This course examines seven "moments" in history when peoples with differing experiences, practices, values, and world views came into contact with one another. In a series of discrete units or "case studies," the course seeks to consider those factors in human society that cause such contact to occur and then shape the outcomes of such contact. For the purposes of this course, the term "culture" will refer quite broadly to that which humans create themselves in order to survive in and adapt to their environment, as well as the meanings humans attach to their daily experiences and cultural practices.

Without attempting anything so foolish as "global" history in one semester, this course does take us around the globe: to Latin America, to Africa, to Asia, to Europe, to North America. The purpose of this tour is to remind ourselves of the historical particularities as well as the human commonalities to be discovered in different cultural encounters. It is further our purpose to introduce students to the opportunities for intriguing historical study in all parts of the world.

In addition to moving around the globe, this course also moves through time. We begin in the 16th century and proceed into the late 20th century. This is a brief span of time relative to the wealth of human history that precedes the 16th century, but we hope it will convey the variety of stories and sources available to historians of the far and near past. We hope, as well, that it will create a sense of comfort with broad movement through time while also encouraging an appreciation for the value of close attention to chronology in any particular historical "moment."

This section of History 195 will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:00 a.m. Success in the course — both for the individual and for the group — depends utterly on regular, reliable attendance. The pace at which we will be globe-trotting and the level of participation required for the endeavor render any individual's absence highly undesirable. The Class Contract you will be asked to sign makes clear the expectations for your participation in the class.

As an experimental course, History 195 demands much of its students. You have, whether you knew it at the time or not, signed on for a journey into uncharted waters and terra incognita. Like many of the explorers and migrants we are about to study, we embark on this journey well provisioned but without any actual experience of where we are headed. We can promise you great moments of discovery along with some long, dark nights. There will be no passive passengers on this trip. Be prepared to read, write, speak, and think a lot. If we all do that, this should be a pretty exciting maiden voyage.

Required Texts (all available at campus bookstore)
	Leon-Portillo, Broken Spears Thornton, Africa and Africans Burns, France and the Dreyfus Affair Mathanabe, Kaffir Boy Malan, My Traitor's Heart COURSE PACKET — available only at the campus bookstore

Writing Assignments

1.	Short assignments: These are from a half-page to a whole page, typed, double-spaced. They are listed on the syllabus as "Writing assignment" for the day on which each is due. The purpose of these assignments is to focus your reading and facilitate that day's discussion. It defeats this purpose to turn in a short writing after the relevant class is over. Please do not ask to do so. There are twelve short writing assignments over the course of the semester. Each is worth a maximum of 10 points. Your overall score for those assignments will be calculated from a base of 100 points, meaning that you can skip two assignments or have one or two low scores dropped.
2.	In-class exam: There will be one in-class exam this semester on Friday, October 1. You will know beforehand what you are going to be asked to write about on that exam. You will not use notes or books in the exam.
3.	Research paper: You will have one opportunity this semester to research and write a short, 5-page paper using documents that will be made available to you in Burling Library. That paper will be due on Wednesday, November 24.
4.	Take-home exam: Your final exam will be a take-home essay. You will have a choice of topics to write on. Those topics will be made available to you on December 10. The essay will be due on December 17.

Evaluation Policy

10 out of 12 short writings 1 in-class exam 1 research paper 1 take-home essay Participation Total points possible

= 100 points = 50 points = 100 points = 100 points = 150 points = 500 points

I do not grade on a curve. Those who earn 90% or more of the points will receive an A or A-;
those who earn between 80% and 89% of the points will receive some sort of B grade; those who earn between 70% and 79% of the points will receive a C grade. I do not mention the grades D or F here because I do no expect anyone in this class to get in that situation. If I see you headed there, we will talk about how you can change direction.

The term "participation" is explained on the Class Contract. We will discuss further, in class, the various ways in which you can contribute to the learning community that you volunteered to join when you signed up for this class.

Victoria Brown's Office: Carnegie 406 (top floor, east side) Victoria Brown's Office Hours --
	Mondays: 10:00 - noon, 2:30 - 4:00 Tuesdays: 2:00 - 4:00 Wednesdays: 10:00 - noon; 2:30 - 4:00 Fridays: 10:00 - noon And by appointment.
Office Phone: ext 3087 Home Phone in Iowa City: 319-354-8867 E-mail: brownv@grinnell.edu

***Note that I live in Iowa City. This semester, I typically will be staying in Grinnell on Monday and Tuesday nights. You can reach me in my office during the day on Mondays, Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays and Fridays. If you really need to reach me on Tuesday mornings, try: 236-3819. Same is true on Monday and Tuesday nights. If you need to reach me on Thursday or over the weekends and it cannot wait, do not depend on e-mail. Call me at home.

I will be the first to concede that the information superhighway does not stretch seamlessly between Grinnell and Iowa City. But you can always reach me somehow. I have phone answering machines at both my office and my home in Iowa City. I check e-mail quite regularly in Grinnell and from Iowa City. But during the week, I often cannot get to e-mail until the evening. If you need an answer during the day, that day, call me or stop by my office.

Be warned: I will growl unattractively if you utter these words: "I couldn't reach you." Thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can ALWAYS reach me, if only to leave a message.

Week One
August 27:		Introduction to goals, themes, and procedures
***	Sunday, August 29: Required attendance at showing of film, "Black Robe" in ARH 302 at 7:00 p.m. Students from both sections of History 195 will view this film together.
Week Two
August 30:		Discuss "Black Robe" in light of the assumptions and expectations we bring to the study of "cultural encounters"
	Reading:		You should begin your reading on the Spanish-Mexican encounter over the weekend. This is your opportunity to avoid falling behind.
September 1:		The Cultural Creation of Political Mythologies: Aztecs, Incas, and Iberians
	Reading:		PACKET - Stannard, American Holocaust; Burkholder & Johnson, pp. 13-41; Laws of Burgos, pp. 11-19 only
September 3:		The Spanish View of the Encounter with Mexico
	Reading:		PACKET - del Castillo excerpts, pp. 3-254; Burkholder & Johnson, pp. 46-50
	Writing assignment:		See Study Guide for issues to address in brief commentary due in class.
Week Three
September 6:		The Mexican View of the Encounter with Spain
	Reading:		Broken Spears. See Study Guide to identify the most important sections of this book.
September 8:		The Cultural Encounter over Religion: Mexicans and Catholics
	Reading:		PACKET - de Las Casas, In Defense of the Indians, pp. 3-53 and 221-239
September 10:		The Religious Encounter continued
	Reading:		PACKET - Mills & Taylor, 19-22; Motolinia, pp. 51-57, 131-133; Duran/Book of the Gods, pp. 51-56, 383-387; Duran/History of the Indies, pp. 3-11; Laws of Burgos, pp. 11-35.
	Writing assignment:		One-page comparison of the Catholic attitudes toward Indian religion in Laws of Burgos, de Las Casas, and Duran.
Week Four
September 13:		How to Tell the Story?
	Reading:		PACKET - Stanndard (review) and Stern, "Paradigms of Conquest"
	Writing assignment:		One paragraph statement of Stern's "thesis."
September 15:		Reflections on Cultural Encounters and on Storytelling Reading: Hand-outs by Limerick and Somekawa/Smith
September 17:		No class.
	Reading:		Start reading Thornton, Africa and Africans for Monday.
	***The 90-minute film "Africans in American, Part I: 1450-1750, "The Terrible Transformation" is on Reserve in Burling Library Listening Room. I strongly recommend this film to you to provide you with a base for reading Thornton.
Week Five
September 20:		Africa and Africans: Encountering Thornton
	Reading:		Thornton, Africa and Africans, Introduction and Chapters 1-4
	Writing assignment:		Consult Study Guide for the chapter on which you are to write a one-paragraph thesis statement.
	Note: Students who observe Yom Kippur should organize to meet with me on Tuesday, as a group, to discuss this reading and their thesis statements.
September 22:		Cultural Encounters in Business and Government
	Reading:		PACKET - Donnan/Slave Trade documents: pp. 19, 20, 22-26, 27-30, 47-50, 53-54, 57, 63-65, 68-70
	Writing assignment:		One paragraph on how one of these documents either supports Thornton's argument or raises questions about that argument.
September 24:		Enslaved Africans Encounter the "Culture" of the Atlantic Slave Trade
	Reading:		Thornton, Chapter 11; PACKET - Donnan documents: pp. 1-9; 21, 33-34; pp. 41-47; pp. 55-56; HAND-OUT re: Olaudah Equiano
	Writing assignment:		One paragraph on how one of these documents either supports Thornton's argument or raises questions about that argument.
Week Six
September 27:		Africans in the New World: the Cultural Exchange
	Reading:		Thornton, Chaps. 5-8
	Writing assignment:		Consult Study Guide for the chapter on which you are write a one-paragraph thesis statement.
September 29:		Religious Syncretism in the New World
	Reading:		Thornton, Chapter 9; PACKET - Genovese, Stuckey
October 1:		In-class essay exam on African Slave Trade
Week Seven
October 4:		Jewish Diaspora: Cultural Encounter in Europe
	Reading:		PACKET - Green in European Migrants; Mendes-Flohr, pp. 701-721, 372-380; Dawidowicz, The Golden Tradition: "Memoirs of a Grandmother"
October 6:		The Debate over Jewish Identity and Assimilation
	Reading:		PACKET - Mendes-Flohr, pp. 400-406; Chazam & Raphael, pp. 15-31. Arnold White, "The Jewish Question," and additional documents will be distributed in class.
October 8:		Jews and Nationhood
	Reading:		PACKET - Mendes-Flohr, pp. 337-350; Renan, "What is a Nation?" pp. 61-83
	Writing assignment:		One-paragraph statement of Renan's thesis.
Week Eight
October 11:		The Dreyfus Affair: Attitudes Underlying the "Encounter"
	Reading:		Burns, France and the Dreyfus Affair, pp. vii-90
October 13:		The Culture Wars and the French
	Reading:		Burns, France and the Dreyfus Affair, pp. 90-172; review Renan
	Library assignment:		Find one article from listing in Guide to Periodical Literature hand-out. Bring to class.
October 15:		Zionism: a Cultural Dis-encounter?
	Reading:		Burns, France and the Dreyfus Affair, pp. 173-192; Hertzberg, 469-476/Lazare; Mendes-Flohr, pp. 529-571 (excerpts).
Week Nine — Fall Break
Week Ten
October 25:		Chinese in Thailand: Migrants' Choices and Constraints
	Reading:		PACKET - Spence, pp. 1-27/Maps, pp. 210-215; Skinner, pp. 28-67
October 27:		Chinese in Thailand: Sanguine Encounter?
	Reading:		PACKET - Skinner, pp. 91-125
October 29:		Chinese in Thailand: Costs and Benefits of Assimilation
	Reading:		PACKET - Skinner, pp. 126-154
Week Eleven
November 1:		Chinese in America: Migrants' Choices and Constraints
	Reading:		PACKET - Congressional Record; articles from Harper's Weekly on "The Geary Law," Ronald Takaki, pp. 21-42, 79-131
	Film:		"Ancestors in America, Part II" will be shown at noon on Friday, October 29 in our classroom. It will also be on Reserve in the A-V Center over the weekend. It is 60 minutes long and should be viewed by Monday's class meeting.
November 3:		Chinese Prostitutes and Protestant Missionary Women: A Gendered Encounter
	Reading:		PACKET - Yung, Unbound Feet, pp. 1-4, 15-51; "Wong Ah So, Filial Daughter;" "Rescued Chinese Prostitutes;" Cameron, "New Lives for Old"
	Writing assignment:		Half-page interpretation of the relationship between Chinese and Protestant missionary women.
November 5:		Victims or Agents? Chinese and Protestant Women Encounter One Another
	Reading:		PACKET - Pascoe, "Gender Systems in Conflict"
	Writing assignment:		One-paragraph statement of Pascoe's thesis.
Week Twelve
November 8:		Transplanting Poland to Chicago
	Reading:		PACKET - Pacyga, pp. 1-81
	Writing assignment:		Based on first 80 pages, identify Pacyga's thesis
	***Note that I need to schedule a special EVENING meeting on this day. We will not meet at 9:00 a.m. Class will decide what hour in p.m. is best.
November 10:		Cultural Encounters in "The Jungle"
	Reading:		PACKET - Pacyga, pp. 111-157; Sinclair, The Jungle, pp. 1-19, 207-225; Barrett, "Life in ‘The Jungle';" Kaztauskis, "From Lithuania to the Chicago Stockyards"
November 12:		Labor Encounters Capital in Stockyards, 1904
	Reading:		PACKET - Pacyga, pp. 158-205; Poole; McDowell; Stewart
	Topics for 5-page research paper due on November 24 will be distributed in class.
Week Thirteen
November 15:		Encounter of Eastern Europeans & African-Americans in "The Jungle"
	Reading:		PACKET - Pacyga, pp. 206-227, 238-257; Spear, pp. 147-166
November 17:		Different Meanings of "Union" in 1919
	Reading:		PACKET - Grossman, pp. 208-245 (and Endnotes, 337-347); Crisis; McDowell
November 19:		Different Meanings of "Americanization" in 1919
	Reading:		PACKET - Barrett, "Americanization from the Bottom Up"
Week Fourteen
November 22:		Small group meetings to discuss research.
November 24:		Discuss findings from research papers.
November 26:		THANKSGIVING VACATION
Week Fifteen
November 29:		Apartheid: Theory and Practice
	Reading:		PACKET - Sparks, pp. 147-182, 195-229
December 1:		Cultural Encounters Under Apartheid: Children's Views
	Reading:		PACKET - Courtenay, The Power of One, pp. 19-51 Mathanbe, Kaffir Boy, pp. ix-62
December 3:		Cultural Encounters Under Apartheid: Children's Views continued
	Reading:		Mathanabe, pp. 86-103, 123-134, 170-204
	Writing assignment:		One-page consideration of the arguments for and against using autobiography as a historical source.
Week Sixteen
December 6:		Cultural Encounters Under Apartheid: Can the gap be bridged?
	Reading:		Malan, My Traitor's Heart, pp. 13-103, 181-235
December 8:		Cultural Encounters Under Apartheid: The Failure of Good Will?
	Reading:		Malan, My Traitor's Heart, pp. 339-425
December 10:		Cultural Encounters in the NEW South Africa
	Reading:		PACKET - Preamble and Bill of Rights to South African Constitution
	Final essay questions will be distributed in class.
Final Exam Period: Friday, December 17 at 9:00 a.m. Essays will be due at that time. We will meet to review and evaluate the course.