Course Syllabus
HIST B 310, section 26261 / HIST H 509, section 26262 Dr. Thomas A. Mason
History of Britain since 1688 Classroom: Cavanaugh Hall 217
Syllabus of Course E-mail: masonta@iupui.edu
Spring semester 2016 Office: Cavanaugh Hall 313-H
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 April 6, 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.
Course 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; an 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 (2,500–3,500 words) on a topic to be mutually agreed upon by you and me. I post instruction sheets on Canvas > 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 > Resources > 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.
- If you have an ongoing condition that may prevent you from turning in assignments on time, please talk to me about it.
- A late assignment will receive a grade of zero (0) as a place marker on Canvas until it has been received and graded.
- 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, and Conduct 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 26261 / HIST H 509, section 26262: History of Britain since 1688 Dr. Thomas A. Mason
Schedule of Assignments:
Date Lecture topics (approximate) Willcox-Arnstein Chapter
January 11 Monday 1 Geography is Destiny; Overview of Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Britain
13 Wednesday 2 The Revolution of 1688: Glorious for Whom?; The World of John Locke 1
18 Monday Martin Luther King Jr. Day: No class.
20 Wednesday 3 The Balance of Power during the Reign of Queen Anne 2
25 Monday 4 The Social Structure of the Augustan Age 3
27 Wednesday 5 Finance High and Low under the First Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole 4
February 1 Monday 6 The First British Empire 5
3 Wednesday 7 The British Moral-Sense Philosophers 6
8 Monday 8 The Unreformed House of Commons 7
The War of American Independence 8
10 Wednesday Descriptive Essay (review of Locke) due
Selection of topic for research paper due
Class discussion of Locke and research topics
15 Monday 9 The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions 9–10
17 Wednesday Meet at IUPUI University Library, 755 West Michigan Street
in Room 2120, the Learning Lab
(in the reference room area, opposite the circulation desk, on the second floor of the library).
Kristi L. Palmer, associate dean of digital scholarship, will provide an orientation to the library.
22 Monday 10 Britain in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 11–12
24 Wednesday 11 Reaction 13
Arnstein chapter
Reform 1–2
Outline / précis (one page) and working bibliography (one page)
of research paper due. Class discussion of research topics.
29 Monday 12 Protectionism versus Free Trade. Happy Leap Year! 3
March 2 Wednesday 13 “Nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests”:
Foreign Policy in the Age of Palmerston 4
7 Monday 14 Mid-nineteenth-century Society 5
9 Wednesday Mid-semester Examination
(Covers all of Willcox and Arnstein, and Arnstein chapters 1–5).
14 Monday Spring Break: Please celebrate responsibly!
16 Wednesday Spring Break: Please celebrate responsibly!
21 Monday 15 The Crimean War and the Great Game 6–7
23 Wednesday 16 Gladstone, Disraeli, and Irish Home Rule; The World of John Maynard Keynes 8–9
26 Saturday 2:00 PM: 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
April 6; 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 13.
Meet inside the main entrance.
28 Monday 17 Imperialism and the Boer War 10
30 Wednesday 18 Fin-de-siècle Society and Politics 11–12
April 4 Monday 19 Geopolitics and the Great War 13–14
6 Wednesday 20 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
11 Monday 21 Depression, Abdication, and Appeasement 16–17
13 Wednesday Research paper due; Presentations on Research Papers
18 Monday 22 The Second World War 18
20 Wednesday 23 The Welfare State and the Cold War 19
25 Monday 24 Decolonization and the Last Gasp of Empire 20
27 Wednesday 25 The European Economic Community, the European Community, and the European Union 21
May 2 Monday 26 Thatcher, Blair, and the Coalition 22–23
4 Wednesday Final 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 an hour earlier than our usual meeting time.
Location is our usual room, Cavanaugh Hall 217.
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)
Reporter: “What do you think of western civilization?”
Mohandas Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.” (1931)
“‘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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