Course Syllabus
HIST B 310, section 13016 / HIST H 509, section 13020 Dr. Thomas A. Mason
History of Britain since 1688 Classroom: Cavanaugh Hall 235
Syllabus of Course E-mail: masonta@iupui.edu
Spring semester 2015 Office: Cavanaugh Hall 313-E
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:30–2:45 PM Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00–4:00 PM
Texts (which all students are required to purchase):
Willcox, William B., and Walter L. Arnstein. The Age of Aristocracy, 1688–1830. 8th edition. New York: Cengage Learning, 2001.
Earlier editions are also acceptable.
Arnstein, Walter L. Britain Yesterday and Today, 1830 to the Present. 8th edition. New York: Cengage Learning, 2001.
Earlier editions are also acceptable.
Locke, John, Two Treatises of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration. Edited and with an introduction by Ian Shapiro.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Also available as an e-book (Kindle, Nook, and iTunes).
Keynes, John Maynard. The Economic Consequences of the Peace. Introduction by Robert Lekachman. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.
Also available as an e-book (Kindle, Nook, and iTunes). (Note that for the analytical essay due on March 28, you have the option of reading and reviewing this book or analyzing a work of art that you see at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. If you choose that latter option, you are not required to purchase the book.)
Course Description: This course is designed to instill an awareness of the development of modern British society, economy, politics, and culture, including industrialization, imperialism, and the emergence of ideologies such as liberalism and socialism.
Learning Objectives: The course implements and supports the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning (http://academicaffairs.iupui.edu/PlansInitiatives/Plans/Principles-of-Undergraduate-Learning): core communication (moderate emphasis) and quantitative (minor emphasis) skills; critical thinking; integration and appreciation of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptiveness; understanding society and culture (major emphasis); and values and ethics.
Course requirements: You will write a descriptive essay (500–700 words) on Locke; analytical essay (750–1,000 words) on either Keynes or a work of art that you see at the Indianapolis Museum of Art; and a research paper (3,000–4,000 words) on a topic to be mutually agreed upon by you and me. I post instruction sheets on Canvas, under the link to “Assignments,” for these essays, which are due on the dates listed below.
Examinations: There will be a mid-semester examination and a final examination (both will be composed of essay and matching). These will cover the contents of the textbooks, lectures, and books assigned for review. For the examinations, I provide bluebooks and post review sheets on Canvas, under the link to “Resources,” folder “Review Sheets.”
Please note:
- · You are welcome to take examinations early (give me advance notice so I can have the examination made up early).
- · You are welcome to turn in book reviews / essays early and to transmit them electronically through the “Assignments” link on Canvas before the due date.
- · On the due date, book reviews / essays must be turned in in class, in person, and in hard copy / printout. Book reviews / essays, transmitted electronically through the “Assignments” link on Canvas on the due date, when the student is absent from class, will be considered late.
- · No more than one late assignment (book review / essay) or makeup quiz / examination will be allowed to any student.
- · After the due date, you may transmit a book review / essay electronically through the “Assignments” link on Canvas for full credit but subject to the abovementioned limit of one late assignment (book review / essay) or makeup quiz / examination per student.
- · I encourage communication. When communicating with me, please use the regular university e-mail (masonta@iupui.edu), which is also linked to Canvas messages.
Weighting of course requirements for grade: book reviews (15% x 2 = 30%); research paper 20%; examinations (25% x 2 = 50%).
Administrative Withdrawal: A basic requirement of this course is that you will participate in class and conscientiously complete writing and reading assignments. Keep in touch with me if you are unable to attend class or complete an assignment on time. I will take the roll of attendance, and if you miss more than half our class meetings within the first four weeks of the semester without contacting me, I will administratively withdraw you from this course. Our class meets twice per week; thus if you miss more than four classes in the first four weeks, you may be withdrawn. Administrative withdrawal may have academic, financial, and financial aid implications. Administrative withdrawal will take place after the full refund period, and if you are administratively withdrawn from the course you will not be eligible for a tuition refund. If you have questions about the administrative withdrawal policy at any point during the semester, please contact me.
FLAGS System (Fostering Learning, Achievement, and Graduation Success): I will be using IU’s FLAGS System to provide real-time feedback on your performance in this course. Periodically throughout the semester I will be entering data on factors such as your class attendance, participation, and success with coursework, among other things. This information will provide feedback on how you are faring in the course and offer you suggestions on how you might be able to improve your performance. You will be able to access this information in the student center: OneStart > Student Services page > Student Center > My Academics and Grades > My Grades.
Students needing accommodations because of a disability will need to register with Adaptive Educational Services (AES) and complete the appropriate forms issued by AES before accommodations will be given. The AES office is located in Taylor Hall, UC 100. You can also reach the office by calling 274-3241. Visit http://aes.iupui.edu for more information.
Academic Integrity: You warrant and represent that in-class examinations, and essays and book reviews prepared outside of class, are your own work. You warrant and represent that any words not within quotation marks are your own. Any variation from this standard becomes a false representation, which is an offense under the university-wide Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, andConduct at Indiana University (www.iu.edu/~code/code/index.shtml). Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class, and I will explain the correct way to acknowledge the words and ideas of others. If you have any questions on this or any other subjects, please ask!
HIST B 310, section 13016 / HIST H 509, section 13020: History of Britain since 1688 Dr. Thomas A. Mason
Schedule of Assignments:
Date Lecture topics (approximate) Willcox-Arnstein Chapter
January12 Monday Geography is Destiny; Overview of Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Britain
14 Wednesday The Revolution of 1688: Glorious for Whom? 1
19 Monday Martin Luther King Day: No class.
21 Wednesday The Balance of Power during the Reign of Queen Anne 2
26 Monday The Social Structure of the Augustan Age 3
28 Wednesday Finance High and Low under the First Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole 4
February 2 Monday The First British Empire 5
4 Wednesday The British Moral-Sense Philosophers 6
9 Monday The Unreformed House of Commons 7
The American War of Independence 8
11 Wednesday Descriptive Essay (review of Locke) due
Selection of topic for research paper due
Class discussion of Locke and research topics
16 Monday The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions 9–10
18 Wednesday Britain in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 11–12
23 Monday Reaction 13
Arnstein chapter
25 Wednesday Reform 1–2
Outline / précis (one page) and working bibliography (one page)
of research paper due. Class discussion of research topics.
March 2 Monday Protectionism versus Free Trade 3
4 Wednesday “Nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests”:
Foreign Policy in the Age of Palmerston 4
9 Monday Mid-nineteenth-century Society 5
11 Wednesday Mid-semester Examination
(covers all of Willcox and Arnstein, and Arnstein chapters 1–5).
16 Monday Spring Break: Please celebrate responsibly!
18 Wednesday Spring Break: Please celebrate responsibly!
23 Monday The Crimean War and the Great Game 6–7
25 Wednesday Gladstone, Disraeli, and Irish Home Rule 8–9
28 Saturday 2:00PM: Visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road.
Optional if you intend to read and review Keynes for the Analytical Essay due on
March 28; required if you intend to analyze a work of art for that assignment or if you
choose an art historical topic for your research paper due on April 15.
Meet inside the main entrance.
30 Monday Imperialism and the Boer War 10
April 1 Wednesday Fin-de-siècle Society and Politics 11–12
6 Monday Geopolitics and the Great War 13–14
8 Wednesday The Carthaginian Peace 15
Analytical Essay (review of Keynes or analysis of a work of art) due
Class discussion of Keynes and works of art
13 Monday Depression, Abdication, and Appeasement 16–17
15 Wednesday Research paper due; Presentations on Research Papers
20 Monday The Second World War 18
22 Wednesday The Welfare State and the Cold War 19
27 Monday Decolonization and the Last Gasp of Empires 20
29 Wednesday The European Economic Community, the European Community, and the European Union 21
May 4 Monday Thatcher, Blair, and the Coalition 22–23
6 WednesdayFinal Examination, 1:00–3:00 PM (covers Arnstein chapters 6–23).
Please note the day and time (set by the University Registrar) of the exam:
half and an hour earlier than our usual meeting time.
Location is our usual room, Cavanaugh Hall 235.
Remember:“We contend, however, that war is nothing more than a continuation of politics with the mixing in of other means.”
—Carl von Clausewitz, On War (1832)
“‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.’”
—George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”
—L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between (1953)
“Study history. Study history. In history are all the secrets of statecraft.”
—Winston Churchill, The Age of Revolution (1957)
Course Summary:
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