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Week 

4

:  

Sep 11

-

17

Thematic Issue: 

Islam & the West: 

Conflict, Conversion or Co

-

Existence?

Related Thematic Issue(s): 

Globalization; Racism & Racial Inequality

Topic: 

Debating ‘The Rise of the West’ 

& ‘Decline of the East’ 

in World 

History

Required readings

: 

1

-

John O

. 

Voll, “

Beyond Golden Age and Decline 

-

The Legacy of Muslim Societies in Global Modernity, 

1300

-

1900

,” in 

The Sage Handbook of Islamic Studies

, ed. Akbar Ahmed and Tamara Sonn (London: Sage, 

2010).

2

-

Jack Goody,

Renaissances: The One or the Many?

(

New

York: Cambridge University Press. 2010

), 

reviewed by Jack A. Goldstone, 

American Historical Review

, June 2011, pp. 765

-

766.

3

-

Eric Vanhaute, “(Ch 7) A Divided World: 

The West

and 

The Rest

,”

in 

World History: An 

Introduction

(Routledge, 2013), pp. 101

-

110. (Note: You only need to read up 

until

the section entitled “Growth of an 

unequal global trade system” on p. 110. You do not need to read that section or anything after it.)

Assignments Due:

Tue

, 

Sep 12

, by mid

night, on 

Blackboard

: Library Research Assignment (LRA): Pt 

2

Thurs

, 

Sep 28

, 

before

midnight, 

on Blackboard

: 

WK 4, WK 5 & WK 6 Weekly Reading Essays (WREs)

(All three essays due together in ONE WORD or PDF document uploaded 

on Blackboard

)

Based 

only

on the readings above, 

write, 

in your own words

, a 400

-

450 word

fact

-

based

essay 

explaining the topic of 

“

Debating ‘The Rise of the West’ & ‘Decline of the East’ in World History

.” 

Your essay 

should: (1) 

C

ompare and contrast

Western (Eurocentric) versus 

Muslim

and other 

non

-

Eurocentric

interpretations of 

‘the rise of the West’ and the ‘decline of the Islamic Golden Age’

H

IST

105, Roots of Contemporary Issues

-

RCI 

(Secs 19, 28, 33)

, 

Fall

-

2017, WSU, RC Weller, 

1

st

ed. 

(201

7

-

0

8

-

1

8

)

Page 

8

(Voll and Goldstone on Goody)

, (2) explain 

briefly

the concept of ‘the rise of the West’ and the 

alleged ‘Great Divergence’ and how it is

measured

(Vanhuate)

, and 

(

3

) explain the three different 

types  of explanation  for  ‘the  rise  of  the West’ and the alleged  ‘Great  Divergence’  which  is 

connected to it

(Vanhuate)

.

Your essay must include 

at least

ten (or more) 

total references to the reading

s 

–

a minimum 

of 

two 

from 

Voll

, two from 

Goldstone’s review of Goody

, 

four 

from 

Vanhaute

, and the other two 

from whichever of the above listed sources you wish to use. 

Be sure to follow both these specific 

guidelines as well as the general guidelines for a

ll essays contained in the ‘Weekly Reading Essay 

(WRE) Guidelines’.

Optional Activities

:

Tue

, 

Sep 12

, 

7pm, CUB Senior Ballroom:

RCI 

Annual 

Interdisciplinary Lecture

2017

-

18

: 

Katie Cooper, 

“Plate Tectonics: how the Earth’s interior impacts elections, cell

phones, global climate, and you”

Week 

5

:  

Sep 18

-

24

Thematic Issue: 

Islam & the West: C

onflict, Conversion or Co

-

Existence?

Related Thematic Issue(s): 

Globaliz

a

tion; Racism & Racial Inequality

Topic: 

Islam & the West in World History: Western vs. 

Muslim Views

Required Readings:

1

-

Tamim Ansary, “Introduction” [Western vs. Muslim Views of World History], in 

Destiny Disrupted: A 

History of the World through Islamic Eyes

(New York: Public Affairs, 2009), xiii

-

xxii.

Assignments Due:

Tue

, 

Sep 19

, by midnight, on 

Blackboard

: 

Personal Life History Reflection Paper (PLHRP)

Thurs

, 

Sep 28

, 

before

midnight, 

on Blackboard

: 

WK 4, WK 5 & WK 6 Weekly Reading Essays (WREs)

(All three essays due together in ONE WORD or PDF document uploaded 

on Blackboard

)

Based 

only

on the reading above, 

write, 

in your own words

, a 400

-

450 word

fact

-

based

essay 

explaining  the  topic  of 

“

Islam  &  the West  in World  History:  Western  vs.  Muslim  Views

.” Your 

essay  should:  (1) 

D

iscuss  the  debates  over  the  inclusion/exclusion  of  Islam  from  world  history 

textbooks in the U.S. (beginning section of Ansary) and (2) compare and contrast Western versus 

Muslim interpretations of world history (later section of Ansary).

Your essay must i

nclude 

at least

eight (or more) 

total references to the reading. 

Be sure to 

follow both these specific guidelines as well as the general guidelines for all essays contained in the 

‘Weekly Reading Essay (WRE) Guidelines’