This document provides the syllabus for an upper level world history course covering the period since 1945. It outlines the course goals, reading assignments, assignments including papers and quizzes, grading breakdown, exam dates, classroom policies and a detailed schedule of lecture and discussion section topics. The course is intended to help students develop skills in analyzing primary sources, examining societies in global context and engaging with historiographical debates.

1. HST 296 World History Since 1945
Spring 2017
Section CA: Friday 10:00-10:55 am, 009 Shideler Hall
Section DA: Thursday 4:00-4:55 pm, 009 Shideler Hall
Miss Courtney Misich
218C Upham; 529-0943
misichcl@miamioh.edu PGP (she/her/hers)
Office hours: TR 1:30-3:30pm
I amhappy to make appointmentsif these hours do not work for you. Please contact me at least
24 hours before you would like to schedule an appointment via email. Unless otherwise stated, all
meetings will be held in my office.
Section Goals
 Friday discussion sections complement and supplement (not duplicate) lecture material, although
sections will be used for review before the common exams.
 The sections provide opportunities to explore and become familiar with issues better suited to
discussion, including the opportunity to talk about how we as historians think of human society
generally and “unanswerable” questions raised in every generation.
 The sections give you the time to engage with specific readings, primary and secondary sources,
and each other as you think about the past.
 All of the above add to the general goals of the class, but particularly we will work on gaining
experience in using multiple forms of primary evidence as used by historians, developing the
ability to understand these particular times and to be able to see any time or society in the
abstract. These goals add to the development of critical thinking, written communication,
intercultural competence, and informational literacy.
HST 296 pursues another set of specific learning outcomes that the history department has
established for its 200-level courses. Students will, by the end of the semester,be able to:
1. Identify and analyze multiple forms of primary evidence – from letters and memoirs to
photographs and statistical tables.
2. Examine other societies – and look at one’s own – in a global context.
3. Engage with historiographical debates and make historical arguments.
4. Recognize change (and continuity) over time and integrate multiple chronologies into a single
analytical framework.
Readings: The following readings will be the focus of the discussions and MUST be read before that
week's section.
David Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global History since 1945. Norton,2000.
Marjane Strapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2004.
All other readings will be uploaded to canvas and should be brought in printed to class.
Additionally, we will be discussing two films:
The Fidel Castro Tapes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ad6JP3mUGs
When the Mountains Tremble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4rG8nmgRw4

2. Assignments:
Participation: This section relies heavily on your ability to read the assigned texts and contribute
meaningful points throughout the class period. Discussion is absolutely essential to more thoroughly
understand history and thus respectful debate and in depth analysis is strongly encouraged. Attendance is
mandatory and essential to getting a good grade in this course.
If for some reason, you cannot attend your section, please notify me beforehand as accommodations for
makeup work may be available per my discretion. This will not be an option if you fail to notify me
beforehand. If you are sick, providing me with a doctor’s note will significantly help in being able to
make up the lost points.
Papers and Quizzes: In addition to your mid-term and final exams, there will be two assigned papers for
this course, both between 4-5 pages on the major themes we discussed in class. Your grade for these
papers will rely on your ability to interact with the historical documents assigned as class reading.
Quizzes can be given at any time throughout the semester and will cover the major themes of the reading
for that week.
Grading: The lecture portion of the class composes 65% of the grade. This has the two mid-term exams
being 20% each and the final exam worth 25%. The discussion section is 35% of the course.
Participation are 10%
Quizzes are 5%
Papers are 20% (10% per paper)
Classroom policies
 No cell phones in class
 Computers are allowed only with the internet turned off and only to be used for the readings.
 Be on time to class.
 Be respectfulof each other and me.
 For the sake of your learning and respect for each other, please plan not to leave the room during
class.
 Talk to me if you are unsure of any aspect of assignments or lecture material or note-taking or
comprehension of reading or lecture! The earlier we talk, the more you will learn and thrive in the
class!
 If you have an issue with a grade, please see me after you have thoroughly considered the grading
standards and your own work.
Academic integrity simply is one aspect of honesty, something we expect of all people in all aspects of
life. Your work – the words, the ideas, the organization – is your own or you acknowledge what you are
adopting. If you have any questions about details don’t hesitate to ask me. For more developed
explanation and the consequences of academic dishonesty, please see
http://www.miamioh.edu/integrity/undergraduates/ .
Disability Services:
If you are a student with a physical, medical and/or psychiatric disability and feelthat you may need a
reasonable accommodation to fulfill the essential functions of the course that are listed in this syllabus,
you are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Resources at 529-1541 (V/TTY),and students with
AD(H)D and/or specific learning disabilities may contact the Office for Learning Disability Services
located in the Rinella Learning Center at 529-8741.

3. Common Exam Schedule:
First Mid-Term Exam February 28th
, Shideler 152
Second Mid-Term Exam April 11th
, Shideler 152
Final Exam May 11th
, Shideler 152
Dates ofinterest:
Last day to drop a class without a grade February 9
Last day to change grade option (credit/no credit) February 9
Last day to drop from a course with “W” April 3
Class Schedule:
January 26/27th
: Introductions and Did the Cold War Begin Before 1945?
In Class Readings
February 2/3rd
: Development ofthe Cold War
Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech (1945)
Stalin’s Response to the Iron Curtain Speech (1946)
NSC-68 (1950)
February 9/10th
: Asia during the Beginning ofthe Cold War
Testimony of Akihiro Takahashi in Atomic Archive (1945/1986)
Truman Doctrine (1947)
Japanese Constitution (1947)
Meiji Constitution (1889)
February 16/17th
: LegaciesofEmpire
M. K. Gandhi, “Quit India Resolution” (1942)
Winston Churchill, “Britain’s Shameful Flight from India” (1947)
Harold Macmillan, “Winds of Change” (1960)
Priya Satia, “The Defense of Inhumanity” (2006)
February 23/24th
: Effects ofDivided Europe through Germany
David Clay Large,“The Divided City”
Peter Schneider, The Wall Jumper (excerpts)
February 28. FIRST MID-TERM EXAM
March 2/3rd
1950 Popular Culture
Father Knows Best,Season 2 Episode 14 “Bad Influence”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qutg0WV7Wx0&index=40&list=PLeagipoZmyfnX72vC5n7LyhNyI
hfioIl5
Joanne Meyerowitz, “Ex GI Becomes Blonde Beauty” in How Sex Changed America
March 9/10th
: Cuban Missile Crisis and Being in the Middle ofthe Cold War
The Fidel Castro Tapes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ad6JP3mUGs
JFK on Cuba (1961/1962)
March 16/17th
Conflict in the Third World
History of Operation PBSUCCESS (1994)
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 133 (1976)

4. Department of State, Memorandum of Conversation, December 2,1982
FIRST PAPER DUE
Spring Break
March 30/31st
: The End ofthe Vietnam War
"America's Stake in Vietnam" speech,1 June 1956
Assortment of Vietnam Documents
War Powers Resolutions (1973)
CNN,Fall of Saigon
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/us/vietnam-saigon-evacuation-anniversary/
April 6/7th
Transcript from Nixon’s First Meeting in China, 1972
April 11. SECOND MID-TERM EXAM
April 13/14th
: Iranian Revolution
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
April 20/21st
: Guatemalan Civil War
When the Mountains Tremble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4rG8nmgRw4
“Silent Holocaust”: The Mayan Genocide
http://cja.org/where-we-work/guatemala/
Carlos Figueroa Ibarra,“The Culture of Terror and Cold War in Guatemala,” Journal of Genocide
Research 8 (June 2006): 191-208.
April 27/28th
The End ofthe Cold War and Its Aftermath
Thatcher-Gorbachev Meeting 1984
Reagan- Gorbachev Letter 1985
Chernyaev Diary April 4, 1985
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR Letter on Afghanistan 1988
Gorbachev Press Conference 1989
Thatcher-Gorbachev Conversation 1989
Gorbachev Farewell Address 1991
Lecture on the Yugoslav Civil War
SECOND PAPER DUE
May 4/5th
: ReviewSession and Conclusions
Final Exam: May 11th, Shideler 152 8am
This syllabus is subject to change with reasonable notice.