History 206: The History of the "Other"
TR 1:00-2:15
Office hours: M 1:00-4:00 pm, TR 2:30-4:00pm, or by appointment. Office # 432C, telephone
number: 953-6935; e-mail: [email protected]. Email is always the best way to reach me.
Course Description: This course introduces students to the histories and cultures of Sub-Sahara
Africa, Mesoamerica, East Asia, South Asia, and Southwest Asia. It examines each of these
areas' political, social, and religious institutions and how they changed over time. We will also
pay close attention to their social values, religious beliefs, and cultural practices. Particular
emphasis will be placed on how contact with the West irrevocably altered each of these cultures.
Reading the course's textbooks, which are entirely written by non-Europeans, is mandatory and
will serve the purpose of exposing students to non-western views of the world.
Course Goals: After taking this course, each student should have the following: 1. A knowledge
of the historical chronology and social structure of each area, 2. An understanding of each of the
major, non Judaic-Christian religions, i.e., Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, and
Islam, 3. An ability to dispassionately look at history from an African, Asian, Middle-eastern, or
Latin American point of view.
Class Requirements: Since this course has no textbook that provides a narrative for the entire
course, it is imperative that students attend class, take good notes, and read all six of the assigned
texts. Those who miss more than 20% of the class periods, whether their absences are excused
or not, will fail the course. A student who disrupts the class, reads non-course materials in class,
argues about his or her grade during class time, or talks during lectures, will be marked as absent
and asked to leave. The chewing of tobacco is prohibited. Assigned reading should be done
prior to the first class of the week. Each student must participate in class discussion, write three
short papers, take six quizzes, and sit for two hour examinations and a final examination.
Participation consists of asking questions, volunteering opinions, and showing that you have read
the class assignments. The first paper will be based on a historical analysis of either the Sun Tzu
or the Ramayana. Detailed instructions will be handed out on how to write this paper. Papers
handed in after the deadline will be reduced half a grade for each class period that it is late.
Papers that are more than two weeks late will not be accepted. The examinations will consist of
short identifications and essay questions. Both papers and examinations are designed to test your
knowledge as individuals, hence they are not collaborative projects. Students who cheat on tests
or engage in plagiarism will be reported for honor code violations and will receive a “F” grade
for that test or paper. Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas as your own without
giving proper credit to the author. The composition of your grade is as follows: participation
10%, quizzes 20%, first and second examinations 10% each, three short papers 30%, and the
final exam 20%. Scheduled tests are mandatory formations. Makeup tests Will NOT be
given without a written note from a doctor or other appropriate official. Guard duty or
other military activities do not excuse you from scheduled tests. Note that the instructor
reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus throughout the semester as he sees fit.
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Textbooks (All of these books are available at the Gift Store)
Philip Ivanhoe, Master Sun’s Art of War (Hackett)
R. K. Narayan, The Ramayana (Penguin Books).
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, translated by N.J. Dawood (Penguin Books).
Miguel Leon-Portilla. The Broken Spears: Aztec Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico (Beacon).
Ishikawa Tatsuzô. Soldiers Alive. Translated by Zeljko Cipris (University of Hawai’i Press).
Tepilit Ole Saitoti, The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior (University of California Press)
Week One: Different Worlds, Different Worldviews
8/27 Orientation & geography, languages, social structures of China
Week Two: Ancient China
9/1 The Earliest Dynasties: Xia, Shang, Zhou. 9/3 The decline of the Zhou and the Hundred
Schools of Thought.
Week Three: Early Imperial China
9/8 Qin unification of China. 9/10 The Glorious Han.
9/10 Sunzi quiz and discussion
Week Four: Early India
9/15 Geography, languages, and social customs of India. 9/17 Harappa civilization and the
Aryan "invasion"
9/17 Sunzi paper due
Week Five: Classical India
9/22 Buddhism, Jainism, and the Mauryan Empire.
9/24 First Examination
Week Six: The Gupta Empire and the Rise of Arabia
9/29 Ramayana quiz and discussion and lecture on the Gupta Empire
10/1 Geography, pre-Islamic Arabia, and the life of Mohammed.
Week Seven: The Islamic Empires
10/6 The Umayyad caliphate and the Sunni/Shi'ite Schism. 10/8 The Abbasid caliphate and
Islam
10/8 Ramayana paper due
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Week Eight: Medieval Islam
10/13 Seljuk and Ottoman Empires.
10/15 Quiz on and discussion of the Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
Week Nine: The early civilizations of Mesoamerica
10/20 Geography, languages, and the Olmec. 10/22 Teotihuacan and the Mayans.
10/22 Paper due on the Tales from the Thousand and one Nights
Week Ten: The Old World's conquest of the New World
10/27 The Toltecs and Aztecs. 10/29 The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and the colonization of
Latin America.
10/29 Quiz on Broken Spears
Week Eleven: Pre-modern Japan and the Second Examination
11/3 Japan’s geography & language, as well as the Nara and Heian periods.
11/5 The Second Examination.
Week Twelve: The Beginning and End of Feudal Japan
11/10 Samurai and Warrior Rule, 11/12 Decline of the Tokugawa, Perry's "Opening" of Japan,
11/12 Paper due on Broken Spears
Week Thirteen: The Pacific War and its Aftermath
11/17 Meiji Modernization and imperialism, 11/19 The Pacific War
11/19 Quiz and Discussion of Soldiers Alive
Week Fourteen: Pre-modern West Africa
12/1 African geography, the Bantu migration, and the Gold Kingdoms, 12/3 The Atlantic slave
trade
Week Fifteen: Colonization and de-colonization of Africa
12/8 The Scramble for Colonies, stages of colonialism, and de-colonization
12/8 Quiz and Discussion of The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior
Final Exam 12/15 1:00pm. Paper due on The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior
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