HISTORY 110B-01: WORLD CIVILIZATIONS II
Lael Sorensen

The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise, 1445 Giovanni di Paolo (Italian [Sienna], ca. 1400–1482) Tempera on panel; 18 5/16 x 20 1/2 in. (46.5 x 52 cm) Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.31) www.metmuseum.org

This course introduces students to the history of world civilizations from roughly 500 to 1600 CE. Our analysis will focus on two principal themes: (1) the evolution of leading civilizations and (2) the frameworks for contact among these different civilizations. The first theme will identify major stages in the development of dominant civilizations: an Islamic civilization in the medieval period and a largely Christian European civilization in the later, early modern period. The second theme will emphasize major stages in the interaction between and among different peoples and societies around the globe.

This course also invites students to examine world history at close range by relying on a variety of primary source materials, both textual and visual. In this way, students are exposed to the analytical process that is a large part of the historian's craft. Students are encouraged to draw their own well-reasoned conclusions from these materials.

REQUIRED READINGS:

• Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds., The Human Record: Sources of Global History, 4th ed., vol. 1: to 1700, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
• Husain Haddawy, trans., The Arabian Nights, New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1995.
• Glyn Burgess, trans., The Song of Roland, New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
• Miguel Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears: the Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Boston: Beacon Press, 1992 [1962].
• Provided by instructor: How to Prepare Textual Primary Sources
• Provided by instructor: How to Prepare Visual Primary Sources

NOTE: The required textbook is somewhat unusual in that it is a collection of primary sources. For those students who would like to supplement this reading with a more familiar narrative history (especially valuable for those who have had to miss a class), I have placed a more traditional textbook on Reserve at the library. It is Peter Stearns et al., World Civilizations: The Global Experience, vol. 1.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Class participation (10%)
2. Two 1-3 page papers based on analyses of visual primary sources due during the quarter (10% each)
3. In-class midterm exam (30%)
4. Take-home final exam (40%)

PARTICIPATION:

I have made class participation mandatory because I believe that listening and speaking in class are among the best ways for students to increase their understanding of the material and to develop ideas of their own. Students should be prepared when they come to class: they should have read the assignments, thought about the readings and formulated questions and comments. Advice on how to prepare will be covered at the first class meeting and can be accessed on the class Web site.

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS:

A closed-book, closed-notes midterm exam will be given. The exam will be comprised of essay questions only. Study questions will be provided in advance. The final exam will also be comprised of essays but be take-home (i.e., open-book, open-notes). The essay questions and instructions for successful completion of the final exam will be handed out on or before the last day of class. The final exam will cover the second half of the course (including Broken Spears) plus one course-cumulative essay.

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND ASSIGNMENTS:

Sorensen's Main Page¦  History 110B Syllabus¦  European Pictures ¦  Islamic Pictures

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