The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Fall 2018
ENGL 1150: Western Humanities II
CRNs 48801 and 49401 (10:50-12:05 p.m., EMCS 240) and 48802 (12:15-1:30 p.m., EMCS 240)
Instructor: Kris Whorton
3 Credit Hours
Gen Ed Credit: Successful completion of this course fulfills a Western Humanities (WH) credit.
Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:30-1:30, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00-10:30 and by appointment
Office: Library 427
Office Phone Number: 423-425-5481
Email address (preferred method of contact): [email protected]

HIST 1120: World History, c. 1400-Present

CRNs 49329 (10:50-12:05 p.m., BROK 402) and 49330 (12:15-1:30 p.m., BROK 402)
Instructor: Fang Yu Hu
3 Credit Hours
Gen Ed Credit: Successful completion of this course fulfills a UTC general education requirement in the
“Cultures and Civilizations” category (option B).
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:15-9:45 (or by appointment)
Office: Brock 408A
Office Phone Number: 423-425-5622
Email address (preferred method of contact): [email protected]

Course Description
This course is a freshman seminar that combines the goals and material of two classes: HIST 1120: World
History from 1400-Present and ENGL 1150: Western Humanities II. Together we will interpret modern world
history and literature. Our readings and themes will complement one another.

Course Outcomes
• That students identify and analyze similar themes across disciplines. We have combined our classes because
we believe in the benefit of interdisciplinary learning. One of our goals is that learners gain experience
applying the insights gained from one class to what they are learning in their other classes. An additional
goal facilitated by our interdisciplinary approach is that students understand textual and historical
interpretation as both a rigorous and a creative process.
• That students become more comfortable and effective in explaining their ideas to colleagues in small and
large groups. We have also organized our class as a seminar with the goal of providing opportunities for
students to voice the questions, ideas, and responses that arise from their readings. This is not a lecture
class. Student participation is essential for collective and individual success. Explaining your ideas,
listening to the ideas of others, identifying key elements of arguments, and responding is not just a
characteristic of civility but is a skill necessary for professional success. We have also included a group
assignment because being individually responsible for a portion of a collective effort is also an essential
skill.
• That students improve in their ability to effectively communicate and argue their ideas in writing. There are
three assigned papers for the course. These papers require students to formulate their own argument based
on their analysis of multiple sources and undergo a revision process based on the comments of colleagues
and teachers.
• That students improve critical reading practices. One of the benefits of the course’s seminar style is that our
reading materials will serve as models for student writing. As active readers, students will identify the
introduction, conclusion, thesis, structure, strengths, and weaknesses of class materials. In the literature
portion of the class, students will work on their annotation skills.

Course Themes

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True to an adult learning environment, this course will discuss many sensitive topics at a certain level of
depth. Such topics may include race, class, sex, sexuality, religion, profanity, politics, and violence. In fact we
encourage students not to shy away from these discussions in class, but simply to keep in mind that there are
sure to be others in the class who have a different set of experiences or who may hold a different set of
opinions on any given subject. As chief facilitators, we will do our best to help all of our differences of
background and opinion actually enhance the course.

A successful class depends in part on having good, productive, and honest discussions, and this is simply not
possible if people do not treat one another with respect. When examining historical documents or literary
texts, we might encounter terms that are no longer used. It is important to understand that for many people
today these terms carry with them connotations of disrespect and are not to be used except when directly
quoting those sources in papers.

Class Expectations:
• That students will read the material prior to class, bring their texts to class, and will arrive to class prepared
to contribute;
• That students actively participate in class discussions, activities, and group projects;
• That students treat colleagues, instructors, and themselves with respect;
• And that instructors treat students with respect.

Harassment and Behavior

The University does not tolerate any form of harassment, be it student-student or teacher-student. You are
expected to maintain an adult demeanor at all times and to treat others with due respect and consideration. We
reserve the right to level a grade penalty on those students who cannot consistently display adult behavior.
Behavior we consider unacceptable: sleeping in class; coming to class without the day’s required texts;
coming to class not having read the day’s reading; talking in class while the instructor is speaking; belittling
or intimidating a student or the instructor; playing with cell phones, calculators, pagers, text messengers,
laptops, etc.; or intentionally cutting off or talking over another student. You are required to have the correct
editions of the assigned texts. And you are required to have them with you in class. If you fail to do so, you
will be asked to leave and receive an absence for the day. Walking in and out of the classroom during class is
not permitted. Eating is not permitted. Laptops are not permitted except when discussing electronic versions
of HIST 1120 or ENGL 1150 readings.

HONOR CODE PLEDGE (from the UTC Student Handbook)

I pledge that I will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid on any test or assignment. I understand that
plagiarism constitutes a serious instance of unauthorized aid. I further pledge that I exert every effort to
insure that the Honor Code is upheld by others and the I will actively support the establishment and
continuance of a campus-wide climate of honor and integrity.

Grading
Students will receive a single grade for both classes. The grade breakdown is as follows:
15%: Attendance and participation
15%: Group project, 25% of which is provided by group members
40%: 2 Papers @ 20% each, each a minimum of 5-6 pages in length, excluding bibliography (2 1/2% of each
paper grade is determined by annotated bibliography and 2 1/2% is determined by peer review participation)
10%: 2 super mini event responses—Students are required to attend two out of class events and generate a
550-600-word analysis (roughly two pages, double-spaced. A list of options will be provided. They may
include plays, specific movies, readings, art shows, etc.
20%: Final Exam

Point –Grade Breakdown

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90-100%: A Excellent
80-89%: B Above Average
70-79%: C Average
60-69%: D Below Average
59% and below: F Fail

Attendance and Participation: 15%

Our class depends on active discussions and participation from class members. Therefore, your attendance
and participation make up a large portion of your grade. If you attend all classes but do not contribute to class
discussions, the best grade you can receive for this category is a low C.

Absences: Students are allowed three unexcused absences. Absences resulting from a significant, documented
illness, family emergency, or participation in University sponsored activities qualify as excused with written
documentation.

Late Arrival Policy: You will receive a full absence after three tardies. If you are more than five minutes late,
do not come at all. It disrupts the class for those students who did arrive on time.

Late Paper Policy: A paper is considered late if it is turned in after class time on its due date. A paper
uploaded to SafeAssign on the due date will not be considered late until 5:00pm. 5% of the grade will be
deducted after 5:00pm and for each additional day thereafter.

Writing Center: The UTC Writing and Communication Center provides trained writing consultants to provide
feedback. I encourage everyone to make use of this wonderful resource. Visit them in Library 327, call at 425-
1774, or visit them on the web at: http://www.utc.edu/library/services/writing-and-communication-
center/index.php.

Communication: To enhance student services, the University uses your UTC email address for all
communications. Please check your UTC email on a regular basis. If you have problems with accessing your
UTC email account, contact the Call Center at 423/425-4000. We will respond to emails between 8:00am and
5:00pm Monday through Friday. Emails sent after hours or on weekends or holidays will be responded to
during the next business day. If you have a question that will require both professors to weigh in, please
include both professors on the email. Announcements and modifications to the schedule will be posted on
UTCLearn. Please check daily for all of your classes.

Accommodation Statement: If you are a student with a disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision,
hearing, etc.) and think that you might need special assistance or a special accommodation in this class or any
other class, call the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 425-4006 or come by the office, 102 Frist Hall.

Counseling Center Statement: If you find that personal problems, career indecision, study and time
management difficulties, etc. are adversely impacting your successful progress at UTC, please contact the
Counseling and Career Planning Center at 425-4438.

Veterans Services Statement: The office of Veteran Student Services is committed to serving all the needs of
our veterans and assisting them during their transition from military life to that of a student. If you are a
student veteran or veteran dependent and need any assistance with your transition, please refer to
http://www.utc.edu/greenzone/ or http://www.utc.edu/records/veteran-affairs/. These sites can direct you the
necessary resources for academics, educational benefits, adjustment issues, veteran allies, veteran
organizations, and all other campus resources serving our veterans. You may also contact the coordinator of
Veteran Student Programs and Services directly at 423.425.2277. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

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 REQUIRED READINGS:
Please bring readings to class on the day they are to be discussed. HIST 1120: You should bring either
electronic or paper copies of the readings to class. For English 1150, plan to have your book or a paper copy
when appropriate at each class session. You will need to be able to address specific passages in the text and
must have your book to do so.

HIST 1120:
Robert B. Marks, The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative, Third Edition
(Rowman and Littlefield, 2015).
All other readings will be posted on blackboard.

ENGL 1150:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract, Dover Publication 2003
John Milton, Paradise Lost, Penguin Publishing Group 2003
Toni Morrison, Beloved, Knopf Doubleday 2004
Don Delillo, Falling Man, Scribner 2007
All other readings will be posted on blackboard.

When you come to class you will also need notebook paper (without perforations), a pen, and a stapler with
staples.

***Syllabus Subject to change***

Note: Readings for HIST 1120 are in Red Ink. Readings for ENGL 1150 are in Blue Ink. Days on which
assignments are due or in-class activities are planned are in Black Ink.

Week 1: Before the Encounters

Tuesday, August 21: Syllabus and Course Introduction/beginning writing activity
Thursday, August 23: The Trading Worlds, circa 1400.
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 1
Thursday, August 23: Rousseau, On the Social Contract, TBA

Week 2: Empire and First Globalization

Tuesday, August 28: Conquest and Columbian Exchange
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 3, beginning to the end of subsection “China’s Demand for Silver,”
p. 67-83
Tuesday, August 28: On The Social Contract, TBA
Thursday, August 30: Discussion
Bartolomé de las Casas, “A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies” (1542)
Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, “Just Cause of the War with the Indians” (1550)

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Thursday, August 30: Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I. We will post end of semester presentation groups and
peer review groups for both formal essays on UTC Learn by the end of the day.

Week 3: Slavery and Globalization

Tuesday, September 4: Global Trade, Labor, and Captivity: Silver
Captain William Dampier, Slavery at Achin in A New Voyage Round the World (1697) , Vol. II, Part I, Ch.
VII, p. 121-139
Willie Lynch, “The Making of a Slave” (1712)
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789), Ch. 2
Tuesday, September 4: Paradise Lost, Book II
Thursday, September 6: Sugar is King
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 3 “The New World Economy,” p. 83-86
Robert Walsh, “Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829” (1831), p. 473-494
Thursday, September 6: Paradise Lost, Book III

Week 4: Revolutionary Seventeenth Century

Tuesday, September 11: Crisis
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 3 “The Global Crisis of the Seventeenth Century” p. 86-96
Tuesday, September 11: Paradise Lost, Book IV
Thursday, September 13: Revolution and Democratic Republics in France and the US
Montesquieu, “The Spirit of Laws” (1748)
Emanuel Kant, “What is Enlightenment” (1784)
France, “Declaration of the Rights of Man” (1789)
Olympe de Gouges, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” (1791)
Thursday, September 13: Paradise Lost, Book IX

Week 5: Liberation and Emancipation

Tuesday, September 18: Haitian Independence
Thomas Jefferson, “Letters on the Haitian Revolution” (c. 1792)
Haitian Constitution (1805)
Simon Bolívar, “The Jamaica Letter” (1815)
Tuesday, September 18: Morrison, Beloved, forward to pp. 67
Thursday, September 20: Library Archive and Research Visit and first Out of Class Experience paper due
(submit on SafeAssign for class you attend at 10:50 and submit a printed out, stapled copy to both Fang Yu
and Kris).

Week 6: Industrialization
Tuesday, September 25: Cotton Textile
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 4 beginning to end of “New Sources of Energy and Power,” p. 97-
113
“A Widow Spinner’s Petition Letter” (1828)
Tuesday, September 25: Beloved, pp. 68–146.
Thursday, September 27: Industrial Revolution
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 “Coal, Iron, and Steam,” p. 113-118
Adam Smith, “On the Natural and Market Price of Commodities” (1776)
“A Proposal to Build Railroads” (1879)
Thursday, September 27: Beloved, pp. 147–186. Annotated outline Due for Essay 1 (submit a printed out,
stapled copy to both Fang Yu and Kris).

Week 7: Industrializing Imperialism

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Tuesday, October 2: Opium War. Professor feedback due for Essay 1 (your essays will be handed back with
our comments).
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 4 “Tea, Silver, Opium, Iron, and Steam” and “Conclusion,” p. 118-
125.
Memorials on Opium (1836)
Tuesday, October 2: Beloved, pp. 187-256
Thursday, October 4: Meet in UC (room to be announced) for Peer Review for first hour of class (reading of
paper and written comment completion should be done outside of class). Discussion

Week 8: Globalizing Imperialism

Tuesday, October 9: Essay 1 due. Your 10:50 professor should receive your essay on SafeAssign. as well as a
printed and stapled copy of your essay, their mark up of your annotated bibliography, and your peer
paperwork. Your 12:15 professor should receive a printed, stapled copy of your essay, and their markup of
your annotated bibliography. All stapled documents should be clipped together.
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 beginning to end of “Opium and Global Capitalism,” p. 127-135
Tuesday, October 9: Beloved, pp. 257-end
Thursday, October 11: Re-think Industrialization and Critiques of Capitalism
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 “Industrialization Elsewhere” to the end of the subsection “Social
Consequences of Industrialization,” p. 135-148
Britain, “Factory Act” (1833)
Karl Marx, “Primitive Accumulation” (1867)
Thursday, October 11: UTC Learn—TBA

Week 9:
Tuesday, October 16: NO CLASS - FALL BREAK
Tuesday, October 16: NO CLASS - FALL BREAK
Thursday, October 18: ART MUSEUM—Both classes meet at Hunter Art Museum as close to 10:50 as
possible. You will be back on campus in time for your 1:40 classes

Week 10: Nations and Nationalism

Tuesday, October 23: Classes meet in combined classroom (room to be announced), Group Proposal and Oral
Report Due. RETURN ESSAY 1 with grade and instructor feedback.
Thursday, October 25: Nations and Nationalism
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 “Nations and Nationalism,” p. 148-150
Frederick Douglass, “On Mexico” (1849)
“Chinese Anti-Foreignism” (1892)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, “Address to the Indian National Congress" (1907)
Emma Goldman, “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty” (1911)
Thursday, October 25: UTC Learn—Whitman

Week 11: Social Darwinism

Tuesday, October 30: New Imperialism
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 “The Scrambles for Africa and China,” p. 150-156
Cecil Rhodes, “Confession of Faith” (1877)
King Leopold II, Letter to Missionaries (1883)
George Washington Williams, “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold” (1890)
Tuesday, October 30: UTC Learn—Conrad TBA, Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” (1899),
Morel, “Black Man’s Burden” (1903)
Thursday, November 1: Annotated Outline 2 Due (submit a printed out, stapled copy to both Fang Yu and
Kris). Social Darwinism.
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 5 “El Nino Famines” and “Social Darwinism,” p. 156-160

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 The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Herbert Spencer, “Social Darwinism” (1857)

Anton Pannekoek, “Marxism and Darwinism,” (1912) Selections- Sections V. Darwinism versus Socialism,
Thursday, November 1: UTC Learn—TBA

Week 12: Thirty-Year Crisis

Tuesday, November 6: Eugenics and the Thirty-Year Crisis. Return Annotated Outline 2 with comments.
Yamagata Aritomo, “The Race War” (1915)
“New American Criminals” (image)
“The Direct Cost of the Socially Inadequate to New York State”
“The South’s fight for race purity”
"Table of Sterilizations Done in State Institutions Under State Laws up to and including the Year 1940"
Tuesday, November 6: Delillo, Falling Man
Thursday, November 8: Nitrogen and the Thirty-Year Crisis. Peer Review (Read and comment on papers
outside of class. Papers to be returned to peers in class).
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 6 beginning to end of “The Thirty-Year Crisis,” p. 161-173
Thursday, November 8: Falling Man

Week 13: Decolonization

Tuesday, November 13: Decolonization and Non-Alignment Movement
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 6 “The Post-World War II World,” p. 173-177
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, “The Atlantic Charter” (1941)
Ho Chi Minh, “Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Vietnam” (1945)
Kwame Nkruma, “I Speak of Freedom” (1961)
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, “Speech at the UN” (1964); optional- video in Spanish)
Tuesday, November 13: Falling Man
Thursday, November 16: Developmentalism
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 6 “The Cold War World,” p. 178-196
Kenneth Kaunda, “African Development and Foreign Aid” (1966)
Thursday, November 16: Falling Man Essay 2 due. Your 10:50 professor should receive your essay on
SafeAssign, as well as a printed and stapled copy of the essay, their mark up of your annotated bibliography,
and your peer paperwork. Your 12:15 professor should receive a printed, stapled copy of your essay and their
markup of your annotated bibliography. All stapled documents should be clipped together.

Week 14: Neoliberalism and Neoconservatives

Tuesday, November 20: The End of History and the State of Exception
Marks, Origins of the Modern World, Ch. 6 Section “The End of History? The Clash of Civilizations?” p.
196-207
Ronald Reagan, “America’s Economic Bill of Rights” (1987)
Benjamin Barber, “Jihad v. McWorld” (1992)
Tuesday, November 20: Falling Man
Thursday, November 22: NO CLASS—Thanksgiving

Week 15:
Tuesday, November 27: Presentations (we will meet in a classroom to be announced) Second Out of Class
Experience paper due (submit on SafeAssign for class you attend at 10:50 and submit a printed out, stapled
copy to both Fang Yu and Kris).
Thursday, November 29: Finish Presentations and Review for Final (final class meeting—we will meet in a
classroom to be announced).

Online Final Exam: Thursday, December 6: 10:30-12:30 pm