World History II Honors: The Making of the Modern World
Mr. J. Nicholson
Syllabus
Contact: Office: ACAD 206; Phone: 920-885-3373, x290; Email: jnicholson@wayland.org
Course Description
World history is a philosophical and historical study of the characteristics of human thriving as it has been given to us through the historical record. It is philosophical in that it considers what is basic to human thriving (culture, language, morality, etc.) and examines the needs that comprise our basic human nature. It is also historical in that it examines not how human beings ought to have been, but how they in fact were, as best we can tell. There are implicit tensions between the philosophical approach and the historical approach to world history. It is part of the purpose of this course to expose those tensions and deal with them. The course primarily studies ancient Western and non-Western civilizations from pre-history to circa. 800 CE. Since it is impossible to cover each civilization comprehensively, the focus of the course is on the main themes highlighted below. The course contains several interwoven categories of interest. These categories are not arbitrary, but come from empirical observation of human history and its development. They are 1) the political and social nature of mankind and its history, which includes the concepts of Power, Justice and Right; 2) the economic structure of human thriving, which includes the concepts of Property and Currency; 3) The religious and philosophical questions of mankind, which includes the concepts of Truth, God(s) and Morality; and 4) The art and architecture of great civilizations, i.e., man’s aesthetic impulse, which includes the concept of Beauty. All of these categories of interest depend upon each other and work together in our subject, which is itself a fascinating feature of world history.
Special emphasis this semester will be given to looking at Greece, Rome and Byzantium, along with an overview of historical developments in Islamic and Chinese History up to 800 CE.
Required Texts
The Heritage of World Civilizations, Volume one, eds. Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment, Turner, Prentice Hall, 2006.
On Reserve
On occasion there may be books, articles or reviews put on reserve in the library. They are to be used solely in the library. It is recommended, however, that each student makes his or her own copy of the texts for personal use, but this is not required. It is highly recommended that students utilize the JSTOR services for access to scholarly literature. The Internet (“googling”) is not a scholarly tool, and this includes Wikipedia. Therefore, unless approved by the instructor, no Internet sources other than online articles from reputable journals, such as those found in JSTOR will be accepted.
Course Requirements
Semester Grade :
Essay Quizzes: 30%
Tests: 50%
Term Paper: 15%
Prep Work and Quizzes: 5%
_____________________________
Final Grade:
Semester 80%
Comprehensive Final Exam 20%
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