Welcome to Global Inequality and Power (HIS 143). My name is Dr. Dalia Antonia Caraballo Muller and I am an Associate Professor of Latin American and Caribbean History at the University at Buffalo. I have been in Buffalo or 13 years. I graduated from Yale University (BA-History) in 1995 and University of California, Berkeley (MA and PhD-History) in 2007. I have two intertwined passions as an historian: historical research in my field and pedagogical innovation for social and planetary good. The through line that connects my historical work and my work in education is the concept of “impossibility.” I am currently researching African and Afro-descended intellectuals in early 20th century Cuba who thought at the limits of the possible as they staked claims to rights, dignity and equality in a world that denied their full humanity. In the classroom, I invite my students to stretch their minds and think at the limits of the possible in order to dream up new futures for our ailing world and planet.
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Dr. Caraballo Muller is the author of Cuban Émigrés and Independence in the Nineteenth-Century Gulf World (UNC Press, 2017), fellow of the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute, and founder of the Impossible Project.
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Email: daliamul@buffalo.edu
Office Hours: M/W 1:50-2:45
Office: 563 Park Hall
Hello
My name is Brandon Burger
Hello, everyone. My name is Brandon Burger, and I will be your TA this semester for HIS 143. I am a PhD Candidate in the History Department and currently writing my dissertation. I study environmental and Indigenous history, focusing on how ecological changes in the seventeenth century, like the Little Ice Age and beaver decimation, affected Indigenous people. I have taken a very non-traditional path to academia, a path that saw me work for many years as a forklift driver and a receiving supervisor in a warehouse before I decided to go back to college. Higher education has been an interesting journey for me, to be sure, but it beats unloading and loading trucks all day – for the most part. I look forward to working with all of you and hope that you will not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, issues, or concerns.
Course Description
The increasing interaction of peoples and nations we call globalization benefits some more than others. This course focuses on the historical origins and consequences of a world divided between the rich and poor, the privileged and excluded, the mainstream and the marginalized. Fundamentally, it asks why some members of global society are considered more human and treated more humanely than others. We will consider the divergence of a small number of developed nations, primarily in the northern hemisphere, from many more impoverished ones, primarily in the south. We will study the resulting hierarchies and tensions that structure social life around the globe and define the “human” in ways that favor some and disadvantage others. Topics may include racial, ethnic, and gender inequality; religious and sectarian conflict; unequal access to technology, education, and health care; environmental degradation; and mass displacements of workers and refugees. The course emphasizes how individuals, communities, and societies have challenged dominant understandings of humanity, advanced alternative perspectives, and struggled for social justice.
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Concentrating first on the encounter of diverse peoples and cultures brought about by European expansion after 1400, we will analyze the historical forces set in motion by this meeting of North and South, West and East. Proceeding chronologically, we will examine colonialism, imperialism, industrialization, nationalism, and decolonization. Our inquiry will also serve as an introduction to the study and practice of history.
Course Logistics
Lecture Days and Times: M/W 10:00-10:50
Lecture Room: Cooke 121
Professor office hours: M/W 12:30-1:20 @ 563 Park Hall or by appointment.
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Recitation 1: F 10:00-10:50 Clemens 19
Recitation 2: F 12:00-12:50 Park 250
Recitation 3: F 1:00-10:50 Park 250
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Course Website: https://daliamul.wixsite.com/global-ip
Recitation sites: Ublearns/Brightspace
Grading Overview and Expectations
Course grades will be determined as follows: tests (70%); final exam project (15%) [10% group grade, 5% individual participation]) ; Attendance (5%); recitation participation (10%), based on recitation attendance and contribution to discussions and recitation writing check-ins.
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You will be expected to attend lectures, attend and participate actively and respectfully in recitations, and you will be expected to be a full participant in your group project
Course Assignments
Tests
(70% or 70 points)
There will be three tests in this class. Each test will measure your grasp of one third of the course material. The tests will be composed of true/false or fill in the blank questions that test your grasp of lecture material, as well as short answer questions focusing on lecture and readings or just readings. Tests will be administered in class using blue books. For each test, you will be given a choice of questions to answer.
Test 1 is 15 points
Test 2 is 25 points
Test 3 is 30 points.
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Attendance /Participation
(15% or 15 points)
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Attendance (5%)
You will be expected to attend all recitations. Attendance will be taken. You are permitted two unexcused absences from recitation. It is your responsibility to get the notes from a classmate. Do not ask your TA or professor for class notes. If you need to miss more than two recitation for any reason please email your TA at least one day before class to arrange makeup work. If any unforeseen problems or emergencies arise please talk to your TA as soon as possible.
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Participation (10%)
Recitation is your opportunity to collaborate and debate with your classmates! We have an exciting project in this class which will require everyone's input. We understand that speaking up is more challenging for some than for others, but it is an important skill to develop. Recitation will be a safe and friendly environment for you to ask questions and voice your opinions. Participation in discussion will count for half of the grade. You will be required to keep a recitation journal (done in class) which will count as the other half of your participation grade.
Impossible Project (15% or 15 points)
This is a collective project. You will be divided into groups and each group will prepare a 10 minute presentation concerning how to end global inequality. Presentations will be given during our final exam slot. This will be your final exam. At the end of the final, the whole class will vote for the best project and a winning group will be announced and celebrated on the last day of class. A trophy celebrating your victory will live in the History department's main office! Your TA will help your group prepare for this final presentation. 10 out of 15 points will be given for the presentation itself and 5 points will be allotted based on your TA's impression of your participation within the group project. In other words, if you participated actively, you will get a 5, but if you did not contribute to the project at all, you would get a 1.To help the TA determine your project participation grade, you will take a peer survey evaluating your group members.
UB Curriculum/Global Pathways
This course functions as the first course in various UB Curriculum Pathways. It also fulfills both the HUM and CIV/HIST requirements in the UB Curriculum.
UB Portfolio: If you are completing this course as part of your UB Curriculum requirements, please select an “artifact” that is representative of your learning, such as one of your papers or exams, and save it in a safe location with a clear title. Your final UB Curriculum requirement, UBC 399: UB Curriculum Capstone, will require you to submit these “artifacts” as you process and reflect on your achievement and growth through the UB Curriculum. For more information, see the UB Curriculum Capstone website: https://www.buffalo.edu/ubcurriculum/capstone.html.
Learning Outcomes
This course is designed to fulfill requirements and achieve learning outcomes established for SUNY General Education courses in the areas of Other World Civilizations and the Humanities. In addition, the History Department has developed a set of guiding principles for the purposes of assessment to which this course adheres. Students who complete the course will be able to do the following:
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General Education Outcomes
A. Demonstrate knowledge of a broad outline of world history
B. Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of the discipline of history​
C. Demonstrate understanding of the nature and methods of the humanities, of history as a component of humanistic expression and inquiry, and of the value of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the past.
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History Department Outcomes
D. Describe and explain the past
E. Assess cause and effect, change over time, and problems of evidence
F. Hone critical reading and analytical writing
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Course Outcomes
G. Describe and explain the historical origins of global inequality
H. Evaluate different types of historical evidence and use this evidence to interpret the divideseparating the Global South from the Global North
I. Understand how inequality affects race, gender, and class relations in the Global South
J. Understand how inhabitants of the Global South have struggled for social justice
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Course Policies
I encourage you to check in with your teaching assistant or me during our regular online office hours if you have questions. If you wish to submit a written question about course content, procedures, or requirements, please avoid email; instead, use the FAQ discussion board forum on our website, so that your classmates may benefit from the same information. You may of course email us with any individual issues, knowing that our reply will likely be delayed by a full day. If anything disrupts your ability to keep up with the class, make sure to contact us as soon as possible, so that we can work out a solution.
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This class will be conducted under the assumption that all students are welcome to voice their views. Respectful expressions of disagreement and alternative perspectives are encouraged. Disrespectful, obstructive, or disruptive conduct will not be permitted in accordance with university policy:https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/obstruction.html. If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 716-645-2608 and also your teaching assistant during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web at:http://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/accessibility.html.
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All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the university's academic integrity policies, available in the Undergraduate Catalog:
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https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/integrity.html. These policies prohibit cheating, plagiarizing, falsifying academic material, and handing in previously submitted work, among other transgressions. Honesty and integrity are the foundation of our common mission as members of the university community. To promote fair treatment for all students, I am committed to enforcing academic integrity standards. Violations may result in failing the entire course and other penalties. Plagiarism detection software will be used to aid in determining the originality of student work. Before submitting written work, students should consult the short videos on plagiarism and citing sources available here: https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/onestopguide.
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COUNSELING SERVICES (Mental Health): As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other concerns. You learn can more about these programs and services by contacting:
Counseling Services: 120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), phone 716-645-2720
202 Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716-829-5800
Health Services: Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716- 829-3316
Health Promotion: 114 Student Union (North Campus), phone: 716- 645-2837
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SEXUAL VIOLENCE: UB is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Course materials that I, Prof. Dalia Antonia Caraballo Muller, have prepared, together with the content of all lectures and materials presented and prepared by me in this course are my intellectual property. Video, audio, and photographic recording of lectures is prohibited without my explicit permission. The selling or dissemination of exams, study guides, homework assignments and handouts is prohibited without my explicit permission. The selling or dissemination for commercial purposes of notes derived from my lectures is also prohibited without my explicit permission.
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Public Health Compliance in Classroom setting
As indicated in the Student Compliance Policy for COVID-19 Public Health Behavior Expectations (https://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/conduct/coronavirus-student-compliance-policy.html), the following is required:
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When aboard a UB bus or shuttle or in a clinical health care setting, students are required to obtain and wear a high-quality, tight-fitting, high-filtration mask in accordance with current health and safety guidelines. Mask indoors and in other public campus settings are optional.
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Stay home if you are sick.
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Abide by New York State, federal and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel restrictions and precautionary quarantines.
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Follow campus and public health directives for isolation or quarantine.
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Should you need to miss class due to illness, isolation or quarantine, you are required to notify the course instructor and make arrangements to complete missed work.
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You are responsible for following any additional directives in settings such as labs, clinical environments etc.
Students who are not complying with the public health behavior expectations will be asked to comply. Should the non-compliant behavior continue, course instructors are authorized to ask the student to leave the classroom. Non-compliant students may also be referred to the Office of Health Promotion to participate in an online public health class to better educate them on the importance of these public health directives for the entire community.