History 102B: Western Civilization: 1648-1990
MWF 1100-1150, Wyatt Hall 307
Benjamin Tromly, Department of History
Office: Wyatt 128
Email (preferred method of contact):
Telephone: X 3391
Office hours: Mon 2-4, W 2-3, Fr 10-11or by appointment (please email)
Course Moodle page: access through moodle.pugetsound.edu
Course Description:
This course is a survey of the history of modern Europe. Its topic is “the West,” a term that often carries connotations of progress, reason, and social opportunity. We will seek to complicate such an idealized view of Western Civilization, which oversimplifies the tumultuous conflicts brought about by modern developments and ignores their social, cultural and even demographic costs. In pursuing this agenda, we will focus on three interconnected strands of historical change that are usually taken as being quintessentially “Western”: the rise of the modern state, technological and economic development, and the increasing hold of secularization and reason. All of these broad trends brought in their wake both unprecedented opportunities and problems. In examining modern states we will discuss the expanding controls of distant powers over people. Our discussions of economy and society will emphasize the emergence of new kinds of social divisions along distinctions of class, gender, nationality, and race. And we will explore how the modern rational worldview has met with strong counter-currents, some of which have harnessed the potential of the human mind for evil ends.
With the goal of seeing both the costs and benefits of Western development we examine a range of contrasting historical voices and opinions. Our discussions focus on close reading of primary source materials like memoirs, laws, diplomatic notes, political pamphlets, paintings and fictional literature, as well as scholarly analyses. This course is intended as an introduction to the discipline of history. It seeks to engage students in the interpretive art of historical enquiry and provide exposure to different approaches historians have employed in making sense of the past.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Participation 10%: Discussion will play a large part in all of our class meetings. You are expected to come to class having done the readings for that day and be prepared to share your questions and thoughts about them. Full participation in class discussions—not merely being present—is necessary for a successful grade in the course.
As part of your participation grade, you will complete a passage analysis assignment. Each student will be assigned a class date. On this day, bring a 1 page (single-spaced) paper to class that isolates a passage in the PRIMARY SOURCE readings for that day (we will discuss what constitutes a primary source early in the course). Type one or two sentences from the passage at the top of the page (this is to jog my memory of the reading). In the paper, do the following:
-explain what you think the author is trying to convey in the passage. Then ponder what unintended messages or assumptions might be conveyed.
-explain why you find the passage significant. This might mean different things. The passage might hint at an important aspect of the day’s readings, or raise a question that strikes you as important, or connect to previous discussions in the class, or contradict some part of the readings or class discussions.
-you will be asked to identify your passage and explain its significance in class.
Quizzes 12%: Three short in-class quizzes are scheduled in the syllabus. Their purpose is to encourage you to do all the assigned readings. We will discuss what will to expect on the quizzes in class.
First paper, 14%: The first paper assignment will ask you to analyze one aspect of the Enlightenment using several sources from class readings.
Second paper, 21%: The second paper assignment will ask you to articulate an argument about the impact of industrialization or the French Revolution using class readings. You will be asked to select and use at least one extra source from Perspectives from the Past or a website with documents on the French Revolution (to be discussed)
Finalpaper, 23%: The final paper assignment will ask you to make an analytical argument using a life source (memoir, diary, or set of letters) of an important figure in Western Civilization in the period in question. Expect a document containing a description of the assignment and a list of possible sources in the course of the semester. For now: as you do the readings, take note of interesting figures you might find interesting to learn more about.
Final examination, 20%: The final exam requires synthesis and analysis of material from the entire course, but focuses particularly on material not covered by the midterm.
COURSE INFORMATION AND POLICIES:
•Attendance at all class meetings is expected. Each unexplained absence is viewed with irritation and dismay and influences your grade; after three absences, your final grade in the course will automatically be lowered by half a letter grade (from B+ to B).I will distribute an attendance sheet at each class. You are responsible for putting a check next to your name at the beginning of each class. If medical or family emergencies prevent you from coming to class, please let me know before or soon after the class.
•I strongly encourage you to visit me in office hours. There is no need to schedule an appointment during scheduled office hours. If you are unavailable during these times, please contact me in advance by email to schedule a meeting.
•The best way to reach outside of class is via email. Please check your UPS email account—or a different account you give me—regularly. On occasion, I will send emails to the class to provide you with reading questions and important contextual information. I try to respond to email as quickly as possible, but I cannot promise that I will respond promptly to messages sent on weekends or holidays.
•The quizzes final exams are given only at the scheduled times. If you miss a quiz you will need to submit additional written work to make up for it.
•Claims for academic accommodation for an individual’s learning disabilities must be directed at the beginning of the semester to Disabilities Services at the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching at 253.879.2692.
•All assignments must be submitted at the start of class on the due date or as otherwise instructed. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and proofread, with page numbers and parenthetical citations. No need for a works cited list or a bibliography as you will be using course materials in your papers. Please submit papers in hard copy only. Late papers can be sent by email (you are responsible for making sure that you have attached the file).
•Late work will be penalized at the rate of ½ a letter grade per day late (a ‘B’ paper handed in two days late becomes a ‘B-‘) and will not be accepted more than five calendar days following the due date. Please notify me before the paper is due if health or family emergencies prevent you from submitting work.
•You are strongly encouraged to review UPS’s policies on academic honesty and plagiarism as detailed in the Academic Handbook. Plagiarism will result in a 0 on the assignment in question, with greater penalties possible.
•Students who want to withdraw from the course should read the rules governing withdrawal grades, which can be found at
IMPORTANT DATES:
Sep 19: quiz 1
October 1: paper 2 due at 4 PM in folder outside my office
Oct 29: quiz 2
W October 31: due at 4 PM in folder outside my office
M Nov 19: quiz 3
Dec 13: third paper due at 5 PM in folder outside my office
TBA: Final exam
GRADING CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING ALL WRITTEN WORK IN COURSE:
An “A” paper contains a perceptive, original, and compelling central argument which reflects an original perspective. It is clearly written, well-organized into sub-arguments, and supported by a variety of specific examples drawn from the readings.
A “B” paper is a solid effort which demonstrates a good grasp on the course materials. But a “B” paper might have one or more shortcomings. It might provide a summary of ideas and information drawn directly from readings and discussions without independent thought or synthesis. Or it might give evidence of independent thought yet suffer from unclear and/or unconvincing presentation of an argument, a lack of textual evidence, or be sloppily written.
A “C” paper shows a decent grasp on the course material but lacks a thorough or accurately defended argument. A paper receiving a grade lower than “C” suffers from more serious shortcomings, such as not responding adequately to the assignment, frequent factual errors, the lack of a cohesive thesis, poor organization, unclear writing, or a combination of these problems.
GETTING HELP WITH WRITING: Anyone and everyone can become a better writer. The UPSCenter for Writing and Learning is located in Howarth 109. Its mission is to help all writers, at whatever level of ability, become better writers. I strongly urge you to take advantage of its services. To make an appointment, call 879-3404, email , or drop by Howarth 109. I am happy to discuss writing assignments before or after you have written them. Although I do not usually read full drafts of papers, I am happy to look at a thesis statement or a section of a paper.
CLASS PARTICIPATION GRADING CRITERIA:
Students who receive an “A” for class participation attend regularly, complete their readings assignments consistently, think about the material prior to class, and participate effectively in class discussions, both by listening to others and making perceptive contributions (including the “initiating the discussion” assignment).
A “B” participation grade will be assigned if a student attends class faithfully and completes reading assignments, and participates in discussion to some extent. But a “B” student is more passive; he or she does not consistently try to respond to the contributions of others.
A “C” participation grade is granted if a student attends regularly but does not willingly participate in discussions and takes no initiative for generating or responding to ideas.
A lower participation grade reflects a combination of the following difficulties: frequent absences, lack of preparation for class, and silence during class.
COURSE TEXTS:
The following titles are available for purchase at the Campus Bookstore and through online services. They are also available on two-hour reserve at Collins Memorial Library.
Mark Kishlansky, Patrick Geary, and Patricia O'Brien, Civilization in the West, Volume 2 (since 1555) (7th Edition)
Perspectives from the Past, 4th edition, volume 2, edited by James Brophy, Joshua Cole, Steven Epstein, John Robertson, and Thomas Safley (NewYork: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009)
Course reader.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
Note: readings are to be done in preparation for the class for which they are listed. For instance, you read John Evelynbefore class on Aug 31.
Another note: Readings in the course reader are marked (CR).
August 27: Introduction to class
August 29: Starting points: estates, states, communities
Please look over the syllabus and bring questions or concerns to class.
Civilization in the West, 450-466, 472-477
Sources on pre-modern social groups (“Lords and peasants under the Old Regime,” “Town-dwellers”) (CR)
PREP: How did Europeans understand social inequality in the early modern period? Why were local communities so important in the life of early modern Europeans? How did states in early modern Europe differ from modern states?
Aug 31: Society and the natural world in the seventeenth century
Civilization in the West, 442-450, 500-520
John Evelyn's Diary, 1658(CR)
Perspectives from the Past, 279-284 (Bacon)
PREP: The textbook and the short Evelyn source give a sense of the precariousness of life in early Modern Europe. This sets the context for thinking about the scientific revolution when Europeans became confident in controlling their environment in new ways. How did Bacon explain what he saw as the poor state of scientific knowledge in his age? How is true knowledge to be produced? How did Bacon understand the relationship between science and religion? Why did Bacon think that science would benefit humanity?
September 3: no class (Labor Day)
September 5: The Emergence of Constutionalism in the British Isles
Civilization in the West, 477-487
Perspectives from the Past, 236-252 (Filmer, Locke)
PREP: Today we look at the competing ideologies of absolutism and constitutionalism in England in the seventeenth century. On Filmer: on what grounds does he reject the doctrine that a people should be able to choose the form of government it receives? In what way is such a thought contrary to the laws of nature in his view? In what way does political power resemble a family?
-Much of the excerpt from Locke is a rebuttal of Filmer. How does he challenge Filmer’s doctrine of patriarchy? How does Locke explain “nature” differently than Filmer?
-For both sources, try to imagine why or why not an English person of the time might have accepted or rejected the author’s reasoning.
-a few broader questions about the historical events in the textbook: Why did the Staurt monarchs fail to create an absolutist order in England? How were religious conflicts intertwined with revolution and political change?
Sep 7: Absolutist Rule and the Sun King
Civilization in the West, 487-489 (from “The Zenith of the RoyalState”), 492-497, 520-528
Excerpts from Memoirs of Duc de Saint-Simon (CR)
PREP: Why was court ceremony so important to the rule of Louis XIV? What did Saint-Simon think of the court and the absolutist state order? What problems or weaknesses plagued in French absolutism? How was France at the time of Louis’s death different from the country it had been at the time of his accession?
September 10: Other State-building Trajectories in Europe: Russia, Germany
Civilization in the West, 489-492, 532-542, 544-545 (up to “Frederick the Great” only)
Document on reign of Peter I of Russia in Basil Dmytryshyn, ed., Imperial Russia: A Source Book, 1700-1917 2nd ed., 30-36 (CR)
Sources on German state-building (CR)
PREP: How did absolutism in Russia and Prussia differ from the French model? What kinds of changes in governance does Pososhkov suggest to Peter I? What does the document suggest about the state of the Russian economy and society?
On the short sources on Germany, what were the differences between the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, or the HRE and “Germany”? Why was the HRE in decline? Why might Prussia have become an important European power at this time?
III. The Enlightenment and its Limitations
September 12:The Enlightenment
Civilization in the West, 560-568
Perspectives from the Past, 359-363 (Kant), 326-332 (Montesquieu)
PREP: The Kant reading is a famous statement of enlightenment thought. How and why does he think the freeing of thought will improve society? How does he understand the connections between enlightenment and politics and between enlightenment and religion? Montesquieu’s work is an empirical study of laws in many different states. How does law relate to political liberty? In his discussion of criminal laws, how does he determine which laws are better than others? Are you persuaded that his conclusions are “founded in nature” and reason as he claims?
Sep 14: The Enlightenment, Religion and Women: film screening
A section of The Nun (1966). In eighteenth-century France a girl (Suzanne Simonin) is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Based on a work by Denis Diderot.
no additional readings
Sep 17 Women in the Enlightenment (and quiz preparation)
Perspectives from the Past, 353-359 (“Women’s Role in the Enlightenment”)
Sep 19 In-class quiz
First quiz in class
September 21: The enlightenment and the economy
Civilization in the West, 511-520 (review as needed), 550-558, 568-570
Perspectives from the Past, 421-426 (Smith), 430-432 (Malthus)
PREP: Smith was the most important critic of the regimented mercantilism of his time. Instead of maximizing exports and minimizing imports to gain precious metals, he argued, governments should embrace the “invisible hand” of capitalism and free trade. How did his thinking build on the enlightenment? Our other reading is Malthus, another thinker of the enlightenment who reached very different results from applying reason to the economy. How does his view of nature and humanity differ from those of Smith? Who do you think had the more convincing argument for people at the time? Think about our discussion of societies during the period from last class: what kind of developments in Europe might provide evidence in support of Smith or Malthus?
September 24: Enlightened Absolutism, with a focus on Catherine the Great of Russia
Civilization in the West, 542-550, review 568-569
Correspondence of Catherine II in Russian Women, 1698-1917: Experience and Expression: An Anthology of Sources, 165-173 (CR)
Political Testament of Frederick II (CR)
PREP: What was enlightened about enlightened absolutism? How did it differ from the previous and supposedly non-enlightened absolutism of Louis XIV, Peter I and others? How do the ideas about governance expressed in Frederick II’s testament compare with other ideas of ruling that we have examined? What common ground did Catherine II have with Voltaire?
Sep 26: European societies in the age of Enlightenment
Civilization in the West, 560, 570-586
Jacques-Louis Ménétra, Journal of my Life, translated by Arthur Goldhammer, 19-29 (CR)
PREP: Universalism and reason were core ideas of the Enlightenment, but did Europeans, including “enlightened” Europeans, live up to them? How would you characterize the role of women in Enlightenment salons? The Jacques-Louis Ménétra source is one of very few extant autobiographies of “common” people in eighteenth century Europe. He was a Parisian artisan who was educated in a parish school. We read the beginning of his memoirs in which he talks about his childhood: his abusive father and various pranks and experiences, some probably made up. Was Ménétra a product of the Enlightenment? What were his positions on religion? What were his views of sexuality and women?
IV. The Dual Revolutions and New Ideological Divides, 1789-1848
September 28: The French Revolution, part I
Civilization in the West, 590-603
Perspectives from the Past, 386-393 (Grievance Petitions, The Tennis Court Oath, Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen)
PREP: What do the grievance petitions suggest about the agenda of the Third Estate? Does the document help to explain why the Third Estate eventually voted to form a National Assembly? A few terms are not defined in the readings. Taille: a direct tax on peasants; Vingtièmes: a form of income tax paid by the nobility as well as the Third Estate; Capitation: originally an emergency tax that had become a permanent addition to the taille; Bailliage: area of jurisdiction of baillis (bailiffs), kings’ administrative representativeswho were responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration in that area. Finally: which ideas of the enlightenment do you see reflected in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?