Course Description
This course investigates the political,
economic and cultural developments of Western civilization from 1648 to
the present. It tells the story of the development of absolutism and
explains the evolution of modern states as well as the concept of
democracy. It witnesses the social upheavals that accompany
industrialization and globalization and investigates the problems of
decolonization in Africa and the Middle East. In particular, this course
emphasizes the struggles between competing ideologies that have come to
shape politics and social thought in the 20th century: capitalism,
communism and totalitarianism. Yet, it also looks at the growth of
literacy and the beginnings of mass culture. Topics include the ideology
of revolution, German and Italian nationalism, English imperialism in
India, the Holocaust, globalization of markets, the changing roles of
women in European society, the history of scientific thought, as well as
Cold War politics, decolonization and European unity.
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Textbooks
Chambers, Mortimer, Barbara Hanawalt,
Theodore K. Rabb, Isser Woloch and Raymond Grew. The Western Experience.
Vol. 2, 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003.
WWW: Online Learning Center: The Western
Experience available online at
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072424370/
Document Collections On-line
OurDocuments.gov Teacher's Sourcebook
The
Glorious Revolution of 1688
Virtual Library History : Early Modern History
Objectives
After completing this course you should be
able to:
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Identify the forces producing absolutist
states in France, Spain and much of Eastern Europe and explain why these
forces were not operative in states such as Holland and England, which
saw the emergence of constitutional states in the seventeenth century.
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Describe the emergence and spread of
nationalism during the ninetieth century and the ways in which it
intersected with capitalism, socialism, and the rise of mass literacy,
industrialization, and urbanization.
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Analyze the relationship between church
and state, and describe how non- governmental organizations (unions,
reform movements, etc) have influenced European governments over time.
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Explain the interrelationship between
race, class, and gender in the making of the contemporary West.
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Examine the impact of technology on the
workplace, home and society.
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Describe the social, political and
economic effects of warfare on European society and in particular
discuss the causes of the World Wars I and II and the ways in which
these conflagrations produced the rise of totalitarian regimes of the
Left and Right and resulted in the Holocaust.
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Evaluate the social and economic impact
of Western imperialism.
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Discuss the historical relevance of
popular culture, art and philosophy as agents of social change.
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Trace the historical roots of
contemporary issues to understand the relationship between the past and
present.
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Delineate the ways in which the end of
the Cold War has paradoxically produced both greater unity and
fragmentation. Our secondary goal is to promote writing skills and
to introduce you to the concepts of source analysis and documentation of
sources.
Grading
Grades will be determined as follows:
In your short essays, you should:
Assignments
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