HIST 140: The World Since 1945 Course Overview Themes Texts and Materials Course Requirements Grading Process Hints for Success Academic Policies Lessons COURSE OVERVIEW Welcome to History 140, The World Since 1945. This class is designed to help you learn about global developments in the post World War II era and to understand the historical roots of these issues, many of which have influenced our contemporary world. The class materials have two major purposes: 1. To introduce places, people, events, and ideas in world history since 1945 2. To improve critical thinking, communication, and writing skills. To achieve these goals, you will discuss material in online forums as well as develop your ideas through independent writing assignments. Why an online course? The easy answer to this question might be, because it is the wave of the future. We can all list the aspects of our lives that run through the Internet, a trend that seems likely only to build momentum. We use the Internet so much is because it incorporates so many resources to help manage our lives. The same thing is true of learning. The sheer volume of information online has made self education commonplace. Who hasn t needed travel
directions, found a recipe, or sought help diagnosing that ache or pain? This course is simply an extension of what many of us are already doing in our daily lives. Yet if there is so much information out there and most people know how to Google an event or person to find the relevant facts, it seems we are back to square one: Why take a history course? Here are a few reasons: To learn what questions to ask and how to answer them: Historians don t just compile and present information. They bring a theoretical paradigm and an analytical strategy to their research material, and employ a methodology for conducting their research and presenting their findings. In short, they know what questions to ask and how to approach answering them. In addition, they are able to take their findings and put them in context, making connections between pieces of information to make history more accessible, interesting, and relevant. In this course we will hone questioning skills and interrogate the past using the established discipline of history even as we work in today s electronic medium. To learn how to evaluate sources: For the unwary, the Internet is at once a treasure trove and a trap. Information does not just appear there; someone had to put it there, and they did so for a reason. Consider that people of every political, social, and cultural persuasion imaginable have equal access to the Internet. What are the chances that all the information they put up is unbiased or otherwise accurate? When reading any source, a historian must wrestle with any author s intent. When it comes to historical information on the Internet, however, the task grows because of the increased volume of data and the anonymity of many content providers. Online, as with any source, the author's perspective and potential biases do not necessarily render information useless, but the reader must consider them and mitigate them through the historical method. In this course, we will engage with a variety of sources and put them to the test. I have vetted the course material, but we will learn how to question it and place it in context. In the process, we will also develop the ability to approach the historical information available on sources like Wikipedia from a critical perspective. To become part of a learning community: Perhaps the greatest reason to take a history course and not cloister ourselves in solitary inquiry is to become part of a community of scholars actively engaging with the past. Online courses provide a unique opportunity to go deep into topics together in a way that a standard in class discussion session cannot. (There cannot be any wallflowers in this class, because there are no walls!) In this course, we will learn how to build on the observations of our peers, articulate our interpretations in a way that engages with other students insights, and practice presenting our findings in a manner respectful of our peers value systems and perspectives. By the end of the semester, we will have developed a shared and diverse conversation about the past even if we disagree about its meaning. These are only three reasons for taking a history course. We should not forget, of course, the simple joy of learning about people and their lives in the present and the past. THEMES It is impossible to provide a truly comprehensive treatment of any historical era. A historian must therefore focus on particular subjects and themes, developing a historical narrative around them. The broader a course s perspective, the more a historian must lean on themes to hone the analysis. One historian might pay particular
attention to economics, designing a course around the theme of development. Another might choose politics and design a course examining conflicts and their resolution. For this course, the following themes will guide our exploration of the past: political ideologies and the paradoxes of their implementation the growth of nation states, nationalism, supranationalism, and internationalism tensions between individual rights and societal claims. The first theme will guide us as we investigate the Cold War and the spread of communism and capitalism throughout the world. We will consider how political ideas and practices interacted in a variety of settings, from within powerful democratic regimes to impoverished emerging states. The second theme will inform our study of how classic European nation states evolved after World War II, the creation of new nations following decolonization, and the development of powerful new international economic and political treaties, structures, and organizations. The third theme is perhaps the most important for our purposes. To explore the changing and contested concepts of the relationship between the individual and society, we will look at attempts to define human rights in the wake of the Second World War. We will also consider the idea s role in debates over religious identity, women s rights, environmental degradation, and ethnic and racial discrimination in a variety of national and international contexts. You should keep these themes in mind when reading any source, including the textbook. The themes will guide our discussion forums and will inform your exam essay prompts. Throughout the course, you should repeatedly return to these themes and ask yourself how the material we are covering relates to, and helps us to better understand, the themes. TEXT AND MATERIALS See the course description for the most up to date list of materials. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Discussion Forum Participation The course is divided into thirteen lessons, one review week, and two exams. For each lesson we will read selected passages from the textbook and review a series of primary and secondary source materials available online. Then we will discuss the material in the discussion forum. The forums will be the primary interface for student to student and student to instructor interaction. The forum content and my weekly summary of the forum combine the lecture and discussion formats of an on campus class. Each lesson will be covered over the course of one week. You must be prepared to dedicate the necessary time and energy to managing this workload. It is absolutely essential that you complete the readings on time and do not fall behind. You should begin each lesson by reading over the course assignments and taking notes on them in preparation for discussion and exams. Be sure to refer back to our themes and the lesson study guides as you read the assignments to inform your interpretation. Readings and sources (videos and other material) will sometimes be
grouped together into blocks of two or three pieces on a single topic. Each lesson forum will contain a number of question threads based on the assignments. There will also be one themes and connections thread per forum that challenges you to think about broader issues that tie the readings together. When responding in any thread, cite material from the readings and actively engage your peers through responses and questions. In order to receive full credit for your participation, you must make at least three contributions to the forums for each lesson according to the criteria specified in the Forum Rubric (see link in left navigation bar). One of your three posts should be a response to a classmate's post. To do well on the discussion forums, you should: address the primary source readings for the week (you are welcome to discuss Hunt as well), citing evidence from the texts consider broader themes and contexts in analytical and interpretive postings write in clear, well edited prose actively engage with your peers in a respectful manner. These forums are time sensitive. Participation is required, and if you miss a lesson's forum, you cannot make it up later. Preparation is essential. Be sure to read the study guides to know what to look for in our sources. You must complete each lesson's discussion by 11:55 pm on the final day of the lesson. Exams Each week s lesson includes a list of Lesson Terms. Understanding these terms and their relation to the text and each other is crucial to success on exams and forums. Be sure to review and investigate these terms each week and study them as you prepare for the exams. You will take a midterm and a final exam, which will become available on their scheduled dates in the Exams section. These exams will assess your knowledge of the broader themes in the class narrative and specific examples from our readings. The midterm will consist of one three to five page essay and a section of term identifications. The final will consist of two three to five page essays and a section of term identifications. See the Schedule for exam dates. Write your exam in Word or other word processing software and submit (upload) it according to the instructions in the exam. If you do not have Microsoft Word, please save your file as an.rtf file. Paper There will be one seven to eight page paper associated with this class. It is a source based assignment inviting you to engage with international public perception of an historical event discussed in our course. This assignment requires you to hone two skills critical to the historian s craft: research and analysis. To do the assignment, select one event discussed in class. You must let me know which you event you select for approval by Lesson 10. Once you have picked an event, choose two newspapers from one country (such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times from the United States) and find multiple (a minimum of two from each paper) articles published within a two month timespan after the event. To find the articles, visit UNC Library databases for historic newspapers. There are links to multiple different newspaper databases. I highly recommend selecting major newspapers over local due to issues with coverage (local papers often reprint other larger presses' coverage).
Through an in depth source analysis, discuss broader perceptions of the event in the country you have selected. For a source analysis, you must engage with both your text for information and as a historical object itself. Consider the following questions: What kind of political bias does the paper have (can often be found in Wikipedia)? Who wrote the articles? What kind of articles are they (e.g. newswires, editorials)? What kind of claims do the articles make about the event (heroic, terrific, world changing)? Do the various articles agree in their interpretation? What do these articles tell historians today about (U.S.) opinion? Do the articles agree? Differ? Make sure to discuss your sources, but remember that the bulk of the paper should deal with historical perceptions of the event itself. Did the articles authors view the event with sympathy? Alarm? Trepidation? For who/over what? Do you think these views express more widespread societal attitudes? Papers should be seven to eight double spaced pages in Times New Roman, 12 point font, with one inch margins. Include a title (in bold). Citations are necessary to avoid plagiarism, listing all primary and secondary sources. Collaborative work is not allowed and all provisions of the Honor Code apply. Chicago style formatting is preferred. You must attach copies of your newspaper articles to your paper. Late Policy You will not receive credit for assignments or discussion posts turned in after the due date without prior approval from me. If you are having any difficulties meeting the due date or otherwise fulfilling the course requirements, it is imperative that you contact me as soon as possible. As a general rule, I will view a lastminute plea less favorably than proactive appeals for an extension. Computer failure or limited access to a computer are not legitimate excuses for late assignments. GRADING PROCESS Final grades will be determined as follows: Discussion participation: 35 percent (includes weekly responses) Your contributions will be evaluated according to the criteria in the Forum Rubric. Each week your participation will be graded on a 100 point scale, and the average of all forum grades will be your final discussion grade. Midterm: 15 percent Paper: 25 percent Final exam: 25 percent. Grade conversion scale: Please take time to understand the qualitative assessment for each numerical grade. Superior work requires considerable effort and originality beyond the minimum course requirements. A 93 100 Superior A 90 92 Excellent B+ 87 89 Very good
B 83 86 Good B 80 82 Competent C+ 77 79 Fair C 73 76 Flawed C 70 72 Deficient D+ 60 69 Very deficient F < 60 Failing HINTS FOR SUCCESS 1. Read each lesson carefully. In each lesson, I will provide a short introduction to the topics for the week, highlighting some of the main themes you will want to consider while reading the texts. These study guides will help you practice your critical reading skills and maximize the time you spend preparing for our weekly discussions. 2. Read actively, not passively. You will be reading a lot of different materials in this course. You may want to keep a notebook to write down your thoughts and ideas and to note important passages (and page numbers) that you may want to include in your discussions or exams. If you want to make notes or highlight areas on our lessons, right click on the lesson and select "This Frame," then "Print Frame." 3. Look ahead. Some weeks require substantially more reading than other weeks. Plan your time accordingly. 4. Participation in the discussion forum is required. Keep the discussion in mind as you read so that you will easily come up with a contribution that will be useful to yourself and to the rest of the class. 5. Visit the UNC Writing Center and read their suggestions thoroughly. Do not fail to do this! It will make your life easier. 6. Communicate. While the online experience does not offer face to face contact, it is important to remember that your instructor is in fact a person! There is no obstacle (within reason) that good communication cannot overcome. Please contact me with any questions or suggestions you might have concerning the content of the course and your progress there is an e mail link at the top of every lesson page. Please include HIST 140 CCO in the subject line of your e mail. ACADEMIC POLICIES By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net etiquette, and privacy protection. As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities that may include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and protection of other participants under the UNC Chapel Hill Information Security Policies when participating in online classes. When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill, such as Google or
YouTube, please note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the University s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting content to sites not managed by UNC Chapel Hill. When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class discussions, please be mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to the possible presence of malware on such sites. Honor Code Remember that as a student of UNC Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University s Honor Code, which states that It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity. All graded academic work must include a pledge comprised of the following: No unauthorized assistance has been received or given in the completion of this work. An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism. View the items below and make sure you understand how to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism Tutorial created by the librarians of UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, NC State University, and NC Central University Plagiarism, UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center You must cite all sources from which you borrow any language, ideas, or sentence structure. If you have any questions about whether your usage of sources is acceptable, contact me before submitting the assignment. Office of Accessibility/Special Accommodations If you are a student with a documented disability, you can receive services through Accessibility Resources & Service. You must self identify through Accessibility Resources to receive services or accommodation from either of these offices. Accessibility Resources works closely with programs, offices, and departments throughout the University to help create an accessible environment. The office is located in Suite 2126 of the Student Academic Services Building (SASB), 450 Ridge Road, Chapel Hill, NC, and is open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. You can contact them by phone at 919 962 8300 or 711 (NC RELAY), or by email at accessibility@unc.edu. LESSONS Lesson 1 Communism, Imperialism, and Nationalism, pre 1945 Lesson 2 Origins of the Cold War, 1945 1953 Lesson 3 America and the Postwar World Economy Lesson 4 Decolonization and Independence in Asia to 1954 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Developing World Decolonization and Revolution in Discourse and Action Cold War Continuity and Crises: USSR, USA, and China
Lesson 7 The Global System: USA, Europe, Japan, and the World Lesson 8 The Vietnam War and the Turbulent 60s Lesson 9 The Cold War Détente to Denouement, 1969 1991 Lesson 10 Lesson 11 Lesson 12 Lesson 13 Economic Reform and Protest Revolution, Race, Ethnicity, and Violence The Modern Middle East: Iran, Intifada, and Al Qaeda Globalization and the Modern World The University of North Carolina Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.