Professor Charles Evans
Class: LW 105
Office: LC 228
If you have questions about your course/assignments/materials, or if you want to talk history, or if it is time for student advising, my office hours for spring 2022 are: Mondays and Wednesdays in my office (LC 228 or the LW lounge) from about 10:00 to 11:00 AM and 12:30 to 2:00 PM.
Office Phone: 703.948.7701
Email: cevans@nvcc.edu also charles.t.evans@gmail.com
Division phone: 703.450.2505
Review my academic credentials on my professional CV.
Most of my web-based history projects are linked on my history projects page.
My online and campus courses and some teaching resources are located on my college page.
Required Books
- Peter von Sivers, Charles A. Desnoyers and George B. Stow, Patterns of World History, volume 2, brief 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021, ISBN 978-0-19-751704-8. You can also use other versions or earlier editions of this book, but you'll have to figure out the pages and chapters to read for each unit of the course.
- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (ISBN 9780385474542)
- You may read for extra credit:
- Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War (ISBN 9781573225434)
All NOVA Barnes & Noble stores are now open for customers and faculty. Textbooks can be ordered online and shipped to your home or held for in-store pickup. Please see www.nvcc.edu/bookstore/ for hours and the the most up-to-date information.
Tentative Schedule 15 Week Course
Week 1
17January, Monday, NO CLASS
19 January, Introduction and attendance
Week 2
before class: Read pages 578-585 in the textbook. Watch the Khan Academy video. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week. Here are directions for how to access Britannica Academic.
24 January, Monday, my short comments, presentations on the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion
26 January, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 2 group paragraph on China (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 3
before class: Review chapters 19 and 27 in the textbook. Read my short notes on imperialism. Read the Wikipedia entry on genocide. Watch my short video on the age of imperialism. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
31 January, Monday, my short comments, presentations on the Herero and Namaqua Genocide, the Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar) Massacre, and the Sharpeville Massacre
2 February, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 3 group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 4
before class: It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
7 February, Monday, my short comments, individual presentations on the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Australian Stolen Generations
9 February, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 4 indigenous peoples group paragraph in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 5
before class: Read chapter 25 and the section "The Soviet Union and Communism" in chapter 28 in the textbook. Watch my short video on the Russian Revolution. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
14 February, Monday, my short comments, presentations on Bloody Sunday (1905) and the Holodomor
16 February, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 5 famine group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 6
before class: Watch the Boer Wars, Three Minute History video. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
21 February, Monday, my short comments, presentations on the Boxer Rebellion, the Boer War, and the Easter Rising
23 February, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 6 uprising group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
25 February, Friday, complete your Achebe one-page paper by midnight. Submit in Canvas. (100 points)
Week 7
before class: Read "The British Colonies of India and Australia" in chapter 27 and "Decolonization and Cold War in Asia" in chapter 29 in the textbook. Read my notes on South Asia. Watch the short video on South Asian independence. See my older resources on Bangladesh. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
28 February, Monday, my short comments, presentations on the India-Pakistan Partition and the Bangladesh War of 1971
2 March, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 7 partition group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS Monday, 7 March, and Wednesday, 9 March
Week 8
14 March, Monday, complete the special project on history (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (25 points)
16 March, Wednesday, midterm quiz in Canvas (50 points) You do not have to be in class to take the quiz.
Week 9
before class: Read the section "Supremacist Nationalism in Italy, Germany and Japan" in chapter 28 in the textbook. Watch my short video on World War II. Review the materials on the Rape of Nanking.
21 March, Monday, my short comments, presentations on the Rape of Nanking and the Nuremberg Trials
23 March, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 9 genocide group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 10
before class: Read the short notes on the Vietnam War and check out the excellent timeline on the Vietnam War. See my older resources on the Tet Offensive. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
28 March, Monday, my short comments, presentations on My Lai Massacre and the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge
30 March, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 10 Vietnam group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 11
before class: Read chapter 28 in the textbook. Watch the Armenian Genocide PBS Documentary video. It is suggested that you read Wikipedia and Britannica Academic on the topics for this week.
4 April, Monday, my short comments, individual presentations on the Armenian Genocide and the Bosnian Genocide
6 April, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 11 genocides again group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
Week 12
before class: Read the sections "Decolonization and Cold War in Africa" in chapter 29 and "Africa: From Independence to Development" in chapter 30 in the textbook. Read my general notes on decolonization and my comments on events in Africa. Watch my short video on decolonization. See my older resources on Rwanda.
11 April, Monday, my short comments, individual presentations on Blood Diamonds in Sierra Leone and the Rwandan Genocide
13 April, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 12 African genocides group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
15 April, Friday, approval of the your proposed topic and type of digital project by midnight.
Week 13
before class: Review the sections "Populism and Industrialization in Latin America" in chapter 29 and "Latin America: Proxy Wars" in chapter 30 in the textbook. Read my notes on Latin America. Read my notes on modernization. Watch my short video on modernization. See my older resources on the El Salvadoran Civil War.
18 April, Monday, my short comments, individual presentations on the Salvadoran Civil War and the Guatemalan Civil War
20 April, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 13 Central America group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
22 April, Friday, complete the digital project by midnight. (150 points)
Week 14
before class: Read chapter 30 in the textbook. See my older resources on Darfur and Biafra.
25 April, Monday, my short comments, individual presentations on Biafra and the Nigerian Civil War 1971 and the War in Darfur
27 April, Wednesday, review of presentations, answer questions, complete the week 14 Darfur group paragraph (See Canvas for information) in class and submit in Canvas (45 points)
29 April, Friday, complete the optional Bao Ninh one-page paper for extra credit by midnight. Submit in Canvas. (50 points)
Week 15
2 May, Monday, NO CLASS (Study Day)
4 May, Wednesday, NO CLASS (Study Day)
8 May, Sunday, complete the Reflective paragraph by midnight. (25 points)
9 May, Monday,
10:00-11:40 AM, final quiz (50 points)
Course grading
Course grades are based on the following point scale:
- 1,000-900: A
- 899-800: B
- 799-700: C
- 699-600: D
- 599-000: F
Required Assignments
Achebe one-page paper = 100 points
Digital project = 150 points
Group paragraph assignments (done in class), 12 @ 45 ≈ 500 points
Midterm and Final Quizzes, 2 @ 50 = 100 points
Presentation = 100 points
Reflective paragraph = 25 points
Special group project on history = 25 points
There is some extra credit available generally every Friday in the course. You can find more detail linked in Canvas.
Extra-credit Bao Ninh one-page paper = 50 points
Course Grading Requirements
IMPORTANT: To earn a grade of A, B, C or D, you
- must complete all course assignments
- earn the required number of points for an A, B, C, or D in the course.
Extra Credit Opportunities
- There are extra credit options available in the course. I do not accept late extra credit.
- You can also earn some extra credit at any time by (a) finding a typo, spelling error or broken link (if possible find a replacement link). Please email that information (and the URL of the relevant course page) directly to me.
Assignment Drafts and Rewrites/Resubmits
- You are encouraged to email a draft of an assignment to your instructor for informal feedback before you submit your assignment for grading. Please email well in advance of the assignment deadline. This does not apply to extra credit work.
- You may choose to resubmit an assignment after taking note of instructor feedback.
Submitting Assignments
- Most assignments will be submitted in class as part of group work.
- if you submit assignments by yourself or out-of-class or late, please remember that I will not accept more than one item submitted per calendar day.
Late Work
- There are specific assignment deadlines in this course, and these are listed on the course schedule. You may submit any of the course required assignments late, but the maximum point value will then be reduced by one-half.
- Group paragraphs not completed in class as part of a group are considered late.
- I do not accept late extra credit.
- You may not take a required quiz late except in extraordinary circumstances.
General course purpose
Surveys the general history of the world from about 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and allows students to reach a basic understanding of the characteristic features of the world's early historical development. Students will learn about some of the important political, economic, social, intellectual, cultural and religious changes that shaped the development of the world’s civilizations in this period of time.
Course objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Establish a chronology of historical events in the world before 1600 CE.
- Explain the changing geopolitical structures of world civilizations up until 1600 CE.
- Define the importance of key individuals and developments in world civilizations before 1600 CE.
- Identify the social, economic and political forces at work in the evolution of the world’s early civilizations.
- Recognize and describe the significance of some of the cultural achievements of world civilizations before 1600 CE.
- Analyze complex historical sources and materials and reach conclusions based on interpretations of those materials.
Course prerequisites
Although there are no formal prerequisites for this course, please consider:
- It is expected that students possess college-level reading, writing and technology skills.
- I would recommend that you allot at least three hours a week of study time for this course.
Technology
NOVA is committed to preparing students for today’s workforce and recognizes computers to be an extension of the learning tools needed to be globally competitive. To attend NOVA, students are expected to have a laptop (or a desktop with webcam and microphone) that meets the minimum requirements for their major and Internet access at home or through a mobile device hot spot.
Here is information on using financial aid for the college's laptop purchase information.
Using Zoom
Here are some instructions for using zoom: Zoom Instructions for Students.