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NOTE: ASSIGNMENTS ARE LISTED HERE ON THE DAY ASSIGNED, NOT THE DAY DUE. UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE DUE BEFORE THE START OF THE NEXT CLASS

 

REVISED 12/04

 

Required Texts, Videos, and Materials All readings for this course are available digitally through the course's Blackboard site in the "content" folder. No readings, however, will be posted until 9/27. There are no required materials beyond having what you need to take notes each class. A reliable high-speed internet connection will make the class more convenient, but it is not required as you can use the computers at school if you plan carefully.

Policies and Grades

Class policies are available from Handouts
Grade breakdown is available from Grades

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PART 1: Looking Backwards from the Present and the Collision of Two Worlds
      

CLASS 1: Wednesday, 8/28

Introductions; signing of student contracts

assigned viewing due 9/04: When Worlds Collide (PBS, 9/27/2010) (90 min.) available on-line here, but look at the questions from the assigned writing (due 9/05) below BEFORE watching the video.   

assigned writing due 9/04 by blackboard by the end of classtime: questions on When Worlds Collide video. See above for for link to full video. Normally assignments will be due at the start of class, but because we have no class 9/02 and 9/04 I've given you more time to complete the assignment.

HELPFUL SUGGESTION: The video runs an hour and half and the questions might will take an hour and a half as well. You have no class Monday and Wednesday; moreover, the assignment is not due until the END of classtime on Wednesday 9/04. So there should be plenty of time for you to complete the assignment. But be sure to set aside enough time.

 

Preview from When Worlds Collide (link to full video above)

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NO CLASS: Monday, 9/02  (SEE BELOW)

NO CLASS, BUT NOTE FROM 8/27 ABOVE THAT YOU HAVE HOMEWORK DUE 9/04 AT THE END OF CLASSTIME AND ALSO HOMEWORK ASSIGNED 9/04 AND DUE 9/09 AT THE START OF CLASSTIME.

 

 

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Does All This Writing Stuff Matter in the Real World? Only if you want a job! See this study (pdf file) explaining why MOST employers either require or prefer to hire candidates who have writing skills and often test for them.

NO CLASS: Wednesday, 9/04  (BUT HOMEWORK DUE TODAYAT THE END OF CLASS TIME AND HOMEWORK ASSIGNED TODAY & DUE 9/09)

assigned writing due 9/09 by blackboard by the start of classtime:

introduction to Claim/Evidence/Warrant and accompanying exercises.

(note: students who receive less than a 82/100 on this assignment will have to do additional exercises to bring their skills up to speed)

 

HINT: At 15% of your semester grade, this is the single most important homework of the course. It's worth 15% not because it's long (it's not actually that long) but because the assignment helps you develop a skill you will use for the rest of the semester and I want you to give the homework the care and attention that it merits. Note also that students who receive less than an 82/100 on this homework will have to do additional exercises until they demonstrate competency.

 

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The Old World Context: Reconquista and the Birth of Racism

CLASS 2: Monday, 9/09

Short Lecture: Marshaling textual evidence effectively to support an argument: Claim/Evidence/Warrant


assigned reading due 9/11 by the start of classtime: excerpts (on-line, but NOT from Blackboard) from Racism: A Short History (be sure to read this short (8 page) except on-line, as I've embedded hints and definitions of words that you might not know. The reading is straightforward, but subtle and will require close attention to answer the questions (see below)

assigned writing due 9/11 by blackboard by the start of classtime: questions on Fredrickson

Hint on timing: the reading should take, at most, about 32 minutes. The questions will take between 40 and 50 minutes. There's also an extra-credit question. Se sure to set aside enough time

 

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CLASS 3: Wednesday, 9/11


assigned writing due 9/16 by blackboard by the start of classtime: 1.5 - 2.5 paper on the birth of racism in Spain

 

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PART 2: The Pre-Columbian New World Context

CLASS 4: Monday 9/16

assigned reading due 9/18:  Felipe Fernández-Armesto, 1492 (Harper Collins, 2009) pp. 286 - 299. Available on our blackboard site in the "content" folder. NOTICE THAT YOU WILL HAVE A VOCABULARY QUIZ ON THIS READING ON WEDNESDAY 9/18. Details addressed in written homework link below. (begin reading at bottom of p. 286 where the author writes "It is probably...") Available on our blackboard site in the "content" folder.

assigned writing due 9/18 by blackboard by the start of classtime: questions on readings

 

The Triple Alliance

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CLASS 5: Wednesday 9/18

In class: quiz on vocabulary from 1492, pp. 286 - 299.

assigned reading due 9/18: Felipe Fernández-Armesto, 1492 (Harper Collins, 2009) 299-309. Available on our blackboard site in the "content" folder. NOTICE THAT YOU WILL HAVE A VOCABULARY QUIZ ON THIS READING NEXT CLASS. Details addressed in written homework link below.

assigned writing due 9/23 by blackboard by classtime: questions on reading here

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PRE-COLUMBIAN RECIPES

CLASS 6:Monday 9/23

In class: quiz on vocabulary from 1492, pp. 299-309.

assigned writing due 9/25 by blackboard by classtime:Pre-Columbian chocolate recipe

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CLASS 7: Wednesday 9/25

assigned reading: C. A. Sammells, "Ode to a Chuño: Learning to Love Freeze-Dried Potatoes in Highland Bolivia" pp. 101 - 126 from Adventures in Eating: Anthropological Experiences in Dining from Around the World (University of Colorado Press, 2010)

assigned writing due 9/30 by blackboard by classtime: recipe and short questions

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CLASS 8: Monday 9/30

assigned reading:Matthew Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, pp. 44-50; Restall and Fernández-Armesto, The Conquistadores: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 60 - 67 (you can skip, if you wish, the discussion of the 19 female conquistadors starting on the middle of p. 60 and running until close to the bottom of p. 62. Start again where it reads "By contrast...") (note that the required portion of this reading is really only 5 pages). Readings available on our blackboard site.

assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 10/02: questions on Diamond, Fernández-Armesto, Restal, and the conquest as well as a short essay.

assigned viewing:"Conquest" (aka, episode 2) from National Geographic: Guns, Germs and Steel

We will start watching in class.

This video is available from netflix instant viewing (which requires a membership, but free trials are available) as well as available for viewing on-line through the college. For watching Conquest on the College's system go here and look for "streaming video." (If you have trouble look for "Conquest" in "electronic resources" or contact the reference librarian) I've provided both so that you have a back-up method.

assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 10/07: thesis statement and evidence chart for upcoming essay on Diamond, Restal, and the Spanish Conquests. YOU WILL NEED TO VISIT THE WRITING CENTER BETWEEN 10/13 and 10/17. I will bring sign up sheets to class on 10/07.

NOTICE THAT CLASS WILL END 30 MINUTES EARLY ON 10/07 BECAUSE THE HOMEWORK DUE THAT DAY MAY TAKE LONGER THAN 1.5 HOURS I PROMISE.

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CLASS 9: Monday 10/07
CLASS WILL END 30 MINUTES EARLY (see above)

In class: review of sample evidence charts. You will also schedule your writing center visit today. I will have the forms with me. YOU WILL NEED TO VISIT THE WRITING CENTER BETWEEN 10/13 and 10/17.

assigned writing: essay on Diamond, Restal, and the Spanish Conquests (Due Friday 10/18 at 11:59 PM by blackboard. NOTE THAT YOU WILL HAVE OTHER ASSIGNMENTS DUE MONDAY, 10/21. I've given you extra time so that you can make the required visit to the writing center.

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Wednesday: 10/09

NO CLASS

(I WILL EMAIL COMMENTS ON YOUR EVIDENCE CHARTS BY MIDNIGHT 10/12)

(see 10/02 above)

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Monday: 10/14 NO CLASS COLUMBUS DAY

 

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Tuesday: 10/15  NO CLASS (scheduled, but we will not meet)

(see deadlines above)

We have no class on Tuesday week (and Wednesday of last week) in order to allow you to make your visit to the writing center; you are not expected to go to the center during class time.  Instead, your mandatory visit to the writing center substitutes for your class time.

 

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CLASS 10: Wednesday 10/16

assigned reading: p. 102 from Tignor, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart (p. 120 available here) Tignor, pp. 120 - 131 (start at "Increasing Economic Linkages" and stop at "The Slave Trade and Africa," a topic we will address in great length later on) available on Blackboard under "content"; on-line reading from American Colonies (on-line through link, not black board); "Hispanics Debate Census Plan to Change Racial Grouping"from the New York Times and "ten things everyone should know about race"

THERE WILL BE A QUIZ ON THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE AND THEN "10 THINGS" ESSAY ON 10/21

assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 10/21: questions and chart on readings

NOTE THAT HW11 (ASSIGNED 10/07) IS DUE Friday 10/18 at 11:59 PM by blackboard

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Friday 10/18

HW11 (ASSIGNED 10/07) IS DUE 11:59 PM BY BLACKBOARD

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CLASS 11: Monday 10/21

In Class: quiz on "Hispanics Debate Census Plan to Change Racial Grouping"from the New York Times and "ten things everyone should know about race"

 

CLASS 12: Wednesday 10/23

assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 10/28:  essay on mole recipes from Domininga de Guzmán, Recetario Mexiquense (Mexico, 1750)

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Looking Back From the Present: Sugar

CLASS 13: Monday 10/28

WE MEET IN ROOM 630 H (aka "10th Street Building") TODAY

BRING A SMALL CONTAINER IF YOU WANT TO BRING HOME TONIC WATER EXTRACT

Today we will brew up our own tonic water and discuss the role of Quinine in world history.


assigned viewing due 9/04: Price of Sugar (90 min.) [available here].

You may want to look at the assigned writing (due 11/04) below BEFORE watching the video.

Preview for Price of Sugar (not the full video and so not sufficient for writing the paper)

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CLASS 14: Wednesday 10/30


assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 11/04: 1 to 1.5 page paper on the Price of Sugar

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Looking Back From the Present: The Taco

Class 15: Monday 11/04

assigned reading due next class 11/06: Chapter 6 from Jeffrey Pilcher, Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food (there will be a short open-note quiz on the chapter in class on 11/06. Your notes must be handwritten and NOT on the reading itself)

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CLASS 16: Wednesday 11/06

Guest Lecture: Jeffrey Pilcher on Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food

CLASS 21: Monday 11/25


assigned writing due by blackboard by classtime on 12/02: Essay on Adanggaman

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Wednesday 11/27: No Class

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Bananas, Latin America, and the Cold War