HIST 104: World History I

Prof. Lisa Wolverton – University of Oregon – Fall 2012

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SECTIONS

Discussion sections provide a valuable opportunity to engage with the course themes and readings in a small-group environment. Each week in section, students will discuss issues relevant to the week’s lectures, analyze the reading assignments, discuss or present their written work, and go over recent exams. Regular section meetings are not review sessions, but students should feel free to ask questions, for clarification or further information, about the week’s lectures.

Attendance is mandatory, and participation very important. Moreover, in most weeks, students must turn in written work. Assignments are due in section, at the beginning of class, no exceptions! Absences and missing or late writing assignments will be accepted only with a doctor’s note.

Section accounts for 30% of the student’s final grade. Individual grades will be assigned to written work, and instructors will also keep records of attendance and oral participation. Please note: while each of the writing assignments seems like a minor exercise, they do add up. Consistent high-quality work will contribute to a good final grade in the course overall—as will thoughtful engagement with the material.

Writing Assignments

Week 1:  The nature of these writing assignments should make plagiarism a non-issue, but it is nevertheless important to be aware of what constitutes plagiarism and how such an offense will affect your academic standing. Consult the university’s guidelines (at the library or here) and then explain in your own words what plagiarism is. Be sure not to plagiarize the plagiarism guidelines! And please sign your paper at the bottom.

Week 2: Contrast the two inscriptions included in your coursepack as “Banquet of Ashurnasirpal II” and “Shi Qiang Bronze Vessel”. Then write a one-page paper that answers the question: What accounts for their differences? Do not forget to explain your rationale in specific detail. In preparation for writing, we recommend you make a list of all the differences you notice between the two texts, and also consider each item as a whole (its medium, authorship, audience, purpose, etc.).

Week 3: An unidentified “Mystery Text” has been included in the coursepack: a short poem on the virtues of friendliness. Is this poem an example of Confucian, or of Buddhist, teachings? Write a one-page paper justifying your answer. Be specific. Feel free to compare the poem directly with the Analects excerpt or to draw on points made by Carrithers. (Note: You may not opt to answer “both”; the point of the exercise is to reach a conclusion through close reading.)

Week 4: Write a one-page description and analysis of your study habits thus far in the course, including how you prepared for the first mid-term exam. You will be graded on the degree of thoughtful, thorough engagement with the assignment, as well as on clear, correct writing.

Week 5: Compare the Gospel of Thomas to either Paul’s letter to the Romans or to the Lotus Sutra. The substance of your comparison, including whether to emphasize similarities or differences, is up to you. However, your one-page paper must be grounded in the details of the texts. (Remember you are reading only excerpts from these texts, and also that your analysis should be based on the specific passages excerpted.)

Week 6: Both Tacitus and Procopius describe Germanic peoples from a Roman perspective, although at very different point in Europe’s history. Compare Procopius’s description of the Vandals with Tacitus’s earlier generalizations about Germanic peoples. Then write a paper that answers the question: What do the texts suggest has changed from the Roman side by the time Procopius was writing? Write a one-page paper that includes specific examples from the texts to support your conclusion.

Week 7: Repeat the assignment for Week 4, focusing instead on any changes you have made in your study habits since then, your sense of how your performance on the second midterm exam compared to the first, and your overall grasp of the course as a whole. In conjunction with this one-page analysis, please also turn in your previous paper for Week 4.

Week 8: What is Marco Polo’s assessment of Chinese society under Kublai Khan, and how does it compare to his view of the societies he encounters on the way to China and/or in India? Write a one-page answer to the question and provide evidence from the text to support your argument.

Week 10: As reported in the Florentine Codex, what, in the Aztec view, distinguished “civilized” peoples from “barbarians” among the native inhabitants of Mexico? As always, write a one-page answer to the question and provide evidence from the text to support your argument.