Professor Carter V. Findley 	238 Dulles Hall
Office hours M 3:30-5:00 & by appt. 	Office phone 292-5404
Website:  http://carmen.osu.edu  		              e-mail:  findley.1@osu.edu

HISTORY 597:  CRITICAL ISSUES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WORLD
{Spring 2007, course call numbers:  11289-1, 11290-0}

MTW 	2:30-3:18, 	Lazenby 21, and 
R 	2:30-4:18, 	Postle 1180 or small section rooms as follows:   
			Knowlton  0190	call no. 11289-1   
			Evans Lab 2004	call no. 11290-0 
TAs:	Craig Nelson,  office Dulles 322, office tel. 292-2216, e-mail:  nelson.574@osu.edu
	Matthew Yates, office Dulles 235, office tel. 292-4727, e-mail:  yates.128@osu.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

This course looks from a global perspective at major issues that have made, or are making, the world we live in today.  The textbook takes an explicit, thematic approach to the study of these issues.  The lectures explore these themes and analyze examples illustrative of them.  Additional exercises will explore a variety of alternative approaches to understanding the world around us:  films, works of literature, the pictorial record created by artists and  photographers, or simulations of real-life situations.  The goal of the course is not only to convey factual knowledge about the world since 1914, but also to provide an interpretive framework in which this knowledge can be set, and to help us all become well-informed and responsible citizens of a world that is now at a critical turning point in its history.

GEC CAPSTONE REQUIREMENT

History 597 fulfills the GEC Capstone requirement by taking a thematic, transdisciplinary approach to globally significant issues of the recent past, present, and foreseeable future and by engaging the students in analyzing, synthesizing, and applying the knowledge they acquire.

ASSIGNED READINGS

C. V. Findley and John A. M. Rothney, Twentieth-Century World (sixth edition, 2006)
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front 
Alan Paton, Cry the Beloved Country
Naguib Mahfouz, Midaq Alley 
Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, revised third edition (2003) 

These books have been ordered through SBX. The Main Library Reserve, currently in Sullivant Hall, has also been asked to place all these titles on two-hour reserve. 

NOTE CONCERNING REGISTRATION

All students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the second full week of the quarter. No requests to add the course will be approved by the Chair of the Department after that time. Enrolling officially and on time is solely the responsibility of the student.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term academic misconduct includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; examples of such misconduct include, but are not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct:  
	
	http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp).

For a discussion of plagiarism, see: 

	http://cstw.osu.edu/writingCenter/handouts/research_plagiarism.cfm

Students who need help with writing are urged to contact the OSU Writing Center: 

	http://cstw.osu.edu

DISABILITY SERVICES

Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office for Disability Services will be appropriately accommodated, and should inform the instructor as soon as possible of their needs. The Office for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue; telephone
292-3307, TDD 292-0901;  http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Attendance and participation (including quizzes) 	20 percent
Analytical paper assignment (see below for details) 	20 percent
Midterm examination 		20 percent
Final examination 					40 percent

Regular attendance and participation are essential parts of the course.  Attendance may be taken and quizzes may be given at any time.  

Here are the grade breakdowns:

A: 92.6 and above; A-: 89.6-92.5; B+: 87.6-89.5; B: 82.6-87.5; B-: 79.6-82.5; C+: 77.6-79.5; C: 72.6-77.5; C-: 69.6-72.5; D+: 67.6-69.5; D: 62-67.5; E: below 62. 

PAPER ASSIGNMENT AND TOPIC

Students may write about any one of the four assigned novels to fulfill the analytical paper requirement.  In each case, the paper topic is to analyze that novel in terms of how it illustrates the themes of twentieth-century world history as identified in Chapter One of Twentieth Century World.  Please note that the assignments will be due at different dates, depending on the option selected.  You must submit your paper in printed form (hard copy) at the stated time.  Do not try to submit your paper in electronic form. 

Option 1:  Achebe  	Due Thursday, 19 April in class at 2:30 p.m.
Option 2:  Remarque  	Due Thursday, 10 May in class at 2:30 p.m.
Option 3:  Paton  	Due Thursday, 17 May in class at 2:30 pm.
Option 4:  Mahfouz   	 Due Thursday, 24 May in class at 2:30 pm.

Anyone uncertain about how to proceed should consult the instructor or one of the T.A.s.  No paper should be longer than six double-spaced, typed pages.

WEEKLY OUTLINE OF COURSE ACTIVITIES

Week One	The World in the Era of European Dominance 

		Readings:  Findley-Rothney, preface & Chapter. 1-2 (pp. xvii-54);  	
	Achebe, Things Fall Apart, entire 

M	26	Mar.	Introduction to World History	
T	27	Mar.	Imperial Berlin, 1914 	 
W	28	Mar.	Dinshawai, a Village in Egypt 	
R	29	Mar.	LAB (in small section rooms): “1900”  (simulation) 

Week Two	Crisis of the European World System	

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 3 (pp. 55-81); Remarque, All Quiet, entire

M	2	Apr.	World War I in Europe 	
T	3	Apr.	Global Ramifications of the War 	
W	4	Apr.	Gender and Mass Mobilization 	
R	5	Apr.	LAB (in small section rooms):  Discussion of Achebe and Remarque

Week Three	Bolshevik Challenge to the Capitalist Order

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 4 (pp. 82-102) 

M	9	Apr.	Bolshevik Revolution and its Global Significance-1 	
T	10	Apr.	Bolshevik Revolution and its Global Significance-2 	
W	11	Apr.	The Crash of the World Economy
R	12	Apr.	LAB (in Postle 1180):  “Shoulder to Shoulder:  Annie Kenney” (video)

Week Four	Restructuring the Social and Political Order

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 5 (pp. 103-21).  
	If you choose Option 1 for your paper, it is due this Thursday, 11:30 am.

M	16	Apr.	The U.S. New Deal:  Re-Engineering Liberalism 	
T	17	Apr.	The Depression and the Colonial World 	
W	18	Apr.	From Democracy to Fascism 	
R	19	Apr.	LAB (in Postle 1180):  Chaplin’s “Modern Times” (video)

Week Five	The Rise of Fascism:  Europe and Elsewhere
		
	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 6 (pp. 122-144); Paton, Cry the Beloved Country

M	23	Apr.	The Nature of Nazi Society 	
T	24	Apr.	Latin America’s Struggle to Develop		
W	25	Apr.	The Middle East to 1945 	
R	26	Apr.	LAB	(Postle 1180):  “Triumph of the Will,”  “Night and Fog” (films)

Week Six	Latin America, Africa, and Asia Between the Wars				

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Chaps. 7-9 (pp. 146-219); Mahfouz, Midaq Alley.  

M	30	Apr.	MIDTERM EXAMINATION
T	1	May	China, and Japan		
W	2	May  	World War II		
R	3	May  	LAB (Postle 1180):  video “Cry the Beloved Country” 

Week Seven	From World War to Cold War and the Nuclear Threat

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 10-11 (pp. 221-284). 
	If you choose Option 2 for your paper, it is due this Thursday, 11:30 am. 

M	7	May	The Home Front, World War II		
T	8	May	Decolonization & Wars of National Liberation 	
W	9	May	Cold War & Superpower Bipolarity		
R	10	May	LAB (small section rooms):  Discuss Paton and Mahfouz, Midaq Alley 

Week Eight	Postwar Readjustments, East and West	

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 12-13 (pp. 285-350); begin Juergensmeyer
	If you chose Option 3 for your paper, it is due this Thursday, 11:30 am. 

M	14	May	Postindustrial Society		
T	15	May	The Communist World System & Its Fate 	
W	16	May	Latin American Lessons		
R	17	May	LAB (small section rooms):  Prepare for Panel Discussion on 
				Juergensmeyer

Week Nine	Developing Countries in the Postwar Era

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 14-16 (pp. 351-443); finish Juergensmeyer
	If you chose Option 4 for your paper, it is due this Thursday, 11:30 am. 

M	21	May	Africa from Decolonization to Globalization 	
T	22	May	The Middle East—Islam and Modernity		
W	23	May	Indian Extremes		
R	24	May	LAB (small section rooms):  panel discussion on Juergensmeyer

Week Ten	Asian Challenges

	Readings:  Findley-Rothney, Ch. 17-18  (pp. 444-531).

M	28	May	MEMORIAL DAY
T	39	May	China, Future Center of the World System?		
W	30	May	Globalization, Revolution that Ended the Twentieth Century 	
R	31	May	LAB (small section rooms):  Concluding Discussion of Course Themes

FINAL EXAMINATION, Monday, 4 June, 1:30 am - 3:18 pm