Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

World History 1500 C.E. to Present (Face-to-Face)

HIST 1510-01

Course: HIST 1510-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: HSOC
CRN: 32345

Course Description

Course Description

This course examines the political, social, cultural, economic, religious, scientific, and intellectual influences on the development of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe from 1500 to the present. The emphasis is global, comparative, and multicultural.

Required Texts

Required Textbooks

All required materials for assignments in this course will be provided free of charge in the corresponding modules.

Learning Outcomes

Additional Learning Outcomes

SUU’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Learning Outcomes:

  • Demonstrate understanding of relevant social and behavioral science methodologies and how they are used to understand or explain human relations or interactions
  • Identify general principles of behavioral and social functioning
  • Connect those questions and issues to the students’ own experiences
  • Demonstrate a critically reasoned understanding of social patterns and individual variation congruent with and divergent from those patterns.

Course Requirements

Grade Allocation

Exams – 50% of final grade

Two exams will be administered for this course; one mid-term exam and one final exam. For each exam, there will be made available a study guide a week before the exam date. Exams will consist of a mixture of multiple-choice, true/false, and map identification questions.

The exams will be administered in-class. Stay up-to-date with the schedule on CANVAS in the “modules” tab for more information, including specific dates.

Assignments – 50% of each term grade

Reading responses (or “RR’s”) are the most frequent graded assignment in this course. For these students will complete historical readings/viewings and submit a so-called “reading response” online to a series of questions posed by the instructor, all of which can be found in CANVAS “modules.” With the exception of Thanksgiving holiday, Spring Break, and exam weeks – most weeks will consist of two assigned modules. Reading responses will be graded periodically and entered as scores into the gradebook. Not all reading responses will be graded. Which reading responses are to be graded and which will not - is entirely random and not disclosed with the students.

Late work policy: Because students will have access to these modules in advance*, all late-work will be penalized* unless the instructor has been notified in advance about extraneous circumstances. Extremely late submissions (such as assignments completed for the first half of the course but submitted after the mid-term exam) will not be graded.

Critical thinking: Module assignments will regularly invite students to think critically about history and develop/share opinions about the past and present. Our goal is to ponder the significance of the past beyond mere facts, dates, and data. As such, each module will include various challenging questions of ethics/morality, interpretation, and significance for the present. Be prepared to develop and share these opinions in each assignment.

Extra Credit: For extra credit students may watch a selected historical film and write a 500-word response.

At multiple places on CANVAS such as the Home Page or in the “modules” tab students can find an “extra credit film list.” This list contains films from which students may freely choose. Many of these films are about American history, so students are encouraged (but not required) to seek out the films about European history. Each film has a corresponding prompt to consider while watching the film. These 500-word responses can be sent to the instructor anytime at and a score will be awarded out of 5 points. Extra credit points will be added to the “Exam” portion of the grade. In other words, a score of 40/50 on the midterm exam can be adjusted to 45/50. Students may complete up to 2 extra credit assignments total throughout the semester.

Students may only complete extra credit if they have no missing assignments in CANVAS.

Response instructions:

  • Access the extra credit film list on CANVAS
  • Choose a film to watch
  • Take note of the prompt that corresponds to the film you’ve chosen
  • Write a 500-word response to that prompt
  • Send the assignment to

Finally, the last module assignment of the course is optional. Students who complete it will get additional up to 10 points extra credit towards any poor scores on previous RR(s).

Course Outline

Course Calendar

See CANVAS “modules” tab for specific dates

Week 1 –

No modules to complete:

  • Read the syllabus
Week 2 –

Modules to complete:

  • Early Modern Encounters in Culture: Religion and Old World Imperialism, 1500s through 1700s
  • Early Modern Encounters in Ideas: Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment, 1500s through 1700s
Week 3 –

Modules to complete:

  • Early Modern Encounters in Economics: The Transformation from Old Imperialism to Industrialization, 1700s and 1800s
  • Early Modern Encounters in Politics: The Rise of Political Liberalism and Conservatism, 1700s and 1800s
Week 4 –

Modules to complete:

  • Origins of WW1: Nationalism, New imperialism, Modern Racism, and Cultural Rebellion, Late 1800s and Early 1900s
  • Origins of WW1: “The West” vs. the “German Revolution,” Late 1800s and Early 1900s
Week 5 –

Modules to complete:

  • World War 1 and the Collapse of the Old Order, 1914-1918
Week 6 –

Modules to complete:

  • The Origins of Communism: Marxism and Class Conflict, 1848-1914
  • The Age of Extremes: The Global Rise of Communism, 1917-1939
Week 7 –

Modules to complete:

  • The Age of Extremes: The Global Rise of Fascism, 1919-1939
  • The Age of Extremes: Fascism Outside of Germany, 1919-1939
Week 8 –

MID-TERM EXAM!

Exam is in-class (see the “modules” tab on CANVAS for specific day and time)

Week 9 –

Modules to complete:

  • World War 2 in Europe: “The New Order of Europe”
  • World War 2 in Asia: “The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”
Week 10 –

Modules to complete:

  • World War 2: Continued
  • World War 2: The Tide Turns
Week 11 –

Modules to complete:

  • Modernity and Genocide: The Holodomor
  • Modernity and Genocide: The Holocaust
Week 12 –

Modules to complete:

  • Postwar Transformations: The Cold War and the Pax-Americana
  • Postwar Transformations: Secularization
Week 13 –

Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 14 –

Modules to complete:

  • Postwar Transformations: Decolonization
  • Postwar Transformations: Protest Movements
Week 15 –

Modules to complete:

  • A New Century: The End of the Cold War and the Age of Globalization
  • A New Century: The End of History vs the Clash of Civilizations
Week 16 –

FINAL EXAM!

Exam is in-class (see the “modules” tab on CANVAS for the specific day and time)

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Work Policy

Because students will have access to these modules in advance*, all late-work will be penalized* unless the instructor has been notified in advance about extraneous circumstances. Extremely late submissions (such as assignments completed for the first half of the course but submitted after the mid-term exam) will not be graded.

Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is required at all class meetings.  Occasional graded pop-quizzes will be administered.  You are required to notify the instructor if extraneous circumstances may necessitate an accommodation.  In the case of a missed pop-quiz – and only for extraneous or school approved circumstances – students will be allowed to take the pop quiz in the instructor’s office during office hours.

Course Fees

No additional fees

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.