All readings listed for each week should be completed by Monday of
that week.
Every Monday we will briefly survey the week's subjects and readings.
Lectures on related subjects may also be given on Mondays.
As a rule we will dedicate Wednesday to class discussions of the assigned readings for the week and for follow-up lectures if necessary.
Friday will serve as a catch up day, a day for the occasional slide presentation, a research day, and a day for group discussions of texts.
Exceptions to the general pattern may occur.
A few additional readings (handouts, internet, etc.) will be assigned on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis throughout the semester. Students are responsible for any and all changes made to the syllabus during the semester.
Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10
Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15
Week 1 ( 1/27-1-31 )
Tradition, Authority, and the Question
of Modernization.
Required readings:
- Wills, "A Baroque Prelude"
- McNeill, 295-299 (For Wednesday)
- Wills, Part I (For Friday)
Recommended readings:
- McNeill, 273-282, 301-308, 316-317
Week 2( 2/3-2/7 )
Slaves, Aborigines, and Wooden Ships.
Required readings:
Recommended readings:
Overview #1 due Monday 2/3
Supplementary materials: terms1; tradition
Week 3 (2/10-2/14)
Old Believers and Streltsy, Samurai and Geishas,
Cheng Ho and Confucius
Required readings:
Recommended readings:
- McNeill, 253-255, 269-272, 327-333, 351-358
Overview #2 due Monday 2/10
Supplementary materials: rcj
Week 4 (2/17-2/21)
Money, Religion, and Power in Early Modern Europe
Required readings:
Recommended readings:
- McNeill, 309-326, 359-358
Week 5 ( 2/24-2/28 )
Tolerance, Science, and a New Consciousness
Required readings:
Overview #3 due Monday, 2/24
Week 6 ( 3/3-3/7 )
Sultans, Ulema, and Veiled Women
Required readings:
Recommended readings:
- McNeill, 243-249, 337-358
Week 7 ( 3/10-3/14 )
Barbarians, Tulips, and an Invisible Hand
Required readings:
- Will, Pt. VII; McNeill, 389-405
Overview #4 due Monday 3/10
Essays #1 and #2 due Friday 3/14
Week 8 ( 3/17-3/21 )
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity in a Mechanized World?
Required readings:
- McNeill, 417-441
- Lewis, "Introduction"
- Wiwa, "Preface"
- Spence, Ch. 1
- Naipaul, "Traveler's Prelude"
Book Review of Wills due Wednesday, 3/19
Week 9 ( 3/24-3/28 )
Adam's Rib, Creation, and the Death of God
Required readings:
- Lewis, Ch. 1-2
- Wiwa, Ch. 1-3
- Spence, Ch. 2
- Naipaul, Ch. 1
McNeill Synopsis #1 due Monday 3/24.
Week 10- No Class Monday;
Cesar Chavez Day (3/31-4/4 )
The White Man's Burden- or the Knife of Sugar?
Required readings:
- McNeill, 441-468
- Lewis, Ch. 3
- Wiwa, Ch. 4-6
- Spence, Ch. 3-4
- Naipaul, Ch. 2-3
Week 11 ( 4/7-4/11 )
Zulus, Sepoys, Boxers, and the Mahdi
Required readings:
- McNeill, 469-489
- Lewis, Ch. 4
- Wiwa, Ch. 7-9
- Spence, Ch. 5
- Naipaul, Ch. 4-5
McNeill synopsis #2 due Monday, 4/7
April 14-20 Spring Break
Week 12 ( 4/21-4/25 )
The Decline of the West?
Required readings:
- McNeill, 490-499
- Lewis, Ch. 5
- Wiwa, Ch. 10-12
- Spence, Ch. 6-7
- Naipaul, Ch. 6-8
Week 13 ( 4/28-5/2 )
A Bundle of Sticks, a Red Bear, a Broken Cross, and
Final Solutions (or, Let's All Go to Camp!)
Required readings:
- McNeill, 499-516
- Lewis, Ch. 6
- Wiwa, Ch. 13-15
- Spence, Ch. 8
- Naipaul, Ch. 9
McNeill synopsis #3 due Monday 4/28
Week 14 ( 5/5-5/9 )
The Setting Sun, the Rising Sun, Broken Dreams and
the Paradox of the Tree Hugger
Required readings:
- McNeill, 516-552
- Lewis, Ch. 7, "Conclusion", "Afterword"
- Wiwa, Ch. 16-18, "Afterword"
- Spence,Ch. 10, "Conclusion"
- Naipaul- Ch. 11, "Flight"
Week 15 ( 5/12-5-16 )
Ethnic Cleansing, Women in Veils, 9/11, and Global Warming-
the Search for New Answers and New Paradigms
in the Contemporary World.
- McNeill Synopsis #4 due Monday, May 12
- Essay #3 and Essay #4 due Friday, 5/16
- Book Review of Optional Book due Friday, 5/16
