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From: Roland Spickermann, University of Detroit Mercy
spickermann@earthlink.net

This particular syllabus on 20th-century global history did rather well with my students. The greatest difficulty, as other subscribers to this list know well, is to find sufficient material on the non-European parts of the world. I would welcome your comments and suggestions.

HISTORY 332 -- 20th Century Global History Dr. Spickermann
Briggs 349, MWF 12:00-12:50 Fall 1996


Office Hours: Briggs 318, MWF, after 1:00 PM, or whenever the door is open
E-mail: spicker@udmercy.edu or spickermann@earthlink.net

Welcome! This course will cover the history of the whole planet roughly from World War I to the collapse of the USSR. In this period, we can truly discuss global history: the evolution of planetwide economic and political systems, and the assumption/imposition of some degree of Western culture throughout the world.

But these developments occurred neither uniformly nor smoothly: the West itself had trouble with adopting Western values, and with adapting to industrialization and democratization, and the process could only be harder in non-Western areas where these processes were not only turbulent but also foreign. We will be comparing "the West" with "the rest" often, to gain better insight on each. Hang on... this will be a wild ride.

WARNING: students with no background in history (for example, if you have never heard of World War I or the USSR) should think carefully before taking this course. It is certainly possible to pass this course -- and even do well in it -- without such a background, but it is more difficult.

COURSE LOAD:

Now some bureaucratic details. I will assign two papers (ten pages each), a mid-term, a final examination, and (perhaps) the occasional map quiz in this course. However, I also reserve the right to give surprise quizzes, in order to ensure that students are keeping current with the readings. While the combined value of these quizzes will never count as much as a mid-term or a paper, I will factor the quizzes into the total grade. Tentatively, the value of each of the assignments is as follows: papers 20% each, mid-term 20%, final exam 40%.
PAPER #1: October 4
MID-TERM: October 23
PAPER #2: November 25
FINAL: December 12
I do not grade for in-class participation, except in borderline cases. But you should participate, anyway: the more you participate, the better you learn. So:

ASK QUESTIONS. CHALLENGE MY INTERPETATION.
IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, SAY SO.
(Very likely you are not alone in not understanding it.)

While I have not required it, I strongly recommend that you buy and use Strunk's and White's The Elements of Style. Few books will help you with writing as much as this book will.

We will use four books --
    1. Eric Hobsbawm. The Age of Extremes. A History of the World, 1914-1991.
    2. Eric R. Wolf. Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century.
    3. Theodore H. von Laue. The World Revolution of Westernization.
    4. William R. Keylor. The Twentieth-Century World: An International History.
READINGS (except for the first day, for obvious reasons) ARE TO BE DONE BEFORE THE SESSION FOR WHICH I HAVE ASSIGNED THEM.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS:

PART I: THE FRAMEWORK

PART II: THE BOLSHEVIK CHALLENGE

PART III: A BROKEN WORLD, 1919-1945


PART IV: A DIVIDED WORLD, 1945-1991


PART V: THE "THIRD WORLD", 1945-1991



PART VI: THE END OF THE "SHORT CENTURY"

FINAL EXAM:

Roland Spickermann
University of Detroit Mercy
spickermann@earthlink.net

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