The World since 1890  
History 440
Dr. David A. Meier

Course Description

Students will be intensively engaged in exploring various aspects of world history from 1890 to the present. Special emphasis will be placed upon the nature of nationalism, the character of society, the early nature of European democracy, and the two world wars. This course will also address the consequences of the Second World War for postwar Europe. Finally, this course will address the economic, social, and political implications of the Cold War to complete the semester.

Required Textbooks

Eric Hobsbawm's The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (1996),
Jean Baudrillard's The Spirit of Terrorism (2003),
Paul Kriwaczek's In Search of Zarathustra (2004), and
Charles Kimball's When Religion Becomes Evil (2002).

Course Requirements

First, there will be no formal examinations. However, all students are required to be up-to-date with their readings as assigned in class.

Second, students will complete ten three-page typed papers based upon discussions in class and assigned reading. Students are to follow the Chicago, Harvard, MLA or Turabian style books. All papers must be in Times New Roman and no greater than 12 point font. Each paper will be worth 100 points.

Third, students will also be expected to participate in weekly evaluations of the course as well as the formal institutional evaluation.

Finally, all students must present at the time of taking their final examination a clean, neat, and hand-written notebook of no less than 40 written pages of notes reflecting materials covered in class since the beginning of the semester. Periodic evaluations of progress towards this objective will be made during class. Failure to demonstrate appropriate progress (a minimum of 20 hand-written pages of good notes) by midterm will result in the loss of one letter grade. Failure to complete this requirement by the end of the semester will result in a loss of possibly one or two additional letter grades to your final grade.

Back-Up Copies of Papers and Graded Materials

Students are asked to retain copies of all papers which they submit as insurance against lost or misplaced papers. Graded materials returned to you should be carefully stored away as insurance against an incorrect or incomplete grade at the conclusion of the semester. Students are encouraged to study their graded materials in order to improve their performance during the course of the semester.

Employing Critical Thinking in Writing a Critical Review

The purpose of a critical review is to employ critical thinking through analyzing and evaluating the contents of a book or article -- to discuss the author's major contentions, methodology, and the research of information provided as support. Your analysis, both positive and negative, should accurately reflect the author's point of view, purpose, and presentation of information as well as the criteria you have used to analyze and evaluate the author's work. As you make you analytical and evaluative comments about the work, be careful to distinguish between your points and those made by the author. If you include ideas from other critics or from course materials, document or refer to theses sources in the text.

The following guidelines and questions should help you clarify your thoughts and provide you with a sequence your review might follow.

Describe the book or article being reviewed. Is it a memoir, or biography, an argumentative essay, a review of literature, etc.? What information or knowledge does it convey? What is its main topic? What problems does the work address or what issues does it raise?

Determine the author's purpose. Is this purpose aimed at any particular group of readers? What does the preface or foreword tell you about the author's intent, background, and credentials?

Provide a context for your review of the book or article. How does the work relate to the course? What are the criteria by which you are analyzing the work?

Summarize briefly the main points, highlighted by paraphrase and quotation. The point here is not to retell but to provide an overview of the content. You may integrate your analysis with your summary or summarize first and analyze later. A word of caution: The first method of organization can make it difficult for the reader to distinguish between your ideas and the author's while the latter method can lead you to state the author's point twice. Be aware of these problems in order to avoid them. Also ask yourself, are there some natural breaks in the organization of the work where your commentary seems appropriate?

Evaluate what is most and/or least effective about the book or article. What is the most appropriate direction to take? Consider: How well has the book achieved its goal? What possibilities have been suggested? What points are controversial? Does the author convey prejudice or make illogical relationships? Do you see any practical or personal application for the author's work?

Reserve for yourself the last few lines for a comment on the piece overall. Your responses to the above questions will probably address specific segments or points. Your last sentences should refer to the work in its entirety and leave the reader with a sense of completion.

Student Learning Outcomes (Institutional, Program, Departmental, and Course Outcomes)

Institutional Student Learning Outcomes

I. Critical Thinking Skills

Consistent with Dickinson State University’s six Institutional Student Learning Outcomes, this course will develop higher order and critical thinking skills by comparing and contrasting the perspectives offered from a wide variety of politicians, thinkers and writers from those events perpetuated over the centuries regarding the course and consequences of history from the present back into the late 19th century.  Second, students will be expected to demonstrate the aforementioned skills through ten written assignments.  Third and fourth, history as an essential liberal arts discipline serves to enhance these values while this course reinforces the student’s depth of knowledge in the field of history.  Fifth and sixth, this type of course is essential to preparing the student for both classroom teaching, in the pursuit of advanced degrees in history, and in preparing the student to handle a wider array of changes relevant to the use of history in everyday life.

II. Communication and Technology Skills

Students will demonstrate proficiency in communication skills through written assignments, interaction with the instructor and fellow students, use of internet resources coupled with an internet-based syllabus linking the student with resources developed for the study of the materials presented in this course by a wide variety of institutions across the globe.

III. Multicultural and Global Experience

Students will demonstrate knowledge of national and international multiculturalism and the importance of global citizenship through the mastery of materials relating to the numerous cultural, religious, and philosophical systems which govern the affairs of most points on the globe.

IV. Aesthetic Experience

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the arts and humanities including participation in artistic activities by reviewing numerous examples of artistic expression as manifested over time by the cultures of the world.

V. Discipline Based Knowledge

Students will demonstrate discipline-specific knowledge and career skills related to their fields of study. Within a general survey course addressing world civilization, all students will fulfill a component of their general education requirements including a multi-cultural component of their education. Students pursing degrees in History, Political Science, the Social Sciences, Sociology, Geography, and the associated education-oriented degree programs will all be involved with demonstrating and developing discipline-based skills.

VI. Health and Wellness Knowledge

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the importance of health, wellness, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As an integral reflection of modern states and societies, it would be a natural concequence of the knowledge imparted by the program of study covered in this course.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Specifically, The World Since 1890 (HIST 440) serves the various history majors and minor fields.  It provides the student with an upper-division class designed provide the student with the necessary tools to study course of modern history as well as to assist in the fulfillment of graduation requirements for the major/minor in question.  Its unique contribution is in the presentation of unique elements of historical analysis and research explaining in detail the elements commonly appealed to in the composing of textbooks addressing the course of world history.  In addition, The World Since 1890 directly addresses modern history, during which time the fundamental components of a truly world civilization took solid shape. 

Departmental Student Learning Outcomes

Complimenting the forementioned learning outcomes, Departmental Student Learning Outcomes address those skills which students nurture and develop in the context of the course and, thus, are largely addressed under Course Content. These outcomes are student-centered and designed to help guide faculty and student alike in understanding the purposes behind an education in the Social Sciences.

1. The competence to look forward and to develop prognoses to address future situations.
2. The competence to understand the past and apply it to future situations.
3. The competence for interdisciplinary work.
4. The competence to promote an open multi-cultural and transcultural dialogue.
5. The ability to encourage others to become participants in social and political processes.
6. The ability to move from theory to action.
7. The ability to show empathy, compassion, and solidarity for all elements in society.
8. The competence to motivate others to act.
9. The competence to reflect on individual as well as societal images of self-understanding.
10. The competence and ability to appreciate the world in which we live.

Course Student Learning Outcomes

Your Instructor

Your instructor can be reached through a variety of channels, including email, during office hours (to be announced in class),and by appointment. Do not to call him at home. (Dr. Meier's email addressis  David.Meier@dsu.nodak.edu. His primary world wide web pages can be found at http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/Homepage.html.