History 111
Foundations of the Modern Age
Fall Semester 1996
Frank Luttmer
108 Classic Hall
M W F: 10-11, 12-1
866-7205historians@hanover.edu
[Course Description and Objectives] [Required Readings] [Grades] [Schedule] [Exam Study Questions]
Course Description and Objectives
Foundations of the Modern Age is an historical introduction to the ideas, institutions, and events that shaped modern Western civilization. The course is designed both to build essential knowledge about the modern world and to encourage a basic understanding of historical context and perspective. It 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. The course focuses on Western Europe and the United States, but it brings a world perspective to the study of the West and gives consideration to the relationship between the West and the rest of the world.
1. Robert Strayer, et.al., The Making of the Modern World
2. Richard Sullivan, et.al., A Short History of Western Civilization, Renaissance to the Present
3. Excerpts from Primary Texts (Links to the excerpts can be found in the schedule below).
Final grades will be based on an evaluation of the following.
- 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.
- a paper submitted in two drafts (15% for the first draft and 20% for the second)
- The first draft should consist of an explication of one of the primary texts assigned in class. Since the nature and purpose of the texts vary, there can be no single formula or checklist of themes to cover. A text that advances a philosophical or political argument, for example, would require a careful analysis of the author's purpose, the structure of the argument, and the use of evidence and logic. A work of literature, on the other hand, would more readily lend itself to an analysis of literary structure and themes. The first drafts are to be analytical and interpretive; they should present a thesis and develop an argument. You should consult the complete text, not simply the excerpts assigned in class. (Internet links to complete texts appear at the beginning of each reading assigment. Whenever possible, however, you should consult more recent editions of the text.) In some cases, it may be advisable to focus on a particular part of the text; in such cases, however, the questions you pose and the arguments you formulate should be informed by a reading of the entire text.
- The second draft should build upon the explication of the text developed in the first draft by adopting a larger perspective, by evaluating the text within a wider context. The nature of this larger perspective will necessarily vary. It may mean developing the wider political or intellectual context, locating the text more concretely in its historical setting. Or it may mean exploring the various scholarly interpretations of the text. In any case, developing a larger perspective will require moving beyond the initial text and using additional sources--secondary sources and perhaps additional primary 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 second draft will also reflect the quality of the sources used and the improvement (or lack of improvement) shown between the first and second draft. You should consult with me about your paper at least a week before each draft is due.
- class participation and daily writing assignments (15%)
- 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.
- Each of you will submit a short writing assigment by 8 am on class days. You are to write one or two paragraphs (but not more than one page) summarizing the most significant or revealing points in the day's readings. You are also to articulate at least two questions of the material. The assignments are to be type-written and may be submitted through email or placed in my mailbox.
Schedule
Sept. 4:
The West, the World, and the Modern Age
Strayer, 1-37
THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION
Sept. 5:
Italy and Renaissance Humanism
Sullivan, 340-345; Petrarch
Sept. 6:
Renaissance Society and Culture
Sullivan, 345-359; Montaigne
Sept. 9:
The Renaissance State and Political Theory
Sullivan, 360-369; Machiavelli
Sept. 11:
The Protestant Reformation
Sullivan, 381-388; Luther; Calvin
Sept. 12:
The Catholic Reformation and the Religious Wars
Sullivan 388-404; The Council of Trent; St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and The Destruction of Magdeburg
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Sept. 13:
The Copernican Revolution and the Search for a Method
Strayer, 38-43; Sullivan , 456-465; Descartes
Sept. 16:
Search for a Method and the Newtonian Synthesis
Bacon
CAPITALISM AND THE EARLY MODERN STATE
Sept. 18:
The Origins of Capitalism and European Empires
Strayer, 52-61; Sullivan, 370-380; Mun
Sept. 19:
Absolutism: Theory and Practice
Sullivan, 420-432; Bossuet; The Court of Louis XIV
Sept. 20:
Law, Liberty, and Social Order
Sullivan, 433-444; Hobbes
Sept. 23:
Law, Liberty, and Social Order
Strayer, 61-63; Locke
EUROPEAN EMPIRES, c.1450-1750
Sept. 25:
Europe and the World
Strayer, 110-121; Sullivan 445-456; Montaigne
Sept. 26:
North American Colonies
Strayer, 138-142; Winthrop
Sept. 27:
Europe, Africa and the Americas
Strayer, 159-169; 432-435; Equiano
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Sept. 30:
The Enlightenment
Strayer, 43-47; Sullivan, 466-477; Hume
Oct. 2:
The Enlightenment
Voltaire; Smith
Oct. 3:
FIRST EXAM
(study questions)
THE FIRST LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS
Oct. 4:
The North American Revolution
Strayer, 142-144; Sullivan, 479-488; Adams; Declaration of Independence
Oct. 7:
The North American Revolution
Sullivan, 488-491; Federalist Papers; Washington
Oct. 9:
The French Revolution
Strayer, 63-68; Sullivan 492-503; Cahier of 1789; Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen;
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Oct. 10:
The French Revolution and Revolution in the Americas
Sullivan, 503-514; Strayer, 63-68, 168-171; National Convention; St. Just ; Napoleon
POLITICAL CONFLICT AND NATION-BUILDING
Oct. 11:
Conservatism and Liberalism
Sullivan, 539-553; Burke; The Carlsbad Decrees
Oct. 16:
Romanticism and Nationalism
Sullivan, 530-538; Wordsworth; Blake; Mazzini
Oct. 17:
Reform, Revolution, and National Unification
Sullivan, 553-573; French Revolution of 1848; Bismark
Oct. 18:
The US in the Early 19th Century
Strayer, 144-146; Sullivan, 617-620; Emerson
Oct. 21:
The American Civil War
Strayer, 146-147; Sullivan, 620-622; Nat Turner; South Carolina;
Lincoln, Gettysburg Address;Lincoln, Second Inaugural
Oct. 22:
FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER DUE
SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE
Oct. 23:
The Industrial Revolution
Strayer, 69-80; Sullivan, 515-525; The Sadler Committee Report
Oct. 24:
Marx and Marxism
Sullivan, 525-529; Marx
Oct. 25:
Mature Industrial Society and Late 19th Century Politics
Strayer, 80-86; Sullivan, 574-585, 605-616; Gotha Program; Erfurt Program
Oct. 28:
Mature Industrial Society and Late 19th Century Politics
Bernstein; Green; Hearing of the Woman Suffrage Association
Oct. 30:
The US in the Late 19th Century
Strayer, 147-149; Sullivan, 622-625; Washington; Du Bois
WESTERN IMPERIALISM IN THE 19th CENTURY
Oct 31:
The New Imperialism
Strayer, 149-150; Sullivan, 626-637; Kipling; "To Caesar"; "Farewell"
Nov. 1:
The Rise of Japan
Strayer, 392-404
Nov. 4:
SECOND EXAM
(study questions)
WESTERN CULTURE IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY
Nov. 10:
Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Its Implications
Strayer, 47-51; Sullivan, 586-594; Darwin; White
Nov. 11:
Fin-de-Siecle Culture
Sullivan, 595-604; Nietzsche
TOTAL WAR AND TOTALITARIANISM
Nov. 13:
World War I
Strayer, 87-94; Sullivan, 642-653; Poetry
Nov. 14:
The Russian Revolution
Strayer, 179-190; Lenin
Nov. 15:
The Russian Revolution
Strayer, 188-195; Stalin
Nov. 18:
Fascism
Strayer, 94-98; Sullivan, 666-675
Nov. 20:
Fascism
Hitler
Nov. 21:
The West and Japan Between the Wars
Strayer, 150-152, 404-409; Sullivan, 675-684; Roosevelt; Ortega
Nov. 22:
World War II
Sullivan, 684-701; Churchill; Wannsee Protocal
THE WEST AND THE WORLD SINCE WWII
Nov. 25:
Consensus and Cold War
Strayer, 99-106; Sullivan 702-712, 717-718; Churchill
Dec 2:
Politics and Culture in the West
Strayer, 152-158; Sullivan 712-714, 719-724; Martin Luther King Jr.;
The Black Panther Party Platform; The Port Huron Statement
Dec. 4:
Politics and Culture in the West
Sullivan, 724-734, 759-764; NOW; Thatcher
Dec. 5:
Eastern Europe and the Second Russian Revolution
Strayer, 195-203; Sullivan, 714-717, 753-759
Dec. 6:
The World Outside the West
Strayer, 124-135; Sullivan 735-746
FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER DUE
Dec. 9: FINAL EXAM
(study questions)
Exam Study Questions
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
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