Reading Assignment:

Reading Assignment:

Reading Assignment:

Reading Assignment:

Reading Assignment:

• Robert Darnton, "The Great Cat Massacre," History Today (August 1984).

• Margaret Hornblower, "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: 200 Years Later, The French Are Still Quarreling About The Revolution," Time (May 1, 1989).

• Browse in French Revolution In The News articles in the European History in the News section of the website.

a)  Letter of Introduction (1%)

Who are you? Where are you from? What are your interests? Why are you taking this course? Do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions as we start the course? Write two or three informal paragraphs for the second class of the semester to introduce yourself to me.

c)  Virtual Museum (10%)

We will transform the classroom for one period into a European history museum. For this assignment, you will be asked to research the history of one famous building, structure, or location. A list of possibilities will be distributed. You will be expected to come to class that day with one or two large poster boards ready to talk about your research in a small-group setting.

d)   Midterm (15%)

The midterm will consist of two parts.  For the take-home component, you will be asked to write two separate History in the News or Article Reading Responses.  These should be handed in at the time of the exam and will count for 20% of the midterm grade.  For the  in-class exam component, you will be asked to write four mini-essays analyzing paired historical terms. A detailed preparation sheet will be handed out in advance. The class text will serve as the basic resource here.  There will also be the opportunity to hand in up to three bonus Reading Responses, each of which can add a maximum of 3% to your midterm grade.

e)  The Bubble Gum Card Assignment (25%)

For this assignment, you will put together a package of 10 The Minds of Early Modern Europe cards.  I will provide class members both with 5"x8" file cards and a long list of individuals who lived in Europe at some point between 1300 and 1815. Your responsibility is to put together concise, original character sketches that capture the essence of the thought and life of your chosen people.

The front of the card should include 1) the name of the historical figure at the top; 2) a picture of the individual in the middle; and 3) a short, interesting quotation from the person at the bottom. The back of the card should include 1) the year of birth and death; 2) the place of birth and death; 3) a paragraph called "THOUGHT"; 4) a section called "LIFE": and 5) a "FACTOID." The "THOUGHT" section is the most important of the assignment. Although you will not have the space for detailed description, you should have room for a concise analysis that captures the essence of the individual’s personal philosophy. Keep the "LIFE" section to no more than a couple of sentences. Here, do not offer a full biography but rather highlight one or two key points that help to make sense of the individual’s thought. Try to find an interesting fact about the person for the "FACTOID." I expect you to use your own analysis for the assignment, though you are welcome to hand in any background research with your bubble gum package.

You will also be asked to convert any four of the bubble gum cards into an electronic format, and e-mail these to me with an accompanying jpeg image.

f)  Final Exam (25%)

The Final Exam will consist of two parts.  For the take-home component, you will be asked to write two separate History in the News or Article Reading Responses.  These should be handed in at the time of the exam and will count for 20% of the final exam grade.   The in-class mini-essay component will count for 80% of the exam grade and will ask you to write short essays analyzing paired historical terms. A detailed preparation sheet will be handed out in advance.  There will also be the opportunity to hand in up to three bonus Reading Responses, each of which can add a maximum of 3% to your final exam grade.

Reading Responses

You will be expected in hand in two one-to-two-page reading responses as the take-home component of the mid-term and the final exam.  These mini-essays will count for 20% of the exam grade.

Reading Responses should be based upon selected required or optional reading assignments for that half of the course.  For each reading response, choose either the Article or History in the News format, depending whether you are using an article reading or news stories as the basis for the response.

i)  Article Format

Select an article from the required or supplementary reading list.  Write a well-focused commentary that combines summary and analysis.  What is the article's argument?  What are the author's assumptions?  What did you find most interesting about the reading, and how might you best respond to the ideas it contained?

ii)  History in the News Format

Each response should

• be based on two or more news articles that you can effectively link by theme.

• include the title and dates of the articles at the top of the page.

• offer your analysis of and response to the topics discussed.

It is fine to adopt a straightforward approach and pick articles about the same event, person or controversy for a mini-essay.  I would encourage you, though, to also consider entries in which you pair articles that you imaginatively link by theme.

Extra Credit: Textbook (Survey questions from Western Heritage) (up to 4%)

There is a web-site connected to our class text. This can be found at  .   At this site, each chapter is broken down into several sections, and there are on-line fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions for each of these sections. This is an excellent place to get a detailed factual introduction to European History. You are encouraged to complete as many of these chapter worksheets as possible (the relevant chapters are 9 through 19). You will receive up to 4% bonus points in the course (I will calculate your extra credit by dividing your correct answers by the total number of questions for the text). It is, of course, expected that you do your own work here.  The due date for Chapters 9 through 13 will be the date of the Mid-term.  The due date for Chapters 14 through 19 will be the date of the Final Exam.

If any student would like to work with me to design an alternative extra credit project (up to a maximum of 4% for the course), I encourage you to do so.

Students can choose to hand in up to three extra reading responses for the Mid-Term and/or the Final Exam.  If this option is chosen, I will grade each mini-essay on a 100-point scale, count the top three as the take-home component of the exam, and award up to a 3% exam bonus (converted from the 100-point scale) for the remaining responses.

***Note on Extra Credit: To be eligible for an A+ in the course, a student must have average at least an A- on all assignments without any bonus marks factored in.