History 140-006
Fall 2009
Hunziker
The World Since 1945
| Contact
Information | Course
Overview and Objectives |
Readings |
| Requirements
and Grading | Course
Guidelines | Schedule
of Classes and Assignments |
Instructor:
Dr.
Brandon Hunziker (branhunz@email.unc.edu)
Webpage:
http://www.unc.edu/courses/2009fall/hist/140/006/
Lecture: Phillips 215,
MWF, 10-10:50 a.m.
Office Hours: Hamilton Hall 515, MW, 2-3 p.m., Tues/Thurs, 9-12 a.m.
Telephone: 962-2374 (email
is always better)
Teaching
Assistants: Michael
Paulauskas (mpaulaus@email.unc.edu)
Elizabeth Gritter (egritter@email.unc.edu)
Sarah Barksdale (sbarksda@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 and nation-building in Africa, the Middle East,
and Asia; the collapse of Soviet-style communism and the emergence of a new,
less coherent, but more dynamic international system after 1991; the origins of
several current global conflicts and issues, 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 an 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 and possibly quite ignorant. 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 or want, it will hopefully spark your intellectual
curiosity, make you ask questions, and encourage you to think historically
about the global issues that will shape your lives in the decades to come.
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
and Reading: 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 (but donÕt work for!)
Buy.com, Ecampus.com, and Amazon.com ($65.48 shipped from Amazon). Be 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.
á Heda Margolius Kov‡ly, Under a Cruel Star: Life in Prague,
1941-1968 (0841913773)
á Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India (1400079772)
á Sandy Tolan, The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of
the Middle East (1596913436)
á Rob Gifford, The China Road: A Journey into the Future of a
Rising Power (9780812975246)
á Sharin Ebadi, Iran Awakening: One WomanÕs Journey to Reclaim Her
Life and Country (0812975286)
á Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside
IraqÕs Green Zone (9780307278838)
In addition to
these books, for weeks 4 and 15 you will read documents and articles that can
be accessed directly from the online syllabus. You should print these out and
bring them to your recitation section. I will also be posting numerous recommended
readings relevant to the various topics that you may be interested in on the
syllabus and on Blackboard.
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).
I will put two copies on reserve at the Undergraduate Library, but you can also
purchase a copy yourself. It is more important, however, that you read the
required books and other supplementary readings for this course.
Reading the
News: As
students at an elite university and future members of the educated elite, you
should be keeping up with current affairs, both domestic and international. And
while a few minutes with the Daily Tarheel or
broadcast news outlets such as CNN and Fox News may be all you can manage on some
days, you should try to expose yourselves to more sophisticated, elite
newspapers such as The New York Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal; thoughtful
opinion magazines like the The New Republic, Slate.com, The
New Yorker, The Atlantic, The National Review, or The Weekly Standard; and Òhard newsÓ
services including the Associated Press (AP)
or Reuters. Yahoo News and Google News provide easy access to a wide
range of Òhard newsÓ reports and analysis from wire services and thousands of
foreign, national, and local newspapers. Public Radio InternationalÕs program ÒThe WorldÓ offers some excellent, in-depth,
and historically informed reporting. Keeping up with the news will make this
course more enjoyable and hopefully instill a good habit that will make you a
more informed global citizen for the rest of your life. And if thatÕs not incentive
enough, you canÕt really understand – and fully get the jokes of – Jon
Stewart, Steven
Colbert, or The Onion (AmericaÕs
finest news source), if you donÕt stay informed.
How Much
Reading? There
is a substantial, but still manageable amount of reading in this course. Some
weeks will be lighter than others, and on some you will, technically, not have
any at all. But you will not be able to finish the books the night before your
recitation section meets, so use light weeks to get ahead. It is absolutely
essential that you complete all of the readings on time so that you can
participate actively in recitation, write your papers, and be prepared for your
exams. To do this, you really need to be reading almost every day of the week.
Lectures: All of the
ÒfactsÓ you need for exams and papers will be presented in lectures, so I
highly recommend that you attend them all. Lecture outlines will be posted on
line before class meets (see
schedule of classes). 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. In
the past, students have copied these notes into MS Word files to take notes
with their laptops. 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 by reading the assigned texts carefully, thinking of
questions, ideas, and issues they provoke, and coming ready to share them. Laptop use is not
permitted during recitation section.
The attendance and participation grade (15%) is one of
the hardest for teaching assistants to assign and for students understand.
Below is the grading system that we will use to determine your grade. As you
will see, 70/100 points are basically yours to take. Pretty much all you need
to do is show up on time to all recitations, bring your readings, and sit and
listen attentively. This will make for a very dull hour, of course, and your
teaching assistants will do everything they can to get you to participate. But
it ensures that quiet students are not unduly penalized for not participating
actively. The other 30 points (about 5% of your course grade) depend on the
quantity and quality of your participation. While there is always an element of
subjectivity involved in determining this (especially quality), in general the
more relevant, thoughtful, and articulate comments you make and the more you
engage your fellow students and you teaching assistant, the better you will do.
Simply talking a lot or trying to dominate discussion, however, does not
constitute quality participation! It is our belief that every student is
capable of making a grade of at least an 80 quite easily, and it should not be
too much more difficult to achieve an 85 or 90. Grades of 95 and 100, however,
will be reserved for outstanding students (see my note about grades below).
|
70 (C-) |
Perfect attendance, no participation: show up
on-time with readings, attentive, but silent during most recitation sections |
|
75 (C) |
Perfect attendance, some participation: show up
on-time with readings, attentive, participate in 4-5 recitation sections |
|
80 (B-) |
Perfect attendance, satisfactory participation: show
up on-time with readings, attentive, participate at
least once during 6-7 recitation sections. |
|
85 (B) |
Perfect attendance, good participation: show up on-time with readings,
attentive, participate with good comments at least twice during 7-8
recitation sections |
|
90 (A-) |
Perfect attendance, excellent participation: show up on-time with readings,
attentive, participate with especially strong comments at least three times
during all 8 recitation sections |
|
95 (A) |
Perfect attendance, outstanding participation: show up on-time with readings,
attentive, participate as much as possible and relevant (without dominating
and speaking just to speak) during all 9 recitation sections, distinguish
yourself by the sophistication and eloquence of your comments. |
|
100 (A+) |
This grade will be awarded to the most outstanding student
in each recitation section. |
Points will be deducted from your final grade for each
incident of the following. All of these should be very easy to avoid.
Absence: 10 points
Lateness (more than 2 minutes, not more than 10): 2 points
Unprepared (not bringing
readings): 3 points
Rude, disrespectful, or disruptive behavior: 5 points (rare, but possible)
Exams:
During the semester, you will take two 50-minute written exams
consisting of IDs and short answers. At the end of the semester, you will take
a 2-hour final exam, which will consist of map identifications, IDs, an essay,
and several cumulative short answer questions.
Papers: You
will write two 1500-word (5 pages), thesis-driven essays based on supplementary
readings discussed in recitation. Specific questions and instructions for
writing these essays will be given well in advance of their due dates.
Grading: Your grade will
be determined according to the following percentages and grading scale. All
grades will be available on Blackboard.
|
Weight |
|
Grading Scale |
|
|
|
Exam 1 |
15% |
|
> 93 |
A |
|
Exam 2 |
15% |
|
> 90 |
A- |
|
Paper 1 |
15% |
|
> 87 |
B+ |
|
Paper 2 |
15% |
|
> 83 |
B |
|
Attendance & Participation |
15% |
|
> 80 |
B- |
|
Final Exam |
25% |
|
> 77 |
C+ |
|
|
|
|
> 73 |
C |
|
|
|
|
> 70 |
C- |
|
|
|
|
> 67 |
D+ |
|
|
|
|
> 61 |
D |
|
|
|
|
0-60.9 |
F |
A Word about
Grades: This course follows the grading guidelines specified
by the College of Arts
& Sciences and General College. Over the past
two decades, colleges and universities across the country, including UNC, have
experienced a noticeable ÒinflationÓ of grades. There are many reasons for
this: better prepared, harder working, and more driven students, better
teaching, and new technologies (laptops, the Internet, multimedia, etc.), but
also a sense of entitlement among some students. As a result, the ÒBÓ has, at least
in the minds of many students, replaced the ÒCÓ as the grade signifying
satisfactory performance at UNC, and many believe that everyone is capable of
getting an ÒAÓ. That should not be the case. A ÒCÓ, in my opinion, still
signifies satisfactory performance and is nothing to be ashamed of, while a ÒBÓ
stands for above average achievement. It is not, however, my intention to fight
grade inflation by setting quotas for the number of As, Bs, Cs, etc. given in
my courses. Students should get the grades they deserve, and if that means a
higher course GPA than might have been the case 10 or 15 years ago, so be
it. At the same time, I strongly
believe that the grades of ÒA-Ó or ÒAÓ should be reserved for truly superior,
ÒoutstandingÓ achievement. Some studentsÕ performance just stands out from the
rest, especially in humanities courses where such things as elegance in
writing, sophistication of argument, and eloquence in class discussions are
often what make the difference between a ÒBÓ (Òhigh level of attainmentÓ) and
an ÒAÓ (Òhighest level of attainmentÓ). So, while the chances are quite good
that the majority of students in this course will do quite well and thus,
according to UNCÕs grading guidelines, receive a ÒBÓ of some sort, only a
relatively small number of students will exhibit ÒoutstandingÓ performance and,
as a result, receive a grade of ÒA-Ó or ÒAÓ. If that were not the case, then
those grades have very little meaning.
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 grounds for a paper
extension. Such events must also be documented. Be sure to save your papers as
an MS Word document and keep it until the end of the semester. Ten points will
be deducted from your papers for each business day 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 Wednesday,
December 16, at 8:00 a.m. in Phillips 215. Please do not plan to travel before then.
Some Basic Guidelines
Attendance
and Tardiness: 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. Please make
every effort to arrive on time for both lectures and recitations. If you are
late (not more than 10 minutes) for lecture, please enter through the back door
of the classroom and take a seat closest to the door in the back row. Please do
not walk in front of me if you arrive late or have to leave the room. 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
Laptops:
Please turn your cell phones off - not to vibrate, but off – before class begins. Now, the
chances are pretty good that cell phones will ring a few times in the course of
the semester. If yours does, turn it off quickly. No need to apologize.
However, if you are a repeat offender, you may be asked to leave. You may, of
course, use your laptop to take notes. Do not, however, use your laptop or cell
phone to email, surf the web, watch movies, instant message, or check each
other out on Facebook. 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 do them someplace where I wonÕt
disturb you with my lecture. In addition, such unauthorized used of electronic
devices may also be considered Òdisruptive behavior,Ó and thus constitute a
violation of the UNC Honor Code.
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. Seriously –
it can be hard not
to talk to friends during a lecture. 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. In fact, most of the plagiarism IÕve seen
has not been very good anyway!
Problems,
Concerns, and Difficulties: We would like 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 or her. Remember,
email can sometimes lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and confusion. ItÕs
sometimes best to discuss things in person. When you do write us emails, begin
them with a ÒDearÓ or ÒHiÓ and end with a ÒSincerelyÓ or ÒThanks,Ó followed by
your name. WeÕll extend the same courtesy to you.
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
|
Week 1 |
Introduction and the Cold
War |
|
8/26 |
|
|
8/28 |
Cold War: Definitions, Origins, and Early
History, 1917-1962 |
|
Week 2 |
Cold War Cultures and
Soviet Style Communism |
|
8/31 |
The Cold War: From Crisis to
DŽtente, 1949-1975 |
|
9/2 |
|
|
9/3-9/4 |
Communism comes
to Eastern Europe: Hopes and Realities Read: Heda
Margoloius Kov‡ly, Under a Cruel Star: Life in Prague, 1941-1968 |
|
Week 3 |
Communism after Stalin and
the West European Alternative |
|
9/7 |
Labor Day
– No Class |
|
9/9 |
After Stalin: Communism in the Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe, 1956-1980 |
|
9/11 |
The West European Alternative:
Post-Nationalism, Integration and Social Market Economies |
|
Week 4 |
Cold War Battlegrounds |
|
9/14 |
|
|
9/16 |
|
|
9/17-9/18 Recitation |
Read: Ho Chi Minh, ÒVietnamese Declaration of
Independence,Ó 9/2/1945 (click on links for documents) Lyndon B. Johnson, ÒPeace without
Conquest,Ó 4/7/1965 K. Mikhailov, ÒProvocatory Campaign
Over Afghanistan,Ó International Affairs, no. 3, 26 (1980): 97-100. Optional:
John Berry & Evan Thomas, ÒObamaÕs
VietnamÓ Newsweek,
July 20, 2009.
Peter Baker, ÒCould
Afghanistan Become ObamaÕs Vietnam?Ó New York Times, August 23, 2009.
John Harwood, ÒObama
Rejects Afghanistan-Vietnam Comparison,Ó New York Times, September 15, 2009.
President
CarterÕs Address to Nation on Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (January 4,
1980) *In
addition, I would like you to read as many news items (including magazine
articles, opinion pieces, etc.) about Afghanistan as you can over the next
week. Click
here to get started. |
|
Week 5 |
The End of the Cold War
and Post-Cold War Europe |
|
9/21 |
|
|
9/23 |
|
|
9/25 |
Exam #1 (Phillips 215, 10:00
am) |
II. Models of Decolonization and
Nation-Building
|
Week 6 |
Chinese Revolutions |
|
9/28 |
|
|
9/30 |
|
|
10/1-10/2 Recitation |
Read: Rob
Gifford, China
Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power Click Here for the First
Paper Assignment Optional: ÒEvolution of China's revolution: from
bloody repression to capitalism red in tooth and clawÓ The Telegraph,
9/30/2009. Listen:
NPR, ÒIs China Ready to Lead Global EconomyÓ
|
|
Week 7 |
Strange
Success: India since 1945 |
|
10/5 |
|
|
10/7 |
India
and Pakistan since Independence: The India-Pakistan Conflict |
|
10/8-10/9 Recitation |
Read:
Edward Luce, In
Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India |
|
Week 8 |
Latin America, The United
States, and the Cuban Revolution |
|
10/12 |
University Day
– No Class |
|
10/14 |
Latin America and the United States,
1890-1990 |
|
10/15 |
The Cuban
Revolution, 1954-2006 Optional: NPR Report on the The 50th
Anniversary of Cuban Uprising (7/27/2003).
PRI
The World Report: ÒEasing Restrictions on CubaÓ (9/4/2009)
Jon Lee Anderson, ÒCastroÕs Last Battle: Can the Revolution Outlast Its
Leader?Ó The New Yorker, 7/31/2006
Jon Lee Anderson, ÒFidelÕs Heir: The Influence of Hugo Ch‡vez,Ó
The New
Yorker, June 23, 2008. (no recitation this week, come to lecture instead) |
III. Conflicts in the Middle East since
1945
|
Week 10 |
Nationalism,
Religion, and Conflict in the Middle East |
|
10/26 |
The
Origins of Israel and the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 1895-1967 |
|
10/28 |
The
Arab/Palestinian-Israeli Conflict since 1967 |
|
10/29-10/30 Recitation |
The
Search for Understanding in an Intractable Conflict Read:
Sandy Tolan, The
Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East |
|
Week 11 |
The
Islamist Alternative in the Middle East |
|
11/2 |
The
Failure of Secular Arab Nationalism and Islamist Alternatives |
|
11/4 |
Exam #2 (Phillips 215, 10:00
am) |
|
11/6 |
Lecture
Cancelled |
|
Week 12 |
Modern Iran and the
Islamic Revolution of 1979 |
|
11/9 |
Jihadist
Ideology, Osama bin Laden, and the Origins of al Qaeda |
|
11/11 |
The
Origins and Consequences of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, 1900-2009 |
|
11/12-11/13 Recitation |
Living
in the Islamic Republic of Iran Read:
Sharin Ebadi, Iran
Awakening: One WomanÕs Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country Click Here for Second Paper Assignment (Due December 2 in class)s |
|
Week 13 |
Modern
Iraq and the Iraq War |
|
11/16 |
|
|
11/18 |
|
|
11/19-11/20 Recitation |
Neo-Conservative
Dreams on the Tigris Rajiv
Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside IraqÕs Green Zone |
IV. Globalization
|
Week 14 |
Globalization |
|
11/23 |
|
|
11/25 |
Thanksgiving Holiday |
|
Week 15 |
Old and New Problems in a
Globalizing World |
|
11/30 |
|
|
12/2 |
The Global Environment and the Future of
CivilizationDue:
Paper #2 (in class) |
|
12/3-4 Recitation |
Recitation: Globalization, Development, Population
Growth, and Climate Change: The Issue that Trumps all Others. Read:
Selections from Thomas FriedmanÕs Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green
Revolution and How it Can Renew America (found in ÒDocumentsÓ section of
Blackboard) |
|
Week 16 |
Economic Crisis and
Conclusion |
|
12/7 |
The Global Financial Crisis and the Great
Recession I Evaluations |
|
12/9 |
The
Global Financial Crisis and the Great Recession II |
Final Exam:
Wednesday,
December 16, at 8:00 a.m. in Phillips 215
