Fall 1998

HIST 559 ECONOMIC HISTORY II: THE RISE OF CAPITALISM

Wed. 8:40-9:40-10:40 classroom: AZ07

 

Dr. Russell L. Johnson
Department of History
Bilkent University

Office: MA205A Isletme Fakultesi
Office Hours: M 1040; T,Th 1440
Office Phone: ext. 1246

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION.
This course surveys economic development-especially the rise of industrial capitalism in the West-from mid-seventeenth century mercantilism and proto-industrialization-through the post World War II recovery--the so-called "golden age" of capitalism. Our task will be three-fold: to learn something of the topic (economic development), to consider what historians have written about the subject, and, more broadly, to foster an understanding of how historians think. Accordingly, each week's material contains a list of common readings (roughly 100 pages), as well as a list of representative monographs on the given topic. Students will NOT be expected to read ALL of these monographs for this course; they are intended as a guide to further reading, reading of the kind students will need to do to pass qualifying (comprehensive) exams in a Ph.D. program.

Topics: Primitive Accumulation || Adam Smith || The First Industrial Revolution in England and Europe || Early Industrialization in the United States || Standards of Living and Historical Anthropometrics || Karl Marx || Later Industrialization in the United States || Later Industrialization in Europe and Japan || Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism || Depression and World War || John Maynard Keynes || Recovery after World War II: Capitalism's "Golden Age" || The Asian "Miracle"

REQUIREMENTS.

  1. Reviews: Four (4) times during the semester, students will be expected to select one book from the list of supplementary readings and prepare a 750-1000 word review of that book for discussion in class. This should be given to the instructor (in the mailbox is ok) no later than 1200 hours on the day before the class meets; late reviews cannot be accepted. Students will also be expected to talk in class about the books they have read/reviewed.
    FURTHER NOTES:
    a) When two or more students are doing reviews for a particular class, they MUST NOT read the same book.
    b) Students may do only one review for a given week.
    c) Generally, a good review does three things:

    i) identifies the thesis of the book being reviewed;

    ii) summarizes the content of the book (including types of sources consulted) directed toward proving that thesis;

    iii) assesses the thesis (is it successfully proved? Why or why not? What might the author have done differently/better? etc).
    d) It is STRONGLY recommended that students consult some examples of book reviews in professional journals (American Historical Review, Economic History Review, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, etc., etc.) to see the way reviewers work before attempting their first review.
  2. Novel Analysis: Each student will also be expected to select one novel from a selected list (to see the list, click here) and analyze it in terms of what it says about the issues of importance in this course--economic development, economic history, industrialization, industrial values, etc. Remember a good novel, like a good history book, contains an argument (usually more than one). This assignment can be completed anytime during the semester.
  3. Mock Qualifying Exam: At the end of the course, students will be given a mock qualifying exam on the material in the course. This will consist of a question or questions of the kind they might face in Ph.D. comprehensives. The questions will be distributed during the final class meeting of the semester (Dec. 9), and students will have two (2) days to complete a 1500-2000 word answer and return it to the instructor (i.e., on Dec. 11). Deadline: 1700 hours.

 

ASSORTED THREATS AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

  1. The Instructor reserves the right to make additional assignments if, in his judgment, students need extra incentive to do the weekly reading.
  2. Attendance:

    a) Students absent for more than four (4) class meetings can receive no better than a "D" for their participation grade.

    b) Students absent for more than six (6) class meetings will not be allowed to take the mock qualifying exam, receiving an "F" for that portion of their grade.

    c) Students arriving to a particular class meeting more than 20 minutes after the scheduled starting time will be considered absent for that class.

    d) There is no such thing as an excused absence/lateness.

  3. Presentation: It should go without saying, but to be clear: All book reviews, the novel analysis, and the answer to the comprehensive exam must be written in impeccable English (or the nearest approximation you can muster) and typed/word processed, double-spaced, minimally 2.5 centimeter margins, and in a font size not requiring a magnifying glass to be read (12-point, please).

FINAL GRADES.
Barring any additional assignments, final grades will be computed as follows: (1) four book reviews, 11% each (total: 44%); (2) novel analysis, 11%; (3) mock comprehensive exam, 20%; and (4) class participation, 25%.

MEETING SCHEDULE AND READINGS

all materials available in Bilkent Library, except as noted.

Sept. 9 (week 1) Organization and Introduction.

 

Sept. 16 (week 2) Primitive Accumulation.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Sept. 23 (week 3) Adam Smith.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Sept. 30 (week 4) The First Industrial Revolution in England and Europe.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Oct. 7 (week 5) Early Industrialization in the United States.

Read:

 

Oct. 14 (week 6) Standards of Living and Historical Anthropometrics.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Oct. 21 (week 7) Karl Marx.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Oct. 28 (week 8) Later Industrialization in the United States.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Nov. 4 (week 9) Later Industrialization in Europe and Japan.

Read:

Supplementary Readings

 

Nov. 11 (week 10) Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism.

Read:

Supplementary Readings

 

Nov. 18 (week 11) Depression and World War.

Read:

Supplementary Readings

 

Nov. 25 (week 12) John Maynard Keynes.

Read:

Supplementary Reading

 

Dec. 2 (week 13) Recovery after World War II: Capitalism's "Golden Age."

Read:

Supplementary Readings

 

Dec. 9 (week 14) The Asian "Miracle."

Read:

Supplementary Readings

 

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