Course Syllabus

Welcome to HIST103: World History in the Early Modern and Modern Eras (1600-Present). General information about this course and its requirements can be found below.

Course Designer: Professor Concepcion Saenz-Cambra

Course Description: Introductory course to the political, economic, social, and technological transformations in world history, from the 17th century to the present, with special emphasis on global interactions. 


Getting Started

After familiarizing yourself with the following course syllabus, log in or sign up and click the “Enroll me in this course” button near the top of the page. Once enrolled, navigate to Unit 1 of the course to read the Unit Introduction and Unit 1 Learning Outcomes. Links and instructions for all unit specific course resources will follow the introductory materials.


Evaluation and Minimum Passing Scores

You will only receive an official grade on your final exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, we recommend that you work through the materials in each unit. Throughout the course you may find practice quizzes or other assignments that will help you master material and gauge your learning. Scores on these assignments are informational only and do not contribute to your overall course grade. In order to pass this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again following a 7-day waiting period.


Technical Requirements

This course is delivered fully online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and to attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor Academy account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one, free of charge, here. Although you can access some course resources without being logged into your account, it’s advised that you log in to maximize your course experience. For example, some of the accessibility and progress tracking features are only available when you are logged in.  

For additional technical guidance check out Saylor’s tech-FAQ and the Moodle LMS tutorial .


Fees

There is no cost to access and enroll in this course. All required course resources linked throughout the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, activities, etc are accessible for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate. This course does offer the opportunity for college credit though Thomas Edison State University's TECEP exam, for which there are associated fees. Please see the information in the next section for specific cost information related to the TECEP exam.


Thomas Edison State University TECEP Exam Alignment

This course is designed to align with a Thomas Edison State University TECEP examination. Visit the TECEP website , and click on "World History from 1600 to Present (HIS-126-TE)” to download the content guide for the exam. For more information about this partnership, and earning credit through Thomas Edison State University, go here .


Thomas Edison State University


Time Commitment

We are working on providing more accurate time advisories for each unit and the course overall. To help you plan, we recommend that you work through the course at a pace that is comfortable for you and allows you to make regular (daily, or at least weekly) progress. It's a good idea to also schedule your study time in advance and try as best as you can to stick to that schedule.

It may be useful to take a look at the course resources, to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself.


Tips/Suggestions

Learning new material can be challenging, so below we've compiled a few suggested study strategies to help you succeed. 

Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories as you read. This can help you differentiate and contextualize concepts and later provide you with a refresher as you study.

As you progress through the materials, take time to test yourself on what you have retained and how well you understand the concepts. The process of reflection is important for creating a memory of the materials you learn; it will increase the probability that you ultimately retain the information.

Although you may work through this course completely independently, you may find it helpful to connect with other Saylor students through the discussion forums. You may access the discussion forums at https://discourse.saylor.org .

Pay special attention to Unit 1, as it will lay the groundwork for understanding the more advanced, explanatory material presented in the latter units.


Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • think critically about world history in the early modern and modern eras;
  • assess how global trade networks shaped the economic development of Asia, Europe, and the Americas in the 17th and 18th centuries;
  • identify the origins of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe and assess the social and political consequences of these movements for the peoples of Europe;
  • identify the origins of the Enlightenment in Europe and assess how Enlightenment ideas led to political and social revolutions in Europe and the Americas;
  • identify the origins of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and assess how these intellectual and economic movements altered social, political, and economic life across the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries;
  • compare and contrast how European imperialism affected the states and peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the 19th century;
  • identify the origins of World War I and analyze how the war's outcome altered economic and political balances of power throughout the world;
  • identify the origins of totalitarian political movements across the globe in the 1920s and 1930s and assess how these movements led to World War II;
  • analyze how World War II reshaped power balances throughout the world and led to the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global superpowers;
  • assess how decolonization movements in the 1950s and 1960s altered political, economic, and social relationships between the United States, the nations of Europe, and developing countries throughout the world;
  • assess how the end of the Cold War led to political and economic realignments throughout the world and encouraged the growth of new global markets and systems of trade and information exchange; and
  • analyze and interpret primary source documents from the 17th century through the present, using historical research methods.

Throughout this course, you'll also see related learning outcomes identified in each unit. You can use the learning outcomes to help organize your learning and gauge your progress.


Suggested Prerequisites

In order to take this course you should:

Last modified: Monday, February 8, 2016, 12:43 PM