History 18/140-007
Spring 2007
The World Since 1945
| Course Overview | Readings | Requirements and Grading | Rules of the Road | Schedule of Classes |
Instructor:
Brandon Hunziker
Email: branhunz@email.unc.edu
Webpage:
http://www.unc.edu/courses/2007spring/hist/140/007/
Lecture:
Gardener 08, MW 10-10:50 a.m.
Office
Hours: Hamilton 511, Tuesday,
1-2, and Wed 12-1, or by appointment.
Teaching
Assistants: Michael Grutchfield (grutchfi@email.unc.edu)
ÊÊJuan
Ugarriza (ugarizza@email.unc.edu)
Course
Overview and Objectives
This
course surveys some of the major events, issues, and trends - political,
economic, and cultural - that have shaped the history of both individual states
and the international system from 1945 to the present day. Because it would be impossible to cover
everything important that happened in the world during this sixty-year period
in one semester, we will concentrate on the following topics: the Cold War; decolonization in Africa,
the Middle East, and Asia; the collapse of Soviet-style communism and the
emergence of a new, less coherent international system after 1991; the origins
of current global conflicts, especially those involving ethnicity, religion,
and the Islamic world; and the consequences of economic modernization and
globalization. As you will see,
all of these topics overlap and influence each other in numerous ways. Moreover, they all continue to shape
the world we live in today. In
short, theyÕre all things that the informed global citizen ought to know
something about.
The
most important objective of this course, however, is not just to have you
master a body of information.
Instead, it is to teach you the value of thinking historically about the world you live in.
For example, without knowing some basic history and having the skills to
analyze it, you canÕt understand how the United States emerged as the dominant
world power after World War II and especially after the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1991. Likewise, you would
be unable to grasp the reasons for the Arab-Israeli conflict or the origins of
the United StatesÕ current involvement in Iraq. And if you donÕt know the historical and cultural context
that produced Osama bin Laden, you really can't know who he is, what he wants,
and why he wants to kill you. In
addition, you would have enormous difficulty explaining to someone how the
global economy has evolved over the past several decades, or why China and
India have recently emerged as economic powerhouses. These are just some
examples, but the point is that if you donÕt possess some basic knowledge about
recent world history and the ability to think about it critically, you really
canÕt understand much at all about this world, how it works, and some of the
most important issues that confront it.
Consequently, your opinions about these issues would almost certainly be
uninformed. As citizens of an
increasingly interconnected global community, youÕd probably agree that this is
not a position you want to find yourself in. While this course canÕt give you all of the answers you
need, it will hopefully spark your intellectual curiosity, make you ask
questions, and encourage you to continue thinking historically in the future
about all of the global issues that will undoubtedly shape your lives.
In
addition to this larger objective, this course aims to improve your ability to
analyze primary and secondary sources critically, write clearly and coherently,
and articulate your thoughts confidently in front of others. These are skills that will benefit you
no matter what your chosen field of study or career may be.
Required Books: The following books are required reading for this course. They
are available for purchase at the UNC Campus Bookstore. You may, however,
find better deals from online booksellers. I recommend Buy.com,
Ecampus.com, and Amazon.com. Make sure that you get the right edition by
using the ISBN numbers provided below. To find the lowest prices, click
on the ISBN numbers on the web-based version of this syllabus.
Course Reader: In addition to the required books, you
will read several primary sources and articles from a course reader available
in PDF format. To download the
course reader, click here. (5.3 MB) Your first assignment of the semester is to print this
course reader out, put it in a binder, and bring it with you to your first
recitation. Your TAs will check to
make sure that you have done this.
If you do not complete this assignment, ten points will be deducted from
your class participation grade. Another five points will be deducted from your class
participation grade for each time that you fail to bring hardcopies of your
readings (books and course reader documents) to recitation.
Recommended
Textbook: There is no required textbook for this course. However, for those of
you whoÕd like more background information or want to reinforce material from
lectures, I recommend reading the corresponding pages from Michael HuntÕs The
World Transformed: 1945 to the Present
(0312245831), which is also available for purchase at the
bookstore. It is more important, however, that you read the required
books and other supplementary readings for this course.
How
Much Reading? There is a
substantial, but still manageable amount of reading in this course. Some
weeks will be lighter than others.
The longest readings (books) will fall on weeks 3, 4, 6, 8, and 15, so
plan ahead. You will almost certainly not be able to complete these readings
the night before your recitation section meets. It is absolutely essential, however, that you complete all
of the readings on time so that you can participate actively in
recitation.
Lectures: All of the factual you need for exams will be
presented in lectures, so I highly recommend that you attend them all. Lecture
outlines will be posted on the online version of this syllabus (see webpage
address above) the night before class.
I highly recommend that you download and print out these outlines before class so that you can
spend more time listening and thinking than copying. You cannot pass this class
by relying on your textbook, Google, or Wikipedia.
Recitation: Recitation
is an integral component of this course.
It is where you and your classmates will ÒdoÓ history together by
critically discussing primary and secondary sources, freely exchanging your
thoughts, ideas, and questions, and, in the process, improving your ability to
articulate yourself in front of others.
It is here where you will actively create knowledge, not just absorb
it. You will be assessed according
to how well (qualitatively and
quantitatively) you participate in weekly discussions. In general, the more you
offer your informed thoughts in recitation about the subject material, the
better you will do. So prepare
well for recitation well by reading the assigned texts carefully, thinking of
questions, ideas, and issues they provoke, and coming ready to share them.
Reading Responses: You will submit
ten (10) brief responses of about 300-400 words each to questions on your major
readings. (Click here for Questions) To give you an idea of what 300-400 words
looks like, the paragraph you are reading now is exactly 352 words. The
point of these ÒhomeworkÓ assignments is to 1) make sure youÕre doing the
reading and 2) engaging with it critically. We do not expect you to write
polished essays here, but rather short responses informed by your critical engagement
with the assigned reading. In addition to answering the main question,
your responses may include your own general reactions to and opinions about the
reading. You might also want to
pose an additional question that you could then bring up in recitation. Your response
must, however, cite the text directly at least once with a short quotation or a
specific reference to something in it (an argument, fact, example, etc). You will have
eleven opportunities to submit these responses, thereby allowing you to miss one.
In order to avoid large amounts of paper flowing from you to your TA and then
back again, you will submit your responses electronically to Blackboard by
typing or cutting and pasting them directly into the field provided. (See
ÒAssignmentsÓ on Blackboard) Each response will be due when your
recitation section meets. No late responses will be accepted, so make
sure you get them in on time. Your TA will then read it, occasionally offer
some brief feedback, and assign a grade on a scale of 1-10. In general,
most of you who do the reading and take these assignments seriously will get 9
points on each response. Exceptional responses will receive 10 points,
while sloppy, uninformed, last-minute BS jobs (you know what IÕm taking about!)
will receive 7 points or less. You should be able to complete each assignment
in 15-20 minutes – you really shouldnÕt need more time than that.
In the past, students who completed all of their reading responses on time have
ended up with a strong ÒhomeworkÓ grade that in most cases boosted their final
course grade.
Exams:
You will take two 50-minute
written exams consisting of IDs and an essay. The final will consist of map identifications, IDs, several
cumulative short answer questions, and an essay. Review sheets and specific instructions for all exams will
be distributed in advance.
Memo Assignment: You will write a
1500-word memo to the member states of United Nations General Assembly. This memo will analyze the history of
an important global issue and presents to the international community a series
of recommendations designed to address it. Very specific instructions and potential topics for your
memo will be provided in advance, although you may choose your own topic in
consultation with your teaching assistant or me. The memo will be due on April 16, but you should begin
thinking about a topic now.
Grading: The
assignments in this course add up to 700 points. Your final grade will be determined by the total number of
points you achieve divided by 700 (see the scale below). In addition, there are two extra credit
film assignments. Each is worth 7
points, or 1% of your final grade.
|
Assignments |
Points |
|
Total
Points |
Percentage |
Grade |
|
|
Reading
Responses (10) |
100 |
|
648-700 |
92.5
- 100 |
A |
|
|
Exam #1 |
100 |
|
627-647 |
89.5
- 92.4 |
A- |
|
|
Exam #2 |
100 |
|
605-626 |
86.5
- 89.4 |
B+ |
|
|
Memo
Assignment |
100 |
|
578-604 |
82.5
- 86.5 |
B |
|
|
Final
Exam |
200 |
|
557-577 |
79.5
- 82.4 |
B- |
|
|
Class
Participation |
100 |
|
536-556 |
76.5
- 79.5 |
C+ |
|
|
|
700 |
|
508-555 |
72.5
- 76.4 |
C |
|
|
Extra
Credit Films (2) |
14 |
|
487-507 |
69.5
- 72.4 |
C- |
|
|
|
|
|
466-486 |
66.5
- 69.4 |
D+ |
|
|
|
|
|
424-465 |
60.6
- 66.4 |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
0-423 |
0 - 60.5 |
F |
|
Make-ups
and Extensions: Make-ups and extensions will only be granted in the
event of an officially documented personal emergency (sickness, family tragedies,
etc.). Special events such as
interviews or athletic competitions will also be considered reasonable grounds
to make-up an exam, but not for an extension on the memo or another opportunity
to submit a reading response. Such
events must also be documented. A
hardcopy of your memo assignment must be submitted at the beginning of the
class on April 16. In addition to this hardcopy, you must also submit your memo
in MS Word format to the course Blackboard page by the end of the day on which
it is due. Ten points will be
deducted from your memos for each 24-hour period that they are late, beginning
five minutes after the start of class.
If you know that you will be unable an exam, please inform your teaching
assistant and me through email as far in advance as possible. The final exam will be held on Monday,
May 7 at 8:00 a.m.. Please do not
plan to travel before then, as it is very difficult to schedule a make-up final.
Attendance:
Attendance at lectures is not
mandatory, although it will be hard to pass this class if you do not attend
them regularly. Attendance at recitation
section, however, is mandatory.
Unexcused absences from recitation will result in a 10-point deduction
from your participation grade (about 1.4% of your final grade).
Tardiness:
Please make every effort to
arrive on time for class. If you
are late, please enter through the back door of the classroom and take a seat
closest to the door. Never ever walk in front of me if you arrive late or leave
early. Never enter the classroom
after 10:06 (more than 5 minutes late).
The third time that you arrive late (after 10:01) you may be asked to
leave. In general, you should not come to class late or leave early because of
other appointments or obligations. You should consider this class an
appointment that you have scheduled three times per week for the rest of the
semester. Either make that
appointment or break it, but donÕt come to it late or leave early because
youÕve scheduled another one for the same time.
Cell
Phones and Laptop Computers: Please turn your cell phones off - not to vibrate, but off – before you come to class. You may be asked to leave if your cell
phone goes off in class. I will certainly do my best to embarrass you if it
does. You may use your laptop to
take notes. Do not, however, use
your laptop to email, surf the web, watch movies, instant message, or check
each other out on Facebook. If your teaching assistant or I catch you doing any
of these things, you will be asked to leave. There are few things I find more distracting or
disrespectful than a student gazing into a laptop screen or cell phone and
doing things that have nothing to do with the course. If you want to do these things, please stay home.
Classroom
Conduct: Please do not eat, sleep, read, do work for other classes,
or chat with your neighbor during class.
If you cannot control the urge to talk with your neighbor in class, I
suggest that you move to another seat.
I will not hesitate to ask you to move or, if need be, leave the
classroom if you disrupt class in any way. You may, of course, drink coffee or other beverages during
class, especially if they help you stay awake. Please do not start packing up your things until I end the
class, as it is very distracting both to me and other students who are still
listening.
Honor
Code: The UNC
Honor Code applies to all of your work and conduct in this course. Cheating, plagiarism,
or insensitive behavior (i.e. not respecting your classmates or instructors) of
any kind will not be tolerated. If you do not know what constitutes
cheating, plagiarism, or insensitivity, please reread the honor code or ask me,
as claiming ignorance is not a valid excuse. Internet plagiarism is a growing problem on college campuses
nationwide, and one your teaching assistants and I will do everything we can to
combat. If we have any reason to
believe that you may have plagiarized, we will carefully examine your work
using all of the tools available to us.
Our advice to you: donÕt even try it – itÕs really not worth it.
Problems,
Concerns, and Difficulties: We
would like very much to talk to you about any concerns you may have about a
grade, your performance in the course, problems with the material, and especially
how to improve. We would ask, however, that you wait at least 24 hours
before talking to us about any paper or exam that has just been handed
back. Any issue that involves your
teaching assistant (a grade, discussion section, etc.) should be discussed
first with him. Remember, email
can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, confusion, and annoyance. Click here for guidelines on how to
write emails to your teaching assistants and me.
Schedule of Classes,
Readings, and Assignments
(This schedule, the readings, and
assignments are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.)
I.
Ideological Conflict on a Global Scale:
The Cold War, 1945-1989
|
Week
1 |
Introduction
and the Cold War |
|
1/10 |
Introduction: Forces of Global History since 1945 |
|
1/12 |
The
Cold War: Definitions, Origins,
and Early History, 1917-1962 No
Recitation this Week – Come to Lecture |
|
Week
2 |
The
United States and the Cold War |
|
1/15 |
MLK
Day – No Class |
|
1/17 |
The Cold War at Home and Abroad, 1949-1960s |
|
1/17 and 1/18 |
Extra
Credit Film: Stanley Kubrick, ÒDr. Strangelove: Or, How Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombÓ at 7:00 p.m. in Gardner 08 on 1/17 &
1/18 |
|
1/19 |
Recitation: Containment, Red Scare, and American
Cold War Identity Read:
1) George F. Kennan, ÒThe Long Telegram,Ó 2/22/1946 2) Paul Nitze,
NSC-68
3) Nikolai Novikov, Telegram to Moscow, September 1946. Watch
(Online - Click Here): ÒRed NightmareÓ Hunt:
60-68, 306-311 |
|
Week
3 |
Communism
in Europe, Soviet-Style |
|
1/22 |
From
Lenin to Stalin: Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1917/1929-1956 |
|
1/24 |
After Stalin: Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern |
|
1/26 |
Recitation: Coming of Age in Post-Stalinist
Russia Read:
Donald Raleigh, RussiaÕs Sputnik Generation, Introduction, Ch. 1, 5, 6, 7 |
|
Week
4 |
The
Chinese Revolution |
|
1/29 |
The
Communist Revolution in China:
Origins and Triumphs, 1839-1956 Hunt:
111-122, 240-7 |
|
1/31 |
MaoÕs
ÒGreat Leap ForwardÓ and the ÒCultural Revolution,Ó 1956-1976 |
|
2/2 |
Recitation: Coming of Age in MaoÕs China Read: Liang Heng, Son of the Revolution |
|
Week
5 |
The
End of the Cold War |
|
2/5 |
DŽtente,
the Second Cold War, and Gorbachev Read: Excerpts from
Mikhail GorbachevÕs UN General Assembly Speech, 12/7/1988. Hunt: 303-334 |
|
2/7 |
The
Revolutions of 1989-1991 and the Fall of Communism in Europe |
|
2/9 |
First
Hour Exam |
Part
II. Decolonization and Conflict in
the Third World
|
Week
6 |
Decolonization
and Division in South Asia |
|
2/12 |
Indian
Independence, 1885-1948 Read: Mohandas Ghandi
on Passive Resistance Hunt: 129-138 |
|
2/14 |
India
and Pakistan since 1948 Read: Hendrik Hertzberg, ÒIdentity Crisis,Ó The New Yorker, 6/17/2002. |
|
2/16 |
Recitation: GhandiÕs Dream Denied: The Origins of the India-Pakistan
Conflict Read:
Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan |
|
Week
7 |
The
Vietnam War, 1945-1975 |
|
2/18 |
VietnamÕs
Struggle for Independence, 1925-1964 Hunt:
Hunt: 122-129 |
|
2/20 |
Vietnam,
the United States, and the Limits of Containment, 1964-1975 Hunt: 170-182,
247-251 |
|
2/21 |
Extra
Credit Film: Peter Davis, ÒHearts and MindsÓ at 7:00 p.m. in Gardner 08 on
2/21. |
|
2/22 |
Recitation: The Vietnam War Read: 1) Ho Chi Minh,
ÒVietnamese Declaration of Independence,Ó 9/2/1945
Ê2) Manifesto of the Laodong Party, February, 1951 ÊÊ3) Viet Cong Program, 1962 4)
Lyndon B. Johnson, ÒPeace without Conquest,Ó 4/7/1965. ÊÊ5) Letters between Johnson and Ho Chi Minh, February, 1967 Ê
6) MLK, ÒDeclaration of Independence from Vietnam,Ó 4/4/1967 |
|
Week
8 |
Apartheid
and Liberation in South Africa |
|
2/25 |
The
Origins of Apartheid in South Africa |
|
2/27 |
Overthrowing
the Apartheid Regime |
|
3/2 |
Recitation: Coming of Age in Apartheid South
Africa Read: Mark Mathabane, Kaffir Boy |
|
Week
9 |
Nationalism,
Religion, and Conflict in the Middle East |
|
3/5 |
Egypt,
Nasser, and Arab Nationalism, 1945-1979 Read: 1) Roger Hardy, ÒHow Suez made
Nasser an Arab Icon,Ó BBC News, 7/25/2006. Hunt: 278-281, 285-290 |
|
3/7 |
The
Origins of Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1890-1967 Hunt: 403-412 |
|
3/9
|
The
Arab-Israeli Conflict since 1967 Read: Tony Judt,
ÒAfter Victory,Ó The New Republic,
7/29/2002. No
Recitation this Week – Come to Lecture |
|
Week
10 |
Spring
Break |
|
Week
11 |
Latin
America, The United States, and the Cuban Revolution |
|
3/19 |
Latin
America and the United States, 1890-1989 Hunt: 259-266 |
|
3/21 |
The
Cuban Revolution, 1954-2006 Read: Jon Lee
Anderson, ÒCastroÕs Last Battle,Ó The New Yorker, 7/31/2006. |
|
3/23 |
Hour
Exam #2 |
III. The Post-Cold War World
|
Week
12 |
New
World Orders and Disorders |
|
3/26 |
A
ÒUnipolarÓ Moment? America in
the World since 1990 |
|
3/28 |
Ethno-Nationalism,
Ethnic Cleansing, and Genocide in the Balkans, 1989-1999 Hunt: 375-379 |
|
3/30 |
Recitation: End of History? Clash of Civilizations? Jihad vs. McWorld? Read: 1) Francis Fukuyama, ÒThe End
of History?Ó The National Interest,
1989 (excerpts) |
|
Week
13 |
African
Tragedies: Rwanda and the Congo |
|
4/2 |
Hutus,
Tutsis and the Genocide in Rwanda, 1994 |
|
4/4 |
Kleptocracy,
Failed State and Civil War in the Congo, 1962-2006 Hunt: 266-268 |
|
4/5 |
Extra
Credit Film: Raoul Peck,
ÒSometimes in April,Ó at 7:00 p.m. in Gardner 08 on 4/5. |
|
4/6 |
Recitation: Rape as a Weapon of War: Women, War, and Genocide in Africa |
|
Week
14 |
Globalization
and its Discontents |
|
4/9 |
Globalization: Definitions, Driving Forces, Debates Hunt: 10-15, 297-302 |
|
4/11 |
Development,
Inequality, and the Global Environment Watch
at Home: ÒWater Woes in IndiaÓ Part
1 & Part 2, New York Times,
9/29-9/30/2006 Hunt: 218-222, 357-364, 422-449 |
|
4/13 |
Recitation: The Many Faces of Globalization Read:
1) Thomas Friedman,
ÒThe World is Flat,Ó NYT Magazine,
4/3/2005. |
|
Week
15 |
The
Rise of Political Islam and Global Jihadism |
|
4/16 |
Islamic
Fundamentalism, Islamism, and the Iranian Revolution of 1979 Hunt: 388-395 Memo
Assignment Due |
|
4/18 |
Jihadist
Ideology, Osama bin Laden, and the Origins of Al Qaeda Hunt: 464-467 |
|
4/20 |
Recitation: Osama bin LadenÕs Worldview Read: Peter Bergen, The Osama bin Laden
I Know, pp. xxvii-xxxvi, 1-310,
382-393 |
|
Week
16 |
Modern
Iraq and US Foreign Policy since 9/11 |
|
4/23 |
Iraq
in the Twentieth Century, 1916-1990 |
|
4/25 |
Iraq
and the United States, 1990-2006 Read: 1) Max
Boot, ÒThe Case for American Empire,Ó The Weekly Standard, 10/15/2001. |
|
4/27 |
Parting
Comments and Course Evaluations |
Final
Exam: Monday, May 7 at 8:00 a.m in Gardener 08