Course Information
Course title
 Economic History (Ⅰ) 
Semester
 111-2 
Designated for
 COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES  DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS  
Instructor
 KELLY BARTON OLDS 
Curriculum Number
 ECON3007 
Curriculum Identity Number
 303E20010 
Class
  
Credits
 3.0 
Full/Half
Yr.
 Half 
Required/
Elective
 Elective 
Time
 Monday 7,8,9(14:20~17:20) 
Remarks
 The upper limit of the number of students: 130. 
  
Course introduction video
 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
 Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Course Syllabus
Please respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not copy any of the course information without permission
Course Description

This is the first half of a two semester economic history course, but it can be taken by itself as a stand-alone course. This half covers world economic history from earliest times up through the first and second industrial revolutions. This could be described as "big history." We will look at the development of institutions that allowed the human race to grow and eventually prosper. The role of Asia will be emphasized. 

Course Objective
 To get students thinking about how the human economy has, and is, developing.  
Course Requirement
 None 
Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week)
 You will need to read approximately one paper per week and do short group projects every couple weeks. 
Office Hours
 Note: I am flexible. Just send me an e-mail request. Monday mornings will probably be best for me. 
Designated reading
 These were the readings the last time I taught the course. I plan to make some changes, but I will not finalize the list until mid-January.

Project #1

No reading

Project #2

Sima Qian, “The Money Makers” from Records of the Historian. I will supply a copy. (also available in
Chinese).

Veenhof, KR (2010), "Ancient Assur: The City, its Traders, and its Commercial Network," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 53, No. 1/2, pp. 39-82.

Craver, S.E. (2010), "Urban Real Estate in Late Republican Rome," Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 55, pp. 135-158.

Project #3

Watson, A. M. (1974), "The Arab Agricultural Revolution and Its Diffusion, 700-1100," Journal of Economic History, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 8-35.

Decker, M. (2009), "Plants and Progress: Rethinking the Islamic Agricultural Revolution," Journal of World History," Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 187-206.

Project #4

Flynn, D. and A. Giraldez (1995), “Born with a ‘silver spoon’: The origin of world trade in 1571,” Journal of
World History, Vol 6, No. 2, pp. 201-221

Reading: Nunn, N. and N. Qian (2010), "The Columbian exchange: A history of disease, food, and ideas,"
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 24, No. 2, pp. 163-188.

Project #5

Tvedt, T. (2010), "Why England and not China and India? Water Systems and the History of the Industrial Revolution," Journal of Global History, Vol. 5, pp. 29-50.

Voigtlander, N. and H.-J. Voth (2013), "Gift of Mars: Warfare and Europe's Early Rise to Riches," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 165-186.

Project #6

Reading 1: Chang, P-T (2009), “The rise of Chinese mercantile power in VOC Dutch East Indies,” Chinese
Southern Diaspora Studies, Vol. 3, pp. 3-21.

Reading 2: Andrade, T (2006), “The rise and fall of Dutch Taiwan, 1624-1662: Cooperative colonization and
the statist model of European expansion,” Journal of World History, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 429- 450. 
References
  
Grading
  
No.
Item
%
Explanations for the conditions
1. 
 6 group projects 
36% 
 Groups of 3-5 students, usually randomly assigned. Most projects consist of writing a short essay. 
2. 
 Class participation 
4% 
 I use interactive software (Zuvio) to ask questions and let students ask questions. 
3. 
 Midterm quiz 
15% 
 Choose one of two essay questions. You have an hour and a sheet of paper. 
4. 
 Final Exam 
45% 
 Choose three of five essay questions. You have three hours and a couple pieces of paper. 
 
Adjustment methods for students
  
Teaching methods
 Assisted by video
Assignment submission methods
 Individual presentation replace group presentation
Exam methods
Others
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
 02/20  Introduction & Prehistory 
Week 2
 02/27  No class 
Week 3
 03/06  Mesopotamia & the first cities 
Week 4
 03/13  The spread of civilization 
Week 5
 03/20  The classical age: the Mediterranean & China (1st project due) 
Week 6
 03/27  The classical age: Buddhist India & the silk roads  
Week 7
 04/03  No class (Spring break) (2nd project due) 
Week 8
 04/10  Medieval China: Tang to Song  
Week 9
 04/17  Medieval Islamic World / Midterm Quiz (3rd project due) 
Week 10
 04/24  Mongols & the Time of Troubles 
Week 11
 05/01  The Great Divergence (4th project due) 
Week 12
 05/08  Industrial Revolution 
Week 13
 05/15  Mughal & British India (5th project due) 
Week 14
 05/22  Ming/Qing China 
Week 15
 05/29  Tokugawa & Meiji Japan (6th project due) 
Week 16
 06/05  Final Exam