HIST 1512 - World Civilization from 1500
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 01, CRN 40101,
Credit hours: 3
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
Brian Bonhomme
Email: bbonhomme@ysu.edu
Course Description
1512. World Civilization from 1500. Development of the major civilizations of the world from 1500 to the present. 3 s.h.
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, vol. 2: From 1000CE to the Present, 4th edition | Adelman, Pollard, Rosenberg, Tignor | 978-1-324-06969-0 |
Your textbook is available through First-Day-Ready via the BlackBoard site. YSU Bookstore says: “Access your materials within your course in Blackboard. The selected required digital materials for this course are included as a course charge at a discounted rate and will be delivered automatically.”
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Week of | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/24 | Chapter 12: “Contact, Commerce, and Colonization.” AND Document 12.4, pp. 578-79: "Commentary on Foreigners" by He Ao. | European Expansion; The Ottoman Empire; International Trade 1400s-1600s | Module 1 Assignment due Aug. 30 |
| 8/31 | Chapter 13: “Worlds Entangled, 1600-1750.”AND Document, 13.4, pp. 631-32: “Population Statistics of the Bahia Sugar Plantations, Brazil (1835).” | Growing global trade networks; 17th-18th century Asia; European Empires; Slave Trades. | Module 2 Assignment due Sept 6. |
| 9/7 | Chapter 14: “Cultures of Splendor and Power, 1500-1780.” AND Document 14.2, pp. 675-76, Adam Smith, “The Propensity to Truck, Barter, and Exchange (1776)”. AND Document 14.5, p. 679, "An Edict on Trade (1793)" by the Qianlong Emperor of China | The Islamic World; Science and Enlightenment in Europe; From Mercantilism to Capitalism in the West | Module 3 Assignment due NEXT WEEK Sept. 20 |
| 9/14 | Continue chapter 14 as per last week | The Islamic World; Science and Enlightenment in Europe; From Mercantilism to Capitalism in the West | Module 3 Assignment due Sept 20. |
| 9/21 | Chapter 15: “Reordering the World.” AND Document 15.3, pp. 727-28, "The Haitian Declaration of Independence.” | American, French, and Haitian Revolutions; Latin American Independence; Industrial Revolution; Further Growth of European Power | Module 4 Assignment due NEXT WEEK, Oct. 4 |
| 9/28 | Continue chapter 15 as per last week | American, French, and Haitian Revolutions; Latin American Independence; Industrial Revolution; Further Growth of European Power | Module 4 Assignment due Oct 4. |
| 10/5 | Chapter 16: “Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century.” AND Document 16.1, pp. 773-74, by Shawnee Amerindian leader Tenskwatawa. | Anti-colonial Movements; Working-class Movements. | Module 5 Assignment due October 11 |
| 10/12 | Chapter 17: “Nations and Empires.” AND Document 17.4, pp 833-35 “General Act of the Conference of Berlin concerning the Congo (1885).” | The High Tide of Western Empires; Second Industrial Revolution; Russia, China and Japan in the 19th C. | Module 6 Assignment due Oct 18 |
| 10/19 | Chapter 18: “An Unsettled World.” AND Document 18.2, pp. 879-80, "The Emancipation of Women (1876)" by Maria Eugenia Echenique. | Fin de Siècle/The Changing World on the Eve of the 20th C. | Module 7 Assignment due NEXT WEEK, Nov 1. |
| 10/26 | Continue reading chapter 18 as per last week | Fin de Siècle/The Changing World on the Eve of the 20th C. | Module 7 Assignment due Nov 1. |
| 11/2 | Chap. 19: “Global Crisis, 1910-1939”: AND Document 19.1, pp. 926-27. "The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)" by Hannah Arendt. | The First World War and Aftermath; The Rise of Communism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism in Europe | Module 8 Assignment due NEXT WEEK, Nov 15 |
| 11/9 | Continue reading chapter 19 as per last week | The First World War and Aftermath; The Rise of Communism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism in Europe | Module 8 Assignment due Nov 15. |
| 11/16 | Chapter 20: “The Three-World Order, 1940-1975.”AND Document 20.2, pp. 979-80, "A Note to the Members of the National Planning Committee (1940)" by Jawaharlal Nehru. AND Visual Images, p. 984, ("Sieg oder Bolshevismus" [Victory or Bolshevism] and "Together.") | The Second World War; Post-War Reconstruction; The Cold War; Decolonization. | Module 9 Assignment due Nov 22. |
| 11/23 | Happy Thanksgiving! Two weeks to complete this module.Chapter 21: “Globalization, 1970-2000.” AND Document 21.4, pp. 1032-33, | Growing Global Trade Patterns; The End of the Cold War; The Pax Americana. | Module 10 Assignment due NEXT WEEK, Dec 6. |
| 11/30 | Continue reading chapter 21 | Growing Global Trade Patterns; The End of the Cold War; The Pax Americana. | Module 10 Assignment due Dec 6. |
| 12/7 | No readings. Work on your "Reflective Essay" - due THURSDAY, DEC 10 | Reflective Essay | Reflective Essay due Dec. 10. |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.