- 7/13/04: The on-line journal World History Connected
(homepage)
has some excellent articles for teachers. Next time I teach this course
I'm going to start the course by discussing this June 2004 article about
the fundmental approaches found in world history textbooks: Tom
Laichas, "History and the Textbooks". I think it lays
out very clearly one of my goals for this college-level required introduction
to the discipline of history, namely to help us recognize our underlying
assumptions in the ways we conceive of our world. We are not teaching
The Truth, but how to find principles that can guide our understanding
about how and why things happen, then and now. It would be fun to have
each TA's sections take one of my EIEIO/C causes (see L1
outline) and make arguments for it as the writing assignment.
By the way, I find that William Everdell's article "How
To Use the Theme Of Technology in Teaching the World History Survey
Course" offers some insightful new approaches for examining
some of the tried-and-true events of world history.
- 9/28/04: After seeing the film Outfoxed
(official Outfoxed
site) about how the Fox "News" network systematically
obfuscates opinion and fact, I think historians need to focus more than
ever on teaching students how to assess the reliability and relevance
of their sources. This is a step that would precede the interpretation
of primary source material, which many World History courses
(and the notorious DBQ) emphasize. 11/10/05: here are some
good sites:
- Sept. 29, 2004: I found an interesting and very comprehensive
teaching site developed since 1999 by Alexander Ganse, a German historian
teaching World History at an elite school in South Korea, "World
History at KMLA" (Korean Minjok Leadership Academy) hosted
by the Center for Instructional Media (ZUM) in Germany. It is in English,
and especially the links seem to be excellent and unique (that is, not
the usual top 3 google results).
- Oct. 2, 2004: Well-designed lesson
plan about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, at newzcrew.org, which
is run by Global Kids and NewsHour Extra. Global Kids is a New York
City-based educational organization that supports urban youth to become
global citizens and community leaders. NewsHour Extra is the student
section of the Online NewsHour, the Web site for PBS's daily news broadcast,
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
- Jan 7, 2005: World History Connected (homepage)
has an excellent newsletter with many interesting articles. See, for
instance, this
2004 special issue on Africa, and the index
of issues.
- March 2, 2005: Adam Hochschild, author of superb
books about slavery in the Belgian Congo and about the antislavery movement,
published an editorial in the LA Times, "A
Monument to Denial," about how this year's anniversary exhibition
at the Brussels Royal Museum of Central Africa whitewashes Belguim's
atrocities in the Congo.
- April 19, 2005: When I teach this course again in
Spring 2006, students may work in groups to complete the research projects.
Each TA will nominate up to 5 projects for publication on the course
web site. (I and the other TAs will be the judges.) Authors of published
projects may present their work to the class instead of taking the final
exam.
- Sept. 1, 2005: UC Santa Cruz's UC
Atlas of Global Inequality has good resources, including map
projection discussion.
- Feb. 9, 2006: [note to self] need to start a "World
History Resources page" with a section of important links (like
George Mason U's World History
Matters, and the World History Association's World
History Connected); a section of textbook reviews; a section of
recommended books for the essay assignment, such as:
- March 23, 2006: TA Section Assignments
- Rafaela Acevedo-Field: W 4-5, 5-6; F10-11
- Ricardo Caton : W 1-2, 2-3; F 12-1
- Laurence Christian: W 6-7 plus 2CH TBA
- Mary Donaldson: F 8-9, 9-10, 11-noon
- Heidi Marx-Wolf: T 3-4, W 8-9, 12-1
- June 21, 2006: Here is the overall grade distribution for Spring 2006 (1/10/08: page):
|
total #: 227
|
B+ 26 |
C+ 20 |
D+ 1 |
F 6 |
| A 19 |
B 61 |
C 8 |
D 1 |
withdraw/incomplete: 3 |
| A- 37 |
B- 39 |
C- 8 |
D- 1 |
avg. grade: 85.0 (w/o "F"s) |
In my final evaluation of the course I've also posted the Midterm Survey responses.
I hope you have a nice summer! --Prof. Marcuse
- Nov. 3, 2007: Benita Blessing's comments about an H-German exhibition review speak exactly to my feeling about the usual fact-emphasis of survey courses.
- Jan. 16, 2008: I found several other textbooks quite appealing, but for various reasons--among them price--I decided to stick with Tignor et al. (The other are $25-30 more for the vol. C, and I didn't see their strengths being worth that much more: publishers take note!):
- Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The World: A History, Volume C (from 1700 to the Present) (Prentice-Hall, 2006)($86.60 at amazon)
- The website is awkward to navigate (and the non-resizeable windows a huge pain), but the listing of documents in the back of the textbook is nice.
- Craig Lockard, Societies, Networks, And Transitions: A Global History (Houghton-Mifflin, 2007)($81 for vol. C; amazon page)
- Very similar in the design features to Tignor (guiding section questions, headings), it also has pronunciation and glossary items in the text. Not quite as dense, but conceptually interesting. (I'm going to prepare a comparison table to see how they each handle the chapter divisions.)
- Stearns, Adas, Schwartz. By now almost a classic, but I'm surprised at how Eurocentric it is.
- Bentley/Ziegler. Although several of my colleagues use this (including for 2B this year), I still don't find it fits conceptually with my course, nor that it has enough depth.
- Jan. 16, 2008: Course Books for 2008. We will be using the same books this year as I used in 2006, except that they have all come out in new editions:
- textbook will be Tignor et al, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the World from the Beginnings of Humankind to the Present (Norton, 2nd ed. Feb. 2008, vol. II) (publisher's website)
- note 1: we will be reading chaps 13-21 of the new edition. Vol. II=10-21; Vol. C=14-21. The publisher has agreed to offer vol. II at the price of C since their custom edition won't be available. It should be $57 (instead of $66).
- note 2: the previous editions of the next two readings will be acceptable, if you want to purchase used copies. The differences are not very great.
- Robert Allison (ed.), The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself (Bedford, 2nd ed. 2007)($14-16 at amazon)
- Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (Bedford, 5th edition 2006)($14-16 at amazon)
- Jan. 16, 2008: The course will meet Tue-Thu, 12:30-1:45 in Campbell Hall. (List of sections on draft of Hist 500 syllabus). See the 2006 syllabus for an idea of how I teach this course.
- Feb. 6, 2008: In order to enroll for the honors section, you must now simply enroll in a regular section. On the first day of class all interested students will meet, and we will set a time when the maximum can meet. Those students will receive enrollment codes.
Note 3/26: The honors section will meet Thursdays, 10-noon, in HSSB 4041
- Mar. 26, 2008: Crashing/Wait List. The Spring 2008 course filled up on Feb. 22, and several students have contacted me about how they can get in. Unfortunately, until the first class meeting, there is nothing I can do for you--you just have to keep checking on GOLD and register when you find an open space. On the first day of class I will close enrollment and then TAs can start waiting lists for any spaces that open up. I WILL ask them to give priority to certain students:
- Students who were once enrolled and dropped because of financial aid;
- Students who had asked to be put on a priority waitlist (now closed);
- Students who have already taken 2A and 2B (esp. history majors); then just 2B, then just 2A
- Students who can make a reasonable argument that they are a hardship case, e.g. needed as a requirement for a major or GE. I note that Hist 4B and 4C are also offered this quarter, and 2A, 2B and 2C are offered in summer session.
- Mar. 26, 2008: TA section assignments: chronological listing; schedule grid
- April 1, 2008: you can only get into this course by "crashing" a section. See 3/26 for details.
- April 1, 2008: update on textbook price. The $57 turns out to have been the "net price," which I understood to be what the purchaser pays. That is actually called the "retail price," so I misunderstood what the publisher's rep told me (although I am positive that I asked her: "so that is what the students will have to pay?" and she answered in the affirmative, but I have no documentation of that). Anyway, after I expressed my outrage that the 33% markup at the bookstore amounts to about $10,000 profit on 500 textbooks (minus their overhead, of course), the bookstore has offered to take a smaller cut if the publisher is willing to reduce the price an equivalent amount. In case they agree (and the publisher has already come down on their price), students who already purchased the textbook would be refunded the difference. So: you can purchase and open your textbooks, and if there is good news you can get some money back later. I apologize for the misunderstanding and false expectations.
- April 1, 2008: Added to website: 2008 syllabus (also as pdf)
The section readings for week 2: Kuhn on eRes; Nietzsche (read I to first 7 paragraphs of IV)
- Corrections/additions to syllabus:
1. Jill Brigg's office hours: Wed. 9-11
2. Colleen Ho's third section is: Wed. 1-2 (not 12-1)
3. eRes password is: remain
- April 2, 2008: Good news on the textbook pricing front. The publisher and the UCen both agreed to come down in price. Here's the relevant passage from the UCSB textbook manager's e-mail:
"I have reduced the retail price by $12.00. Please tell your students to bring their receipt (and the [credit?] card they used to originally purchase the book) to our customer service desk to receive a $12.00 refund. The deadline for this transaction will be Friday, April 11."
- April 7, 2008: The Global Village/History Quotations handout is now available. Use the pdf or doc links at the top if you want a clean printout.
- April 7, 2008: The 2c course demographic survey is now ready: please take it--the 10 radio button/check box questions should take you only a minute or two. Thanks! (report log-in)
- April 9, 2008, 11am : I've responded to the things you wrote in the "free response" question on the survey. See the forum on the course Sakai site. (Link also in dark green box of menu bar above) . Log in with your UCSBnet ID, then click on this course in the blue menu bar going across. Then select "Discussion and Private Messages" on the vertical bar." So far 251 people have taken the survey--I'm hoping for 75% (375-400 responses) by tonight.
- April 14, 2008:
- Extra-credit film series: Anil is willing to arrange for showings of selected films at the Multicultural Center theater, roughly every two weeks (5 films). Watching each film can earn 1 point extra credit up to a maximum of 4 points, documented by turning in to your TA a card he'll give out at the film. Those points are added on at the very end of the grade (not part of any sub-category). The first film will be this Monday, noon-2:35: Amistad (clip shown in lecture last Thursday).
Can you get the extra credit if you cannot make the showing time but see the film on your own? I'll discuss this with all of the TAs today and let you know.
- Textbook Price. Someone reported that when special-ordered the course textbook is back to the "old" price. The bookstore assures me that it is still being sold for $64, not $76. If that is not the case, please let me know.
- April 15, 2008: Policy on the extra credit films. In the interest of fairness, the TAs are willing to do the extra administrative work for students who can't attend the showings at the MCC. However, you will have to do a little more work (writing). So here are the policies:
- If you can attend the showing at the MCC, just jot down your name, the film title, and a few notes on the index card Anil distributes, and give it to your TA. That will get you credit.
- If you canNOT attend the showing, you must obtain the film on your own and watch it. In some cases (namely if UCSB, the prof, or a TA has a copy) a copy may be placed on 24 hour reserve at the library. This may be a VHS copy, however (Amistad is).
- You should show your TA a copy of your class or work schedule that shows that you have a conflict. (We really prefer that you attend the showing if possible.)
- You must type and submit to your TA: a 1-page (ca. 250-300 word) answer to the question: How have the concepts presented in the course helped me to understand the film? Or: How does the film reflect the concepts taught in the course?
- You must do this within one week of the official showing time and get the card to your TA in section or lecture. (Do not come with a bunch of cards at the end of the quarter!)
- Finally, if you know any films that you'd like to suggest, please e-mail the prof or ask your TA to pass on the suggestion. Thanks!
- April 16, 2008: Lecture powerpoints posted.
- April 20, 2008: Paper upload instructions sent on e-mail:
- -Go to the Sakai site: https://sakaiapp2.isc.ucsb.edu/porta
-log in, then click on History 2C SPR_08 in the horizontal blue menu bar
-then select Assignments from the vertical menu list
-click on the Equiano Paper assignment that appears in the central frame
-click on the Add Attachments button (you may have to scroll down)
-navigate to the place on your computer or storage device where your paper is.
I think you should be able to take it from there.
Don't forget to check the honor pledge box.
- Please note that the sakai server will stop accepting uploads at 5pm on Tuesday. I may reopen submissions after that (once the TAs have logged who has submitted), but then late points will accrue in accordance with the policy.
- EXTENSIONS? One student has already asked. I've responded on the Forum on the Sakai site. You are welcome to contribute your opinion there.
- April 20, 2008: that e-mail continued regarding "the point" of Lecture 6 last Thursday:
- While I'm writing I want to take the opportunity to address what for some of you seems to be a big issue. After lecture on Thursday I had a discussion with two students, one of whom appreciated the "framing" (as historians call it) I offer, and one of whom felt that in lecture I do too much administrative stuff (he probably includes "framing" in that), and not enough "content." That, I think, was also the message behind the question asked at the end of lecture: "What was the point of today's lecture?" I appreciate this feedback, and I hear you and would like to respond. I know from experience that 1/3 to 1/2 of the class may feel something similar. They expect and want "more history," more stories (I presume).
- The short answer to the specific question is that I wanted to get you familiar and comfortable with the concept "Enlightenment," hoping that you would recognize how deeply embedded in our own thinking and values it is. I also wanted to show you some alternative meanings, like those of eastern philosophy, and the self-critical western notion of Voltaire and others. For me, this would be an ideal "ID" term. The textbook definition (from the glossary) and those sections of text (617-624) answering the question "What were the major tenets of the E.?" give you solid background and examples. For an ID, that material would get you a "C" grade--you need to come up with *significance* to move it up from there. Thursday's lecture was designed to introduce you to what that significance might be--from the notion that there is a "core knowledge" we (in the US, the world?) all should know, to the reason 40-60% of you are taking this course: "General Education." I also hoped you would recognize how artificially constructed GE is, and that you can actually take part in shaping what the "core knowledge" taught at UCSB (and in US colleges in general) might be. Wow--GE, and this course's content, is not immutably set in stone. For me, the students lobbying for the environmental special requirement was not at all something "administrative," but a dead on "teachable moment."
- My more general answer to students who want more "content" (narrative history) in lecture has to do with, I think, a basic difference of opinion about what the purpose of a class like this is. My feeling is that the textbook, written by world-renowned experts in many fields, offers more than enough quality content of the sort these students expect. The problem is figuring out what is relevant, important--and that depends very much on one's point of view. Some things might be "important" because we've selected them for the midterm or final, but that has to do with a very subjective choice by the prof and TAs. I would like to teach you how to figure out what is important *to you*, with your own goals in mind. That is the way I've designed this course, including the materials for discussion section. Please review the Introduction on the syllabus for an explicit statement. If you've decided that lecture doesn't give you anything you consider important, then there's little I can do to help. You need to tell me *what* you consider to be important.
- I'll end quickly. I think there is a difference between *knowing* and *understanding*: the first has to do with facts, the second with the meanings we give those facts. The first is pretty straightforward, but can be overwhelming--the body of facts that various people select to be part of "world history" (never mind Western civ) is HUGE. The second takes real work. It can't be spoon-fed, presented on powerpoint slides, enjoyed, and written down in a notebook, to be reproduced on an exam and eventually to drift from memory. It is a skill that, I think, over the longer term will serve you very well.
- April 29, 2008, 3pm: Master ID list of 25 ID terms is now available [augmented at 10:30].
8pm: I will post the essay questions later tonight. I will send an e-mail to the class when they are available.
10:30pm: Master ID List augmented with 4 essay questions now available.
Prof. available in Sakai site chatroom Wednesday 8-9pm to clear up questions.
(The chat is archived and will be available to all afterwards.)
- April 30, 2008: the midterm is indeed worth 15% of the final grade, not 20%.
- April 30, 2008: More lecture powerpoints:
- May 5, 2008: The James Q. Wilson lecture tonight at 8pm in Campbell Hall is highly recommended for the second paper. His thesis of explaining "American exceptionalism" historically is a dead ringer for an application of the paradigm model of change. It may be worthwhile purchasing his book for a more in-depth examination of his research and argument.
Note: In the e-mail reminder I suggested purchasing the book. I see that it is a 700 page collection of essays by "leading scholars." Not having seen the book yet myself, I think that focusing on a few of the essays, or comparing some of them might be appropriate. See this Apr. 4, 2008 article about the book on the American Enterprise Institute magazine's website, with some comments about that article at newsvine.com.
- SB County is currently short of clerks for the June 3 statewide primary. Students can be volunteer clerks, which is a great way to learn about the electoral process. The pay: $60 for a half day, $120 for a full day, plus an additional $10 for attending a training session. Interested students can contact Jill Johnson at the Santa Barbara County Elections office: jjohnson@co.santa-barbara.ca.us; phone: 805.560.1027.
|
Excellent
site with an 