This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/Vallard Atlas Berkeley edit.jpg 2016-08-09T14:09:14+00:00 Syllabus 172 2024-25 image_header 2024-09-10T14:39:54+00:00

  HIST 2F90 - Money and Power in the Atlantic World, 1400-1850

  Brock University 2024-25
  
  Syllabus Version: September 1, 2024
  
  Instructor: Trudy Tattersall
  Teaching Assistant: Trudy Tattersall 
  Contact Information: Please use the Messages tool in Brightspace to email members of the teaching team.
  Student Hours Via MS Teams: We are always happy to meet with students, and find that those who do take the time to visit with us, generally have better outcomes on their assignments. We will be setting up regular "drop in" sessions via MS Teams, and will update this page when they are confirmed, but we are also frequently available by arrangement. Just send us an email, and we can set up a time!  You can access our MS Teams channel via the Web Content icon on Brightspace.  Check it out...click the link and leave a comment to say hello, if you wish!

  Times and Locations: There are no scheduled lectures or seminar meetings. However, there are weekly online readings and assignments, and you must plan time throughout each week during the academic year to work on these. It is your responsibility to keep up with assignments and stay on schedule. Unless otherwise noted, new Lessons start on Mondays at 8 am, and close on Fridays at 6pm.
  
  This course explores the practice of history through an examination of the early modern Atlantic World. We will combine an emphasis on traditional historical practices with digital research tools, and with frequent access to digitized archival sources.

  ​Additional Description:

  Take a close look at the image above. Few works of art get at so much history, so simply. William Blake, a radical Romantic artist of the late 18th century, depicts three women in mutual embrace and support, portraying an allegory of human mutuality, particularly the way Africa and America supported Europe. The illustration looks peaceful and idyllic. It is from a book about a British officer’s experience in suppressing a rebellion of African slaves in America. Not much mutuality in that event! But the book’s author, John Stedman, used his experience to speak out against slavery and against the gross exploitation of Indigenous Americans. The book, like many of its kind, was not unambiguous. Indeed, some historians have commented that the illustration speaks more to the hypocrisies of Europeans in the colonial world than it does to any actions directed at fostering genuine mutuality. But as we'll see, the world was not divided into simple, good-and-bad characters. Progressive abolitionists could sometimes be misogynistic; conservative anti-democrats could sometimes be forceful critics of empire. In history as in life, contradictions and complications abound.
  

  Europe was very clearly “supported” by African labour and American land – that is, we can see that Europe exploited America and Africa. But Blake saw something more. He meant his illustration as an allegory for an imagined future – of what might be, not of what was. Both Blake and Stedman saw clearly that Europe benefited by grossly unequal and decidedly non-mutual relationships. Both men were particularly active in the campaign to end the slave trade. Their vision of a mutually supportive Atlantic world economy and society was utopian.
  
  The early modern era – roughly 1400-1800 – marks the rise of the West (essentially Western Europe, with the gradual addition of America) in global history. In 1400, Arab, Turkish, and Chinese empires were far more powerful, richer, and technologically advanced than any political force in the West. By 1800, the reverse was true. This course tracks that shift, that series of changes which brought about what we might call “the rise of the West”. That story is complex and even in this full-year course we will only scratch the surface of some of its many facets. But what we will see is that Blake, taken literally, was quite right: Europe was very much supported by Africa and America. Europe’s wealth came through many sources, but the real advances cannot even be imagined without the use of African labour and American land and resources. The Atlantic World (Europe, Africa, and the Americas) was in many ways a unified cultural and economic system, but its major players experienced that system very differently. This course explores that emergent Western dominance, with a keen eye to understanding the very different experiences that shaped it.

   

  Course Grade Components

  10% -- Module quizzes (Modules 1-4)
  35% -- Weekly Discussions in Brightspace
  5% -- 1st-Term short assignment
  10% --1st-Term longer assignment
  15% -- 2nd-Term early assignment
  25% -- Final project
  
  = 100%

  Course  Structure

  
  The course does not have fixed class times, but all students must progress through the course at roughly the same pace, week by week. The course consists of an introductory week plus five modules of varying lengths:

  • Module 1. The Pre-Modern West
  • Module 2. Colonial Expansion
  • Module 3. Conflicting Worlds
  • Module 4. Revolutions
  • Module 5. The Early Liberal Era

  Each module has between three and six lessons which we'll complete at the rate of one lesson per week. 
  
  This course operates in two main online locations: in your course e-textbook (where you’re reading this syllabus), and on Brightspace. The e-textbook is not a traditional textbook, of course, but it is meant to function in many regards like one. In it you'll find outlines, learning outcomes, and questions for each week, as well as general guidelines for the assignments. There are also links to video introductions and screencasts, as well as links to relevant online information.
  
  Your Brightspace page is your workbook. The weekly readings and other sources are there, as are the forum where you'll post your comments (like an online seminar), the messages tool, and the tools you'll use to submit your actual assignments. You'll need to pay attention not only to the weekly readings and discussions, but also to the schedule of assignments. 

   

  SCHEDULE

  NOTE: Unless we announce otherwise, all Lessons and their accompanying Forum discussions will start on Mondays at 8 am, and they will close at 5 pm on the Friday of that week. If you wish to do well in the course, you should budget your time so that you finish each week's Forum posts well before the Friday evening closing time -- with occasional exceptions allowed (we realize life can be complicated)!
   

  Term 1

  Introductions

  Week 1, Starting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024: Introduction to the Course (NOTE: a shorter-than-usual "week", although the Forum for the week will remain open until the end of Week 2)

  In addition to Reading this page of the e-textbook, also make sure that you read the Course Syllabus and Course Introduction before you introduce yourself in the First Forum in Brightspace.

  Module 1. The Pre-Modern West

  Week 2, Sept. 9-13: Rulers and Subjects (1): Traditional Authority
  Week 3, Sept. 16-20: Rulers and Subjects (2): Christian Europe Divided
  Week 4, Sept. 23-27: Agricultural Revolutions
  Week 5, Sept. 30 - Oct. 4: How to Read Early Modern Books (the first quiz starts at the end of this week)

   

  Module 2. Colonial Expansion

  Week 6, Oct. 7-11: Europe's Empires Expand 

  Oct. 14-18  - Reading Week

  Week 7, Oct. 21-25: Early Modern Africa (the first assignment is due Wednesday, October 23)
  Week 8, Oct. 28 - Nov 1: The Columbian Exchange
  Week 9, Nov. 4-8: The Slave Trade

  Module 3. Conflicting Worlds

  Week 10, Nov. 11-15: Indigenous North American Cultures
  Week 11, Nov. 18-22: Missionaries (the second quiz starts at the end of this week)
  Week 12, Nov. 25-29: Developing Distant Reading skills with Voyant Tools and Visual Reading skills with Early Modern Maps (the second assignment is due Wednesday, Dec. 4)

  TERM 1 NOTES

  • Weekly discussions are the heart of this course, and account for 35% of your overall course grade over 2 semesters. Regular engagement in the discussions will enhance your learning, and ensure you get the most out of the course!
  • For the Term 1, you will do two assignments, each with separate instructions and deadlines. Here are the basics:
    • Assignment 1 deadline: Wednesday, October 23.
    • Assignment 2 deadline: Wednesday, December 4.
    • Each assignment has its own page with detailed instructions.
    • All assignments will automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.
    • You must complete both.
  • There are also two Module Quizzes in Term 1. You must complete both in the time provided. Once you open a quiz you will have 20 minutes complete it. You may write each quiz twice within the period provided. The highest score (each out of 2.5 points) will count.
    • The Module 1 Quiz will be open from Friday, Oct. 4 at noon until Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 5 pm.
    • The Module 2 Quiz will be open from Friday, Nov. 22 at noon until Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5 pm.
    • You must complete both.
  • READING WEEK starts on Monday, Oct. 14 (Thanksgiving).
  • There is no December exam in this course.
  • The first week of regular classes in Term 2 starts on Monday, Jan. 6, 2024. Our regular lesson-cycle will ALSO begin again on Monday, January 6th. 

  Term 2

  Module 3. Conflicting Worlds (continued)

  Week 13, Jan. 6 - 10 : Settler Colonialism
  Week 14, Jan. 13 - 17 : The Seven Years War Settler
  Week 15, Jan. 20 - 24 : Settler-Indigenous Treaties
  Week 16, Jan. 27 - 31: Societies and Commercial Expansion
  Week 17, Feb. 3 - 7 : The Practice of Slavery (the third quiz starts at the end of this week)

  
  Module 4. Revolutions

  Week 18, Feb. 10 - 14 : The American Revolution

  Feb. 17 - 21  - Reading week

  
  Week 19, Feb. 24 - 28 : The French Revolution
  Week 20, Mar. 3 - 7 : The Haitian Revolution
  Week 21, Mar. 10 - 14 : Canada's Revolutions (the fourth and final quiz starts at the end of this week)

  Module 5. The Early Liberal Era

  Week 22, Mar. 17 - 21 : Abolition
  Week 23, Mar. 24 - 28 : Work and Freedom
  Week 24, Mar. 31 - Apr. 4 : Paper preparation - no discussions

  TERM 2 NOTES

  • **The last day to withdraw from D1 courses without academic penalty is Friday, January 17, 2025. **
    • You will have received feedback for 35% of your final grade by Friday, January 10, 2025.
  • Weekly discussions are the heart of this course, and account for 35% of your overall course grade over 2 semesters. Regular engagement in the discussions will enhance your learning, and ensure you get the most out of the course!
  • For the Term 2, you will do two assignments, each with separate instructions and deadlines. Here are the basics:
    • Assignment 2 deadline: Wednesday, February 12.
    • Final Project deadline: Monday, April 7.
    • Each assignment has its own page with detailed instructions.
    • All assignments will automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.
  • There are also two Module Quizzes in Term 2. You must complete both in the time provided. Once you open a quiz you will have 20 minutes complete it. You may write each quiz twice within the period provided. The highest score (each out of 2.5 points) will count.
    • The Module 3 Quiz will be open from Friday, February 7  at noon until Tuesday, February 11 at 5 pm.
    • The Module 4 Quiz will be open from Friday, March 28 at noon until Tuesday, April 1 at 5 pm.
    • You must complete both.
  • ** READING WEEK starts on Monday, Feb. 17.**
  • You must complete all course components to pass the course.

   

  Learning  Outcomes

  Historians (i) contribute to public debates (ii) by making arguments (iii) that answer research questions (iv) using evidence analyzed according to thoughtful methods. The items on this list are examples of what you might consider learning outcomes for your overall university studies in history. Learning outcomes are meant to help the instructors and you gauge your learning and progress. Your work in this course will help you improve your knowledge, professional practice, and skills related to the abilities listed above. More particularly, you should pay attention to the following learning outcomes in your work in HIST 2F90.
  
  By the end of the course a successful student will be able to...

  KNOWLEDGE:

  • Describe the major developments in the early modern Atlantic world.

  PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:

  • Communicate ideas/arguments effectively and honestly in all course work.

  SKILLS:

  • Ask good historical questions and form strong arguments that answer these questions using the best evidence we can find.

  
  In addition to this overall set of course learning outcomes, there are also more specific learning outcomes that are listed with each weekly lesson in Brightspace.

  Required Readings:

  All readings are available via hyperlink at the end of each lesson page. There are no require textbooks to purchase.

  Reading Expectations:

  Here’s an important note: In 2nd-year history courses it is common to read 40 to 60 pages per week. In this course we will not assign this much in the first few weeks, but we will increase the reading load as the course progresses. See the note about workload expectations that is included in the Introductory Lesson.

  Course Communications:

  This course will not work if you are not checking its online resources regularly. This includes checking this online textbook AND the Brightspace Announcements. You should use the Messages tool, and select email to write the instructor or other students. You are also welcome to "visit" the instructors via Teams; you can find out how to use Teams by going to the Sharepoint through my.brocku.ca. To arrange a phone or video discussion, please send an email first to arrange a time.

  TIP: When you write to anyone in the course in Brightspace Messages, please make sure to choose the email option, NOT instant messages. E-mail  addresses appear in the in the drop-down address options, and the Subject Line will also begin with "HIST-2F90-D01-S01-ASY >". Please add your specific subject after this, and keep the course identifier in the Subject Line.

  Note: Before you ask a question about the course, please make sure you try to answer it yourself by reading the syllabus and other course materials carefully. The instructors reserve the right to ignore frivolous messages.

          * * * Remember: Make sure that you check your Brightspace Announcements regularly!!! * * *

  Forum Discussion Instructions

  Description

  Discussions are the heart of this course. Your grades will reflect the regularity and most especially the quality of your Discussion contributions. Posts should strive to build conversations – that is, they should engage, and offer thought-provoking commentary and questions for deepening the discussions. New posts should engage with the reading material and posts from other participants, and should always bring out evidence from the readings. The point is to analyze our sources through discussion, and to build and develop the conversation with other students to that end.
  
  Brightspace places you in a group of approximately 15-20 students. This will be your discussion group for the entire year. Each week, everyone is expected to contribute to the discussion in their Forum. You read documents every week in preparation for the discussion group, so be aware of what you need to do to prepare, when you’re expected to comment, and plan your time accordingly. Also plan to read all the previous posts for the week’s Forum before you post anything new. When we grade your work, we’ll expect that you’ve done this.
  
  Unless otherwise noted, each week’s Forum will open officially on Monday morning (although there is a soft opening that happens on Saturday for those of you who like to work ahead) and close at 5pm Friday of that week.

  • You are required to provide at least ONE post and ONE response each week. (In other words, at least twice per week.)
  • Plan to post at least once EARLY in each Forum so that you and others in your group can develop a rich discussion online. (You’ll all learn more this way!) 
  • In other words, be sure to post on time so that others have time to read, think and respond.
  • The strongest posts will also show evidence that you’ve read the previous discussion for the week.
  • How long should my posts be? Most posts should be in the range of 100 to 200 words, 300 at most. Sometimes, you may need to say more, others less. But generally, whatever number of words you write, you should be answering one (or more) of our questions, using evidence from that week’s sources, and engaging with your classmates. You do not have to write LONG posts. Some students seem to think they get grades per word. NO! Quality, not quantity.
  • You have a limited time to complete your discussion contribution in the week’s Forum. If you do not post within the time allotted, you will not get credit for that week. 
  • You will be evaluated not on your opinions but on how well you make use of evidence. Read, then write about what you read. That's what most of this course asks of you.

  NOTE: We wish to encourage early posting, and we want all of you to be engaging with one another regularly in the Forum discussions. A good basic post examines the viewpoint of the author(s), works with the evidence in the source(s), and situates the source(s) you are using as evidence in a broader framework.
  
  People who post at least once before the end of the day on Wednesday of each week and whose posts meet the other standards for good contributions will generally earn the strongest grades.
  
  Tip: take notes as you read, and as you go outline evidence and analysis for what yu think are three or four good takeaway points from the readings. Then, go to the Discussion, explain one or two of those points. If others have already posted, try to build on those posts. How do you build? Add evidence that supports, or disagrees, with what's been said. Explain why your analysis is different.

  Few of our questions for discussion in the Forums have simple, correct answers. Therefore, try to establish positions or arguments based on evidence in the assigned sources, rather than simply stating facts or opinions.
  
  What is a good post?
   

  A good post should:
  (a) answer the big question (not totally, but should get at the question)
  (b) should make a point, an argument
  (c) should support that point with evidence from the readings
  (d) should lead with the argument (make your point, then show the evidence that supports)

  There will be variations, of course, especially on responses to your classmates. But always use evidence. 
   

  What is a good response?

  Good responses should:
  (a) engage with your colleagues in meaningful, thoughtful dialogue
  (b) agree or disagree with their interpretation of evidence -- BUT provide further reasons for your response, and if your analysis is the same, don't just say you agree, explore why - maybe pointing to different evidence.
  (c) Come back later; look for responses to your post(s). Respond to them; maybe another of those three or four points you developed before posting can now be useful. 
  (d) ask for clarification, once again based on good reasons
  (e) challenge your colleagues in a friendly way to provide more examples / take their thoughts further
  (f) In ALL instances, support these reasons with evidence from the readings

   

  What is not a good post?

   

  A few things we often see that are not useful:
  (a) recounting details of the sources as if their meaning is obvious - discuss and analyse evidence, don't merely recount it
  (b) posting late as if you're the first to post, which almost invariably means you're saying things that have already been said. Think of this like you were in a seminar: you make a nice comment, the prof nods approvingly, you feel good - two minutes later the guy across the table says the exact same thing. Are you impressed? Do you think the prof is? In our Discussions, don't be that second guy.
  (c) posting a mini essay that aims to answer all of the questions for the week! You have been in rooms when one person dominates the conversation...don't be that person! Remember, the discussion is like an online version of a seminar; not the online version of a short essay. Aim for 150-200 words.
  (d) simply agreeing with a person's post or restating what they say. Respond to what other have written. You will, no doubt, have to repeat some details/content to get to your point, but that point should build on what others have said, not merely repeat it. 
   

  
  
  How many times should you post?

  Twice per lesson should be a minimum. But don't imagine that five gets you bonus points. You're also evaluated on the quality of your posts.
   

  Discussion Assessment

  You are required to post each week -- minimally twice each week for the best Forum contributions and therefore the best grades. Some weeks have more activities than others, but they are all listed on the module page and in the Course Schedule so you will have plenty of time to prepare yourself for all activities. We will provide Forum grades 2 times in the year - at the end of each term. To help you understand the standards for the weekly discussions, this scale (together with the comments above) might be helpful:

  • A Range - Thoughtful, timely and excellent contributions (at least two each week, with one of these usually in the first half of the week) that stimulate discussion and provide insightful comments with solid grounding in the sources and other students’ comments for the week.
  • B or C Range - Effective contributions that invite comment and demonstrate some knowledge of the sources and other students’ comments. Again, most students who receive grades in the B range will post twice a week before Friday. (These are clearly on the right path, but could still be improved.) Those who wait until Friday to post  can expect to earn a C+ at best.
  • D Range - Little or no effort given to posting, and / or the contribution was divergent from the discussion and the readings, and / or the post demonstrated little effort to engage with other students’ ideas.
  • F - No contribution.

  
  In general good posts add to the conversation (initiating something new, building on others' posts) and utilize good supporting evidence from the readings.
  
  We do recognize that life can be complicated in normal times, and these times are not so normal. Therefore, if you miss posting to the Forums for up to two weeks (in other words, one per semester), we will not deduct any grades from your Forum grade. See below for the consequences of missing more than two Forums.

  Because student contributions are so important for the course, your Forum engagement grades will be determined on the basis of not just regular posts in the weekly discussion activities but by creating engaging, thought-provoking commentary and responses to questions that we provide, as well as by initiating new discussion threads that show creative and critical engagement with the topics.
  
  Remember...
  
  History is not the past; the past is gone, it's over. History is what we make of the traces of the past that remain to us in documents, oral tradition, archaeology, and material culture. We can only access the past through honest use of evidence. Without evidence, we're just making stuff up.

  
  Failure to participate in Discussions will lose you points!! Students are expected to contribute each lesson to ALL Discussions. Discussions are allocated over a third of your grade (35 points). Failure to contribute to more than 2 (1 per semester) Discussions will be penalized 1.5 out of the 35 points per late or missed week thereafter. Late Discussion posts will not be accepted for credit.

  Late Submission Policy:

  Unless otherwise outlined, the penalties for late submission of assigned coursework are 10% of the assignment grade for the first day late and 5% per day thereafter, unless accompanied by medical documentation, or documentation of other serious reasons. See Medical Exemption Policy and the medical health certificate at
  https://brocku.ca/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/Medical-Certificate.pdf .
   

  Reminder:
  
  Relationship between regular online participation and grades:

  Forum discussions are the heart of this course. Your grades will reflect the regularity and most especially the quality of your weekly contributions. Posts should strive to build conversations – that is, they should engage, and offer thought-provoking commentary and questions for deepening the discussions. New posts should engage with the reading material and posts from other participants, and should always bring out evidence from the readings. The point is to analyze our sources through discussion, and to build and develop the conversation with other students to that end.
  
  We will provide you detailed instructions for Forum discussions via Brightspace Announcements.

  Important dates:

  (check the section on important dates in the relevant online University calendar)

  • Friday, January 10, 2024, is the date by which you will be notified of 15% of your course grade.
  • Friday, January 17, 2024, is the last date for withdrawal from the course without academic penalty.

  
  Academic  Policies

  Academic Integrity:

  The principle of academic integrity, particularly of doing one’s own work, documenting properly (including use of quotation marks, appropriate paraphrasing and referencing/citation), collaborating appropriately, and avoiding misrepresentation, is a core principle in university study. Academic misconduct is a serious offence. Students should consult Section VII, “Academic Misconduct”, in the “Academic Regulations and University Polices” entry in the Undergraduate Calendar, available at  http://brocku.ca/webcal to view a fuller description of prohibited actions, and the procedures and penalties.

  Plagiarism software:

  You will submit most of your assignments through Turnitin.com, a phrase-matching program online. See the assignment details on Brightspace for more information. If you have a good, principled reason for objecting to uploading your assignments to Turnitin.com, please notify the instructors before the end of Week 3 to discuss alternative ways to submit your assignments. Alternatives will include some mechanism for you to demonstrate your adherence to the principles of academic integrity.

  Academic Accommodation:

  As part of Brock University's commitment to a respectful work and learning environment, the University will make every reasonable effort to accommodate all members of the university community with disabilities. If you require academic accommodations related to a documented disability to participate in this course, you are encouraged to contact Services for Students with Disabilities in the Student Development Centre (4th floor Schmon Tower, ex. 3240, https://brocku.ca/health-wellness-accessibility/sas/). You are also encouraged to discuss any accommodations with the instructor well in advance of due dates and scheduled assessments.

  Academic Accommodation due to Religious Obligations:

  Brock University acknowledges the pluralistic nature of the undergraduate and graduate communities such that accommodations will be made for students who, by reason of religious obligation, must miss an examination, test, assignment deadline, laboratory or other compulsory academic event.

  Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious obligation should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternative dates and/or means of satisfying requirements.

  Medical Exemption Policy:

  The University requires that a student be medically examined in Health Services, or by an off- campus physician prior to an absence due to medical reasons from an exam, lab, test, quiz, seminar, assignment, etc. The Medical Certificate can be found at: https://brocku.ca/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/Medical-Certificate.pdf.
   
  

   

   

  Your next step is to read How to Succeed in this Course.

• 1 media/Blake Key Image.jpg 2016-07-27T13:20:34+00:00 How to Succeed in this Course 127 2024-25 image_header 2024-08-30T11:10:29+00:00

  Getting Started

  Prof. Trudy Tattersall welcome's you to HIST2F90! I'm glad you have chosen to join me in this adventure in online learning. Please be aware that this course is designed for you to do all of your learning online on your own time, to a certain degree. There are no scheduled classes, but you have to do regular work every week.
  
  Once you've read the course syllabus, take some time to look over the materials on this page. It's best to use a laptop or desktop computer to view course resources such as this online e-textbook as well as the Brock University Brightspace learning management system. You can also view Brightspace or this e-textbook on a smartphone or tablet. If that helps you keep up with the course, great! Keeping up is important. Just be aware that a larger screen and keyboard will help you to be able to make the best use of your time and the resources we provide.
  
  When you go into Brightspace you will notice a series of tool icons on top of the screen. You will spend most of your time in the "Discussions" tab as you have all been assigned discussion groups in which you will post, respond, and engage with one another. Brightspace also gives you access to quizzes, assignments, a messaging system, a calendar, etc. We will make more of these options and tools available as the course progresses. Please familiarize yourself with Brightspace in the first week of the course (the Week starting on the first day of classes: Wednesday, Sept. 4. 2023), but be aware that more and more Brightspace resources will become available as the weeks of the course progress.
   

  Note: Unless we tell you otherwise, each course week will start on Mondays and finish on the Friday of that week. This is the time in which you have to complete each weekly Lesson and its Forum discussion contributions.

  For you to succeed in this course - and indeed for the course to succeed for all of you - we will all have to progress through the course on the same weekly schedule. A common schedule allows all of you to respond to one another in the weekly Discussions. Therefore, while you can work mostly at your own pace within each course week, you will have to make sure that you complete each week's learning activities within the scheduled time. This is especially important for the Discussions. Please plan your time well! The Course Overview (aka "Home" on the dropdown menu) and Syllabus has the main details. The Calendar in Brightspace is there to help remind you of activities and deadlines (note that the Calendar in Brightspace will only be available starting in the second or third week of the course, and it will be updated from time to time -- so check back on the Calendar as well as other resources on a regular basis).
  
  We strive to keep the structure of each Lesson the same, so that you know what to expect from week to week. With very few exceptions (such as this "Getting started" entry) each Lesson will include these headings:
  • This week's big question
  • Video introductions
  • Learning outcomes
  • Questions to consider, and learning activity
  • Background
  • Toolbox
  • Primary sources
  • Secondary sources
  • Supplemental material
  You'll be working with these headings every week, so let's have a look at what they contain. 

  This week's big question

  Each lesson has a "big question" focused on that week's theme. You should use this question to help you organize your learning for the week, and also help you think in a step-by-step way about the overall course question. Recall that we have a big over-arching question for the course:

  For the period between 1400 and 1850, what were the most significant factors in the rise of the liberal-capitalistic West?

  Each week's Big Question is what you will be discussing with other members of your Forum Group. You will use the primary and secondary sources in the Lesson to provide you with evidence as you think about and discuss the question. Good answers are based on evidence from the assigned sources!
  
  So, the course has a Big Question, each week has its own Big Question, and each week also has a series of smaller questions. They're all connected. The smaller questions help focus our attention on facets of the weekly big questions; the weekly big questions help us to think about the the Big Question for the entire course.
  
  For this week (Wednesday, Sept.4, to Monday, Sept. 9 2024 -- a short week, because Wednesday the 6th is the University's first day of classes) the "big question" is meant to help you introduce yourself to your Forum colleagues to each other, while also getting you to start thinking historically. 
  
  The question or task for the week is:    

  Introduce yourself to your Forum group. Tell everyone something about your perspective on the world, and perhaps, how do you see yourself fitting into a larger history. Perhaps it is an Atlantic history, or a North American History, or an Asian History...or perhaps, yours is a little more complicated.

  Video introductions

  The videos are meant to help you get started with the Lesson. Watch them before you begin each Lesson.

  Learning outcomes

  Each week under this heading we will outline a series of benchmarks to help guide your learning. These "outcomes" are meant to help you and us evaluate whether you are learning something substantial.

  The syllabus also includes a list of learning outcomes for the course as a whole. In summary, the course outcomes fall under three categories (knowledge, professional practice, and skills). At the end of this course you should have the ability to:

  1. Describe and explain the significance of the major developments in the early modern Atlantic world;
  2. Communicate ideas/arguments effectively and honestly in all course work;
  3. Ask good historical questions and form strong arguments that answer these questions using the best evidence you can find.

  For each week of the course the learning outcomes will be much more specific. For example, by the end of this Introduction (the first course week) you should have:

  • Read the syllabus and be able to answer questions about the main aspects of the course (themes, organization, and policies); and
  • Read about and be able to name the 6 dimensions of historical thinking, as outlined on the Historical Thinking website.

  Although you might not notice a direct connection between this week's learning outcomes and the outcomes for the course as a whole, you should keep the general outcomes from the syllabus in mind as we move through the course. In a month or two you should recognize yourself building more and more overall abilities in knowledge, professional practice and skills.

  Questions to consider, and learning activities

  Under this heading we will usually give you more detailed questions. These further questions are meant as elaborations on the big question for the week. Therefore, you should always keep the big question in front of you.
  
  The questions are meant to guide not only your personal learning but also your discussions with other students in the course Forum. You should contribute to the Forum AFTER you have read and thought about all the assigned sources for the week, but you should also follow the schedule as outlined in the course syllabus and in on the Calendar. This will require that you PLAN CAREFULLY.

  Background

  Every week, a "background" section will provide you with some general context for the Lesson's subject. Ultimately, this is what you might consider to be your lecture material.

  In addition to introducing you to the history of the early modern Atlantic world, this course is also designed to teach you more generally about the practice of history. In everyday speech we often use the word "history" to mean "the past." To learn about history at the university level, however, you need to be aware of another more advanced meaning of "history": inquiry about the past. One of the most basic questions about the past is: How do we know anything? Where does our knowledge about the past come from? You might think the answer to this basic question is that knowledge about the past comes from textbooks. But where does the knowledge in textbooks come from? The answer to this question has many parts. The short answer is that we learn about the past most fundamentally not from sources about the past but rather from sources from the past. Historians call these primary sources. Learning how to work effectively with sources from (as well as about) the past takes lots of practice.

  As the course progresses, we will reveal more and more aspects to the study of history to you. The skills we will be teaching you are meant to be cumulative. This means that they build on each other. In other words, you should not think about each week's Lesson as an isolated unit but rather as one part of a larger whole. Our intention in teaching you about the practice of historical inquiry is that you will be able to apply the overall skills of inquiry to questions outside of the course.

  Toolbox

  Under this heading you learn the basic skills of historical interpretation.
  
  This course teaches you not only about the history of certain times and places, but also about the practice of history -- about doing and making history. To practice a trade, you need tools. Under this heading we will provide you with tools or exercises that will help you improve your reading, writing, inquiring and thinking in this course -- and we hope also in your life beyond the course.
  This week we will get you to acquire an overview of the principles of thinking historically. Historical thinking is a variation on critical thinking. To start learning about it, you should read the following introductions from The Historical Thinking Project (click on the links):

  • The general introduction to the 6 components of historical thinking;
  • The introductions to the concepts of perspective and evidence in historical thinking.

  One of the purposes of the Forum exercise this week is to get you to think about your perspective as an interpreter of evidence about and from the past.

  Primary sources (sources from the past)

  Sources are the building materials of historical studies. You might already have a good idea about the differences between primary and secondary sources. Here's a quick refresher.

  Primary sources are created in the past worlds that we want to study. They take lots of forms: personal journals, travel accounts, letters, posters, and books and newspapers from the time you are investigating. In this course, most our primary sources are written/textual sources, but they can include paintings, prints, music scores, oral accounts, and archaeological remains (e.g., pottery, or even bones or DNA samples). 
  
  In most Lessons in the e-textbook, under the "Primary Sources" heading you will normally find information about and links to the required primary readings for each week. For this introductory week, however, we will not provide you with any primary materials. You can think of your memories and stories as the primary materials for the week!

  Secondary sources (sources about the past)

  Secondary sources are interpretations that try to make sense of past worlds. Most secondary sources you will use in history courses are modern, published texts. Usually these take the form of essays in academic journals and books about historical subjects. Although the formats that secondary sources take are less varied than is the case for primary sources, not all secondary sources take the form of printed materials. Lectures are an example, as are documentaries.
  
  The thing that all secondary sources have in common is that they provide interpretations of evidence from the past. Think about this when you write your answers to each week's big question. You are writing your own interpretation of evidence -- your own secondary source.

  Learning tip: Whenever you read a source (whether primary or secondary), always make sure you associate the main themes of the source with the author. Knowing who wrote a letter or painted a portrait or created a documentary or gave a lecture is usually a very important step for effective critical and historical thinking.

  Supplemental material

  Under this heading we'll provide you with some extra notes that are significant but are not required for the course. You may even find some of them interesting!

  How to Succeed in the Course

  PLAN YOUR TIME!!!

  To succeed at a high level in most university courses, you need devote between 6 and 9 hours of time to each course, each week. We have structured the expectations in HIST 2F90 to be more modest in the first few weeks, so that you have a chance to get used to learning in the online environment. However, the workload will increase as the course progresses, so you need to plan your time effectively and be disciplined every week. You will need to stay disciplined, of course, in all of your university courses, if you wish to succeed, but disciplined and regular work is especially crucial for success in an online course such as this one. Based on the experiences of students in other online courses, those who keep up with course work tend to do better than they might in face-to-face courses, while those who do not keep up tend to do more poorly. We would like you all to succeed.

   

  Take responsibility for your own learning

  One of the great advantages of an online course is that it offers you great flexibility in your time; one of the great disadvantages of an online course is that it’s easy to ignore.  Success in this course demands that you schedule your time wisely and take responsibility for your own learning.

  To be an effective and active learner we expect that you will

  1. Check Brightspace regularly (including Announcements and the Calendar);
  2. Make sure that you read all available resources thoughtfully and carefully;
  3. Review readings and materials thoughtfully and reflectively before you make contributions to each week's Forum;
  4. Be self-motivated and self-directed rather than passive;
  5. Manage your time effectively;
  6. Troubleshoot problems rather than simply waiting to be told what to do;
  7. Keep records of your research and learning (this includes all essay notes and drafts and copies for assignments).

  Reminder: Starting on Wednesday the 4th (2024) starting at 8 am it'll be time for you to start introducing yourselves to each other in the Brightspace Discussions. See the instructions above (in the section "This week's big question") for more details.