HIS 542, sect. 040: Eighteenth-century Europe Fall 2010 M 6 – 8:30 pm 480 Ferguson

Mr. Robert Allen History Department 357 Liberal Arts North / 468 – 3893 / [email protected] Office hours: Mon 3:30 – 5 pm, Tu 10:30 am – noon, Wed 10:30 am – noon & 2 – 6 pm, Th 10:30 am – noon, and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The main themes of eighteenth-century history will be explored through a comparison of French absolutism with the constitutional monarchy of Great Britain. We will consider the impact of the Enlightenment in both countries, the relation between social patterns and political culture, and the collapse of the Old Regime in France.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The course assignments include one exam, a research paper (submitted in four stages), a presentation on one of the major assigned books, and six short reading tests.

The research paper will be twelve to fifteen pages in length (3600 to 4500 words) on a topic approved by the instructor. It will draw on primary and secondary sources. An annotated bibliography evaluating those sources will be due on October 29, an outline and thesis statement will be due on November 12, the completed research paper itself should be uploaded by November 29, and the revised research paper will be due on December 13.

On or before these four dates, you will upload the respective assignments to the website of Turnitin.com. Go to http://www.turnitin.com/static/pdf/tii_student_qs.pdf

When you log in, the class ID is 3372048 and the password is 1700. Be sure, when you upload, to wait until the upload is confirmed and you are given a digital receipt. Your paper will not be considered turned in unless the receipt has been generated. The receipt is your proof that the paper was submitted. Students who do not meet the deadline will be penalized for each day that the paper is late.

GRADING POLICY

Your semester grade will be broken down as follows:

• exam – 30% • reading tests – 15% • presentation – 10% • research paper – 45 %

Your grade on the research paper will be determined by your performance on the four phases of the assignment: annotated bibliography (10% of the grade on your research paper), outline and thesis statement (10%), first submission of your completed research paper (40%), and final submission of your research paper (40%).

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Good attendance is highly recommended, but attendance in itself will not form part of your semester grade.

TEXTS (all required)

Isser Woloch, Eighteenth-Century Europe: Tradition and Progress, 1715 - 1789 Norton, 1981, ISBN 978-0-3939-5214-8

Wilfrid Prest, Albion Ascendant: English History, 1660 – 1815 , 1998, ISBN 978-0-1982-0418–3

Keith Thomas, The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfillment in Early Modern England Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-1995-8083-5

Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707 – 1837 Yale University Press, 3rd revised ed., 2009, ISBN 978-0-3001-5280-7

Roy Porter, The Creation of the Modern World: The Untold Story of the British Enlightenment Norton, 2001, ISBN 978-0-3933-2268-2

Jonathan Israel, A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy Princeton University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-6911-4200-5

Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History Basic Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-4650-1274-9

Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the French Revolution Anchor Books, 1955, ISBN 978-0-3850-9260-9

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The SFA History Department has identified the following Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) for all SFA students earning an M.A. degree in History:

1. The student will be able to explain the key issues and developments in at least two historical periods (one per course). 2. The student will be able to identify the main historical works and interpretive debates associated with an event or period. 3. The student will be able to locate, identify, and critically analyze primary sources. 4. The student will be able to research and analyze effectively an issue or topic in writing. 5. The student will be able to present written work in an appropriate academic style, including the proper citation of sources using Chicago Manual of Style (15th or most recent edition).

This section of this course will focus on PLOs 1, 3, 4, and 5.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. The student will be able to evaluate the main aspects and evolution of constitutional monarchy in Great Britain during the eighteenth century.

2. The student will be able to explain the main characteristics and consequences of the Enlightenment in Europe.

3. The student will be able to explain the collapse of absolutism in France.

4. The student will be able to explain the weakening of traditional, largely rural, society and culture in early modern Europe.

Academic Integrity (A-9.1) Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism.

Definition of Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit.

Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp

Withheld Grades (Semester Grades Policy, A-54) Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.

Students with Disabilities To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.

COURSE CALENDAR

Aug 30 Introduction

Sept 13 – Lecture Oct 11 Woloch, Eighteenth-Century Europe Prest, Albion Ascendant

Oct 18 Exam

Oct 22 – Annotated bibliography due ____

Oct 25 Thomas, The Ends of Life

Nov 1 Colley, Britons

Nov 5 – Outline and thesis statement due

Nov 8 Porter, The Creation of the Modern World

Nov 15 Israel, A Revolution of the Mind

Nov 22 Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre

Nov 29 No class: Submission of your completed research paper

Dec 6 Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the French Revolution

Dec 13 Second submission of the research paper