HISTORY 1130-103/104:

Themes in Global History: Trade, Economy, and Empires

 

Dr. Jari Eloranta

Associate Professor of Comparative Economic and Business History

Appalachian State University, Department of History

Office: Belk Hall 1076

Phone: 262-6006

E-mail: elorantaj@appstate.edu

Assistants:

-1130-103 (10 o’clock class): Matthew Holloway (hollowaym@appstate.edu)    

-1130-104 (11 o’clock class): Rachel Roberts (robertsrl1@email.appstate.edu)

 

Course Description:

In a world that is constantly growing smaller due to advances in communication and globalization, where misunderstandings between different cultures can too easily lead to violent conflict, it is essential that we are able to compare various societies and cultures. In my courses the focus will be on the rise and fall of empires, starting with ancient Egypt, progressing through time with analysis of more recent empires, and finally the decline of empires in the 19th and 20th centuries. Moreover, trade and economic developments, including the development of new technologies and knowledge, will be reviewed from a historical, macro perspective. In addition, we will analyze the role of conflicts in disrupting trade and economic development, as well potential catalyst for fiscal changes in history. We will look at such issues as the economic strengths of various civilizations, trade patterns and customs, costs of conflicts, industrial revolutions, and the impact of new technologies. The main focus will be on the last two millennia, although we will sometimes cover topics that have their origins in earlier times.

 

 

Course Objectives:

It is the goal of the course to introduce students to the basic theoretical tools in order to understand macro developments in history as well as discuss the essential historical developments from the ancient Egypt to the beginning of the 21st century. In the process, students will learn some of the basic skills of a professional (economic) historian: appreciation of primary sources and critical thinking and analysis, construction of argumentative essays, and how to combine empirical and theoretical facets of history.

 

Course Resources:

Schedule and Lecture notes (in PDF, partial notes):

-January 18: Lecture 1: Introduction to the Class

-January 20: Lecture 2: History as a Science; World History

-January 23: Lecture 3: Using Sources and Other Materials; Writing Essays

Readings:

*Using sources: http://www.educationforum.co.uk/Page4.htm; http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/howTo/primarysecondary.html

-Question: What are primary sources?   

*Be careful if you have to use electronic sources (rule of thumb: don�t use them!): http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/

*Visit the following databanks and glance around: http://www.ggdc.net/Maddison/; http://www.nber.org/data/; http://www.paulhensel.org/data.html; answer the following question:

What is the typical time frame that these data cover?

*General advice on essay writing: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/advise.html; *On referencing, see: http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/howTo/cite/index.html.

-January 25: Lecture 4: Introduction 2: Theories, Sources and Other Problems in

Comparisons

Readings:

*Samuel Huntington, Clash of Civilizations, Chapter 12 (on reserves, under Eloranta, 1130)

*Landes 1998, Chapter 1

*Information on Charles Tilly: http://essays.ssrc.org/tilly/resources

*Douglass North: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1993/north-lecture.html

*See Angus Maddison�s website for data tables HS-7 and HS-8: http://www.ggdc.net/Maddison/. Maddison 2003 is also available in its entirety from Appstate library if necessary.   

-January 27: Video: Ancient Discoveries: Egyptian Warfare

*Bulliet 2008, Chapters 2 and 4 (some of it is background for this video)

*Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapters 1 and 2

*Answer the following questions: 1) Why were the Egyptians able to create such a military strong empire? 2) How does a theocracy function? What were the power roles of the priests and the pharaoh? HINT! You need to use the readings and your own research to fully answer these questions.

-January 30: Lecture 5: Long Run Trends in Population and Per Capita Income

Readings:

*Maddison 2001, pp. 27-48 (Chapter 1, available from: http://www.ggdc.net/Maddison/); for data, see Maddison 2001, Appendix B and data tables listed above for the Sept 4 class. 

-February 1: Lecture 6: Alexander the Great and Hellenistic Expansion

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 5

            * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great

-February 3: Video: Engineering an Empire: Greece

*Answer the following questions: 1) What kind of democratic structures and practices did Athens have? 2) What kinds of building techniques did the Greeks employ that made a lasting impression over thousands of years?

-February 6: Lecture 7: Rome I: Early Origins and the Republic

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 6 (pp. 162-170)

            * http://www.roman-empire.net/

*EXTRA CREDIT: Find a primary source document relating to this lecture topic in one of the Appstate Library digital collections (http://www.library.appstate.edu/vdb/by_subject/subject_g?search_subject=History&mf=All), especially Making of the Modern World(http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/boon41269?db=MOME), or elsewhere. Print the bibliographic info on the document and provide a one paragraph description of the source. Turn in at the end of the class. This will add 1 point toward your final average.

-February 8: Lecture 8: Rome II: Rome II: Empire, Warfare, and the Decline

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 6 (pp. 171-177)

-February 10: Video: Engineering an Empire: China

* Answer the following questions: 1) How and when was the Great Wall built? 2) What was the most frequent cause of the decline of the dynasties? 3) What projects specifically advanced trade?

-February 13: Lecture 9: China I: Early Origins and the Silk Road

             *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapters 3 and 8

*Cameron-Neal 2003, Chapter 3

*EXTRA CREDIT (One point of extra credit for one-page written assignment): 

Sun Tzu, background (http://www.sonshi.com/why.html) 

-Answer the following questions on Sun Tzu: 1) Why is The Art of War considered to be one of the greatest treatises on military strategy ever written? 2) What was the period like when this book was supposedly written (The Warring States period)? 3) Pick an example from the text that might be relevant for today�s business or military strategy. (IN WRITING, TO BE TURNED IN AFTER CLASS): http://www.sonshi.com/learn.html

-February 15: Library Orientation 1: Introduction Orientation (by Amauri Serrano and

Betsy Williams). NOTE! Regular class location (Anne Belk 005).

-February 17: Library Orientation 2: Collections (by Amauri Serrano and Betsy

Williams). NOTE! Location: Rooms 024 and 026 in ASU Library.

-February 20: Lecture 10: China II: Consolidation, Expansion, and Decline?

            Readings:

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapters 6, 11, and 13

*Angus Maddison: http://www.ggdc.net/Maddison/China_book/Chapter_1.pdf

-February 22: Essay Writing Workshop, conducted by the class TAs.  See both this guide for tips and the grading rubric for details.

-February 24: Video: Engineering an Empire: The Byzantines

Readings:

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 10

*Answer the following questions: 1) What were the most prominent technological innovations of the Byzantine Empire? 2) What about military innovations?

-February 27: Lecture 11: Byzantium and the Successors of Rome

Readings:

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 10

            *Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapter 3

-February 29: Lecture 12: Foundations of the �European Miracle�: North Italian

City States, Institutions, and Gunpowder

            Readings:

*Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapters 2-4

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 15

*EXTRA CREDIT: Find a primary source document relating to this lecture topic in one of the Appstate Library digital collections (http://www.library.appstate.edu/vdb/by_subject/subject_g?search_subject=History&mf=All), especially Making of the Modern World(http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/boon41269?db=MOME), or elsewhere. Print the bibliographic info on the document and provide a one paragraph description of the source. Turn in at the end of the class. This will add 1 point toward your final average. 

-March 2: Video: Engineering an Empire: Da Vinci�s World

Readings:

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 15

* http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventors/ig/Inventions-of-Leonardo-DaVinci/

*Answer the following questions: 1) What was so revolutionary about Renaissance? 2) How did art, money, and technology come together with the Renaissance artists? 3) What were the most important inventions by Da Vinci and why? HINT! Some of the answers are found in the readings.

-March 5: Lecture 13: The Spanish Empire: Beginnings and the Dynamics of

World Conquest

Readings:

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapters 15-16

*Landes 1998, Chapters 5-8

*Pomeranz-Topik 2006, Chapter 2.2

Optional Readings:

*Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs, and Steel. The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton & Company 1999, Chapter 4

-March 7: Video: Great Inca Rebellion

*Answer the following questions: 1) What caused the downfall of the Central American civilizations against the Europeans? 2) How have resources and diseases influenced the development of human civilizations?

*See also: http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/resources/index.html - how did GUNS, GERMS, and STEEL influence the downfall of these civilizations?

-March 9: Midterm exam, during regular class time!

-March 19: Presentations

-March 21: Presentations

-March 23: Presentations

-March 26: Presentations

-March 28: Presentations

-March 30: Presentations

-April 2: Video: The Columbian Exchange

*Answer the following questions: 1) Define the Columbian Exchange? 2) Provide examples of why it was a significant event in world history.

*Landes 1998, Chapter 12.

-April 4: Video: Engineering Empire: Britain: Blood and Steel

*Answer the following questions: 1) What made the British navy so efficient and feared around the world? 2) Why did Britain industrialize early? 3) How did the steam engine change the British transportation system?

-April 6: Lecture 14: The British Empire: The �British Model�, Warfare, and the

East India Company (THE ESSAY IS DUE!)

Readings:

*Landes 1998, Chapter 15

*Bulliet et. Al 2008, Chapters 17-19

*EXTRA CREDIT: Primary Sources (pick and choose one, do a one-page analysis of the source):

-English conquest of India: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/indiasbook.html#The%20Western%20Intrusion

-Dutch East India Company: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company

-1748: The case of the Hudson's-Bay Company. URL : http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?id=7a8668f9e0&doc=16621

-April 11: Lecture 15: The French Revolution and Napoleon

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 22

-April 13: Lecture 16: Industrial Revolutions: UK and the Rest

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapters 23, 27

            *Landes 1998, Chapters 13-14

*Pomeranz-Topic 2006, Chapter 7

-April 16: Lecture 17: The Long 19th Century: The Western Hegemony and

Imperialism

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 27-28

-April 18: Lecture 18: Globalization and the International Trading System,

1850-1913

            Readings:

*Pomeranz and Topik 2006, Chapters 1-6

*O�Rourke, Kevin H. & Jeffrey G. Williamson, �When did globalisation begin?�. European Review of Economic History, 6, pp. 23-50, 2002 (electronic reserve)

*EXTRA CREDIT: Find a primary source document relating to one of the lecture topics in one of the Appstate Library digital collections (http://www.library.appstate.edu/vdb/by_subject/subject_g?search_subject=History&mf=All), especially Making of the Modern World(http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/boon41269?db=MOME), or elsewhere. Print the bibliographic info on the document and provide a one paragraph description of the source. Turn in at the end of the class. This will add 1 point toward your final average. 

-April 20: Lecture 19: The International Monetary and Political System,

1850-1913

            Readings:

*Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapters 6-12

*Pomeranz-Topic 2006, Chapter 6 (review!)

-April 23: Lecture 20: The Breakdown of the Liberal World Order, 1913-1950

1: World War I

Readings:

            *Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapter 14

*Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 29

-April 25: Lecture 21: The Interwar Period: The Great Depression, Revolutions,

and Rearmament

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 30

            *http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/parker.depression 

-April 27: Video: Engineering Empire: Napoleon: Steel Monster

*Answer the following questions: 1) What kinds of military and technological innovations came during Louis XIV�s reign? 2) How does the Eiffel Tower symbolize the onset of the industrial age?

            *Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapter 14

-April 30: Lecture 22: The Breakdown of the Liberal World Order, 1913-1950

2: World War II

Readings:

            *Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapter 14

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapter 30

            *http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/tassava.WWII

-May 2: Lecture 23: The Cold War: Political Developments; Economics and

Business; End of Cold War; Decolonization

            Readings:

            *Bulliet et al. 2008, Chapters 31-33

*Cameron-Neal 2004, Chapters 15-16

*Kegley, Charles W. Jr, �How Did the Cold War Die? Principles for an Autopsy�. Mershon International Studies Review, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Apr. 1994), pp. 11-41 (available from: www.jstor.org, do a search with (e.g.) the author�s name)

*EXTRA CREDIT: Find a primary source document relating to one of the lecture topics in one of the Appstate Library digital collections (http://www.library.appstate.edu/vdb/by_subject/subject_g?search_subject=History&mf=All). Print the bibliographic             info on the document and provide a one paragraph description of the source. Turn in at the end of the class. This will add 1 point toward your final average.
-May 4: Preparation for the Test: In class, in groups. Conducted by the TA, the professor will also be available. More details on this later.

-Final Test (location is the regular classroom, bring a pencil, no notes):

10:00 MWF

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from Noon - 2:30 PM

11:00 MWF

Thursday, May 10, 2012 from Noon - 2:30 PM