Here is the review sheet for the final exam. As before, this is designed not for you to be able to answer each question exhaustively and at length, but to guide you toward topics you recognize less and need to brush up on.
hist 112 – fall 2009
Here is the assignment, in PDF and in HTM (click on Continue Reading to see it).
Hi folks,
Here are the readings for the American Civil War. These are the assigned readings for this topic, and so you are responsible for them.
I’ve updated the assignment schedule to move forward the readings we did not discuss before the exam.
I’ve had a couple of questions about the exam, so I thought I would send a general email just to be clear about a few things.
- The exam is going ahead as scheduled on Tuesday. Losing a class on Friday primarily affected our coverage of Chapter 16, which will not be on the exam.
- The essay question will involve discussing changes, comparing different areas over the period covered for the course, under some general topic.
- For example, the importance of religion in various societies and times, how different empires build and wield power, the effect of trade on relation between societies, changes in gender roles.
- What you’ll be doing is discussing the general topic by giving examples from different times and places — what changed and why.
- To prepare for this, have a clear idea of the key religious, political, economic, and social changes in the regions we discussed, and have a strong sense of what happened and why.
- I realize that this course covers a vast amount of material. But common sense and what we’ve emphasized in class will help you. Also think about connections between the most important subjects.
- Random examples: The Black Death connects with the end of the Mongols and later the rise of the Ming and other empires, and the rivalry of the European powers. That rivalry sparks European exploration and imperialism and ends the meso-American empires. The exploitation of mercantilism plus the rise of new science and Enlightenment culminates in the wave of Atlantic revolutions. The threat of foreign intrusion helped spark the unification of Japan.
- In other words, don’t think about all of what we’ve talked about as a bunch of unrelated facts. These events are all fluid, and they relate to each other. That is what I am interested in.
- Finally, don’t forget that economic power must come before political power. Many of the motivations and causes of events we discuss are economic.
Email me with any questions about the material.
Here is the midterm review sheet I handed out in class.
Hi all,
In class on Friday I announced the following homework assignment, due in class on Tuesday.
- Please read the following three documents in their entirety and write a short essay, at least one page, discussing their key similarities and differences in terms of ideas and principles, as well as intent (what the authors intended to accomplish). This will count as a quiz grade. My preference is for it to be typed.
- In addition, please read Thomas Paine’s Common Sense for class discussion.
These four documents constitute the “To Be Posted” readings for Tuesday in the syllabus.
Posted by Mark Wilson
on September 12, 2009
core 2.2 - fall 2009, hist 112 - fall 2009 / No Comments
core 2.2 - fall 2009, hist 112 - fall 2009 / No Comments
As promised, I’ve put together a Sample Proposal for your research project. Hopefully this will give you a clearer idea of what I’m looking for.
As you can see, it’s quite possible to do this on one page. The main elements are the Statement of the Problem (what questions are being debated?), the Thesis Statement (what is your position on the problem?), and a Preliminary Outline (what areas will you need to cover to support your argument?).
Here are the materials I’ve given in class related to the research project. I’ve separated the one big handout I gave out into several pieces. All of these files are PDFs.
Posted by Mark Wilson
on September 12, 2009
core 2.2 - fall 2009, hist 112 - fall 2009 / No Comments
core 2.2 - fall 2009, hist 112 - fall 2009 / No Comments
If you do not have the handout “Examining Primary Sources,” here it is.
The main idea here, remember, is to try to ascertain the motive for writing the document and use that to look at how it affects the author’s description of events and environments.
