Jeffrey Pilcher
652 SST
612-625-6418
pilcherj@umn.edu

Office Hours:
Wed. 1:00-3:00 p.m.
or by appointment

History Dept.
Univ. of Minnesota
Onestop
Libraries

This class surveys world history from 1500 to the present. Although we often assume that globalization is a new phenomenon made possible by jet planes and cell phones, in fact, the rise of global interaction has a history dating back at least to Columbus’s voyage in 1492. One of the best ways of measuring the growth--and also decline--of globalization is through commodity chains, the increasingly convoluted paths that goods follow from their origins to their final point of consumption or disposal. Therefore, this class will focus on the stuff of everyday life, food, drink, clothes, tools, drugs, petroleum, and the like, to explore the rise of the modern, interconnected world in which we live. There will be three lectures and one discussion section per week. The course is designed to meet the needs of history majors and non-majors alike. In addition to introducing students to the basics of how historians narrate the past, we teach important analytical skills. Discussion sections emphasize the development of reading and writing skills. The course fulfills lower-division writing-intensive requirements.

Required Texts

• Joanna Waley-Cohen, The Sextants of Beijing ( New York, 2000).

• Richard Wilk, Home Cooking in the Global Village ( Oxford, 2006)..

• Donald R. Wright, The World and a Very Small Place in Africa ( Armonk, N.Y., 2004).

On-Line Required Readings

Additional readings will be available on the course webpage: http://www.hist.umn.edu/hist1012/

These readings are password protected. Please contact your TA for log in information.

Optional Readings

An optional survey textbook, Jerry Bentley and Herb Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters (2006) is on reserve at Wilson library. You will only be responsible for material in the required readings, lectures, and discussions. Nevertheless, if you feel more comfortable having such a book, it is available for you.

Grading

Class Participation will be based on the discussion section meetings with your TA. This is your opportunity to exchange ideas with your classmates and to debate historical issues. You will also discuss basic writing skills and methods of historical analysis that will help you achieve a good grade. You are responsible for doing the assigned readings prior to each session.

In-Class Examinations will consist of essays and map identifications. The former will be based on the study questions posed at the beginning of each lecture. The latter will be discussed in sections. There will be three exams, on October 5, November 9, and during the scheduled final exam period on December 19. Two of the three exams will count (each one for 15 percent of your final grade); the lowest grade will be dropped. There will be no make-ups--if you miss an exam, that becomes your lowest grade!

Term Paper . You will write a ten-page essay entitled, “A Brief History of my ____,” where the space is filled in with blue jeans, breakfast, or car. Ask your TA if you want to make a substitution (lunch for breakfast, bicycle for car, dashiki for jeans). I am not really interested in what happened last night in your car or jeans but rather in the global supply chains that brought them to you in the first place. You will complete this assignment in stages, learning about the history of your product by writing a proposal and two preliminary essays, before assembling this material for the final project. All assignments are due at the beginning of lecture. Late papers will have one letter grade deducted for each weekday after the deadline. All papers must be handed in personally, either in lecture (when they are due), discussion, or office hours. If that is not possible, you can hand in the paper at the history department office (614 SST). Make sure the receptionist indicates the date and time that it is received. More detailed instructions will follow, but here is a brief outline of the steps you will take in preparing your term paper.

Term Paper Proposal. You will write a one-page outline of your term paper, identifying your topic and sources. You will also briefly summarize the historical geography of production and the primary sources that you will be analyzing. You must receive approval from your TA for the proposal before continuing further. This is due on September 21 for 5 percent of your final grade.

Historical Geography Essay. In this four-page paper, you will describe the historical evolution of the global division of labor behind your purchase. What factors explain the location of raw material production, assembly, and marketing? Who actually profits from the production process, and how are the broader costs (including ecological and human costs) distributed? What were the major turning points in the development of this product? This essay is due on October 12 and is worth 10 percent of your grade.

Primary Source Analysis. This four-page essay will give you practice in using the historian’s tools of analyzing first-hand accounts. Your choice of sources is open to any step in the supply chain, from a historical report on the conditions of plantation or factory labor to a series of advertisements in glossy magazines. Your grade will be based both on the quality of the sources and on the skill with which you analyze them. This paper is due on November 2 and it is worth 10 percent of your final grade.

Final Essay. For the final project, you will combine your previous research into a single narrative of the history of globalization, using your product as a case study. Do not just string the papers together; instead, integrate the material so that the primary sources illustrate geographical change unfolding over time. You will also need to develop a thesis that encompasses the entire paper. In compiling this final essay, you are going to find bits of the preliminary papers that do not fit easily into your argument. Cutting them out may seem wasteful, but attempting to shoehorn them in will only reduce the clarity of your narrative. This paper, due November 30, will count for 25 percent of your final grade.

Rewrites. As a writing-intensive class, rewrites are a crucial part of the learning process. You must ultimately rewrite each of these papers to incorporate them into the final assignment. But you are also encouraged to rewrite the preliminary essays as you go along. The re-write should be exactly that, a significant reworking of the paper’s content. Simply correcting superficial mistakes will not improve your grade. Actually rethinking the paper will bring your grade up by a full letter. The re-write is due two weeks after the original paper is handed back to the class. Late re-writes will not be accepted. You must hand in the original graded essay along with the re-write for credit. In addition, you must hand in both short essays along with your final project.

Grades for exams and out-of-class writing assignments will be averaged between sections to ensure equity across the class. Therefore, you will receive two grades, a raw number based on the requirements of the particular assignment, and an averaged number with the corresponding letter, which will actually count toward your final grade.

Questions regarding assignments or grades should be directed first to your TA. They are there to help you succeed in this class. If you are unsatisfied with the answer you get, then of course I encourage you to speak with me. But start with your TA.

Class Schedule

University-wide grading standards are as follows:

• A - achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements
• B - achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements
• C - achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect
• D - achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements
• S - achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better
• F (or N) - Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I
• I - (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student

Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.

Disabilities

If anyone has need for note taking, writing, or reading accommodations, please feel free to discuss this matter with me early in the semester. The University will provide accommodation for students with special needs. Please inform me if this may apply to you. For further information, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, 16 Johnston Hall (624-4037).

Classroom Conduct

Classroom incivilities will not be permitted. Students who create a hostile environment for others through discourteous, threatening, harassing, or aggressive behavior will be asked to leave and counted absent. Neither will students be permitted to sleep in class, read non-class materials, dispute grades, talk on cellphones, listen to ipods, or use other unauthorized forms of technology. You may use a laptop computer to take notes. However, if you abuse this privilege by surfing the web, checking your email, or engaging in any non-class-related activities, all computer privileges will be withdrawn for the rest of the semester.

Academic Misconduct

Academic integrity is essential to a positive teaching and learning environment. All students enrolled in University courses are expected to complete coursework with fairness and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own, can result in disciplinary action. The University Student Conduct Code defines scholastic dishonesty as follows:

Scholastic Dishonesty: Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; altering, forging, or misusing a University academic record; or fabricating or falsifying data, research procedures, or data analysis.

Within this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an “F” or “N” for the course. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, ask.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined as “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic advancement, (2) submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions or academic decisions affecting the individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment.” All faculty, supervisors, and administrators are legally and ethically obligated to take appropriate action to prevent sexual harassment. For further information, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in 419 Morrill Hall (624-9547).