His 2650 - Early Modern World History

EIU His 2560.02, Fall 2008, Newton Key
11:00-12:15 T & Th, Coleman 2741
Syllabus as pdf ( brief version)

Early Modern World History

His 2650 begins with classical civilizations unraveling and ends with the threads of modernity; it moves from the global civilization of the previously nomadic Mongols in the 13th century to the export of the French Revolution to the rest of Europe and the New World circa 1800. The course introduces the rich source material of the early modern world, and helps refine your skills of analysis and synthesis. It also provides a broad narrative of events.

Before Modern Civilization, 1200-1450 (relation between nomads and civilization?) week 1. Society and Civilization; Early and Modern 26 Aug. Introduction 13th century Mappa Mundi (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 16th & 17th century maps (1, 2, 3, 4) 28 Aug. Kishlansky, “How to Read a Document” (on a selection from Marco Polo, handout) Marco Polo & Silk Road (1, 2, 3) Early English Books Online (on campus link only) Travels of John Mandeville (c. 1366)	Marco Polo
week 2. Pre-Modern Civilization: India & China as an Archetype 2 Sept. Brummett, ch. 10 (pp. 288-304) Song Dynasty in China (960-1279) Indian Textiles: Trade and Production 4 Sept. Equiano, The Life, chs. 1-2 (to p. 37)	Song dynasty, scholar and monk converse
week 3. Mongols (Yuan Civilization) 9 Sept. Brummett, ch. 10 (pp. 304-309) Mongols in World History 11 Sept. Secret History of the Mongols (eReserve); Marco Polo (handout, "Of the City of Caracoron"; "How the Great Kaan causeth the bark of trees, made into something like paper, to pass for money") Secret History of the Mongols (Mongolian, Chinese, English, additional excerpt) Caracoron Marco Polo's Route Marco Polo Quiz	Khubilai Khan on a hunt
Europe and the Gunpowder Empires, 1450-1700 (relation between arms and politics? between Church and State?) week 4. Islamic Gunpowder Empires 16 Sept. Brummett, ch. 12 Rise of the Great Islamic Empires Safavids Mughals 18 Sept. Reilly, docs. 14-16 (de Busbecq, Chardin, The Jahangirnama) Turkish Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (a review) John Chardin (biography) Nur ud-Din Jahangir (pictures)	Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor, 1631-1648 Taj Mahal scene from The Namesake (2006)
week 5. Europe: Renaissance & Reformation 23 Sept. Brummett, ch. 14 Eurasia Map Review Art in Italy: 13th and 14th Centuries Art of the Italian Renaissance (PowerPoint, recommended) 25 Sept. Reilly, doc. 4 (Columbus); Machiavelli (eReserve) Machiavelli's Italy Machiavelli, On Composing the Prince The Prince Chapter VII Chapter XVII Chapter XXI	Lorenzo il Magnifico, 1449-1469-1492
week 6. Europe: New Monarchies 30 Sept. Brummett, ch. 15 Reformation Map Spain 1490 Europe 1555 2 Oct. Mid-Term Exam 1	Queen Elizabeth, Armada Portrait
Columbian Exchange and Its Impact, 1492-1763 (How did Europe and Africa fit into Amerindian culture? How did the New World fit into European and Islamic culture?) week 7. Old World and the New World 7 Oct. Brummett, ch. 16 (esp. Iberian sections) Cannibals? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 9 Oct. ; Reilly, docs. 6-8 (Díaz, The Broken Spears, DeVries) ; Voltaire, Candide, ch. 1 Portuguese Explorations Voyages of Exploration Conquistadors	Zheng He's treasure ship, 1420s-1433, compared with Columbus's Santa Maria
From Wars of Religion to Wars of Trade, 1555-1763 (Did early modern wars in Europe make sense? Why did Europe expand?) week 8. War, Trade, and Empire, part 1 14 Oct. Brummett, ch. 17 Atlantic slave trade maps 16 Oct. Voltaire, Candide, chs. 2-16; Candide pre-assignment due	Earliest European woodcut of the New World
week 9. War, Trade, and Empire, part 2 21 Oct. Voltaire, Candide, chs. 17-30 Candide's journey Seven Years War Westphalia 23 Oct. Voltaire, Candide (letters and reviews, pp. 121-31); Reilly, docs. 22, 24-25 (Le Van Baumer, Montague, de Fontenelle) Europe 1740 South America 1892 Barbary States Scientific Revolution Scientific Revolution (crib sheet)	Benjamin West, The Death of Wolfe, 1770
week 10. East Asia 28 Oct. Brummett, ch. 13; Reilly, docs. 1-3, 12-13 (Cook, Ma Huan, Maps, Hoyt, Spence) 30 Oct. Candide’s Eighteenth Century paper due	Candide in Surinam
week 11. Slave Trade and the Atlantic World 4 Nov. Brummett, ch. 19 (pp. 562-568); Reilly, docs. 9-10 (Mbemba, Bosman) Atlantic Colonial World 6 Nov. Mid-Term 2
week 12. Slave Trade, the Enlightenment, and the Moral Imperative 11 Nov. Equiano, vol. I; Timothy Brook lecture, 19:00 (pm), Tarble Art Center. 13 Nov. Equiano, vol. II (esp. final ch. XII); Equiano (selected context, esp. pp. 206-249, 277-287) The Middle Passage Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African Equiano's Travels	Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African
Liberty and Terror at the Advent of Modernity, 1763-1799 (What is the relation between revolution and civilization?) week 13. Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment 18 Nov. Brummet ch. 18 (pp. 527-541). Q & A with Equiano's biographer Caribbean Views from Collect Britain Hear the Interesting Narrative 20 Nov. Reilly, docs. 28, 30-31, 37 (Hume, Jefferson, Adams, Smith); Equiano’s Worlds paper due European Enlightenment	Cutting the Sugar Cane, from 'Ten Views in the Island of Antigua', 1823
week 14. Age of Revolution: France, Europe, the World 2 Dec. Brummett, ch. 18 (pp. 541-552); 4 Dec. Reilly, docs. 32-33 (French Declaration, L’Ouverture); de Gouges, Robespierre (handout); Revolution Debate Preparation Equiano, chapter outline (labor and interactions)
week 15. Birth of the Modern 9 Dec. Revolution Debate Jacques-Louis David 11 Dec. Conclusion	David, Tennis Court Oath
Texts: Palmira Brummett, et. al., Civilization Past & Present, vol. B, From 500 to 1815, 11th ed. [TRS 13.110] Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789), ed. Werner Sollors [14.470] Kevin Reilly, ed., Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, II, Since 1400, 2nd ed. [11.342] Voltaire, Candide (1759), ed. and trans. Daniel Gordon [11.245]