History 1215

The Origins of Today

Heather Streets-Salter
Summer I, 2019

Contact Information:
Email: h.streetssalter@neu.edu

Objectives: Our world has grown increasingly complex and interconnected, and the
planet’s diverse peoples are facing common issues that will have tremendous
impacts on our immediate future. In this course we will attempt to make sense of
our increasingly complex world by focusing on contemporary issues and their deep
historical roots. We will explore 3 issues of immediate contemporary concern, each
2 weeks in duration: can a historical perspective help us determine whether
globalization has been beneficial or harmful for the world?; what can history tell us
about why 'race' is still so important in national and international politics in the
21st century?; and does the recent growth of populist movements around the world
signal a shift away from democracy? Each issue takes not only a global perspective,
but also explores current events through the lens of the deep historical past. By
examining the links between the past and present, we will also attempt to identify
ways forward.

Learning Goals and Objectives: This course has five learning goals. These learning
goals are designed to build foundational skills that will aid students from all
disciplinary backgrounds in becoming effective, articulate, and well-rounded college
students.

Students will:
 Evaluate the importance of historical events for the political, social,
economic, and cultural events occurring in the world today.
 Recognize and engage with alternative viewpoints on past and current
events.
 Distinguish the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly sources.
 Construct a scholarly argument and defend it using evidence, both in written
and oral form.
 Practice clear and grammatically correct expression in written and oral work.

Required Reading
 Manfred B. Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2009)
 Ali Rattansi, Racism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007)
 Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short
Introduction (Oxford, 2017)
 Articles, podcasts, and videos available on Blackboard
Course Requirements and Grading Scale
1. Online Posts: 35%
2. Responses to your classmates’ posts and podcasts: 10%
3. Interaction with Rise lessons: 5%
4. Podcast on Sara Baartman: 15%
5. Two visits to live office hours: 10% (5% each)
6. Final Podcast Scaffolding: 5% (2.5% each)
7. Final Podcast: 20%

Academic Integrity: Your instructor and Northeastern University are intolerant of

any form of academic dishonesty. Cheating or plagiarism of any kind will result in
an automatic F for the course. Students who cheat will immediately be referred to
the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, and will receive the maximum
university discipline possible. To ensure you understand Northeastern’s policy on
Academic Integrity, visit
http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academicintegrity/index.html.

Reasonable Accommodation: Students with documented learning disabilities will

receive reasonable accommodation in this class, in accordance with Northeastern
University policy
(https://www.northeastern.edu/policies/pdfs/Policy_on_Reasonable_Accommodati
on.pdf). If you have a learning disability, please let me know so that we can work out
the details. To contact and register with Northeastern’s Disability Resource Center,
go to 20 Dodge Hall or http://www.northeastern.edu/drc/, or call 373-4428.

Title IX: Northeastern’s Title IX Policy prohibits discrimination based on gender,

which includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, relationship or domestic violence,
and stalking (for more information, see the website for the Office for University
Equity and Compliance at https://www.northeastern.edu/ouec/) . The Title IX
Policy applies to the entire community, including male, female, transgender
students, and faculty and staff. If you or someone you know has been harassed or
assaulted, confidential support and guidance can be found through University
Health and Counseling Services staff (http://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/) and
the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy
members (http://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/). By law, those employees
are not required to report allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the
University. Alleged violations can be reported non-confidentially to the Title IX
Coordinator within The Office for Gender Equity and
Compliance at: titleix@northeastern.edu and/or through NUPD (Emergency
617.373.3333; Non-Emergency 617.373.2121). Reporting Prohibited Offenses to
NUPD does NOT commit the victim/affected party to future legal action.
Schedule:
1) Week One (May 6-12): Globalization Part I
Definitions, Beginnings, Histories

Assignment 1, due Wednesday May 8 (responses to two classmates due Friday

May 10):

Readings and Media:

 Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 1

(Globalization: A Contested Concept).
 Jim O’Neill, “Globalization Has Made the World a Better Place,” The Guardian
(January 18, 2017),
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/18/globalisation-world-trade-
asia-global-poverty
 Zack Beauchamp, “Is Globalization Bad for the Global Poor?: This Study Ran an
Experiment to Find Out,” Vox (September 29, 2016),
https://www.vox.com/2016/9/29/13096580/globalization-poverty-experiment-
blattman-dercon
 Tutorial for using Audacity to create podcasts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl-WDjWrTtk

Assignment:

 Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings
 Brief introductory video on VoiceThread

Assignment 2, due Friday May 10 (responses to your classmates due Sunday May
12):

Readings and Media:

 Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 2

(Globalization in History: Is Globalization a New Phenomenon?)
 Podcast on “The Trans-Pacific Trade and Early Modern Globalization,” Fifteen
Minute History, University of Texas Austin,
https://15minutehistory.org/tag/globalization/
 Video on “Early Global Commodities,” Bridging World History, Unit 15
https://northeasternmy.sharepoint.com/:v:/r/personal/t_beadle_northeastern_edu/
Documents/Heather%20StreetsSalter/Early%20Global%20Commodities.mp4?csf
=1&e=ViQAlF
  Explanation of Audacity interface https://wit.audacityteam.org/
 Read Northeastern University libraries subject guide to podcasting:
https://wit.audacityteam.org/

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings

2) Week Two (May 13-19): Globalization Part II

The Costs and Benefits of Globalization

Assignment 1, due Monday May 13 (responses to your classmates due

Wednesday May 15):

Readings and Media:

 Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 3 and 4 (The

Economic Dimension of Globalization and The Political Dimension of
Globalization).
 Watch Life and Debt (on Blackboard)

Assignment:

 Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings
 Schedule your first live office hour meeting with me by the end of this week!

Assignment 2, due Wednesday May 15 (responses to your classmates due Friday

May 17):

Readings and Media:

 Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 5 (The

Cultural Dimension of Globalization)
 Theodore Bestor, “How Sushi Went Global,” and James Watson,
“McDonald’s in Hong Kong,” in Frank Lechner and John Boli, eds. The
Globalization Reader, fifth edition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015) (on Blackboard)
 Bridging World History Unit 25, “Global Popular Culture” (on Blackboard)

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings
Assignment 3, due Friday May 17 (responses to your classmates due Monday
May 20):

Readings:

 Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 6 and 8 (The

Ecological Dimension of Globalization and The Future of Globalization)
 Amartya Sen, “How to Judge Globalism,” in Frank Lechner and John Boli eds.
The Globalization Reader, fifth edition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015) (on Blackboard)

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings

3) Week Three (May 20-26): Race and Racism Part I

Where (and when) does 'race' come from?

Assignment 1, due Monday May 20 (responses to your classmates due

Wednesday May 22):

Readings:

 Ali Rattansi, Racism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 2007), chapters 1 and 2: (Racism and Racists: Some Conundrums and Fear
of the Dark?: Blacks, Jews, and Barbarians)
 Vann Newkirk, “The Racial Divide is the Political Divide,” The Atlantic February
21, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/racial-divisions-
exist-among-whites-blacks-and-hispanics/583267/
 Vivian Chou, “How Science and Genetics are Reshaping the Race Debate of the
21st Century,” Harvard University Science in the News blog opinion, April 17,
2017. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-
debate-21st-century/

Assignment:
 Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 2, due Wednesday May 22 (responses to your classmates due Friday

May 24) :

Readings and Media:

  Ali Rattansi, Racism: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 3 and 4 (Beyond the
Pale: Scientific Racism, the Nation, and the Politics of Color and Imperialism,
Eugenics, and the Holocaust)
 Introduction and at least four textual primary sources at “Eugenics Movement in
the United States,” Digital Public Library of America. https://dp.la/primary-
source-sets/eugenics-movement-in-the-united-states#tabs

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings
 Your first live office hours meeting (on Blackboard Collaborate) must have
occurred by this date!!!

Assignment 3, due Friday May 24:

Watch:

 Watch The Life and Times of Sara Baartman, the “Hottentot Venus” (on
Blackboard)

Assignment:

 Familiarize yourself with the podcast assignment on this movie, due next week

4) Week Four (May 27-June 2): Race and Racism

Part II
Why is the concept of race still so durable?

Assignment 1, due Monday May 27 (responses to your classmates due

Wednesday May 29):

Readings and Media:

 Ali Rattansi, Racism: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 5 and 6 (The Case
Against Scientific Racism and New Racisms?)
 Jacqueline Jones, “The Myth of Race in America,” Episode 41 of Fifteen Minute
History, University of Texas, Austin.
https://15minutehistory.org/2014/02/05/episode-41-the-myth-of-race-in-america/

Assignment:
  Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 2, due Wednesday May 29 (responses to your classmates due Friday

May 31):

Readings and Media:

 Ali Rattansi, Racism: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 7 and 8 (Racist

Identities: Ambivalence, Contradiction, and Commitment and Beyond
Institutional Racism: ‘Race,’ Class, and Gender in the USA and Britain)
 Read the Introduction and explore the maps and documents of at least three cities
at the website “Mapping Inequality,”
https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=4/36.71/-96.93&opacity=0.8

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 3, due Friday May 31 (responses to your classmates due Monday,

June 3):

Assignment:

 Complete and upload your podcasts on Sara Baartman, and provide feedback on
two others.

5) Week Five (June 3-9): Populism Part I

What is Populism, and what is its history?

Assignment 1, due Monday June 3 (responses to your classmates due June 5):

Readings:

 Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short

Introduction, chapter 1 (What is Populism?)
 Evan McMullin, “Trump’s Rise Proves How Dangerous Populism is for
Democracy,” Think: Opinion, Analysis, Essays (October 11, 2017).
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-rise-proves-populism-
democracy-s-greatest-threat-ncna809521
  Nic Cheeseman et al, “How Populism Can Be Turned Into An Opportunity, Not A
Threat,” The Conversation (May 24, 2018). https://theconversation.com/how-
populism-can-be-turned-into-an-opportunity-not-a-threat-96934
 Charles Postel, “If Trump and Sanders are Both Populists, What Does Populism
Mean?” The American Historian (February 2016). https://tah.oah.org/february-
2016/if-trump-and-sanders-are-both-populists-what-does-populist-mean/

Assignment:

 Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 2, due Wednesday June 5 (responses to your classmates due Friday

June 7):

Readings and Media:

 Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short

Introduction, chapters 2 and 3 (Populism Around the World and Populism and
Mobilization)
 Steven Hahn, “Populism,” Episode 94 in Fifteen Minute History from the
University of Texas at Austin. https://15minutehistory.org/2017/03/08/episode-
94-populism/

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 3, due Friday June 7

Assignment:

 Submit a topic proposal for your final podcast, plus a bibliography of three textual
and three web-related sources.
 Be sure to have met with me for your second (and final) live office hours meeting
by this day!

6) Week Six (June 10-16): Populism Part II

What is/was the effect of populism on democracy?

Assignment 1, due Monday June 10 (responses to your classmates due

Wednesday June 12):
Readings:

 Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short

Introduction, chapters 4 and 5 (The Populist Leader and Populism and
Democracy)
 Read the article and interact with the data Paul Lewis et al, “Revealed: The Rise
and Rise of Populist Rhetoric,” The Guardian (March 6, 2019).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2019/mar/06/revealed-the-
rise-and-rise-of-populist-rhetoric

Assignment:

 Lesson
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 2, due Wednesday June 12 (responses to your classmates due Friday

June 14):

Readings and Media:

 Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, Populism: A Very Short

Introduction, chapter 6 (Causes and Responses)
 “Populism is Reshaping Our World,” Economist video (January 17, 2017).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekc5EAPPPgk
 Peter C. Baker, “ ‘We the People’: The Battle to Define Populism,” The Guardian
(January 10, 2019). https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/10/we-the-
people-the-battle-to-define-populism

Assignment:

 Lesson, continued
 Discussion board post on the readings

Assignment 3, due Friday June 14:

Assignment:

 Submit a revised proposal and bibliography for your podcast.

7) Week Seven (June 17-22): The Last Week!

Putting it all together

Assignment 1, due Monday June 17 (responses to your classmates due
Wednesday June 19)

Assignment:

 Final post bringing the issues of the course together

Assignment 2, due Thursday June 20 (responses to your classmates due

Saturday June 22)

Assignment:

 Upload your final podcast on the topic of your choice