PLEASE NOTE THAT READINGS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND SPECIFIC TOPICS DISCUSSED MAY CHANGE. FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION REGARDING THE COURSE, SEE THE COURSE MOODLE PAGE.
Course Readings
The textbook reading (Mason) complements our discussions and the lectures by providing you with further contextual information and different interpretations of past events. You should try do the textbook reading for the day it is assigned, and this is even more important if this is the first time you have studied these topics. It should be available at the Almost Corner Bookshop (Via del Moro, 45).
Please note that I have chosen a textbook that provides a very short and basic introduction to major developments in nineteenth-century Europe in light of the extensive nature of our other required readings. Given the global scope of the course, we will rarely be able to discuss specific historical events to the extent that they merit. As such, you may find it useful to refer to one or more of the following to get a fuller, deeper review of European and world History during the 19th century:
Robin W. Winks and Joan Neuberger, Europe and the Making of Modernity, 1815-1914
C.A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914
Jonathan Sperber, Revolutionary Europe, 1780-1850 and Europe 1850-114: Progress: Participation and Apprehension
All other readings provide the basis for our classroom and on-line discussions. You must read and think about those assigned for a particular class period and/or the deadline for making a related forum post prior to the relevant class session/deadline. Otherwise, you will be unable to participate adequately and your participation grade will suffer. You should also bring this material to class on the days that we are discussing it.
Please note that in using on-line primary sources I am not necessarily endorsing the more general content and intent of the websites on which they are found.
Important Course Policies
All assignments should be handed in through the Moodle portal for the assignment.
All late work will be penalized by at least one letter grade. No late work will be accepted following the final examination.
Any documented case of academic dishonesty on any assignment will result in a failing grade for the assignment in question and may also result in a failing grade for the course as a whole, regardless of the assignment's weight in terms of the final course grade. Please remember that, as the University's policy states, "Plagiarism can be deliberate or negligent; students are responsible for ensuring that any work submitted with their name on it is properly referenced." If you have questions about how to cite material properly, refer to the appropriate sections of the MLA Style Manual or Chicago Manual of Style--if you have questions as to whether particular pieces of material should be cited, ask me. Note that submitting work that you have previously submitted (or plan to submit) for credit in another course is also a form of academic dishonesty, unless you obtain explicit approval from both instructors to do so. For this course, no such double submission is allowed. Please note that your papers are to be submitted to turnitin.com to check their content for plagiarism. I am setting up the turintin submission options so that you can see the similarity reports the service generates and resubmit your papers up until the due date.
Office Hours, Scheduling Appointments, E-mail Guidance, and So Forth
My office hours are posted on the course Moodle page. Depending on your preference we can meet either in person (my office in on the Tiber Roof) or via Teams using the link that is posted on the course Moodle page. If you need to schedule an appointment to speak with me, simply send me an e-mail identifying a range of times and days during the upcoming week when you are available.
Please know that I do not normally respond to e-mails during the weekend or after 6:30 p.m. (but do feel free to write me whenever you wish--I'll respond as soon as I can the next week or the next day). It is important for all of us to set aside time to work on other things, disconnect, recharge, and 'stay human.' I encourage you to do the same in ways that work with your schedule, and try to do what I can to provide as much flexibility as possible for you in structuring out-of-class activities.
Types and Formats of On-line Moodle Discussion Forums
“Questions for the Professor” Forum: Use this forum to ask for clarifications regarding material that we discussed in class or if there is something in the readings that you feel remains unclear, confusing, etc.. Also try to read through this regularly to see if a classmate asked a question that you too have, but just hadn’t thought of yet. When you do so, if you feel that you can answer a classmate’s query, please feel free to go ahead and do so. I will review this forum the Mondays and Wednesdays before class meetings—depending on the nature of the question I’ll either respond directly in the forum or we’ll talk about it at the beginning of the next class session.
“Your Discussion Questions and Observations” Forum: For at least one of our weekly sessions, you should post a question or observation about the discussion readings (e.g., for the second class of the first week of class, "Early Modern, Old Regime Criminal Justice" and/or “The Declaration of the Rights of Man”) that you believe would provide a good way of starting a discussion about them and the subject they treat. You should post your question/observation before the class session in which we are discussing the readings in question so that I have time to read them and try to work them into our classroom discussions. Try to read through them before class yourselves too—in that way you can better prepare yourself for whatever we end up talking about. Feel free to build on your classmate’s questions/observations, and if there’s a post you want to respond to that we don’t end up talking about in class, please feel free to continue the discussion here. There is no specific required length for your posts (if you likely need 2-3 sentences to situate and raise your question/make your prompt). This weekly forum closes on Monday of the following week, but if there’s a strand of discussion you think we should continue into the next week because it remains relevant to the next topics we are discussing feel free to start it anew in the next week’s forum. (Maximum expected time per week, not including the time needed to do the reading: 10-20 minutes)
“Reflecting on the Week, Continuing our Classroom Discussion” Forums: For this weekly forum, I will post a few discussion questions or prompts based on the week’s discussion readings and the material I anticipate us discussing in class. You should post at least one response to one of these threads or to a classmate's post each week. Of course, feel free to post as much as you like. There is no specific required length for your posts (if you likely need a few sentences to make your point effectively). This weekly forum closes on Monday of the following week. (Maximum expected time per week, not including the time needed to do the reading: 15-30 minutes)
COURSE SCHEDULE (N.B. The schedule and specific readings listed below may change.)--last updated 9/1
9/6 Introductions—Modernity and the Old Regime
FOR DISCUSSION: “Nineteenth-Century Modernity According to Contemporaries”
9/8 The Old Regime and the Atlantic Revolutions
Mason, 1-36 (Introduction, Chps. 1-2)
FOR DISCUSSION: “Early Modern, Old Regime, Criminal Justice” and “The Declaration of Rights of Man”
9/13, 9/15 The Atlantic Revolutions and their Napoleonic Aftermath
FOR DISCUSSION: “The Declaration of Rights of Man;” "Napoleon's Account of the Internal Situation of France in 1804"
9/16 OFFICIAL FRIDAY MAKE-UP DAY FOR 11/24
The Birth of Modern Ideologies, Part I—Conservatism, Liberalism, and Democratic Radicalism
Review Mason, 23-36 (Ch. 2)
FOR DISCUSSION: Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (excerpts); Tocqueville, Democracy in America (excerpts); Burke and Tocqueville on Empire
9/20 The “Restoration” and Its Discontents
Mason, 47-52 (First 4 sections of Ch. 4)
FOR DISCUSSION: Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (excerpts); Tocqueville, Democracy in America (excerpts); Burke and Tocqueville on Empire; The French Constitutional Charter (1814); Bolivar, "Letter to General Juan José Flores: Ploughing the Sea (Colombia, 1830);" "Tocqueville on the Dangers of US Disunion;" Tsar Nicholas I, "Imperial Manifesto on Poland, 1832);" Guizot, "Condition of the July Monarchy (France, 1831-1842)"
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
9/22 The Industrial Revolution, I—Global Causes, Comparisons and Technology
Mason, 37-46 (Ch. 3)
FOR DISCUSSION: Marks, “The Industrial Revolution and Its Consequences, 1750-1850”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
9/27 The Industrial Revolution, II—Local Social and Cultural Consequences
FOR DISCUSSION: Stearns, “The Social History Approach;” “Women Miners in the English Coal Pits;” Dickens, Hard Times (Excerpt); Ure, “The Philosophy of the Manufacturers;” “Observations on the Loss of Woolen Spinning, 1794;” “Leeds Woolen Workers Petition, 1786;” “Letter from Leeds Cloth Merchants, 1791”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
9/29 The Industrial Revolution III—Global Impacts I, or Slavery and Antislavery
FOR DISCUSSION: Davis, “Explanations of British Abolitionism;” Beckert, “Slavery Takes Command”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
10/4 The Birth of Modern Ideologies, Part II—Economic Liberalism and Early Socialisms
FOR DISCUSSION: Smith, Wealth of Nations excerpts; Ricardo, “The Iron Law of Wages;” Tristan, “Excerpts from Worker’s Union;” Saint-Simon, “Letters of an Inhabitant of Geneva”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
10/6 Questions of Feeling—Religious Revival, Cultural Romanticism and the Changing World of Artistic Production
FOR DISCUSSION: Salmi, “From the Cult of Genius to the Worship of Art”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
10/11 The Birth of Modern Ideologies, Part III—Nationalism
Mason, Review 47-52 (First 4 sections of Ch. 4)
FOR DISCUSSION: Salmi, "On the Cultural History of Nationalism;" Herder, "Materials for the Philosophy of Mankind;" and Mazzini, "An Essay on the Duties of Man"
Last Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 1 (11:59 p.m.)
10/13 Mid-Century Transitions, I—China, the British Empire and the Opium Wars
FOR DISCUSSION: “The First Opium War”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
10/18 Mid-Term Exam
10/20 The Making of the Global North and Global South—A First Look at the Second Half of the Century
FOR DISCUSSION: Marks, “The Gap”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
10/21 OFFICIAL FRIDAY MAKE-UP DAY FOR 11/1
Mid-Century Transitions, III—The European Revolutions of 1848
Mason, 52-57 (Remainder of Ch. 4)
FOR DISCUSSION:Carl Schurz, "A Look Back;" "General Chronology--1848 Revolutions Across Europe"
10/25 Mid-Century Transitions, II—Global Instability from the 1840s to the 1860s
FOR DISCUSSION: Bayly, “Between World Revolutions” (Excerpts)
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
10/27 Mid-Century Transitions, IV—The “Second Industrial Revolution” and the “Great Depression of the Nineteenth Century”
FOR DISCUSSION: "Tables Illustrating the Spread of Industrialization;" "The Spread of Railways;" "Economic Cycles 1815-1914"
11/3 Uniting the World, Dividing People and Spaces, I—Transportation, the Telegraph and Mass Migration
FOR DISCUSSION: McKeown, "Global Migration, 1846-1940;" "Letters from Polish Immigrants in America"
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
11/8 Uniting the World, Dividing People and Spaces, II—Disease, Sanitation, and Urban Transformations
FOR DISCUSSION: Bayly, “Worldwide Urban Cultures and their Critics;” Headrick, “Cities, Sanitation and Segregation”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
11/10 Modern Living—Consumption, Class and Culture in Paris and Latin America
FOR DISCUSSION: Zola, The Ladies Paradise (Excerpts); Images of Parisian Department Stores; Bauer, “Extranjerizacion: The Self-Estrangement of the Belle Epoque Elite”
Last Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 2 (11:59 p.m.)
11/15 Modern Beliefs—Religion and Science in the Age of Darwin
Mason, 71-81(Ch. 6)
FOR DISCUSSION: Bayly, “Empires of Religion” (Excerpts); Al-Afghani, “Lecture on Teaching and Learning;” Wilberforce, “On Darwin’s Origin of Species;” “ Mivart, “On the Genesis of the Species, 1871;” Gladstone, “Points of Supposed Collision Between the Scriptures and Natural Science”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
11/17 The Evolution of Modern Ideologies, I—Marxist Socialism, Anarchism, and Russian Populism
Mason, 59-69 (Ch. 5)
FOR DISCUSSION: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto; Bernstein, “Evolutionary Socialism;” Bakunin, “Stateless Socialism: Anarchism;” “The Letter of the Executive Committee of the Will of the People to Tsar Alexander III”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
11/22 The Evolution of Modern Ideologies, II–-Nationalism Transformed?
Mason, 83-92 (Ch. 7)
FOR DISCUSSION: Hobsbawm, “Mass Producing Traditions;” TBA
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
11/29 Global Empires and the “Gap,” I—Means and Motivations
Mason, 93-102
FOR DISCUSSION: TBA; “British Missionary Letters Urging the Annexation of the South Sea Islands, 1883;” Lugard, “The Rise of Our East African Empire, 1893;” Ferry, “On French Colonial Expansion, 1884;” Earl of Cromer, “Why Britain Acquired Egypt in 1892, 1908;” Prince Utomski, “Russia’s Imperial Destiny, 1891”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
12/1 Global Empires and the “Gap,” II—Colonial Experiences in the Congo Free State
FOR DISCUSSION: Encyclopedia Britannica, “Congo Free State” (1902); Casement, “The Congo Report;” TBA
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
12/2 OFFICIAL FRIDAY MAKE-UP DAY FOR 12/8
Global Empires and the “Gap,” III—Metropolitan Experiences, Racism, and “Civilization”
FOR DISCUSSION: Pearson, “National Life from the Standpoint of Science;” “Galton, “The Comparative Worth of Different Races;” Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden, 1899”
Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
12/6 Is This The End?—Fin de Siècle Culture and the Rise of an Avant-Garde
Mason, 103-107 (First five sections of Ch. 9)
FOR DISCUSSION: Salmi, “Fin de Siècle;” Salmi, “Things to Come;” Nietzsche, “The Madman”
Last Possible Due Date for Reaction Paper 3 (11:59 p.m.)
Final Exam TBA