SABANCI UNIVERSITY

SPS 102A / Humanity and Society II

FALL 2024
Top Hat: 203978

Lectures: Mondays 9:40-11:30 am at FMAN 1099

Discussion Sections: A1-A5: Tuesdays 14:40-16:30
A6-A10: Tuesdays 16:40-18:30

Instructors: Emre Erol emre.erol@sabanciuniv.edu, Ateş Altınordu ates.altinordu@sabanciuniv.edu,

Marloes Cornelissen Aydemir marloes.cornelissen@sabanciuniv.edu, Melike Ayşe Kocacık Şenol
melike.kocacik@sabanciuniv.edu, Gizem Damla Çakmak damla.cakmak@sabanciuniv.edu
Office hours with instructors by email appointment

Coordinator: Melike Ayşe Kocacık Şenol melike.kocacik@sabanciuniv.edu

Office hours: by email appointment
Technical Assistant: Burhan İzgin burhan.izgin@sabanciuniv.edu

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the study of the human experience in the modern
world. It brings together the history of major milestones in the modern era, from the mid-18th century to the
21st century, and prominent theoretical frameworks that are employed to analyze this transformative period in
the history of our species. SPS 102 is designed to be a follow-up of SPS 101 and thus complements the content
and the academic skills that were previously introduced. There are three central aims of this course. The first
aim is to present our students the challenges and potential in the scientific study of human experience through
the introduction of various analytical tools from disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, political
science, and economics. The second aim is to provide the intellectual foundations that would help our students
to understand the dynamics of the contemporary world around them by historicizing its relatively recent
formation in the history of humanity. Finally, this course also aims to emphasize the structured use of language,
in this case English, for the purposes of knowledge production and critical analysis. It accepts the role of
language in humanities and social sciences as important as calculus is for physics. To that end, it pays special
attention to critical reading and writing skills as evident from the course structure.

Grading: the components of the final course grade are as follows:

Midterm examinations: 50% (1st midterm 25%, 2nd midterm 25%)

Writing Assignments: 30% (Research Proposal Video: 10% + Research Paper
Assignment: 20%)
Discussion sessions: 20% (twelve discussion weeks, of which six are
graded, five best will count x 4% each)
In-lecture Top Hat bonus questions: 4% (Four random Top Hat questions x 1% each)
Bonus assignment: 6% (Read, listen, and record assignment)

Course Requirements: Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before each lecture, attend
the weekly lectures, actively participate in discussion sections, take two midterm exams, and submit two writing
assignments. No mandatory attendance is taken for the lectures, but students who miss more than five
discussion sections (or more than 10 discussion hours) will automatically get a zero from all their discussion
section grades. In addition, those who miss five or more discussion sections and both midterm examinations
without a valid excuse will fail the course and be considered NA. Attend your discussions on time, late
attendance (10 minutes rule) will not be tolerated.

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Course Components:

Midterm examinations: There will be two midterm examinations in this course to be conducted face-to-face on
campus. Each midterm examination constitutes 25% of the course grade. In terms of the examination format,
each midterm will consist of short questions and long essay questions. Students will be graded based on their
comprehension of the content and their ability to formulate analytical arguments based on that content from
the readings, lectures, and discussion sections.

Research Portfolio: You are expected to create a research portfolio in two steps based on a list of topics which
is provided in the “Writing Assignment Guidelines” on SUCourse. The first step of this assignment is the
submission of a research proposal video. The research proposal must be submitted in the form of a video in
which you briefly explain the research question you intend to answer in your research paper assignment
including some of the sources you find to provide support for your argument. A short written document with
your research question and the references for your sources must also be uploaded on SUCourse. This is a
chance for you to receive feedback on the suitability of your proposed research question and the sources you
find. The second step is an in-class writing assignment in which you will present your thesis statement and
support it using the primary and secondary source evidence from your research to write a 600–700-word paper.
Both steps are graded separately. Students are not allowed to submit works that have already been submitted
to this course in the past and/or other courses. Please make sure to read the ‘Writing Assignment Guidelines’
on SUCourse for more details.

Discussion sessions: Discussion sessions are student-centered learning hours conducted by SPS facilitators.
There will be a total of twelve discussion sessions. Every discussion session will consist of two hours and of
these twelve sections, six random sections will have graded exercises. To this end students are expected to bring
their (fully charged) laptop or tablet (no phone!) to the discussion class. The five best of these six will be counted
towards the students’ grades. The other sections will be discussion and skills-learning based meetings. The
graded weeks will be worth 4% each. Students are expected to watch the recorded tutorial videos before the
discussion sections. Students may also be asked to finish one or more of the assigned readings before the
discussion sections. Attendance will be taken regularly during each hour of the discussion sessions. Students
who miss more than five discussion sections (or more than 10 discussion hours in total) will automatically get
a zero from all their discussion section grades. Students will not be allowed into the discussion sections after
ten minutes following the start of the section meeting. No exceptions will be made to this rule.

Lectures: Lectures constitute the backbone of this course. They are central to the design of the course and the
content delivered in the lectures will be tested in the midterm examinations. Lecture attendance is not
mandatory, but four random in-lecture questions will be asked at random lecture hours throughout the course
through the Top Hat system. These are small quizzes that aim to test your comprehension of the lecture and
they are not conducted for attendance. Cheating will not be tolerated. Students will not be allowed in the
classroom after the first 10 minutes of the lectures. Those who are late to the class and are not admitted to the
lecture hall can follow the second hour of the lecture after the break.

Reading assignments: Students are expected to do all required readings. Readings are designed to complement
the lectures and discussion sections. A better understanding of any topic is only possible by completing the
readings. In addition, midterms will have questions based on the reading material.

Audio-Visual Media Sources: There are videos listed for each week in the syllabus. These audio-visual media
materials are assigned to enhance both your understanding of each week’s topics as well as your audio-visual
media literacy skills. Parts of these media can be used in the discussion sections as well.

Bonus video assignment: Technical issues will not be accepted as excuses for not submitting any writing
assignments or examinations on time. Additional time (with penalty) for such issues is already provided for

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some components of this course. Nevertheless, to make up for any lost points a read, listen and record
assignment will be provided for a total of 6 points. Several videos will be provided by the course lecturers
commenting on one of the course readings accompanied by a set of questions. Students will be expected to
record a 5-minute long response to the question provided in the lecturer’s video. This assignment will be
available on SUCourse by week 5. Please see the SPS 102 Bonus Assignment Guidelines on SUCourse for more
details.

Make-Up Policy: No make-ups are allowed for research proposals. Make-ups are only allowed for midterms
and research paper assignments (step 2) to those with an official report from or approved by the University
Health Center for the date of the exam or assignment in question and those with an official permission notice
from the university for participation in a university event on the date of the exam in question. Students are not
allowed to take any form of examination or submit any assignments on days that they have documented excuses.
No exceptions will be made to these rules. The make-up exam will be cumulative, meaning that students will
be responsible for the content of the entire course in the makeup exam. The format of the makeup exam may
be different from the midterms too. There will be no makeup for the makeup exam. For the discussion
worksheets, students with an official report from or approved by the University Health Center or an official
permission notice from the university for participation in a university event for the date of a discussion section
will receive the average points they have received for their other section worksheets throughout the semester
only if less than 5 graded worksheets are present for the entire semester. Those who already have a minimum
of 5 worksheet grades will not have make-up adjustments in their grades.

Objection Policy: Students are only allowed to object to their midterm and writing assignment grades.
Bargaining about grades is absolutely not tolerated. All objections must have a solid basis. They must be
submitted by email to the relevant facilitator and must be followed by a meeting. The facilitators who graded
the assignment in question initially assess the objections. The SPS course coordinator will make a second
assessment if need be. All objections must be made within the announced periods of time.

Assigned Readings: The SPS102 reader includes all the required readings listed below and these readings will
be accessible from the SUCourse web page of the course. Readings should be done before the class for which
they are assigned. See the schedule of readings and lectures below.

Grading Scale: Final grades will be calculated using the following point distribution:

90-100 A
86-89 A-
82-85 B+
78-81 B
74-77 B-
70-73 C+
66-69 C
62-65 C-
58-61 D+
54-57 D
0-53 F

Academic Integrity: Cases of plagiarism and cheating will automatically be penalized with a 0 (zero) from the
assignment/ examination and also the entire grade component related to that assignment/examination. In
addition to that, these cases will be directly referred to the Dean’s Office for disciplinary action. During exams,
students are only allowed to have pencils, pens, erasers, water, and napkins. All other belongings will be left in
a corner of the exam room. All electronic devices must be switched off. Any student violating these rules will
receive 0 points for that exam. Students might be called for an authenticity interview for any of the assignments

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of this course if deemed necessary by the instructors. It should be noted that using (a part of) an assignment or
exam submitted before to this or another course is not allowed and is considered as self-plagiarism. Please also
be informed that overreliance on external editing and proofreading will be penalized accordingly. This SPS
course does not tolerate any breach of academic integrity. For the university’s Academic Integrity Statement,
see:

http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/en/academic-integrity-statement

AI-based Technologies in Education: In the SPS courses you are only allowed to use AI tools when explicitly
stated in the assignment and indicated by your course instructors and facilitators. Please read “FDD's Position
Statement on AI-Based Technologies in Education” to guide you in deciding if and when to use AI tools in
academic contexts:

https://fdd.sabanciuniv.edu/en/peers/ai-statement

NB: It is strictly forbidden to record, distribute or share course content (including the lectures) without
permission from the course instructors.
Important Disclaimer: Amendments could be made to this syllabus. Please follow email and SUCourse
announcements throughout the semester.

Course Outline and Readings

Week 1 – (23 September):

Lecture 1: Introduction to the course

Lecture 2: What is Modernity?

* Stuart Hall and Bram Gieben, eds., Formations of Modernity (Polity Press, 2003), 1-16.
* Video: OER Project, “Crash Course Big History #8: The Modern Revolution | Big History Project,” Sept.
2014 (Click me).

Week 2 – (30 September):

Lecture 1: The Industrial Revolution

Lecture 2: The Great Divergence

* John Coatsworth et al., Global Connections: Volume 2, Since 1500: Politics, Exchange, and Social Life in World History
(Cambridge University Press, 2015), 165-190, 231-249.
* R. Bin Wong, China Transformed: Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience (Cornell University Press,
1997), 127-151.
* Video: CrashCourse, “The Rise of the West and Historical Methodology: Crash Course World History #212,”
October 2014 (Click me).

Week 3 – (7 October):

Lecture 1: Theories on Capitalism I

Lecture 2: Theories on Capitalism II

* Ha-Joon Chang, Economics: The User’s Guide (Penguin Books, 2014), 47-79.

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* [Optional] Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, ed. Jeffrey C. Isaac, (Yale University
Press, 2012), 73-92.
* [Optional] Chris Harman, “The Rise of Capitalism,” International Socialism Journal 102, (Spring 2004):
http://isj.org.uk/the-rise-of-capitalism/
* Video: CrashCourse, “Economic Schools of Thought: Crash Course Economics #14,” November 2015
(Click me).

Week 4 – (14 October):

Lecture 1: Colonization and Decolonization: Theory

Lecture 2: Colonization and Decolonization: Practice

* Trutz von Trotha, “Colonialism,” in A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Europe 1789-1914, ed. Stefan Berger
(Blackwell Publishing, 2006), 432-447.
* Bernard Porter, The Lion’s Share: A History Of British Imperialism 1850 To The Present (Routledge, 2021), 1-19.
* Video: Al Jazeera English, “How Does Colonialism Shape the World We Live In? | The Stream,” December
2019 (Click me).

Week 5 – (21 October):

Lecture 1: The Great War (1914-1918)

Lecture 2: The Interwar Era: Politics

* Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The World: A Brief History (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006), Chapter 27, 790-817.
* Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper, “Empires After 1919: Old, New, Transformed”, International Affairs 95,
no. 1 (2019): 81-100.

Week 6 – (28 October): Recorded lecture due to holiday

Lecture 1: The Interwar Era: Economy

Lecture 2: The Second World War (1939-1945)

* Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The World: A Brief History (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006), Chapter 28, 818-835.
* Richard Overy, The Origins of the Second World War (Routledge, 2017), 3-10; 32-46.
* [Optional] Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O'Rourke, Power and Plenty (Princeton University Press, 2009),
Chapter 8, 429-443.
* Video: Rick Steves, “The Story of Fascism in Europe,” Rick Steves’ Europe, March 2019 (Click me).

Week 7 – (4 November):

Lecture 1: Political Ideologies: Liberalism

Lecture 2: Political Ideologies: Democracy

* Edward Fawcett, Liberalism: The Life of An Idea (Princeton University Press, 2014), 28-79.
* Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World
(Penguin University Books, 1974), 413-432.
* Video: Anthony D. Romero, “This Is What Democracy Looks Like,” TED Talk May 2017 (Click me).

Week 8 – (11 November):

Lecture 1: Socialism and the Soviet Union

Lecture 2: The Cold War and Decolonization

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* R. R. Palmer, Joel Colton and Lloyd Kramer, A History of the Modern World, Vol. 2 since 1815 (Random House),
719-762.
* Video: Mary Kinmonth, “Revolution - New Art for A New World Documentary,” October 2020 (Click me).

First Midterm, tentatively on 16 November

Week 9 – (18 November):

Lecture 1: Social Movements from the 1960s to today I

Lecture 2: Social Movements from the 1960s to today II

* Robin Cohen and Shirin M. Rai, “Global Social Movements,” in Global Social Movements, eds. Robin Cohen
and Shirin M. Rai (The Athlone Press, 2000), 1-17.
* “The Combahee River Collective Statement,” in “How We Get Free : Black Feminism and the Combahee River
Collective,” ed. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Haymarket Books, 2017).
* Video: Khan Academy, “Social Movements: Society and Culture,” April 2014 (Click me).

Week 10 – (25 November):

Lecture 1: Multiple Securities I

Lecture 2: Multiple Securities II

* Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, “Human Security,” in Security Studies: An Introduction, eds. Paul D. Williams and
Matt McDonald (Routledge, 2018), 221-235.
* Ralf Emmers, “Securitization,” in Contemporary Security Studies, ed. Allan Collins (Oxford University Press,
2010), 136-151.

Week 11 – (2 December):

Lecture 1: Gender in the modern world

Lecture 2: Love in the modern world

* Candace West and Don. H. Zimmerman, “Doing Gender,” Gender & Society 1, no. 2 (1987): 125-151.
* Stephanie Coontz, “The World Historical Transformation of Marriage,” Journal of Marriage and Family 66
(2004): 974-979.
* [Optional] Podcast: Shankar Vedantam, Gabriela Saldivia, Parth Shah and Tara Boyle, “When Did Marriage
Become So Hard?,” Hidden Brain, February 2018 (Click me).

Week 12 – (9 December):

Lecture 1: Popular culture

Lecture 2: Social media (communication)

* John Storey, “What is Popular Culture?,” in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, 8th Edition (Routledge, 2018),
5-14.
* Cass R. Sunstein, #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of the Social Media (Princeton University Press, 2017),
1-18.
* [Optional] Video: Zeynep Tüfekçi, “We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads,” TED
Talk, New York, September 2017 (Click me).

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Week 13 – (16 December):

Lecture 1: A brief history of globalism

Lecture 2: Neoliberalism

* Bonnie G. Smith et al., World in the Making: A Global History (Oxford University Press, 2019), 1073-1109.
* Video: BBC Ideas, “Neoliberalism: The Story of a Big Economic Bust Up. A-Z of ISMs Episode 14,” August
2019 (Click me).

Week 14 - (23 December):

Lecture 1: The Environmental Impact of Modernity: Global Warming and Climate Change I
Lecture 2: The Environmental Impact of Modernity: Global Warming and Climate Change II

* Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer, “The Anthropocene,” Global Change Newsletter 41 (May 2000):
17-18.
* Dipesh Chakrabarty, “The Climate of History: Four Theses,” Critical Inquiry 35, no. 2 (Winter 2009): 197-222.
* Video: American Museum of Natural History, “Science Bulletins: Keeling's Curve – The Story of CO2
#datavisualization,” August 2014 (Click me).
* Video: Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell, “Is It Too Late to Stop Climate Change? Well, It's Complicated,”
September 2020 (Click me).
* Video: Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, “Women Rising for Climate
Justice and Future Generations,” March 2022 (Click me).

Second Midterm (In the final exam period, date will be announced on SUCourse)

Discussion Session Outline and Important Dates

Week 1 - (24 September): Introduction & Modernity

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 2 - (1 October): The Industrial Revolution & The Great Divergence

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 3 - (8 october): Theories on Capitalism

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 4 - (15 october): Colonization & Decolonization

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 5 – (22 October): The Great War & Inter-war Era

● Two-hour discussion session.

Research Proposal Video: Research proposal is due on Sunday 27 October, 11:55 pm

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Week 6 - (29 October): No DS

Week 7 - (5 November): Liberalism & Democracy

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 8 - (12 November): Socialism, Soviet Union & the Cold War

● Two-hour discussion session.

First midterm (tentative date 16 November)

Feedback sessions on research proposal video in office-hours with SL facilitators

Week 9 – (19 November): Social Movements

● Two-hour discussion session.

Week 10 – (26 November): Multiple Securities

● Two-hour discussion session.

Voluntary Research Portfolio Task deadline 1 December, 11:55 pm

Week 11 – (3 December): Gender & love in the modern world

● Two-hour discussion session.

Feedback sessions on voluntary portfolio task with SL facilitator

Week 12 – (10 December): Popular culture and Social Media

● Two-hour discussion session.

Feedback sessions on voluntary portfolio task with SL facilitator

Week 13 – (17 December):

Research Paper Assignment during Discussion classes

Bonus assignment deadline Sunday 22 December, 11:55 pm

Week 14 – (24 December): Environmental Impact of Modernity

● Two-hour discussion session.

Second midterm (In the finals period, date will be announced on SUCourse)

Feedback sessions on research paper assignment with SL facilitator during finals period

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 Golden Rules for Discussion Sessions

- Don’t be late

No students are allowed into the classroom after the first 10 minutes. Be punctual and respect the classroom
etiquette.

- Communicate in English

Language is best learned with practice. Discussion sessions are safe environments to make mistakes and ask
questions. Use this opportunity and communicate in English.

- Be patient and follow the instructions

You will be writing, listening, reading, and talking a lot in an academic environment. It will initially feel
intimidating and hard. Be patient, follow the instructions and work hard. Your language skills will improve
throughout the semester, and you will find things easier as you get used to the assignments, the terminology,
and the overall logic of the course.

How to follow your grade performance

Freshman year can be overwhelming and demanding. It is always wise to keep a close track of your own
performance throughout the course. Below is a simplified formula that will help you predict or calculate your
grade. This formula is just a helping tool. It is not definitive and subject to change. Please make sure to consult
the actual grading rubric and/or the course coordinator for more accurate information. The formula is as
follows:

MT: Midterm examination

(Sum of best 5 discussion worksheet grades) + [(MT1 x 0.25) + (MT2 x 0.25)] + (Sum of writing assignment
components) + (sum of Top Hat) + (bonus video assignment)

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The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more
sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty,
inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. All University
Courses contain certain themes that overlap with these goals.
This chart shows how SPS 102 course content relates to these goals.

Week Course Content Sustainable Development

Goals

1 What is Modernity? 2 3 4 7 9

2 The Industrial Revolution & The Great Divergence 2 3 7 8 9 10 13

3 Theories on Capitalism 8 10 14 15

4 Colonization & Decolonization 9 16

5 The Great War & Interwar Era 8 10 16

6 Interwar Era & Second World War 5 16

7 Liberalism & Democracy 8 16

8 Socialism, Soviet Union, Cold War & Decolonization 10 16

9 Social Movements 5 9 16

10 Multiple Securities All SDGs mentioned

11 Gender & Love in the Modern World 3 4 5 8 10

12 Popular Culture & Social Media 5 9 10 16

13 Globalism & Neoliberalism 8 9 10 11

14 Global Warming and Climate Change 6 7 11 12 13 14 15