- Reading, Attendance, Participation, Study Groups, Study Questions, The New York Times
1. Weekly papers
2. Term Paper
2.a: Paper Topics
2.b: First draft
2.c: Final draft
- Other
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Reading, Attendance, Participation, Study Groups, Study Questions, The New York Times:
You must keep up with the weekly reading assignments that are listed at the end of this syllabus. This is important because the course’s aim of learning how to present a persuasive explanation and analysis can be achieved only if you are developing some historical awareness and encountering alternative explanations. My lectures will parallel the readings, and the readings will also be discussed specifically in discussion sections. You will not be able to understand the lectures or participate in the discussions in sections without doing the readings.
Everyone is expected to attend lectures and discussion sections regularly and be prepared to ask questions and participate in discussions in class and in sections. Attendance will be taken regularly in discussion sections and through pop quizzes in lectures.
Each of you will participate in a Study Group of 4-6 students, all attending the same section. You may form these groups on your own or be assigned to them by your TA. In either case, your TA should have a complete list of all the study groups by the time you meet with your sections during the second week of classes (Oct. 5). Participation in a study group is mandatory. These groups will play an important role in the completion of your research paper (see below). The Study Groups should also meet outside the class, at CLUE sessions and elsewhere, to discuss and analyze readings and other course-related issues.
I will post study questions on the class web site every other week. These will help you in reviewing the readings and the lectures in preparation for the final examination.
You are required to read the print version of the newspaper The New York Times daily. You can subscribe to this newspaper at a special student rate at the HUB. There will e a representative from the New York Times in class on October 2 to explain how this works. The daily contents of the paper will be discussed in quiz sections and will be included in your quizzes.
Written Assignments:
1. Weekly papers: Each student must write four weekly essays of about three double-spaced typewritten pages each (12 pt type, one-inch margins). These papers will be based on the weekly reading assignments You may choose the four weeks in which you will write assignments, but you must make sure you complete all four. At the top of each weekly paper you turn in, in addition to your name and section, indicate the readings on which the report is based and provide the date on which you are turning in the assignment.
In the weekly papers you will identify a common theme/question that is covered by the readings of the week. You will compare how this theme is addressed by different authors of the week. You will summarize and evaluate the explanations advanced and evidence used by different authors. You will conclude by presenting your own evaluation and assessment of the relative merits of the readings assigned during the week. Whenever relevant, papers should refer to readings from previous weeks. Papers that are simple summaries of the week’s readings will be returned to you without a grade.
The weekly essays are to be handed in at the beginning of the section meetings on Thursdays. No papers may be turned in during the first or the last week (Oct 1, Dec 10); you will be receiving instructions from your TAs about the short papers in your sections. No late papers will be accepted and no papers will be accepted from students who do not attend the full section.
These papers will be graded on the following scale: +, √+, √, √-, -, 0. These correspond roughly to the following numerical grades: 4 (+), 3.5 (√+), 3.0 (√), 2.0 (√-), 1.8 (-), 0.
2. Term Paper:
Each student will write a research paper of about 7-8 pages. In this paper you will choose a geographical area (not necessarily a country) and identify a puzzle or an anomaly that can be resolved by referring to this region’s interaction with the broader world sometime between 1250 and 1914. You will need to state the puzzle or the anomaly you are focusing on in terms of a “why” question.
The puzzle you choose needs to involve a process that unfolds over time, and not focus on a single event. You should not simply attach a “why” to an historical event and write a paper about that. For example, “why did World War One take place?” would not be a valid question because it does not include a puzzle. On the other hand, “Why did World War One start even though the economies of major powers appeared to be doing well?” or, “why two regions of a country or two countries that look alike were affected differently by the war?” would be appropriate as a research question (although they may be too big to handle in a short paper.) Since the question you are dealing with will not be familiar to your readers, your papers will have to start with your explanation of why the question you are dealing with is in fact a puzzle. You should not write papers about negative why questions (such as, “why something did not happen?”).
After stating and explaining your central question, you will cover the following points in your paper:
➢ Develop a possible explanation (hypothesis) of your puzzle or anomaly by reading about your period, region, and problem.
➢ Collect and present data and information to support your hypothesis.
➢ Show how your data support your hypothesis and, together, they provide an explanation for the puzzle you are trying to solve in the paper.
You will submit a paper topic proposal, write and be evaluated on two drafts of this research paper. The due dates and requirements for these drafts are listed below. Late drafts will not be accepted without a valid excuse.
2.a: Paper Topics:
You will turn in a paragraph to your TA on October 15 describing the topic of your paper. You will need to get your TA’s approval before researching and writing your paper. The selection of the geographical area, time interval, and the problem to be explained are very important for this assignment. Keep in mind that some of the countries that exist today did not exist in earlier times, and some that existed earlier have changed or disappeared since then. You will be choosing a paper topic early in the quarter but the course covers the entire world between 1250 and 1914. You can choose any region in the world and any interval that falls between these dates. In the spirit of the course, your paper should go beyond a simple description of events and explain things. The topic of your paper should be narrowly conceived and well-focused. Big topics such as the rise of the west, the rise and fall of China, American, French, Russian Revolutions, the U.S. Civil War, Opium War, Meiji Restoration, causes and consequences of World War One are not appropriate for this assignment.
2.b: First draft:
You will post the first draft of your paper electronically for the review and comments of the members of your study group. The due date for posting of these papers is 11:59 PM on November 14. The first draft of your paper should be about 2-3 pages. It should include an introduction where you state your analytical (“why”) question (that is, your puzzle); the thesis you are planning to use (your tentative answer to your “why” question); the beginnings of an argument where you provide evi¬dence in support of your argument; and a preliminary bibliography of sources you plan to use. The members of your study group will read your draft and enter their comments and suggestions by 11:59 PM on Nov. 18. After receiving comments from your study group, you should consult with your TA about ways to improve your draft and complete the assignment.
You will not be graded on the first draft of your paper but submitting the topic proposal and the first draft and reading and commenting on your friends’ drafts by the due dates are mandatory. The TA’s will monitor the posting of the drafts and the comments you write. The quality of your paper topic proposal, the first draft of your paper, and your comments on others’ papers will be evaluated as part of the attendance and participation portion of your grade and the overall grade you will receive from your paper. We will not accept term papers from students who have not submitted a proposal, posted a first draft, or commented on others’ drafts. You can check with your TA in the course of the quarter to find out how you are doing with respect to these requirements.
2.c: Final draft:
You will revise your first draft and fill in the missing parts on the basis of the suggestions and criticisms of your study group and your TA as well as additional research. The final draft of your paper will be approximately 7-8 pages and is due in sections on Dec 1. You will submit this in hard copy clearly marked “final draft.” We will not accept papers that are submitted electronically. To the final draft, you will attach the paper topic statement that includes your TA’s approval, a printed copy of the first draft, and the comments by your study group. We will not accept papers that don’t include these attachments.
Please note that your term paper will be based on library research. In writing this paper you will be expected to use at least four sources, which you will locate in the library. These sources should be a combination of scholarly books and articles. Websites, newspapers and magazines can be used as sources but only in addition to the four main sources.
Everything you turn in should be typed (double-spaced, 12 pt type, with one-inch margins). Hand-written paper topic proposals, drafts, or papers will not be accepted. Please keep extra copies of all the written assignments you turn in for grading. In case of loss or other similar problems, it is your responsibility to provide us with additional copies of your work. In terms of format and presentation, your paper should comply with academic conventions as described in Strunk and White's Elements of Style, which is on the website for this course. You also may consult Kate Turabian’s Manual for Writers or another similar guide available from the University Libraries’ web site. If you have any doubts about these, your TA, the JSIS Writing Center (see below), reference librarians at Odegaard Undergraduate Library, or I can help you.
3. Final Examination:
The final examination is scheduled for Wed. December 16, 2:30-4:20 p.m. Kane 130. The exam will cover the entire course material and will be a combination of essay, short-answer, and map questions. You should use the study questions that will be posted on the course web page as guides in keeping up with your reading and preparing for the exam.
Other:
1. I will give you pop quizzes, which I will use to gauge your reading, including the New York Times. These quizzes will also be used to monitor your attendance.
2. During autumn quarter there will some important public lectures. The details of these presentations will be announced when they become available. You are strongly encouraged to attend these. There will be a sign-up sheet at these events, and you will receive extra credit for attending them.
3. SIS 200 will have a CLUE (Center for Learning and Undergraduate Education) session that will meet every Wednesday, 6:30 PM -8:00 PM in Mary Gates Hall. This will give you an opportunity to delve more deeply into the course material by studying, reviewing, and discussing actively with your classmates, under the guidance of an experienced supervisor.
4. You should consult with tutors in the Jackson School/Political Science Writing Center in preparing your written assignments. The Center is located in Gowen 105. Their hours are, M-Th: 10:00am-3:00pm, F: 10:00am-1:00pm (phone 616-3354). Please note that the tutors in the Writing Center can help you with problems of composition and grammar only; they are not equipped to comment on the contents of your paper.
5. You must learn the basic map of the world (the geographic location of major states, cities, waterways, oceans, and mountain ranges) during each of the major historical periods we will be covering in class. You should pay attention to the maps that are included in your readings consult sources on the web and historical atlases regularly as you read about different places and hear about them in the sections. There will be a map question in the final exam.
Study Groups October 5
Paper Topics October 15
First Draft November 18
Final Draft December 1
Final exam December 16 (2:30-4:20PM)
Four weekly papers 25%
Research paper 30%
Final exam 30%
Participation* 15%
*(Participation includes attendance, paper topic proposals, peer review, participation, pop quizzes)