This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session
The following syllabi come from a variety of different terms. They illustrate the evolution of this course over time, and are intended to provide alternate views into the instruction of this course.
Fall 2010, Chris Leighton, Jeff Ravel, Craig Wilder, and Elizabeth Wood (PDF)
Fall 2009, Jeff Ravel, Craig Wilder, and Elizabeth Wood (PDF)
Fall 2008, William Broadhead, Jeff Ravel, and Elizabeth Wood (PDF)
Fall 2007, William Broadhead, Meg Jacobs, Peter Perdue, and Jeff Ravel (PDF)
21H.001, a HASS-D, CI course, explores fundamental questions about the causes and nature of revolutions. How do people overthrow their rulers? How do they establish new governments? Do radical upheavals require bloodshed, violence, or even terror? How have revolutionaries attempted to establish their ideals and realize their goals? We will look at a set of major political transformations throughout the world and across centuries to understand the meaning of revolution and evaluate its impact. By the end of the course, students will be able to offer reasons why some revolutions succeed and others fail. Materials for the course include the writings of revolutionaries, declarations and constitutions, music, films, art, memoirs, and newspapers.
This class is a hybrid of lectures and seminars. Each week students will attend lectures as a whole group and also attend sections, which will all be led by faculty members. All lectures and recitations are mandatory as is regular participation.
Final grades will be calculated on the following basis:
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Three papers (15% each) | 45% |
| Quizzes | 15% |
| Final exam | 20% |
| Class participation | 20% |
In keeping with the HASS-D, CI requirements, students will write at least twenty pages, revise at least one paper, and give oral presentations.
The readings for the class are from a combination of books and shorter documents. The books are available at the MIT Server and the documents are available in the readings section.
Aristotle. Athenian Constitution.
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780199237678.
Spence, Jonathan D. Mao Zedong, A Life. New York, NY: Viking, 1999. ISBN: 9780670886692.
Harrison, Henrietta. The Man Awakened From Dreams: One Man's Life in a North China Village, 1857-1942. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780804750691.
Cheek, Timothy. Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions: A Brief History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. ISBN: 9780312256265.
Reagan, Ronald, et al. Reagan In His Own Hand. New York, NY: The Free Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780743219389.
In addition to the required books above, you may also like to consult the following books:
Wood, Gordon S. The American Revolution, A History. New York, NY: Modern Library, 2002. ISBN: 9780679640578.
Popkin, Jeremy D. A Short History of the French Revolution. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN: 9780131930377.
Ehrrman, John. The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780300106626.
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