History 1050, Section 07-10 (Spring 2002) Prof. J. Johnson, Mr. A. Morrell

LECTURES:

All sections: Mon.-Wed. 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm, TOL 212

OFFICE HOURS AND CONTACT INFORMATION:

Prof. Johnson: SAC Rm. 440, X97404, email: Jeffrey.Johnson@villanova.edu

Hrs. MW 10-11 am, W 3-4 pm & by appointment

Website (for syllabus, cultural event forms and some readings): http://www11.homepage.villanova.edu/jeffrey.johnson/

Teaching intern: Alan Morrell, office hours TBA

AIMS OF THIS COURSE:

• Content: This course fulfills the introductory core history requirement for students in the College of Arts. It covers a variety of topics relating to the interaction between world history and the development of science, technology, and medicine over the past three centuries. Given the shortness of time in one semester, our lectures and readings cannot be comprehensive, but they will introduce you to topics like the following: perceptions of nature and healing in various cultural traditions; environmental crises, global epidemics, and their social consequences; scientific and industrial revolutions in Europe and the shifting balance of global power; conflicts in the development of modern science and medicine from Galileo to the Cold War; and the emergence of a global scientific culture.
• Skills: In following the lectures, which will include many visual aids, you will improve your observational and note-taking skills and have the opportunity to ask critical questions. The discussions in conjunction with the lectures will give you the opportunity to express and test independent, critical judgments in an open interchange with other students and your instructors. Taking the in-class examinations will improve your skills in writing essays under pressure, so that you can more effectively put together a concise argument using selected facts from readings, discussions, and lectures. By the end of the course, you should not only have a better understanding of world history and the role of science, technology and medicine in it, but be better prepared to deal with the problems they will pose in the future.

READING MATERIALS:

Weekly reading assignments (see below) will be selected from the following paperback books, available in the bookstore, as well as supplementary readings on-line or on electronic reserve (see the VUCat headings search page, click on Course Reserve, and then Instructor = "Johnson, Jeff").

McClellan, J & Dorn, H. Science and Technology in World History

Desowitz, R. The Malaria Capers: Tales of Parasites & People

Dubos, R. & J. The White Plague: Tuberculosis, Man, & Society

Josephson, P. Totalitarian Science and Technology

WORK, EVALUATION, STANDARDS OF CONDUCT:

Written work (80%): Written work will include two in-class essays (20% for the first, 25% for the second) and a final essay examination (35%). Occasional short written assignments on the readings will be graded as part of your class participation (up to 10% -- see next page).

Cultural events reports (10 %): You will be expected to attend and briefly report on at least four cultural events approved by the instructors (separate report forms with explanations will be distributed or may be downloaded from Prof. Johnson's website [see contact listing above]).

HIS 1050 (07, Spring 2002, Prof. Johnson, Mr. Morrell)

WORK, EVALUATION, STANDARDS (contd.)

Attendance at lectures, participation in discussions (= 10% of total grade): We will normally meet twice a week for lecture-discussions, at which your attendance is mandatory. You will be responsible for taking adequate notes and understanding the lectures. But we expect you to do more than simply attend class (perfect attendance alone is only worth a "C"). Ask questions if necessary during the lectures, and participate regularly in the discussions related to them. Your participation will be graded. Consider: besides improving your oral expression and exchanging ideas with other members of the class, participating in discussion will be your main opportunity to clarify your understanding of the lectures and readings. Therefore, review your lecture notes and complete the assigned reading, either in the textbooks or handouts, BEFORE coming to the class in which it will be discussed. What you get from the course will depend mainly upon YOUR preparation and YOUR participation.

Academic integrity: The Villanova University community does not tolerate plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty; by joining us, you accept our standards of integrity, and we expect you to live up to them. If you hand in work that is demonstrably not your own, you will be disciplined according to standard university procedures. If you are not certain about how to conduct yourself during an examination, or if you are panicking and are tempted to cheat, please consult privately with one of the instructors BEFORE test time.

Late work and make-ups: The instructors will NOT permit make-ups for late assignments and missed tests UNLESS: 1) you contact us (preferably by leaving a message by voice mail) BEFORE the class in which the assignment or test is due, so that we know why you are absent and can make special arrangements as needed; and 2) you give us a appropriate WRITTEN excuse (indicating a critical condition such as death in the family or serious illness--a minor cold is not an adequate excuse), when you return. If you do not meet these conditions, you will receive zero credit for the assignment or test. A travel reservation that conflicts with the final examination schedule is NOT an acceptable excuse. If you have an acceptable excuse, you have one week to complete the make-up after you return to earn full credit for the assignment; after that you will be penalized one letter grade for each week the assignment is overdue.

Learning disabilities: It is Villanova University’s policy to make reasonable academic accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. This may include special arrangements for note-taking, taking examinations, etc. If you will need such arrangements, please make an appointment with one of the instructors as soon as possible to discuss this, or consult the Office of Learning Support Services in Geraghty Hall (610-519-5636).

LECTURE TOPICS AND READING SCHEDULE (reading assignments in parentheses; "handout or reserve" indicates the materials may be distributed in class or available through the reserve room; the instructors will provide a separate list with authors, titles, and locations):

Week 1 (Mon. 1/14) Introduction: Environmental crises and social change

(Wed., 1/16) Medieval civilizations: comparative perspectives

(background reading: McClellan & Dorn, 99-154, 175-191)

Week 2 (Mon., 1/21) The Black Death and the end of the medieval world

(Wed., 1/23) The Columbian Exchange: impact of the New World

(reserve reading: McNeill, Transoceanic Exchanges, 1500-1700)

HIS 1050 (07, Spring 2002, Prof. Johnson, Mr. Morrell)

Week 3 (Mon., 1/28) 17th-century crisis: Europe vs. China

(Wed., 1/30) Scientific and political revolutions: Europe vs. China

Week 4 (Mon., 2/4) Newtonian Science, Enlightenment & the doctrine of Progress

(McC & D, 249-273)

(Wed., 2/6) Environment, epidemics, & revolutions, 1775-1803

(reserve: Foster, "Philadelphia Yellow fever epidemic of 1793" & TBA)

Week 5 (Mon., 2/11) The British Industrial Revolution (McC & D, 277-292)

(Wed., 2/13) Global industrialization: social implications of new technologies

Week 6 (Mon., 2/18) FIRST IN-CLASS ESSAY (covering Weeks 1-5)

(Wed., 2/20) The Opium Wars: imperialism, technology & the drug trade

Week 7 (Mon., 2/25) 19th-century plagues: Romantic & realist visions of TB & cholera

(Wed., 2/27) Geological and biological evolution: issues of time, race, & gender

Week 8 (Mon., 3/11) Toward big science: industrializing research

(Wed., 3/13) Germs, mosquitoes & modern medical theory

(Dubos, pp. 69-128; Desowitz, pp. 107-198)

Week 9 (Mon., 3/18) Quinine as a tool of imperialism: the "scramble for Africa"

HIS 1050 (07, Spring 2002, Prof. Johnson, Mr. Morrell)

Week 9 (Wed., 3/20) Freudianism and modernism: explorations in the mind

Week 10 (Mon., 3/25 Dimensions of the new physics: creating a global science

(McC & D, 343-352)

(Wed., 3/27) REVIEW for second in-class essay

EASTER BREAK (starts after classes end on Wednesday, through Monday, 4/1)

Week 11 (Wed., 4/3) SECOND IN-CLASS ESSAY (weeks 6-10)

Week 12 (Mon., 4/8) Global village? Global communications & transportation networks

(Wed., 4/10) Global wars, revolutions, and regimented science

Week 13 (Mon., 4/15) The Holocaust, Tuskegee & the ethics of human experimentation

(Wed., 4/17) Food, energy & the global environment: Malthusian doom?

Week 14 (Mon., 4/22) Smallpox, malaria, AIDS: triumphs & dilemmas of modern medicine

(Wed., 4/24) From the double helix to the human genome project

Week 15 (Mon., 4/29) Concluding lecture: prospects for a new millennium

(McC & D, 364-373)

(Wed., 5/1) Class will not meet (Friday schedule)

(Th.-Fri., 5/2-3) Reading days: Time and place for review session will be announced

Exam Week (5/4-11) Date and Time of Final will be announced