Faculty
 |
Zenon WasyliwProfessor and ChairHistory |
Global Revolutions
TWENTIETH-CENTURY GLOBAL REVOLUTIONS
HIST-27300-01 – Fall 2009
Zenon V. Wasyliw
Ithaca College Department of History
Muller 427
wasyliw@ithaca.edu, 274-1587
http://faculty.ithaca.edu/wasyliw
Office Hours: MWF 2:00-3:00 other times and TTh by appointment
Introduction
Twentieth-Century Global Revolutions offers a comparative study of twentieth century world history through a thematic assessment of revolutions and revolutionary movements. The course begins with a brief overview of pre-twentieth century revolutions, revolutionary theories and transformations within a global historical context. This course focuses upon specific revolutions and revolutionary movements of the twentieth-century with an eye towards comparative evaluations and the search for global connectivity. This comparative study reviews revolutionary movements beyond the western European and United States core to include the cultures and civilizations of East Central Europe, Eurasia, South and Southeast Asia, the Far East, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The course concludes with possible revolutionary interpretations and responses to post-modern issues related to globalization, civil society, trans-nationalism, civilizational divisions and other relevant global transformations of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
The TOPICS section of this syllabus offers, on a weekly basis, specific subjects and themes under study. After first analyzing the underlying causes, theories and models of revolutions, we shall then evaluate specific revolutions and revolutionary movements. European and North American liberal democratic revolutionary ideologies preface a closer analysis of revisionist Marxist frameworks implemented by Lenin through the Russian/Soviet revolutions concluding with the Stalinist revolution and its impact on the state and the world. The Chinese Revolution is evaluated within the context of a further evolving revolutionary model implemented and modified by Mao, with a special emphasis placed upon evaluating the Maoist Chinese Cultural Revolution. Two autobiographical works will enhance comprehension of the human toll of both the Stalinist and Maoist revolutions as comparatively examined through the prism of their respective cultural revolutions. We shall also comparatively assess the communist revolutions in Cuba and Vietnam.
Other revolutionary movements under study include Gandhi’s unique anti-modernist and nonviolent path of civil disobedience and passive resistance to gain Indian independence and battle British colonialism. We shall evaluate the value of Gandhi's model and judge its specific implementation by Martin Luther King in the United States and later globally through an appraisal of recent “colored” revolutions through their implementation of Gene Sharp’s applied model of peaceful revolution found in his From Dictatorship to Democracy.
We shall continue with an overview of conditions on the African continent and then specifically appraise Nelson Mandela and the South African revolutionary struggle. An evaluation of Latin American revolutions will review the Mexican Revolution with an eye to other twentieth century revolutions throughout the region.
A comparative study of 1968 global revolutions offers the context and results of this revolutionary year that foreshadowed and represented important global transformations. The Middle East (or South West Asia) provides examples of a new revolutionary paradigm based upon religion and anti-modernist values. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 serves as a focal point for studying the rise and expansion of an Islamic fundamentalist revolutionary path. The course concludes with an appraisal the most recent revolutions in Eastern and Central Europe and reflections on current and future revolutions and revolutionary trends and movements, mentioned in the first paragraph, that often transcend state borders, politics and conventional wisdom.
Books and Readings
The following books are required for this course and may be purchased at the college bookstore.
Meridian. Sources in World History - A collection of primary source documents. Only available at the Ithaca College Bookstore
DEFRONZO, James. Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements.
GINZBURG, Eugenia. Journey into the Whirlwind.
HUNTINGTON, Samuel, et. al. The Clash of Civilizations? The Debate.
KAPUSCINSKI, Ryszard. Shah of Shahs.
SHARP, Gene. From Dictatorship to Democracy. A Conceptual Framework for Liberation.
Found on-line at – http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html
SURI, Jeremi. The Global Revolutions of 1968.
ZHENHUA, Zhai Red Flower of China.
Recommended:
BENJAMIN, Jules. A Student’s Guide to History.
The Guide is also found online:
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/benjamin
Also see “How to Write History Essays”
http://legacy.ncsu.edu/classes/hi300001/write.htm
Additional articles and primary sources will be distributed throughout the semester. Please refer to the list of internet linked sites. The sites provide valuable historical backgrounds and contexts for the specific topics under study. Please refer to my homepage course syllabus for easy access to these relevant sites. http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/wasyliw
Communications
1. Scheduled office hours are set for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 2:00-3:00 and by appointment those same days and Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please arrange appointments through e-mail: wasyliw@ithaca.edu. My office is in Muller 427. Please stop by to discuss course material or life in general.
Requirements
1. “Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any absence from class.” (Ithaca College Undergraduate Catalog) Absences adversely affect the comprehension of course material and one's grade. Students are expected to read the assigned readings and participate in class discussion.
2. Each student must complete one interpretive essay examinations and a final comprehensive essay examination. The essays are conceptual in nature and test the students' comprehension and analysis of the material covered in class and the readings.
3. A comparative book critique is another course requirement. The critique will compare the Ginzburg and Zhenhua books. The following book critique guideline will be followed.
The book critique will consist of four sections:
a. Introduce the author's main thesis. Include a brief summary of the critique’s contents.
b. Provide a brief comparative historical background on the Stalinist policies of the 1930s and Mao’s Cultural Revolution policies of the 1960s,
c. Compare and contrast the experiences of Eugenia Ginzburg and Zhai Zhenhua in terms of their dedication to Marxist ideology and their life experiences.
d. Provide a critique of both works strong and weak historical and stylistic points. Decide how the books relate to the Global Revolutions course and recommend an appropriate readership.
4. Cooperative learning project. The course of the Chinese Cultural Revolution is assessed by group presentations and Maoist critiques of Red Flower of China. Appointed student communes will accomplish this task with the appropriate revolutionary zeal. A concise communal written report will also be required. More specific instructions will be forthcoming.
5. The Global Revolutions of 1968 is a collection of primary source documents. This era will be recreated and analyzed through collaborative interpretations of these primary sources. Groups and individuals will construct competing historical narratives, conceptual frameworks and reach conclusions regarding the revolutionary nature of the varied revolutions presented.
6. The writing of essays, critiques and papers follows specific criteria and all sources must be properly documented. Carefully read the sections of the hard copy syllabus dealing with plagiarism and writing papers. A Student’s Guide to History offers excellent information in this area. Please note Ithaca College policies regarding Standards of Academic Conduct –
http://www.ithaca.edu/attorney/policies/vol7/Volume_7-70104.htm
7. The syllabus outline and assignments are subject to change
8. In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case by case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the college before any academic adjustment will be provided.
Grading:
All work must be completed to earn a passing grade!
One comparative book critique 25%
Midterm examination 20%
Final examination essays 30%
Qualitative class and group
Participation, Red Flower and
1968 Revolutions 25%
100%
INTERNET LINKS
General Sites:
http://worldhistoryconnected.org
http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/global/globalsbook.html
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com
http://www.besthistorysites.net
Social Studies Teaching Sites
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/social.html
World System Theory
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/wallerstein.html
Globalization Theories
http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/theories.html
World War One
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/
Russian Revolution and the USSR
http://www.infoukes.com/history/famine
Europe and the Holocaust
Chinese Revolution
http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/chnintro.php
http://sun.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/igcs
General sites on Asia
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html
India and Pakistan
http://www.vl-site.org/india/index.html
http://www.southasianist.info/pakistan/index.html
U.S. Civil Rights
http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/civilrights
http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu
Africa
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/Country.html
Latin America
http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm
Middle East and Iran
http://link.lanic.utexas.edu/menic
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/Iran.html
Global Issues
http://www.ithaca.edu/sustainability
http://www.globalizationguide.org
WEEK/DATE TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1 - 24 August – First class on Wednesday 26 August
Introduction and expectations.
What is a revolution: definitions, theories and examples.
Meridian, pages 1- 99, 296-323, 331-349 for discussion the next two weeks and
DeFronzo, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements, Chapter 1
Begin reading Journey into the Whirlwind
2. 31 August The World-System, Industrial Revolution and revolutionary ideologies in response to a “modernizing” world. The World-System of Development, imperialism, colonialism and global cultural revolution. Discussion of Meridian documents.
3. 7 Sept. Labor Day – No Classes on Monday
World War I – Liberal democracy, Marxist revolution and the status of women.
Meridian, pages 100-136 for discussion this week and next
DeFronzo, Chapter 2 for next week and beyond
Read Journey into the Whirlwind, begin reading Red Flower of China
4. 14 Sept. Adaptation of the Marxist revolutionary model by Lenin through the October Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Stalinist Revolution of “Socialism in One Country” through industrialization, agricultural collectivization and cultural sovietization of the Five Year Plan – a revolutionary path toward a communist industrial utopia for emulation or human tragedy: the Ukrainian famine, purges and the Gulag.
Revolution betrayed or accomplished: an appraisal of the Stalinist revolution.
Finish reading Journey into the Whirlwind
Continue reading Red Flower of China
5. 21 Sept. Discussion of Journey into the Whirlwind.
Revolutionary loyalty betrayed?
Inter-war Europe in an age of uncertainty, and the rise of totalitarianism.
Fascism, Hitler's Germany and the racial revolution: the Holocaust and its legacy.
DeFronzo, Chapter 3 for next two weeks
Meridian, pp.137-160 for the next two weeks
6. 28 Sept. World War Two and a new world order. Revolutionary transformation in East Asia: Japan and the West
The origins of the Chinese Revolution
The course of the Chinese Revolution and Communal Organization
Finish Reading Red Flower of China
Comparative Book Critique is Due 19 October
7. 5 Oct. Communal Presentations and a Critical Evaluation of Red Flower of China. An analysis of Mao and Maoism, the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution and the post-Mao years
Western colonialism and the periphery: Revolutionary paths towards political and cultural independence
DeFronzo, Chapter 4 for next week
Midterm Examination is due 9 October
8. 12 Oct. The Vietnamese Revolution and Southeast Asia
Fall Break 15-16 October
Meridian, pages 161-190, 252-289, 350-367 for next week
Comparative Book Critique is Due 19 October
9. 19 Oct. Are Gandhi and non-violent civil disobedience revolutionary?
India: colonialism and the struggle for independence
Gandhi and the establishment of India and Pakistan
Martin Luther King: non-violence, the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the American cultural revolution of the nineteen sixties: issues of race, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation
Meridian, pages 198-220, 236-251 for next week
DeFronzo, Chapter 9 for next week
10. 26 Oct. African revolutions and revolutionary movements
Western colonialism in Africa and internal African revolutions: in search of stability.
Long Walk to Freedom and the revolution in South Africa
DeFronzo, Chapters 5 and 6 for next week
Meridian, pages 191-197, 368-387
Begin reading The Global Revolutions of 1968
11. 2 Nov. Revolutions in Latin America, Past and Present: The Mexican, Nicaraguan and Cuban Revolutions as Context for Contemporary Populist Revolutionary Movements
Finish reading The Global Revolutions of 1968 for next week
12. 9 Nov. The Global Revolutions of 1968: a classroom project in developing a historical narrative and competing historical interpretations through primary source historical documents
Meridian, pages 221-235 for next week
DeFronzo Chapter 7 and 8 for next week
Read Shah of Shahs for after Thanksgiving
13. 16 Nov. Completion of the 1968 global revolutions project
Islamic fundamentalism as a revolutionary model: The Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 and Islamic revolutionary movements
Finish reading Shah of Shahs
Begin reading From Dictatorship to Democracy.
14. Thanksgiving Vacation 23-27 November. Finish reading Shah of Shahs and read Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations? The Debate.
15. 30 Nov. Discussion of Shah of Shahs and the current situation in Iran.
The revolutions of 1989-1991 in Eastern and Central Europe: The end of ideology? The end of history? New revolutionary movements?
Discussion of The Clash of Civilizations, The Debate
Finish reading From Dictatorship to Democracy
Read DeFronzo Chapter 10
16. 7 Dec. Recent and future revolutions
A post-modern, post-industrial world in search of revolutionary ideals and models
Discussion and application of Gene Sharp’s non-violent revolutionary model – From Dictatorship to Democracy
From G-7 to G-20: globalization, anti-globalization, sustainability, trans-nationalism and the future of revolutions
Anticipating future global revolutions and revolutionary movements: can we learn from and use history?
14 December Final Examination Week