WORLD HISTORY 102: Global Past 1500 CE to Present (HIS 102 771)
Course Syllabus Spring 2003
MW 5:30 - 7:00

Tory Pegram, toryepegram@hotmail.com, Office Hours: Before or After Class or By Appointment
Course Website: www.globalstory.com

COURSE OBJECTIVES

"The history of the universe is an infinite sacred book which we all write and read and try to understand
and in which we all are written."
-Jorge Luis Borges

This course is designed to explore the springs of expansionism, colonialism, revolution, nationalism, imperialism, fascism, racism, capitalism, and industrialization that carried us from 1500 CE through the cold war and into the globalized world we live in today. Much like the ancient world, life in the modern world is a battle between those who conquer and the freedom struggles that naturally oppose them. The strongly held individual, cultural, and societal identities carved out in the beginnings of history become some of the strongest weapons against forces bent on worldwide domination and make the globalized world we are now a part of at the same time more and less 'universal' than ever before. We will witness the rise and fall of empires, deconstruct different ideas of progress, and watch connections emerge between cultures and societies across space and time. By examining the changing themes and motivations of human world society, we will finally begin to unravel the complex realities of our modern lives, to understand our own place in the history of the world, and to decipher the collective story we have yet to tell.

Since the course will be conducted in a lecture and seminar-discussion style, student participation is essential. In addition to weekly readings from the two required texts, students will be responsible for a 1-2 page weekly response journal; three 3-5 page position/critique papers based on a comparison of themes explored in class and supplemental films, books, interactive web-sites, lectures, performances and special events; and a final written project and oral presentation analyzing what factors were most essential in the development of present history and predicting where we may go next (see web for guidelines).

REQUIRED TEXTS

(T&E) Bentley, Jerry H. and Ziegler, Herbert F. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past: Volume II: From 1500 to the Present. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

(WOH) Reilly, Kevin. Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader: Volume Two: Since 1400. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2000.

Additional Readings will also be placed on reserve at the Will Alexander Library and also posted on the course website in the assignments. These will be announced in class but students are also responsible for checking the site regularly for supplemental materials and assignment changes.