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HY 102-1G: Western Civilization II (1600s-c. 1990)

Fall 2018

Instructor: Pamela Murray, Ph.D.

Office: Rm. 360U (History Department), Heritage Hall Bldg.
Office hours: T/Th , 1:30-3:30 pm or, by appointment (e-mail: pmurray@uab.edu).

Course description & purpose

What is Western civilization and how has it shaped the world we live in today? We’ll explore
these questions through a survey of major social, political and economic developments that have
shaped Western societies over time, particularly in Europe and the Americas. We’ll also briefly
examine these societies’ historic relations with non-Western regions, e.g. peoples of Asia and
Africa. The ultimate goal is to deepen your appreciation of history as a form of knowledge and
aid to understanding contemporary trends, both national and global.

Required Reading (all books available at UAB Bookstore)

Lynn Hunt, T. Martin, et al., The Making of the West, Peoples & Cultures, Vol. 2: Since 1500, 5th
ed. (2016).
Katharine Lualdi, Sources of the Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Vol II: Since 1500,
4th ed. (2012).*
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Edited with an introduction and
notes by Maurice Hindle. Revised edition (London & New York: Penguin Books, 2003).
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*The Lualdi reader comes packaged with the Hunt textbook.

Grading and assignments

Your final grade in the course will reflect your performance in each of the areas below. Further
details to be given in class &/or posted on Canvas. See syllabus below for important due dates.

Class participation (occasional discussions &/or quizzes): 5%.

Exam I (multiple choice/identification): 25-30%.
Exam II “ “ : 25-30%
Exam III (multiple choice/identification/document summaries) : 30%
Short Essay (tba): 10-15%

Groundrules, Expectations:
All students are expected to attend class regularly, take lecture notes and fulfill the reading
assignments. Have a question? Ask it rather than suffer in silence. Failure to do so will
jeopardize your ability to get the most out of this course. In addition, 1) Technology usage: All
digital devices, e.g. cell phones & laptops, must be turned off & stored away when class begins.
2) On attendance: regardless of the reason, more than 4 absences will reduce your participation
grade. 3) On lateness: if you arrive more than 5 minutes late for class, please take a seat quietly
at the rear of the classroom to minimize disruption to others. Assignments submitted late will be
penalized for lateness. 4) On makeup exams: these are given only in cases in which personal
illness or another such emergency prevented you from taking a scheduled exam. You must notify
me promptly and provide documentation before the make-up can be arranged. 5) On academic
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dishonesty: students who violate UAB's Academic Code of Conduct by cheating on an exam
(e.g. using a smart phone during the exam period) or other assignment will receive an automatic
“F.” See the on-line Catalog of Undergraduate Programs for details. 6) Re. disability
accommodations: even if you are already registered with Disability Support Services, you must
see me to discuss the accommodation needed, ideally within the first 2 weeks of the semester.

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Syllabus

Date Topics & Reading Assignments

Part I: State-building, Science & Revolution

8/27 Introduction to course..

Text, read ch 15 (up to p. 492).
Lualdi, skim pp. 1-13

8/29 The Wars of Religion (late-1500s to c.1648): a quick who-what-where-& why

Lualdi, read ch 15: introduction & docs #1 (Henry IV) & #2 (Montaigne).

8/31 The Rise of Science, the Search for Order

Text, ch 15, pp. 492-502.

9/3 Labor Day Holiday

9/5 Science, contd.

Lualdi, ch 15: #4 (Galileo) , #5 (witch trial) & Comparative Questions.

9/7 State-building: Rise of Absolutist Monarchy in France (1600s-1715).

Text, ch 16 (to top of p. 514).

9/10 Absolutism.contd.
Text, ch 16 (pp. 528-30 & 530-37); Lualdi, ch 16: #1 (Colbert’s Instructions).

9/12 Evolution of constitutionalist government in England.

Text, ch 16 (pp. 514-25); Lualdi, ch 16: #2 (Charles I’s trial).
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Date Topics & Reading Assignments

9/14 England, contd. : Constitutionalism vs Absolutism. Class Discussion.

Lualdi, ch 16: # 3 (Hobbes), # 4 (Locke), #5 (Razin).

9/17 The Atlantic System.

Text, ch 17: read to p. 556 & skim pp. 556-66.
Lualdi, ch 17: read intro & #1 (Equiano), # 2 (on coffee).

9/19 The Eighteenth Century Enlightenment

Text, ch 17 (pp. 566-72) & ch 18 (to p. 585); Lualdi, chap 17: #5 (Astell).

9/21 The Enlightenment, contd. Class Discussion.

Text, finish ch 18; Lualdi, ch 18: #2 (Menetra), #3 (Beccaria), #5 (Frederick II).

9/24 The French Revolution, 1789-c. 1792.

Text, ch 19 (to p. 617); Lualdi, chap 19: #1 (Sieyes), #2 (cartoon), #3 (Declaration).

9/26 The French Revolution, 1792-c. 1800.

Text, ch 19: pp. 618-634; Lualdi, ch 19: #4 (De Gouges).

9/28 Rise of Napoleon, 1800-1815. Class Discussion?

Text, ch 20 to middle of p. 652.

10/1 Napoleon & the Revolutionary Legacy.

Text, ch 20, pp. 652-69; Lualdi, ch 20 (tba).

10/3 Origins of the Industrial Revolution. Quick review for exam.

10/5 EXAM I (For the exam, bring a #2 pencil, a black or blue pen, a scantron & 2-3 sheets
of loose-leaf notebook paper).

Part II: Industrialization & Rise of the Nation-State

10/8 The Industrial Revolution, c. 1750-1800s

Text, ch 20 (finish); Lualdi, ch 21: #1 (Factory Rules).
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Date Topics & Reading Assignments

10/10 Industrialization & its Social Consequences

Text, ch 21 to p. 691 (top); Lualdi, ch 21: #2 (Ellis) & #3 (Mines Commission).

10/12 New Ideologies: Liberalism, Socialism, Nationalism.

Text, ch 21, pp. 691-706; Lualdi, ch 21: #4 ( Engels)

10/15 Nationalism & Nation-Building

Text, ch 22 to p. 726 (top); Lualdi, ch 21: #5 (Hungarian Address & Demands).

10/17 Nation-Building: Case of Germany

10/19 Nation-Building, contd.

Text, chap 22, pp. 726-42; Lualdi, ch 22: #3 (Ihering letters)

10/22 Western Expansionism & the “New Imperialism.”

Text, ch 23 to p. 761 (mid-page).

10/24 New Imperialism, contd.

Lualdi, skim ch 22, #4-5 & read ch 23, #1(Ferry) & #2 (Kumalo)

10/26 New Imperialism, contd. Discussion.

Text, ch 23, pp. 761-78.
Lualdi, ch 23: #3 (E.E. Williams) & ch 24: #5 (Kipling poem & editorial)

10/29 Modernity & Expanding Political Participation.

Text, ch 24 to p. 803 (top of page); Lualdi, ch 23: #4 (Bondfield).

10/31 Expanding Political Participation, contd.: the quest for women’s suffrage
Lualdi, ch 24: #1 (eugenics pamphlet), #2 (Freud), & #4 (Pankhurst).

11/2 International Rivalry & Origins of World War One.

Text, ch 24, pp. 803-06, 810-18; Lualdi, ch 24: #6 (Von Treitschke)
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Date Topics & Reading Assignments

Part III: Age of World Wars, ‘Big Government,’ & Socio-Cultural Transformations

11/5 World War I (1914-18).

Text, chap 25 through p. 829.

11/7 World War I, contd.. Review for exam.

Lualdi, ch 25: #1(war poems).

11/9 EXAM II

11/12 Legacies of World War I. Class discusses Shelley’s Frankenstein?

Text, chap 25, pp. 830-40 (to mid-page).
Lualdi, ch 25: #2 (Doriat). Discussion.

11/14 The Russian Revolution (1917-c. 1921). Clip from “1917: Red Flag”?
Lualdi, ch 25: # 3 (Lenin).

11/16 Postwar Europe & totalitarian movements, 1920s.

Text, ch 25, pp. 840-56.
Lualdi, ch 25: #4 (Mussolini) & # 5 (Hitler).

11/19-23 Fall Break & Thanksgiving Holiday

11/26 The Great Depression & Rise of Nazism in Germany, 1930s.

Text, chap 26 to p. 875 (up to “The Road to Global War”).
Short Essay due

11/28 Nazism & Origins of World War II

Text, chap 26, pp. 875- 881 (to mid-page).
Lualdi, ch 26: #1 (Nazi pamphlet), #2 (bombing eyewitness), #3 (Chamberlain speech).

11/30 World War II, 1939-45.

Text, chap 26, pp. 881-96.
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12/3 World War II, contd.. Class discussion of Lualdi readings?

Lualdi, ch 26: #4 (Holocaust memories), #5 (Hiroshima diary).

12/5 Postwar Trends: ‘Cold War,’ European recovery, Decolonization (c.1946-60s)

Text, chap 27; Lualdi, ch 27: #1 (Stalin), #2 (NSC), #3 (Ho Chi Minh).

12/7 Postwar Trends, contd.: Post-industrialism & End of the Cold War Order (1970s-80s).
Text, read chap 28 & skim chap 29.
Lualdi, ch 27: #4 (Beauvoir), ch 28: skim #1-5, read #6; ch 29: skim #1-5, read #6.

12/14 EXAM III (Final Exam, 1:30-4 pm)