UGC112 World Civilizations II Spring, 2017

Prof. Timothy W. Boyd

Office: Fillmore 343

E-Mail: twboyd@buffalo.edu

Office Hours: Last semester, I experimented with on-line office hours and they
seemed to work, so Im going to continue this practice this semester. My calling
hours will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7 to 9pm, when I will be
available on-line for that time period. If you would like to talk to me in person, I am
on campus most of the week and would be glad to meet with you at a good time
and location for us both.

Lecture Times and Locations:

112LR-C2: T/Th 8-8:50am Norton 112

112LR-C1: T/Th 2:00-2:50 Knox 110

Goals of the Course

The intent of World Civilizations is expressed in its name. It is the study not of just
one civilizationits origins, people, daily life, religion, arts, influences, political and
military struggles, and eventual fatebut of many different civilizations across the
world over many centuries. Our goals are to help students to:

1. Understand and explain such basic concepts of civilization as the effects of

agriculture, market economies, warfare, religion, changing technology, and trade
with other civilizations upon the formation and maintenance of cultures

2. Understand and be able to define such specific vocabulary terms as dynasty,

intendant, and caste

3. Recognize and identify prominent figures from each period in each civilization

4. Understand colonialism and its effects both upon the colonizers and the colonized

5. Place civilizations and their various periods in a broad chronological framework

6. Identify important historical sites and geological features (rivers, boundaries,

cities, etc) of the various civilizations on maps

Course Outcomes

Successful completion of UGC112 should mean that a student will have (among
other things):

1. A basic understanding of what makes and defines a civilization

2. A basic knowledge of the developments in technology through the centuries and

how those developments influence civilizations
3. A basic understanding of colonialismits origins and its effects

4. An increased vocabulary of terms specific to different places and times in world

history

5. A basic chronological sense of past civilizationsleading to the ability to put

them into the larger context of world history

6. The ability to recognize influential figures in past civilizations and to understand

their importance

7. The ability to identify objects, art works, and important past human structures
such as temples, theatres, and cathedrals

8. The ability to identify important human sites like cities, as well as geographical
features and to be able to explain the causes of that importance

Course Assessment

1. In order to have some idea of what knowledge of World Civ you come to us with,
we will administer a brief (about 25-question) diagnostic exam at the beginning of
the semester.

2. At the end of the semester, to see just how much you carry away with you from
the course, we will administer a brief exit diagnostic.

3. During the semester, there will be four objective hour exams, two essays, and
weekly quizzes in recitation. The objective hour exams, which combine true/false,
fill-in-the-blank, matching, multiple choice with map points and image IDs, are
designed both to show you just how much youve already learned, as well as to
encourage you to fill in any gaps you may see. The two essays are designed, in a
combination factual/fictional setting, to help you to put yourself in the position of an
actual person within a time period and thus to better understand what it might have
been like. Weekly quizzes are used as mini-reviews of the previous weeks lectures
and readings, to help you to keep up-to-date.

Course Requirements

1. You are expected to attend all lectures and recitations.

NOTE: excused absences will be allowed only for documented illness and
emergencies. If you know beforehand that you will have to miss any element in the
course, please contact your TA immediately.

2. Attendance will be taken in recitation (10% of your grade). There will also, as
mentioned, be weekly quizzes in recitation (another 10%). Thus, if you miss
recitation without an excuse, you endanger 20% of your grade.

3. We expect active participation in recitation. This means coming prepared to talk,

to listen, and to ask questions.

Grade Breakdown
Recitation attendance and participation 10%

Recitation quizzes 10%

Hour exams 1 & 3 15%

Hour exams 2 & 4 (with essay component) 25%

The scale for grades is that used by the University in general.

NOTES:

1. The TAs are responsible for your daily work and grades. Any questions about
recitation or grades should be directed to them. If further action is needed, the TA
will then contact me.

2. All work is due on the date stated.

3. If you need more time or special equipment for exams, please notify your TA at
the very beginning of the semester so that we can help you.

4. We encourage spirituality in all forms. If you need to miss anything because of a

religious observance, please let your TA know in advance.

5. Any work missed must be made up in a timely manner and at the TAs discretion.
For the grade of Incomplete, please see the University guidelines.

6. It is expected that all work in this course be that of the individual student. UB
has a tough policy on intellectual honesty and we back it 100%.

Text

McKay, J.P, B.D. Hill, J. Buckler and others, A History of World Societies Vol.II (10th
edition), Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2015.

THREE MORE NOTES:

1. Reading the assigned material from the textbook before lecture can help in
understanding the new information provided in the lecture

2. Lectures are a major feature of the course and will contain as much as 50% of the
course material. Because of time constraints, lectures can only provide the major
points. To gain a fuller picture, it is necessary to supplement the lectures with the
relevant portions of the text book.

3. We know how tempting electronic technology can be! When youre in lecture or
recitation, please refrain from using electronic devices for anything other than
classwork. Use your laptop for notes and stow away your phone till after class.

LECTURE SCHEDULE

Week 1 (30 Jan-3 Feb)

Tues (31 Jan): Introduction and the End of the World, Part I

SPOILER: a trailer for the semester, plus a short scene of violence to set the mood
and to ask a question

Thurs (2 Feb): The Renaissance (an all-too-brief overview)

SPOILER: how 15th-century western Europeans combine their present ideas with the
classical past and create something new

Week 2 (6 Feb-10 Feb)

Tues (7 Feb): Who Discovered What? And Whom?

SPOILER: Portugal strikes it rich through travel and Spain invests in a trip with
earth-shaking results

Reading: McKay 461-486

Thurs (9 Feb): The State? Thats Me!

SPOILER: France becomes a nation and Louis XIV blows its budget

Note: during recitation this week, there will be a short diagnostic exam. The
purpose of this is to see just how much you already know in general about World Civ
1400-1900.

Reading: McKay 529-535

Week 3 (13 Feb-17 Feb)

Tues (14 Feb): Rule by Committee or King?

SPOILER: England becomes a country, Henry becomes a pope, Charles I loses his
head

Reading: McKay 522; 535-539

Thurs (16 Feb): Science in Revolt: Changes in Ideas about the World and the
Stars, 1500-1700

SPOILER: Of course the sun goes around the earthor elseand science becomes
methodical

Reading: McKay 557-565

Week 4 (20 Feb-24 Feb)

Tues (21 Feb): Being Enlightened: Changes in Ideas about the World and the Self in
the 18th Century
SPOILER: Induction illuminates Reason and Rousseau changes a lot

Reading: McKay 565-584

Thurs (23 Feb): Later African Kingdoms East and West

SPOILER: Complexity and power south of the Sahara

Reading: McKay 589-599

Week 5 (27 Feb-3 March)

Tues (28 Feb): The Trade in Humans: Slavery in Africa and Beyond

SPOILER: Riches for a few Europeans, misery for millions of Africans

Reading: McKay 599-613

Thurs (2 March): First Hour Exam on lectures and readings from Weeks 1 to 4,
inclusive

Week 6 (6 Mar-10 March)

Tues (7 Mar): Turkey and Persia

SPOILER: Invaders from the East build empires in the center

Reading: McKay 490-512

Thurs (9 Mar): From Trade to Control: Merchants and Others in India

SPOILER: England gains Indiaaccidentally?

Reading: McKay 512-516; 786-789

Week 7 (13 Mar-17 Mar)

Tues (14 Mar): From Ming to Qing: Later Dynasties in China

SPOILER: As always, invaders from the north change Chinaor do they?

Reading: McKay 619-630

Thurs (16 Mar): France Turned Upside Down: Revolution 1789-1799

SPOILER: Bankrupt France is revolting

Reading: McKay 650-666

Week 8 (20 Mar-24 Mar) SPRING RECESS

Week 9 (27 Mar-31 Mar)

Tues (28 Mar): Napoleon I

SPOILER: A nobody from a little island tries to rule Europeand almost does

Reading: McKay 667-671

Thurs (30 Mar): Second Hour Exam on lectures and readings from weeks 5 through
7 inclusive. This exam will include the First Essayto be done during recitation this
week.

Week 10 (3 April-7 April)

Tues (4 Apr): Making the Machines: England and Europe in the Early Industrial Era

SPOILER: Two revolutions: no waiting

Reading: McKay 686-701

Thurs (6 Apr): Owner and Owned: the Dark World of Early Industrial Capitalism

SPOILER: Why all the farmers moved to the big city and what they found there

Reading: McKay 701-712

Week 11 (10 Apr-14 Apr)

Tues (11 Apr): Romanticism

SPOILER: When feelings were added to thoughtand what happened next

Reading: McKay 742-743

Thurs (13 Apr): Revolutions and Nation-building in Western Europe

SPOILER: New struggles make new states

Reading: McKay 716-732

Week 12 (17 Apr-21 Apr)

Tues (18 Apr): Society, Science, and Culture in Late 19 th-Century Europe

SPOILER: The Industrial Revolution continues

Reading: McKay 734-742

Thurs (20 Apr): Third Hour Exam on lectures and readings from week 9 through
week 11 inclusive

Week 13 (24 Apr-28 Apr)

Tues (25 Apr): 19th-Century Western Imperialist Expansion I

SPOILER: Post-Napoleon, Europe seeks to control world markets

Reading: McKay 795-806

Thurs (27 Apr): 19th-Century Western Imperialist Expansion II (The Scramble for
Africa)

SPOILER: As the world shrinks, more countries want more markets

Reading: McKay 754-782

Week 14 (1 May-5 May)

Tues (2 May): Latin America Gains Its Freedom

SPOILER: How Spain and Portugal lose what they once gained

Reading: McKay 675-682

Thurs (4 May) : The Republic

SPOILER: The United Stateshow it almost wasnt and how it came to be

Note: during this week in recitation, there will be a diagnostic exit exam.

Reading: McKay 652-657; 821-828; 840-841

Week 15 (8 May-12 May)

Tues (9 May): The End of the World Part II

SPOILER: More unimaginable violence and a question answered?

Thurs (11 May): Fourth Hour Exam on lectures and readings from weeks 12 through
14 inclusive. The second essay will be written in recitation this week.

CLASSES END FRIDAY, 12 MAY. HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

OHBUT TWO FINAL, FINAL NOTES!

1. These lecture halls were designed to make lectures more easily heard, but the
contrary is also true: the lecturer can more easily hear conversation taking place
anywhere in the audienceand so can the rest of the audience. This is very
distracting for the speaker and those taking notes, as well. If you have a thought to
share with your neighbor, please use the traditional methodwrite her/him a note.
(After all, weve already said that you should use electronics only for taking notes
so how could we encourage you to tweet?)
2. UGC112 is a Controlled Enrollment Course. Enrollment in a controlled course
(CEC) is restricted by the available student positions, and self-registration for a CEC
in any fall or spring semester is available only to students taking that course for the
first time. Repeat enrollment may be difficult or impossible in a fall or spring
semester. A student seeking to repeat a CEC should plan to register for and do this
in a UB summer session. Repeat enrollment is enrollment by a student who
previously enrolled in the course at UB or transferred an equivalent course to UB
and for which course the student has a grade of A, B, C, D, F, or qualified value
thereof (e.g., A-, D+), or a grade of P, S, U, I, J, N, or R. A student may self-register
to repeat a CEC in a fall or spring term only if the students grade of record for the
previous enrollment is W: i.e., administrative withdrawal. Students may petition for
enrollment in such a designated spring course by the third week of the preceding
fall semester, and, in a fall course, by the third week of the preceding spring
semester.