History 143  SYLLABUS

Fall 2025

 

The purpose of Europe and the Modern World  is to create an understanding of the broad course of Western history  and the working acquaintance with the past which every citizen, certainly every educated person, ought to possess.  We live in an age increasingly given to regarding the past as irrelevant, or worse, nonexistent.  Yet in practical application the terms of this proposition are contradictory:  how does one know the past is irrelevant if one does not first study it?  Arrive at your own position on this question after you discover what is being discussed and what is at issue.  In any case, be assured that you will encounter constant allusions to the past in the normal discourse of educated people.  It is worth noting here that while we will be looking at the "great" events of the Europe's  history in the context of the modern world and the great cultural creations of this dynamic civilization, we will also examine how normal people have lived, sometimes quite oblivious to contemporary great events, cultural achievements, and the like.

                 Readings

                               ISBN: 0674766911  (any edition will do)

Tec. Dry Tears. Paperback. Publisher: Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (November 1984)

                               ISBN: 0195035003

Dickens. Hard Times.  Paperback. Publisher: Bantam Classic and Loveswept; Reissue edition (January 1991)
                               ISBN: 0553210165  (This edition is recommended for this one, but you can get back with a different edition of the full novel.)

Please acquire these books as early in the semester as possible.  You will need them for reading on your own and to bring to class during discussions of them.  Much of the course reading will be online.  

     How We Will Go About This

                                                                                                                        Course Grade                                                  100%

In this course, 93 or higher is an A; 90-92.9 is an A-; 87-89.9 is a B +; 83-86.9 is a B; etc.

    Attendance, Late Assignments, and Academic Integrity

    This course will follow the policies on academic integrity laid out in the Environment and other official college publications.  Please read these guidelines carefully; we will follow them strictly.  All violations will be turned in, with appropriate evidence, to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.  Academic honesty is absolutely essential.  This means:  no cheating, which includes plagiarism. The College has created a good new webpage on Academic Integrity here:
https://intranet.austincollege.edu/academic/faculty/academic-integrity/
You can also visit the excellent website of Plagiarism.org
https://plagiarism.org/

Ground Rules for Class

1.  What to call me when you are talking to me or emailing, etc.  Students at AC tend to call me Dr. Tooley (that implies that I have a Ph.D., which I do).  You could also call me “Professor Tooley,” since I am that too. In recent times, some students have called me “Tooley”—DO NOT call me that. Please save this use of last name only for other students, your pals, or for the kids on the little league team you are coaching. (I would follow this advice with your other professors too. Or ask them what they prefer to be called.)

2. Cell Phones. Please put your cell phone on the window ledge before class starts You can retrieve it at the end of class.

3.  Class time. I try to start right on time, and usually with a reading quiz. Please arrive on time. I to end classes exactly on time. Talking to the professor from a previous class is not an excuse. If you miss the reading quiz because you did not arrive in time to take it, you will not get credit for that quiz. And in college in general, you need to sit through the class without coming and going, even if you are accustomed to coming and going casually to your high school classes, etc.

4. All tests and quizzes must be written in pen, not pencil. Most quizzes will be written on a sheet of paper, so be sure to have one available when you arrive at each class.

5. Come to class armed with a notebook or paper and a pen or pencil. At this level of education, there is no way you can digest and remember the class material if you don’t take notes. If you have trouble with this ground rule, please come to me and talk about how you can make this happen.

6. Computers and tablets. Unless you have a College accommodation to use a computer to take notes in class, I would recommend taking notes by hand. Research has shown pretty conclusively that handwriting your notes provides many benefits. Ask me about these benefits if you like. The next best thing would be a tablet and a good note-taking application. But unless you have an accommodation from the College, please write your notes by hand. (If you have never mastered cursive, please consider learning it—it is much easier and faster for notes and tests.)

7. For those of you who are permitted to use a laptop for notes, please sit in the first or second row of the class. I will check periodically to make sure your computer has not distracted you from our primary purpose.

6. Questions and comments in discussion. Please raise your hand to speak. And when you do, please project. My hearing is not what it used to be. Please don’t hesitate to ask a question. In particular, questions of clarification may be very helpful to other students. But raise your hand to get my attention first. 

7.  Please do your best to go to the restroom if needed before class. If you must go during class, quietly leave and come back as quickly and quietly as possible.

8.  If you begin to feel sick, just leave quietly. And contact me via email later to make sure I know the reason for your departure.