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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
HIST D03BH
Course Title (CB02)
World History from 750 to 1750 CE - HONORS
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
Starting from 750 Common Era (CE) and covering to 1750 CE, this course explores the convergence of, or increasing encounters between the world's peoples, cultures, and civilizations. Students will gain an interdisciplinary, multi-perspective view of world history, using a thematic approach and offering a balanced, representative and inclusive sampling of the world's cultures from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Because this is an honors program course, students will be expected to complete extra assignments, or an additional longer assignment, to gain deeper insight into world history between 750 and 1750 CE.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course introduces students to the chronological sequencing of world history from 750 CE to 1750 CE. This course also contributes to fulfillment of major requirements for the Associate of Arts degree for Transfer in History. In addition, this course meets a general education (G.E.) requirement for °®¶ą´«Ă˝, CSU GE, and IGETC.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶ą´«Ă˝ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC2°®¶ą´«Ă˝ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
2GDX°®¶ą´«Ă˝ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
HISTHistoryApprovedHIST D03AH & HIST D03BH required for C-ID HIST 150 HIST D03BH & HIST D03CH required for C-ID HIST 160

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

  • (Not open to students with credit in the non-Honors related course.)
  • (Admission into this course requires consent of the Honors Program Coordinator.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class or take-home essays

Collaborative learning and small group exercises: written or oral

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Map Assignments

In-class exploration of internet sites

Homework and extended projects

Guest speakers

Other: Film / documentary / or other media

Assignments

  1. Regular Reading Assignments: Assigned readings from a college-level text(s), primary historical documents, and a secondary interpretation(s), from which students will gain and demonstrate, evaluate, synthesize, and critique knowledge of political, economic, social, and cultural events of the historical era for this course.
  2. Regular Writing Assignments: Selected from a combination of assignments such as: research papers, reading and viewing responses; in-class or take-home essays in exam format including the final exam; book review(s); and other analytic assignments that synthesize, critique and evaluate primary and secondary sources and demonstrate an understanding of the historical era for this course. Students will write a minimum of 1700 words during the quarter, including at least one individually typed paper of at least 750 words with proper citations.
  3. Group or individual participation in oral or written, analytical expression, such as: class discussions, debates, or assessments of texts, including primary historical documents or secondary interpretations in world history.
  4. Objective evaluation through assignments such as: quizzes, map identifications, or objective sections of in-class midterm(s) or the final examination in which students demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate, analyze, contextualize, synthesize or critique primary and secondary historical sources in world history.
  5. View assigned media shown in class or in the lab. Each viewing assignment is accompanied with specific written or oral questions or prompts to assess, contextualize, synthesize or critique.
  6. The honors project will include a written research paper of 8-10 pages total (or two shorter research papers of 4-5 pages each) which demonstrates analysis of additional historical sources, including both primary and secondary source material in world history between 750 CE and 1750 CE. The honors project will require 10 or more hours of work beyond the regular (non-honors) course requirements, will include higher expectations for achievement in this more advanced work, and must include quotations, citations, and bibliography.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Oral analysis: participation in and contribution toward classroom discussions, debates, or specified group project(s) in which students demonstrate analysis, synthesis, critique and critical thinking skills, such as clarity of argument and the use of evidence to support arguments, in oral interpretations of sources, including primary historical documents.
  2. Writing Assignments: Students will write a total of 1700 words in a variety of combinations that include at least one individually written paper of at least 750 words with proper citations, such as: an essay(s) exam, workbook(s), video review form(s), Power-point presentation(s), journal(s), book review(s), or other analytical project(s) in which students demonstrate the ability to critically analyze or synthesize thematic questions, primary historical documents, and secondary source interpretations of world history.
  3. Objective evaluation through assignments, such as: quizzes, map identifications, objective sections of in-class exams, or other analytical projects, in which students demonstrate, assess, synthesize or critique the knowledge of college-level secondary source readings and primary source documents in the era of history for this course.
  4. The honors project, a written research paper of 8-10 pages total (or two shorter research papers of 4-5 pages each) will be evaluated for depth of analysis of both primary and secondary sources, originality, critical thinking skills, historical references and citations, and a comprehensive discussion of the specific topic(s) in world history between 750 CE and 1750 CE.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Weisner-Hanks, Merry E. A Concise History of the World. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Von Sivers, Peter, Charles A. Desnoyers and George Stow. Patterns of World History. 2nd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Christian, David. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything. Little, Brown Spark, 2018.
Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World: A Global History. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2015.
Duiker, William J. and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History. 9th ed. Cengage Learning, 2019.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Pilcher, Jeffrey. Food In World History. New York: Routledge, 2005.
Von Sivers, Peter, Charles A. Desnoyers and George Stow. Patterns of World History. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Armitage, David and Alison Bashford. Pacific Histories: Ocean, Land, People. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014.
Wills Jr., John E. China and Maritime Europe, 1500-1800: Trade, Settlement, Diplomacy and Missions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
MacGregor, Neil. A History of the World in 100 Objects. Reprint edition. New York: Penguin Books, 2013.
Connah, Graham and Douglas Hobbs. African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Asante, Molefi Kete. The History of Africa. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Manning, Patrick. The African Diaspora: A History Through Culture (Columbia Studies in International and Global History). New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
Robert, J.M. The History of the World. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Jenkins, Philip. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia---and How It Died. New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Eakin, Marshall C. The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures. New York: Penguin Books, 2007.
Eubanks, Charlotte. Miracles of Book and Body: Buddhist Textual Culture and Medieval Japan (Buddhisms). Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
Abeth, John. An Environmental History of the Middle Ages: The Crucible of Nature. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Mann, Charles. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. New York: Vintage, 2012.
Baumer, Christoph. The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2012.
Stearns, Peter. World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader. 2nd ed. New York: New York University Press, 2008.
Michell, George and Amit Pasricha. Mughal Architecture and Gardens. Suffolk: Antique Collectors Club District, 2011.
Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. Gender in History: Global Perspectives. 2nd ed. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
Pettigrew, William A. Freedom's Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672-1752 (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013.
Golden, Peter B. Central Asia in World History (New Oxford World History). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Develop a critical understanding of the historical method in the context of world history, compare and contrast different perspectives in order to evaluate, explain, or defend and critique informed study with respect to world history through the use of primary and secondary sources.
  • Use primary and secondary sources from a diverse range of authors to contribute to an understanding of significant themes in the development of world history, while also fostering recognition and appreciation of the contributions of its diverse peoples: analyzing broad patterns of change on both an inter-regional scale and within complex societies; and, explain, interpret, or evaluate the historical, social, political, philosophical, literary, artistic and aesthetic developments across the boundaries of civilizations, regions, and cultures.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of various geographical regions over time and examine and assess the role of geography in shaping or influencing human societies throughout world history.
  • Use primary and secondary sources from multicultural, different methodologies, or perspectives to interpret and analyze historical evidence in order to: develop critical thinking skills, formulate multicultural, complex assessments, or diverse interpretations of historical issues and problems, including the impact on ordinary persons within world history, and to understand the chronology of the stages of development in the world from 750 to 1750 CE.
  • Critically analyze the impact of a major historical event or historical figure(s), indicate both long-and short-term historical significance or compare and contrast with a contemporary event(s) or figure(s), for world history from 750 to 1750 CE, to fulfill the college honors requirements for this course.

CSLOs

  • Demonstrate and apply knowledge of World history from 750 to 1750 CE to construct defensible statements of meaning and evaluation about this period's developments.

  • Identify, critically evaluate, and interpret World history primary documents from 750 to 1750 CE to construct historical analysis.

Outline

  1. Develop a critical understanding of the historical method in the context of world history, compare and contrast different perspectives in order to evaluate, explain, or defend and critique informed study with respect to world history through the use of primary and secondary sources.
    1. The study of history as it relates to world history, particularly:
      1. History defined; history as different from myth
      2. World history as having multiple cultural perspectives
      3. The practical importance of the study of history, and in particular, world history, for global citizenry
      4. Historical research methodologies appropriate to the study of an integrated approach to world history
      5. Frameworks used to analyze historical processes, phenomena, and events from a global perspective
    2. Sources in the study of civilizations and cultures in world history, from 750 to 1750 CE, particularly:
      1. Defining historical sources: primary and secondary
      2. Critical analysis of historical evidence; awareness of diverse approaches; construction of arguments
      3. Objectivity and perspective; interpretation and critical reflection; validity and impact; proper citation of sources
      4. Historiography and its relationship to the development of world history as a field
  2. Use primary and secondary sources from a diverse range of authors to contribute to an understanding of significant themes in the development of world history, while also fostering recognition and appreciation of the contributions of its diverse peoples: analyzing broad patterns of change on both an inter-regional scale and within complex societies; and, explain, interpret, or evaluate the historical, social, political, philosophical, literary, artistic and aesthetic developments across the boundaries of civilizations, regions, and cultures.
    1. Major Themes in World History from 750 to 1750 CE, including:
      1. Political: Analyze, compare, and contrast distinctive forms of political organization in world history and their impact, including forms of governance, state-building, empires, expansion, conflict, and inter-state relations
      2. Economic: Explain various forms of economic organization in world history and their global impact, including agricultural and pastoral production, trade and commerce, labor systems, and networks of exchange
      3. Social: Analyze the development and transformation of social structures in world history, including gender roles and relations, family and kinship, racial and ethnic constructions, and social and economic classes
      4. Cultural: Explain the historical significance of cultural developments in religions, belief systems, philosophies, literature, ideologies, science and technology, arts, aesthetics, and architecture in world history
      5. Environmental: Analyze the ways in which the world’s physical and natural environment has affected and been affected by developments in human history, including demography and disease, migration, patterns of settlement, biological exchange, and technology
    2. Recognition of the contributions of diverse peoples in the development of world history, including:
      1. The impact of ethnic and racial diversity
      2. The roles and experiences of women and men
      3. The experiences of the working classes and the issue of slavery
      4. The role of human sexuality and the issue of sexual orientation
      5. The role of dissent with regard to belief systems
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of various geographical regions over time and examine and assess the role of geography in shaping or influencing human societies throughout world history.
    1. Knowledge of geography in world history; continents, civilizations, and cultural and regional areas
    2. Understanding the extent of human knowledge of geographical space in various historical time periods
    3. Ability to assess the relationship of geography to historical events over time
    4. Political, economic, social, demographic, and environmental factors related to geographic influences
  4. Use primary and secondary sources from multicultural, different methodologies, or perspectives to interpret and analyze historical evidence in order to: develop critical thinking skills, formulate multicultural, complex assessments, or diverse interpretations of historical issues and problems, including the impact on ordinary persons within world history, and to understand the chronology of the stages of development in the world from 750 to 1750 CE.
    1. Acceleration of economic and cross-cultural connections between human societies from 750 to 1750 CE, with analysis and contextualization of factors that shaped these developments in world history, such as:
      1. Commerce, culture and consequences: The Silk Roads in Eurasia, sea routes in the Indian Ocean basin and the South Pacific, trans-Saharan routes and other networks in Africa, networks in the Americas centering on Mesoamerica and the Andes; Cultural blending: especially in eastern and western Africa, all throughout Asia and southeast Asia, the Islamic Empire, Kievan Rus,the Byzantine Empire, Aztecs and Incas
      2. The view of these interconnections as precursors to a more globalized context of exchange; examination of the geographic situation of these historical developments; contrast between the Western Hemisphere’s north-south axis and the Eastern Hemisphere’s east-west axis and more extensive interconnections; examination of relationships between humans and the environment in these areas
    2. Developments within and interrelations between major states and empires in East Asia (c. 750 to 1400), analysis of their wider influence, and examination of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Tang dynasty and the highly organized Chinese state; role of the examination system and bureaucracy; Tang dynasty arts, crafts, and literature
      2. Song dynasty China as world’s most urbanized and commercialized society at that point; Song dynasty arts, crafts, and literature
      3. China’s economic, technological, and environmental influence in Eurasia (e.g., silk, gunpowder, movable type printing); ecological factors for adopting aspects of Chinese culture
      4. Cultural and religious impact of East Asia, including Buddhism in relation to Confucianism
      5. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as civilizations in Chinese sphere and the social, political and cultural (artistic and literary) consequences; impact of northern nomads on China
      6. Patriarchy (e.g., lack of women’s property rights, footbinding), and various gender issues in East Asia
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Chinese emperor Song Taizu, Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi, and Japanese female writer Murasaki Shikibu and her Tale of Genji)
    3. Developments within and interrelations between major states and empires in the Islamic world (c. 750 to 1500), analysis of their wider influence, and examination of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Rise of Islam and emergence of an Arab (Abbasid) empire, from Persia to North Africa; role of the caliph
      2. Conflicts between Sunni and Shia Islam; role of Sufism; role of sharia as both religious and civil law
      3. Muslim cultural impact in India, Anatolia, East and West Africa, and Spain including art and architecture; interactions with other religions and the rise of fundamentalists
      4. Economic, scientific, and ecological impact of Islamic civilization (e.g., Middle East trade routes, algebra, medicine; spread of agricultural products and practices; use of logic, dialectic and ratio)
      5. Patriarchy (e.g., veiling, seclusion), and yet conflicting views of gender issues in various Islamic cultures
      6. Role of Mongols and Turks, emergence of Ottoman Empire, and challenge to Christian Europe
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Mansa Musa, Ibn Sina, Al-Farabi, Persian writer Ferdowsi, Indian poet Kabir)
    4. Developments within and interrelations between major states and empires in the Christian world (c. 750 - 1400), analysis of their wider influence, and examination of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Spread of Christianity within various European monarchies and principalities; role of the pope
      2. Conflicts: Eastern Orthodoxy vs. Roman Catholicism; separate church and state hierarchies in west
      3. Christian cultural impact in Russia, Asia, Africa, especially artistic representations and architecture; era of the Crusades; interactions with other religions
      4. Economic, political, technological and ecological impact of Europe (e.g., merchants, parliaments, universities, 13th and 14th centuries of scholasticism, cannon, agricultural practices)
      5. Patriarchy (e.g., witchburning, lack of female priests); various gender issues in European cultures (such as persecution of homosexuals) and comparison and contrast with other cultures
      6. Serfs, peasants, and guilds in Europe in comparison to labor systems in Islamic world and East Asia
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Charlemagne, Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Eleanor of Acquitaine, Chaucer)
    5. Developments within and interrelations between major states and empires in the world of the Mongols and other pastoralists (c. 750 - 1500), analysis of their wider influence, and examination of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Pastoral peoples’ interconnections with agriculturalists; role of the horse and the camel
      2. Arabs, Almoravids (N. Africa), Turks; rise of the Mongol empire, largest land-based empire in history
      3. Economic, military, political, ecological and cultural (artistic and architectural) impact of the Mongols in China, Persia, and Russia
      4. Kinship, clans, hierarchies, and women’s less restricted roles in pastoral societies such as Mongols
      5. Mongol networks in a developing world economy, diplomacy, cultural exchange, spread of plague
      6. Absence of widespread pastoralism in the Americas due to lack of large animals for domestication
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Chinggis/Genghis Khan, Khublai Khan, Marco Polo)
    6. Developments in the world of the fifteenth century and the origins of global interdependence (c. 1400 - 1500), analysis of the acceleration of economic and cross-cultural interactions, new networks of trade, transportation, and communication, new developments in state formation and practices as well as political alternatives, diffusion of artistic and scientific traditions as well as biological exchanges and environmental impact, such as:
      1. Political contrasts of Ming dynasty China, a fragmented Europe of various states, the Hindu state of Vijayanagara in southern India, the flourishing of African states of Ethiopia, Kongo, Benin, and Zimbabwe, the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica
      2. Cultural expression (artistic, literate and architectural) in: post-Mongol China, among Japanese warlords, Hindu India, and Islamic Southeast Asia, Renaissance Europe, Aztec and Inca, and the African states
      3. Contrasts in maritime voyaging of China, European powers, the Americas, and Africa; Zheng He and Columbus; the Indian Ocean, including Timur and Malacca
      4. The Aztec and Inca empires before and during European conquest of the Americas; Montezuma, Cortes
      5. Impact of the Columbian Exchange for both hemispheres; immense population loss in the Americas
      6. Persistence of gathering and hunting societies in the Americas and Australia as well as agricultural village societies in Africa (e.g. the Igbo), Southeast Asia, and the Americas, as alternatives to large states
    7. Political developments and transformations in the early modern world (c. 1450 - 1750), analysis of their global impact, examination of interrelations between major states, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Spanish and other European monarchs’ rise and rule of colonies in the Americas; Iroquois confederation and other Native American forms of self-government; compare with African Igbo self-government
      2. English (British) colonies in America and rise of elected assemblies in rebellion over royal policies
      3. Autocratic Russian empire as European-oriented Christian state which also became an Asian power
      4. China as an empire under the Qing dynasty and its expanding role in Central Asia
      5. Islamic major empires: Ottoman, Safavid (Persia), Songhay (West Africa), and Mughal (India)
      6. Gender, racial, and ethnic issues in the areas above related to political developments and limits
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Tupac Amaru II, Elizabeth I, Peter the Great, emperor Akbar of India)
    8. Economic and social developments and transformations in the early modern world (c. 1450 - 1750), analysis of their global impact, examination of interrelations between major states, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. European roles in trade in American, African, and Asian products, such as spices, sugar, silver, gold, furs
      2. Environmental impact on the natural world and resources resulting from developments in areas above
      3. European role in the Atlantic slave trade; human impact; impact on African societies and economies
      4. Impact on Native American, Asian, and African peoples during the trade, including that in labor systems
      5. Centrality of Asia to world economy of early modern era; role of China, Japan, India and other cultures
      6. Racial, ethnic, gender, and class issues in areas above related to economic changes
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Magellan, Las Casas, Olaudah Equiano, Queen Nzinga of Matamba)
    9. Cultural developments and transformations in the early modern world, including in religion, philosophy, and science (c. 1450 - 1750), analysis of their global impact, examination of interrelations between major states, and impact on ordinary persons, such as:
      1. Islam’s spread in Africa, India, Southeast Asia; renewal movements (e.g., Wahabi) and response
      2. Protestant Reformation; Catholic Counter-Reformation; spread of Christianity in both hemispheres
      3. China and Neo-Confucianism, ordinary peoples’ Buddhism, and scientific approaches (e.g., kaozheng)
      4. New forms of Hinduism in India (e.g., bhakti), and the growth and development of Sikhism
      5. Science in Asia and the Middle East and influence on Europe; development of the Scientific Revolution in Europe and its impact globally; various uses of scientific knowledge; spread of the printing press
      6. The Enlightenment, new philosophies (e.g. Locke, Voltaire), and their global impact
      7. Historically influential persons (e.g., Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahib, Martin Luther, Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming, Hindu poet Mirabai, Sikhism founder Guru Nanak, Copernicus, Newton)
  5. Critically analyze the impact of a major historical event or historical figure(s), indicate both long-and short-term historical significance or compare and contrast with a contemporary event(s) or figure(s), for world history from 750 to 1750 CE, to fulfill the college honors requirements for this course.
    1. Inclusion of analysis of both primary historical documents and secondary historical sources.
    2. Indication of students' understanding of historiographical debate over the interpretation(s) of significant historical issues.
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