HIS 122: THE WORLD SINCE 1945
North Island College Fall 2011
Meeting Times: 10:00 am - 11:20 am
Meeting Place: TYEE 113 (CVC)
Instructor: Dan Hinman-Smith
Office: Village G6
Office Hours: Wed. 11:30 am - 1 pm; 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Office Phone: 334-5000, Extension 4024
Home Phone: 250-336-0238 (Do not hesitate to call with course-related questions)
Web-Site: http://www.misterdann.com/contentscontemporary.htm
E-Mail: dan.hinmansmith@nic.bc.ca
Course Description And Objectives
HIS 122 seeks to place contemporary international affairs within a broad historical and analytical perspective. The course highlights a number of events, trends and themes that have shaped the history of both individual nations and the international system since the end of World War II in 1945. Topics to be studied will include the history of the Cold War; decolonization and the struggle of developing nations to gain political and economic stability; the "rise" of Asia; the Arab-Israeli Conflict; the Islamic resurgence; the collapse of Soviet-style communism and the nature of conflict in the post-Cold War world; the development of the global economy since Bretton Woods; and the relationship between the history of international institutions and world issues since 1945.
Course objectives include the following:
To familiarize students with key events, trends and themes in world history since 1945.
To provide students with an historically-informed understanding of current global issues.
To develop in students the ability to analyze primary and secondary historical sources and to offer their own interpretations based upon such analysis.
To introduce students to a wide variety of media sources and periodicals for those who plan to follow current affairs in the future.
To challenge students to imagine how they might become actively engaged global citizens and to articulate how historical study relates to such a role.
Texts
Marjane Satrapi. Complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon, 2003.
Dexter Filkins. Forever War. New York: Vintage, 2008.
Richard Dowden. Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. New York: Public Affairs, 2009.
A Tentative Class Schedule
WEEK1Wednesday, September 7
a) Introduction
b) Cartoon Corner
WEEK 2
Monday, September 12
a) Video: "A Death In Tehran" (Frontline, 2009, 45 mins.)
Reading Assignment:
Don Belt
Listening Assignment:
Wednesday, September 14
a) Discussion: Arab Spring In Historical Context
b) Lecture: God Returns -- Islam And The Middle East Since 1979
Reading Assignment:
Dirk Vandewalle, "
Browse extensively in Discussion Topic:
WEEK 3
Monday, September 19
a) Finish God Returns -- Islam And The Middle East Since 1979
Listening Assignment:
"
Wednesday, September 21
a) Discussion: Persepolis and
Understanding IranReading Assignment:
Marjane Satrapi
Browse extensively in Understanding Iran Discussion Topic
WEEK 4
Monday, September 26
a) Discussion: Arab-Palestinian Documents
b) Video: "Jihad -- The Men And Ideas Behind Al Qaeda" [America At A Crossroads, 2007]
Reading Assignment:
David Remnick, "The Seventh Day: Why The Six-Day War Is Still Being Fought," New Yorker (May 28, 2007).
Questions About The Israeli-Palestinian Documents
Wednesday, September 28
a) Finish Video: "Jihad -- The Men And Ideas Behind Al Qaeda" [America At A Crossroads, 2007]
WEEK 5
Monday, October 3
a) Lecture: Wounded Spirits In The Promised Land -- The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-Present
Wednesday, October 5
a) ***Map Quiz
b) Finish Lecture: Wounded Spirits In The Promised Land -- The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-Present
WEEK 6
Monday, October 10
NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING
Wednesday, October 12
a) Introduce This Day in History Calendar
b) Video: "Tank Man" (Frontline, 2006, 90 mins.)
Monday, October 17
a) Finish Video: "Tank Man" (Frontline, 2006, 90 mins.)
b) Discussion: Forever War
Reading Assignment:
Dexter Filkins, Forever War
Wednesday, October 19
a) Lecture: From Midnight to The New Millennium -- India Since Independence
Reading Assignment:
Pankaj Mishra, "Exit Wounds: The Legacy Of Indian Partition," New Yorker (August 13, 2007).
Monday, October 24
a) Discussion:
Understanding Pakistanb) Start Lecture: China Rising -- From Mao To Market
Reading Assignment:
Browse extensively in
**First Half Journal Due
Wednesday, October 26
a) Finish Lecture: China Rising -- From Mao To Market
Listening Assignment:
"The Munk Debates: Be It Resolved That The 21st Century Will Belong To China," CBC Ideas (August 25, 2011).
Reading Assignment:
Peter Hessler, "China: Inside The Dragon," National Geographic (May 2008).
Peter Hessler, "What's Next: The Road Ahead," National Geographic (May 2008).
WEEK
9
Monday, October 31
a) Video: "Rise And Fall Of The Russian Oligarchs"
Wednesday, November 2
a) Student Mini-Presentations: This Day In History Calendar
b) Lecture: The Collapse Of The Soviet Union And The Birth Of The New/Old Russia
**This Day In History Calendar Due
WEEK 10
Monday, November 7
a) Video: "The Hugo Chavez Show" (Frontline, 2008, 90 mins.)
a) Lecture: Old Europe/New Europe? -- NATO And The European Union
Optional Listening Assignment:
For an interview with author Ian Buruma about his book Murder In Amsterdam, visit
Optional Reading Assignment:
Wednesday, November 9
a) History In The Headlines I:
Latin American Country Studies
WEEK 11
Monday, November 14
a) Discussion: Latin America Through Biography -- Che Guevara And Bob Marley As Case Studies
b) Finish Lecture: The Collapse Of The Soviet Union And The Birth Of The New/Old Russia
Reading Assignment:
Browse extensively in
Wednesday, November 16
a) Lecture: Old Europe/New Europe? -- NATO And The European Union
Optional Listening Assignment:
For an interview with author Ian Buruma about his book Murder In Amsterdam, visit
Optional Reading Assignment:
Monday, November 21
a) Video: "21 Up -- South Africa -- Mandela's Children" (2006, 70 minutes)
Reading Assignment:
Alexandra Fuller, "Mandela's Children," National Geographic (June 2010).
Optional Listening Assignment:
"Mandela: An Audio History,"
American Radioworks.
Wednesday, November 23
a) Lecture: "This Land With Fire In Itself": Modern South Africa
Reading Assignment:
Browse extensively in
Monday, November 28
a) Video: "Atomic Cafe" (88 minutes)
Wednesday, November 30
a) Discussion: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles
Reading Assignment:
Richard Dowden, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles
WEEK 14
Monday, December 5
a) Discussion: The United Nations Charter
b) Documentary: "People Power: The End Of Soviet-Style Communism"
Reading Assignment:
Wednesday, December 7
a) Discussion: The Virtual Revolution
b) Lecture: Parliament Of Man -- The History Of The United Nations
Listening Assignment:
"The
Virtual Revolution: The Great Levelling?,"
BBC Documentary Archive, February 2, 2010.
"The
Virtual Revolution: Enemy Of The State,"
BBC Documentary Archive, March 1, 2010.
"The
Virtual Revolution: The Cost Of Free,"
BBC Documentary Archive, March 8, 2010.
"The
Virtual Revolution: Homo Interneticus,"
BBC Documentary Archive, March 15, 2010.
WEEK 15
Monday, December 12
**Second Half Journal Due
Evaluation
Journal Installment #1 35%
Journal Installment #2 30%
Map Quiz 5%
This Day In History Calendar 15%
Class Participation 15%
a) The Journal (60%)
The student journal is the main assignment in this class. The purpose of the journal is to provide you the opportunity for frequent thoughtful and analytical commentary upon course—related material. The advantages of the journal, to my mind, are that it breaks work down into regular and manageable chunks, and that it enables you to seize hold of the curriculum in a way which reflects your own interests and style.
In order to give you a basic structure and to clearly communicate my expectations, I will specify certain mandated entries. These will include a number of small, historically-based research projects and critical commentaries upon each of the course books. I will also suggest other recommended entries. However, while it is required that all work in the journal be your own original writing, you are encouraged to be imaginative in your own investigation and analysis of Contemporary History.
The journal will be graded in two installments. It will be due at the mid-point of the semester. This installment will count for 30% of the course grade. The journal will then again be due at the end of the semester. This installment will also count for 30% of the course grade.
The entries will, no doubt, vary in format, length and quality. Do not hesitate to take risks and to express your own opinions. Try, however, not to succumb to the temptation to write in an easy, stream—of—consciousness style. There is no inherent tension between analytical rigour and personal insight.
I will assume that everything in the body of the journal represents your own writing unless indicated otherwise.
The good journal will:
be at least 30 pages long.
include 3+ page commentaries on the Satrapi, Filkins and Dowden books .
include the Letter of Introduction, the History In the Headlines Latin American Countries mini-project, and an International Current Events Appendix.
include 2+ Discussion Topic commentaries.
include 2+ reading responses to assigned or supplementary articles.
include 2+ audio and/or video responses.
include 1+ Primary Document analysis.
include other entries that draw upon class material and/or your independent research.
demonstrate to the instructor that you are approaching the readings and the course with both effort and intellectual rigour.
b) Map Quiz (10%)
There will be a world geography quiz early in the semester.
c) This Day In History Calendar (15%)
Students will be
asked to design and print off a 2012 This Day In History Calendar that combines chronological information about the post-1945 world with matching images.d) Class Participation (15%)
The class participation grade will be based upon attendance, pre-class preparation, and the willingness and ability to contribute thoughtfully to full-class and small-group discussion.
A Note On Plagiarism
Everything that you hand in should be your original work unless otherwise indicated. Violations of this policy may result in failing an assignment or the course in its entirety. Please talk to me if you have any uncertainty about what is permitted here.
Welcome To The Course
