HIST 340:

This course will

not be offered

2011 - 2012.

This course will not be offered 2011 - 2012.

• HIST 340: Europe in the Old Regime, 1715 - 1789

Europe During the Old Regime will look at the eighteenth century in Europe from a variety of perspectives. There will be two parts of the course – a series of lectures (usually on Mondays) that will provide a basic political narrative and class discussions on assigned readings. The narrative from the Monday lectures will create a structure alongside which to discuss the readings and topics in the economic, intellectual, social, and cultural life of this period in Europe. Among our reading topics, we will discuss pirates, exploration and encounters, fairy tales, religious tolerance, early feminism, and the Enlightenment. The students and instructor will seek together to use primary source documents and insights from historians to go beyond a dry recitation of facts and to reach out and attempt to understand people who lived in the past. We will both learn about their experiences and think about the ways in which their lives and thoughts have provided and continue to provide a framework for our own.

This course is an upper-level division course in Europe after 1500 for the History major or minor. The only prerequisite for this course is English 214.

• Readings

There are five required books that will be available at the SFSU bookstore. There are also readings that will be available on-line, through the course website. Please bring the relevant book(s) to class when we discuss them. On-line readings will be available in .pdf format. These can be read with the Adobe Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded for free. When the readings are on-line, please either print out the on-line excerpt or take detailed notes on the text.

Darnton, Robert, The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History, ISBN 0465015565 (abbreviated on the syllabus as GCM)

Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, Nathan the Wise, trans. by Ronald Schecter, ISBN 0312401523

Outram, Dorinda, The Enlightenment, ISBN 0521546818

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, trans. by Donald Cress, ISBN 0872201503

Wollstonecraft, Mary, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, ISBN 0141441259

• Course requirements

In addition to informed and enthusiastic participation in class activities, discussions, and exercises, students in the course will also complete a response paper, two short essays, and a group presentation to help the class review for the final. The written work will be completed at home and handed in at the start of class on the days that they are due. If the assignments are late, they will immediately lose points and will continue to drop in score the longer they are late. The course will also feature a final exam, which will cover material from the entire course.

The course grade will be determined as follows:

Participation and attendance: 10%
Response Paper (1 – 2 pp., due week 3): 5%
First essay (5 pp., due week 6): 20%
Second essay (5 pp., due week 13): 25%
Group presentation (week 15/16): 10%
Final exam: 30%

• Attendance policy

Attendance is mandatory, and will be considered in your participation grade. Class participation will make up a significant percentage of your final grade for the course. You are encouraged to ask questions at any time and are expected to participate in any class activity, discussion, or exercise. An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of every class. You must sign the sheet in order to be counted as present. If you need to arrive late, please make sure you sign in before you leave the room at the end of class. If you need to leave early, please tell the instructor at the beginning of class.

The classroom is a special environment in which students and faculty come together to promote learning and growth. It is essential to this learning environment that respect for the rights of others seeking to learn, respect for the professionalism of the instructor, and the general goals of academic freedom are maintained. Differences of viewpoint or concerns should be expressed in terms which are supportive of the learning process.

• Accommodations for students with disabilities

It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. Students with documented disabilities must register with the DPRC to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process. Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact the instructor. The Disability Programs and Resource Center is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process. The DPRC, located in SSB 110, can be reached by telephone at 338-2724 (voice/TTY) or by e-mail at dprc@sfsu.edu.

• Academic integrity

Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of the university. Academic dishonesty, in the form of cheating or plagiarism, represents an attempt to gain an unfair advantage and it is expressly prohibited by the San Francisco State University Student Code of Conduct. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, gaining unfair access to answers to exams, fabrication of work, helping other students to cheat, etc. Plagiarism can be defined as using another person’s words or work without proper acknowledgment (click here for more information on avoiding plagiarism). Students who are found to have cheated or plagiarized will be subject to discipline ranging from receiving a failing grade for the specific assignment to referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs and Student Discipline to possible suspension or expulsion. All instances of academic dishonesty are reported to the Department Chair and College Dean. Students are responsible for knowing the SFSU regulations concerning cheating and plagiarism, found in the University Bulletin and online here.