City College of New York

WCIV 10200

World Civilization II: 1500 to the Present

Fall 2025

Instructor: Ugur Akpinar                                                    

Class Meetings: Tuesday, Thursday, 3:30-4:45 pm

Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: By appointment / Office: NAC 5/145B

Course Description: This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to both the history of the modern world and the study of history. In order to bring the historical foundations of the present into focus, we will consider the major forces that have shaped the modern world of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Selected themes include the interaction of the Western and non-Western world, the scientific revolution, capitalism, imperialism, industrialization, economic growth and stagnation, revolutions, counter-revolutions, modern political ideologies, the global crisis of the 20th century, and emerging global interdependence. This will allow us to investigate history at a global level and understand how historical processes forged connections between different parts of the world.b

Course Learning Outcomes/General Education Information: As part of the College’s General Education Curriculum, this course is designed to enhance your understanding of world cultures and global issues. Students successfully completing this course will develop the following proficiencies:

  1. Oral and written communication skills – Students will produce well-reasoned written or oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions.
  2. Critical thinking skills – Students will evaluate evidence and arguments critically or analytically.
  3. Information literacy skills – Students will gather, interpret, and assess information from a variety of sources and points of view.
  4. World Cultures and Global Issues – History & Culture – Students will identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of a discipline or interdisciplinary field exploring world cultures and global issues.

Course Reading: Openstax textbook. World History, Volume 2: from 1400. https://openstax.org/details/books/world-history-volume-2

Attendance: Students are expected to arrive prepared and on time. Per the History Department, five absences constitute grounds for failure. Additionally, students who are regularly late or absent will lose participation points when I calculate grades at the end of the semester. 

  • You may use a tablet or notebook to take notes or to access the readings.
  • Grading: I tend to mark students up and to take effort into consideration. Barring a miscalculation or error, grades on assignments and exams are not subject to negotiation. But I am happy to meet with you to discuss how you can improve your work and reach your goals.

Discussion Policies: Our classroom discussions will be organized around lectures, reading assignments, and in-class group work that will provide an opportunity for you to read and analyze primary and secondary source materials in collaboration with your peers. Please remember that there are no bad questions; if you are confused about something there is a good chance that others are as well, so be sure to ask your questions, voice your opinions, and respond to what others say. Also, please note that because the study of history involves argument and debate, disagreement is welcome during class discussions, as long as it remains civil. Personal attacks, insults, and offensive remarks about class members are absolutely unacceptable.

  • Essay Assignment: Write an essay (250 words) about a subject/topic/event that you find interesting in the assigned reading. In your essay, you will explain why you find it important and what makes it different or similar from others.

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is important. Thus, if you cheat on an exam, you will fail the exam. If you plagiarize by using some else’s words or ideas in a paper without providing citations, you will fail that assignment. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in the City University of New York, and is punishable by failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. For additional information on the school’s policy on academic dishonesty see: http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/upload/academicintegrity.pdf

AccessAbility Information: Please do not hesitate to inform me of any extra accommodations that I can provide that will facilitate your learning experiences. Students who need additional time to take exams or who are experiencing difficulties with the course should contact me. I will be happy to work with you on whatever you need, or to set up arrangements for exam-taking or tutorial assistance with the City College AccessAbility Office. Please be aware that you do nobbbbt have to share the nature of your learning difference with me; you can simply let me know if you are having trouble and I will do all that I can to help your progress in the course.

Grades:

10%  Attendance

25%     In-class quizzes, Presentations, and Assignments

15%     Essay Exam– The essay will ask you to analyze and compare selected primary sources. Students will write your essays during class time.

20%  Mid-Term Exam

30%  Final Exam

Class schedule

Subject to change – updates will be posted in a timely fashion

Week I: Introduction & Primary and Secondary Sources

Guiding questions:

– What is the difference between a primary and a secondary source?

– Why is it important to distinguish between these types of sources in historical research?

– How can we critically analyze different types of historical documents?

Week II: Crises and Recovery in Afro-Eurasia, 1300-1500

Guiding questions:

– How did global contact transform societies between 1450–1600?

– What were the motives behind European colonization?

– How did indigenous populations perceive and respond to foreign conquest?

Week III: Contact, Commerce & Colonization, 1450–1600

Guiding questions:

– How did global trade entangle different regions of the world?

– What roles did slavery and forced labor play in this global economy?

– How can we critically assess the economic and cultural impacts of entanglement?

Week IV: Worlds Entangled, 1600-1750

  • OpenStax – World History, Volume 2: from 1400. Ch. 4 and Ch. 5:
    Rising Empires

  • Week V: Review and Essay Exam 

Guiding questions:

– How did monarchies and empires project power and splendor?

– What philosophical ideas challenged absolute rule?

– What does Enlightenment thought reveal about social hierarchies and governance?

Week VII: Reordering the World, 1750-1850

Guiding questions:

– How did revolutions reshape political orders in the 18th and 19th centuries?

– What role did Enlightenment ideas play in shaping these revolutions?

– How did formerly colonized or enslaved peoples assert their independence?

Guiding questions:

– How did mass movements and ideologies reshape the early 20th century?

– What were the causes and consequences of fascism and communism?

– How did art and propaganda reflect these ideological struggles?

Week IX: Review and Midterm Exam

Week X: An Unsettled World, 1890-1914

Guiding questions:

– What global tensions emerged between 1890 and 1914?

– How did alliances and nationalism contribute to instability?

– How did imperial competition shape foreign policy and public discourse?

Week XI: Masses and Modernity, 1910-1939

  • OpenStax – World History, Volume 2: from 1400. Ch. 11 and Ch. 12:
    The Interwar Period
  •  
  • Guiding Questions:
  • – How did WWI shape politics and society in the 1920s–30s?
  • – Why did fascism and communism gain support during this time?
  • – What global effects did the Great Depression have?
  •  

Week XII: The Three-World Order, 1940-1975

Film session

Week XIII: Review

Week XIV: Final Exam