Course Syllabus

• Course Information
• Course Description
• Required Texts
• Course Website
• The Grade
• Assignments
• Policies

Information:

• Instructor: David M. Perry
• Class Times: MWF 2:20-3:20
• Location: MAIN 010
• Office: Old Main 308
• Office Phone: (507) 646-3534
• Office Hours: MW 11:00-12:00
• Email: perry@macalester.edu
• URL: http://www.macalester.edu/courses/hist100

Description:

What "things" do people want? Why do historians need to know? Trying to answer these questions will be our lens through which we explore the history of the world.

In this class, we will examine the commodities that changed the world. Each week, we will read about and discuss the role of a single product at various points and places in world history. We will use our discussions to think about the following sorts of questions. What are commodities and why do they matter? Why do people value what they value? How do values change? What are the consequences of exchange in any given place and time? What happens when one group of people needs what another has? What are the major events in world history that play a role in changing the nature of commodities? We will study the history of goods such as codfish in the North Atlantic, silk in Central Asia, sugar, tobacco, cotton, and slaves in the Caribbean, and spices from the Indian Ocean. As a result, we will also study the history of greed, acquisition, exploration, invention, wealth, poverty, the rise and fall of nations, and all forms of exchange - the exchange of items, of ideas, of germs.

This is an introductory course, which means that I do not expect you to come to class with pre-existing knowledge. Instead, I hope you will be intellectually flexible and ready to engage with diverse readings from many points of human history. We will read medieval literature, ancient chronicles, the journals of explorers, modern popular writing, and serious scholarship, and use artifacts and images as source material. When necessary, I will provide background on particular places and times, and in other cases will rely on you to use your textbook as a resource. We will learn how historians work, and hone our writing and analysis skills. At the end of the class, you will teach each other about the changing nature of commodities in the modern world.

Required Texts:

Many of the readings will be placed on electronic reserve, or made accessible from the website. You are expected to print them out and bring them to class on the day that they are due.

You also need to buy:

• M. Kurlansky, Cod: A Biography of a Fish that Changed the World. (Kurlansky)
• T. Standage, A History of the World in Six Glasses. (Standage)
• Husain Haddawy, The Arabian Nights II : Sinbad and Other Popular Stories. (Haddawy)
• The Travels of Marco Polo. (Marco Polo)
• Bulliet, et al. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. (Textbook)
• S. Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished. (Schwartz)

Course Website: http://www.macalester.edu/courses/hist100

I have constructed an extensive website for this class. Sometimes you will be required to use it to access readings and assignments, but mostly I maintain it as a resource for you to use as you see fit. Every assignment that I hand out in class will be posted on the website. I will also add many additional resources and images for you to look at as supplementary materials.

Some parts of the website are password protected for copyright reasons. You should get the password on the first day of class. If you think you need the password, please email me.

The Grade:

• Midterm (take-home) - 10%
• Final (take-home) - 20%
• Final Presentation:
  • Peer Evaluation - 10%
  • My Evaluation - 10%
• Final Paper - 20%
• Short Paper - 5%
• Writing Assignments - 2% each (10%)
• Online Assignments - 2.5% each (5%)
• Participation - 10%

Course Requirements and Assignments:

• Exams: There will be two exams. Both of these will be take-home examinations with short-answer questions and a longer essay. They will test your knowledge of the course material and your ability to relate specifics to broader themes.
  • Midterm - 10% of final grade
    • Handed out on Friday, October 20.
    • Due on Monday, October 23.
  • Final - 20% of final grade
    • Handed out on Monday, December 4
    • Due on Friday, December 8
• Final Project: At the end of the semester, you will form groups (with my help) and select a global commodity that has been important to the 19th, 20th, or 21st century. Working with your group, you will offer the class a well-researched and well-crafted presentation on the significance of your commodity. Consider political, cultural, economic, social, and religious importance, as well your product's history. How is it acquired? How sold? What unexpected consequences have emerged as a result of its exchange? I will give you more information in the middle of the semester. In addition to the presentation, you will need to write a 1500 word (approximately) essay individually. Develop a thesis about the importance of your commodity in its historical (or contemporary) context and support it with a well-researched and well-crafted piece of writing. You will be able to use your group's research, but all writing must be your own. I would particularly like to see comparisons between your topic and topics discussed previously during the semester. I will suggest a list of commodities, but be open to other ideas. Potential topics include: oil, weapons, diamonds, women, bananas, water, pharmaceuticals, narcotics, microchips, and beef.
  • Presentations: These will take place on the December 11, 13, and 15. Your grade will be split into two categories.
  Peer Evaluation - 10% of final grade
  • Your group will evaluate your effort in both preparation and performance. These will be turned in with your final paper.
  • My Evaluation - 10% of final grade
    • I will assign the group a grade on the presentation.
• Final Paper - 20% of final grade
  • Due on the day scheduled for our final exam, TBA.
• Short Paper - 5% of final grade
  • Take a look at the James Ford Bell Library Trade Products page, and look at the spices. Pick a spice NOT on that list and research its history (feel free to rely on internet sources), then produce a 750-word paper discussing its origins, role in global trade at any period (your choice), and general significance. I can provide you with a list of spices at your request.
    • Exceptional papers may be published on the Bell Library website. More information to come.
  • Due Wednesday, October 18
• Writing Assignments 1-5 - 2% of your final grade each (10% total). These assignments are designed to give you practice working with the kinds of issues that will appear on your exams and longer essays. They are all short, 1-2 pages (250-500 words or so), but you will need to work hard to make them coherent and concise. The assignments are:
  • September 13 - Writing Assignment 1
    • Write a 1-2 page analysis on your piece of secondary literature on salt. You will need to restate the author's thesis in your own words, then assess how well and in what way the author has proven his or her thesis. You can, and should, develop these papers in the groups formed during the week, but you must write your own paper privately.
  • September 18 - Writing Assignment 2
    • Write a 1-2 page analysis of the Han Histories. Discuss how useful the source is to historians, and what problems an historian must face in dealing with the source. Consider authorial intent, genre, audience, time period, and other related factors.
  • September 25 - Writing Assignment 3
    • Think about the encounters between people from two societies, whether Ibn Fadlan or as discussed in Turgeon. What did each side bring to the encounter, how did their internal biases alter their perceptions, and what did each side take away from it? What can we, as historians, learn from such dynamic, yet distorted, historical records? Write a 1-2 page paper addressing these issues.
  • October 4 - Writing Assignment 4
    • For the chapter you read: What is Standage's thesis? How well does it work? React to this type of popular historical writing. Do you find it effective? More or less effective than the Kurlansky piece? Are there any problems with Standage's approach? Write a 1-2 page paper on these themes.
  • November 15 - Writing Assignment 5
    • Write a 1-2 page response to the questions posed in the Wiesner reading, as discussed in class. Make sure to relate specific sources to specific questions.
• Online Assignments - 2.5% of your final grade each (5% total ). These assignments require working with materials on the website and writing short answers to various questions.

  • October 13- Online Assignment 1
    • Voyages of Zheng He: Complete the questions on the first page by using the resources provided to you online.
  • November 1 - Online Assignment 2
    • Casta Painting Analysis: You will be assigned a painting. Follow the instructions on the first page.
• Participation - 10% of your final grade

  • Participation is more than just showing up, but it starts with just showing up. You cannot participate if you are not here. I will take attendance every day. Unexcused absences will weigh heavily against your participation grade.
    • Excused absences - severe illness with doctor's note, death in the family, acts of God, or official Macalester activities will obviously not incur any direct penalty. However, if you aren't here, you cannot participate, so you will need to work hard to make up for any classes missed legitimately. You are responsible for catching up on material missed by consulting both me and your peers.
  • But participation is about more than just showing up. It's about doing the reading, being prepared to talk about it, volunteering your input, being involved in your group work, preparing for the debates and other discussions, and generally being an asset to the class as a whole. We will have a variety of ways in which you can participate, but none matter more than being an active member in our small-group and full-class discussions.
  • Your participation is a large percent of your grade. You will need to earn it. Take initiative. Do not expect to speak only when directly called upon and pass this section of the class.
  • Finally, being late consistently may be counted as being absent. It will certainly lower your participation grade. So will falling asleep, being disrespectful to your peers, and other anti-social behavior.

Course Policies

1. Follow the policies in the Macalester College Student Handbook. If you are unsure about whether something is plagiarism or cheating, ask first.
2. No assignment, under any circumstances, will be accepted by fax or email.
3. Students must bring readings to class on the day they are assigned. Print out online materials. If we don't talk about something in class, you need to bring it to the next class too unless told otherwise.
4. Writing assignments and examinations are due at the beginning of class. DO NOT EVER SKIP CLASS TO TRY AND FINISH YOUR PAPER. Printing errors and lost data are a fact of the computer age. If you wait until the last minute and encounter technical difficulties, your paper may still be counted as late.
5. For every day a paper or project is late, you lose one full grade per day (A to B, B to C, etc.). Do not test this system. Turn your work in on time. Stapled. With your name on every page. Typed. Double-spaced. In a 12-point font. With room on the margins for comments. Printed on only one side of the paper (for ease of comments). Please!

Go to the Calendar for schedule of readings and assignments.