

The success of this class depends upon the quality of the dialogue in class. It is expected that you will attend every class and that you will be fully prepared to discuss the material assigned for that day. Class participation grades will reflect your attendance record, the frequency of your contributions to class discussions, and the quality of your questions, observations, and conclusions.

Schedule

Jan. 8
Analyzing Primary Texts: Vergerius
Vergerius
Jan. 9
The Renaissance
Greer and Lewis, 320-321, 371-383; Pico
Jan. 11
Renaissance Political Theory
Machiavelli
Jan.14
The Reformation
Greer and Lewis, 405-418; Luther
Jan. 15
Using the Text Book: The Reformation Greer and Lewis, 418-424, 430-435
Jan. 16
No Class
Jan. 18
The Emergence of Capitalism
Greer and Lewis, 329-339; Mun
Jan. 21
Early Modern Imperialism
Greer and Lewis, 354-370; Equiano
Jan. 22
Analyzing Art: Renaissance and Baroque Art
Jan. 23
Absolutism
Greer and Lewis, 451-463; Bossuet
Jan. 25
The English Revolution and Political Theory
Greer and Lewis, 498-503; Locke 1
Jan. 28
The English Revolution and Political Theory
Locke 2
Jan. 29
Historical Research and Writing
Jan. 30
The Scientific Revolution
Greer and Lewis, 463-468; Galileo
Feb. 1
The Scientific Revolution
Greer and Lewis, 468-472; Newton
Feb. 4
The Enlightenment
Greer and Lewis, 448-451, 472-475; Hume; Voltaire
Feb. 5
The Enlightenment
Greer and Lewis, 475-479; Montesquieu; Smith
Feb. 6
Review for the Exam
Feb. 8
FIRST EXAM

Feb. 11
The North American Colonies
Greer and Lewis, 504-505; Strayer, 138-142; Winthrop; Franklin
Feb. 12
Historical Research and Writing
Feb. 13
The American Revolution
Greer and Lewis, 505-509; Strayer, 142-143; Declaration; Federalist Papers
Feb. 15
The French Revolution
Greer and Lewis, 494-498, 510-515; Declaration
Feb. 18
The French Revolution
Greer and Lewis, 515-521; Robespierre
Feb. 19
Historical Research and Writing
Feb. 20
Conservatism, Liberalism, and Nationalism
Greer and Lewis, 521-526, 539-550; Metternich; Mazzini
Feb. 22
Civil War and Nationalism in the United States
Strayer, 144-147; South Carolina; Lincoln
FIRST DRAFTS OF PAPERS DUE
Mar. 4
Industrialization
Greer and Lewis, 551-567; Sadler Report
Mar. 6
Marxism
Greer and Lewis, 567-573; Marx and Engels 1
Mar. 8
Marxism
Marx and Engels 2
Mar. 11
Mature Industrial Society and Ideologies
Greer and Lewis, 573-576; Bernstein; Webb
Mar. 15
Mature Industrial Society and Ideologies
Green; Spencer; Bismarck; Hearing
Mar. 18
The United States in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Strayer, 147-149; Carnegie; Populist; Washington; Du Bois
Mar. 19
Darwin and Science before WWI
Greer and Lewis, 576-587; Darwin
Mar. 20
Review for the Exam

Mar. 22
SECOND EXAM
Mar. 25
The New Imperialism
Greer and Lewis, 601-611; Strayer, 149-150; Lin Cixu; Naoroji; Kipling
Mar. 26
No Class
Mar. 27
World War I
Greer and Lewis, 611-624;WWI Poetry
Mar. 29
The Russian Revolution and Communism
Greer and Lewis, 624-634; Stalin
Apr. 2
Fascism
Greer and Lewis, 634-642; Mussolini
Apr. 3
The West and World War II
Greer and Lewis, 642-645; 652-658; Strayer, 150-152; T.S. Eliot; Roosevelt; Himmler
Apr. 5
The Cold War and Nationalist Revolutions
Greer and Lewis, 646-652, 658-682; Strayer, 152-154; Nehru
Apr. 8
The Cold War and Nationalist Revolutions
Greer and Lewis, 646-652, 658-682; Strayer, 152-154; Nehru
Apr. 9
Post-War Society
Greer and Lewis, 682-86, 731-739; Strayer, 154-156; Martin Luther King Jr.; The Black Panther Party Platform; The Port Huron Statement; NOW
Apr. 10
The Late 20th Century
Greer and Lewis, 691-710; Strayer, 156-158; Reagan; Blair

Apr. 12
Review for the Exam
FINAL DRAFT OF PAPERS DUE

Apr. 16: 9 A.M.-12 Noon
FINAL EXAM

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