History of Civilization 102
Summer School
Course Outline
This course will be divided up into three topics, and each ‘topic’ will last six classes (=12 hours). The structure of the course (and dates) will be as follows:
1: Leviathan: Political Thought in the Age Absolutism and Revolution [16– 26 June]
In this Topic, we will examine the development of monarchical government during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries with special reference to the political thought of this period. We will read the works of the following English and French thinkers:
· Robert Filmer: Patriarcha
· Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet: Politique Tirée des Propres Paroles de l’Ecriture Sainte
· Thomas Hobbes: The Leviathan
· John Locke: Second Treatise of Government
2: Kapital: Political Economy in the Age of Industry and Reform
[30 June – 10 July]
In this Topic, we will examine the technological and economic phenomenon known as the Industrial Revolution during the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries, with special reference to its social and political effects in western Europe. We will read the works of the following economic thinkers:
· Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations
·
J. S. Mill: On
· Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto
· Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
3: The Twentieth Century:
Was It A Good Thing? [21– 31
July]
In this Topic, we will examine some of the
new and contemporary intellectual traditions which developed during the
Twentieth Century. Here, I want you, to think about which themes
we might study, but here are a few suggestions ….
Racism and Civil
Rights
Feminism
Environmentalism
Globalisation
Course Requirements and Assessment
The academic assessment of this course will be divided into five parts:
Each student will be required to submit two written papers during the course of the semester. These papers should be at least 6 pages in length. All essays for this course must be submitted to be via Moodle to the Turnitin plagiarism detection database.
· These papers will account for 20% of the total final-grade (ie., 2 x 10%)
Each student will present one group debate topic: this will involve preparing and presenting an argument about one of our texts.
· This presentation will account for 20% of the total final-grade.
In-Class Participation
For each topic, there will be a short Comprehension Exercise: this will involve reading and discussing in class a relevant primary text, followed by a short written response to a question(s). I will use the grade from your two best Comprehension Exercises.
· These Exercises will account for 10% of the total final-grade (ie., 3 x 5%).
On Tuesday 14 July 2015, there will be a 2-hour text comprehension and analysis test, in which you will be required to read a previously unseen ‘primary’ text and answer a series of analytical questions about the text.
· This mid-term will account for 20% of the total final-grade.
Between 1-3 August 2015, there will be a final examination. This will be a 2-hour ‘in class’ exam: it will involve six questions (two for each of the ‘topics’ covered during the semester); and the student will be expected to write two essay-answers from the choice of six.
· This final exam will account for 30% of the total final-grade.
· Students must attend at least 75% of the course (that is, you will be permitted up to 10 absences out of the 42 total teaching hours for this semester). Anyone who has over 10 absences (without presenting a medical note) will automatically be awarded an FZ as the final grade. You have been warned!
The University has strict rules concerning students who cheat or plagiarize. A student who reproduces exactly the words, opinions or ideas of someone else without giving the appropriate source (eg., the textbook) will receive ‘F’ for that piece of work and may be liable to further disciplinary action (eg., suspension from the university for between one week to one month); and, in cases where a student submits work which was composed by another student, both students are liable to suspension of between one or two semesters. Again, you have been warned!