Nico Slate

slate@cmu.edu
Phone: 412-268-1408

Baker Hall 365

Office Hours: Mon. 2:30-3:30
and by appointment

Global Histories: Innovation and Social Change

History 79104, Fall 2016, Monday / Wednesday 12:30-1:20 or 1:30-2:20, Porter Hall 100
If you wanted to change the world, how would you do it? In this course, we will examine
the history of efforts to create sustainable social change. We will focus on social
innovation, broadly defined to include any creative effort to advance human progress.
We will probe the successes and failures of social innovators who transformed the world.
Key figures will include Andrew Carnegie, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Rosa
Parks, and Rachel Carson. By learning from these social innovators, we will explore the
relationship between individual innovators and large-scale economic, political, and
cultural change. The world has become increasingly interconnected. To succeed in the
twenty-first century, future innovators must be able to think and act across multiple
borders. In order to examine the global impact of social innovation, we will track the
movement of ideas and actions across time and space.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to
1) Abstract general models of innovation and social change from specific historical cases
and critique the limitations of such models
2) Construct a historically informed cost-benefit analysis of a particular social innovation
3) Assess competing explanations of the origins and impact of innovation
4) Compare the impact on innovation of individual characteristics (talent, creativity,
determination, etc.) and of social identities (race, class, gender, etc.)
5) Identify the strengths and weaknesses of historical sources
6) Craft historical arguments based on both primary and secondary sources
7) Communicate historical arguments via analytical, evidence-based writing
8) Assess the relationship between social innovation and major global processes
9) Compare social innovations and social movements across time and space
Course Texts
We will savor short selections from a range of books, articles, films, and historical
documents. In reading and discussing these texts, our goal will be to better understand the
history of social innovation, and to probe how historians use evidence to craft arguments
and narratives. You do not need to buy any books for this course.
Socialchange101.org
Some of our course materials are available via a free on-line course, socialchange101.org,
that was developed to complement this course.
Learning Activities and Evaluation

This course includes three short papers (3-4 pages each), a weekly recitation, occasional
quizzes, a variety of small creative in-class projects, and a final paper (6-8 pages). I will
provide further details on these assignments over the course of the semester.
Here is a brief overview of each of these learning activities:
Short Papers: Rather than summarize the readings, your papers should offer your own
judgment regarding a particular reading or readings. How successful were the authors
arguments? What were their strengths and weaknesses? And why do they matter?
Weekly Recitation: Recitation is an opportunity for you to discuss the course texts and
lectures with your peers and a graduate student in the history department.
Creative Projects: Creative projects will include a cost-benefit analysis of Andrew
Carnegies life, a forged historical document, and a short history of a non-profit
organization. These projects will be completed during class time and will be assessed as
part of your course participation grade.
Quizzes: The quizzes will assess your understanding of the reading and of the lectures.
They will focus on central figures and main arguments.
Final Paper: The final assignment will give you the opportunity to synthesize lessons
from throughout the course and to apply them to the contemporary world.
Writing and Revision: Learning to write critically, creatively, and persuasively is central
to this course. Re-writing is vital to the creation of polished prose. Start your written
assignments early and spend time revising them. Read aloud your work before
submitting it. Ask a friend to read for mistakes or awkward wording. Have your paper
read by a peer tutor (http://www.cmu.edu/acadev/ or 412-268-6878) or a consultant at the
Global Communication Center (https://www.cmu.edu/gcc/ or 412- 268-9633). This
course will include structured peer review, an opportunity for you to gain feedback from
other students in the course and to provide your own feedback to your colleagues.
Participation: Class participation is a crucial component of this course. Excellent class
participation involves raising thoughtful questions, building on the ideas of others, and
synthesizing ideas across readings and discussions. I encourage you to think about the
central arguments of the readings before you come to lecture and recitation. Come
prepared with questions and comments. What did you find compelling or confusing?
With what did you most strongly agree or disagree? What were the most important
passages or arguments and why? Excellent participation also includes providing clear
and constructive feedback on the essays of other students.
Your grade will be calculated as follows:

15 %
10%
45 %
30 %

Class Participation
Quizzes
Short Papers
Final Paper

Communicating with Us
I encourage you to communicate with me and your TA throughout the course over email
or during office hours. No question is too small or too large. Generally, if you have
questions about quizzes or papers, it is best to approach your TA first.
Ethics and Etiquette
I greatly prefer for students to take notes with pen and paper rather than with
laptops. My experience is that laptops disrupt the ability of students to participate in
class discussion. If you need to use a laptop to take notes, please see me individually.
Smart phones and other electronic devices are equally distracting. Please turn them off
before entering class.
It is each students responsibility to be familiar with the Universitys policies on
plagiarism, cheating, and academic integrity. You can review these policies via the
following link: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html
All assignments must be submitted online by midnight the day they are due. An
assignment will be considered late otherwise. Computer/internet problems or issues
with Blackboard are not a legitimate excuse for a late paper. Dont wait to the last
minute to submit! Your grade for an assignment will be lowered by a full letter grade if
it is late and an additional letter grade if it is more than a week late. Requests for extra
time due to legitimate conflicts (illness, family tragedy, etc.) must be made in advance
and must be documented (with a doctors note, for example).
Attendance is crucial to this course. If you will be unable to attend a particular recitation,
please let your TA know in advance. Chronic tardiness or multiple unexcused absences
will be reflected in your participation grade.
Disability Accommodations
If a student needs to request an accommodation due to a disability, it is the students
responsibility to communicate such a request to me as soon as possible. For more
information contact the Office of Disability Resources (access@andrew.cmu.edu) or Larry
Powell (lpowell@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-2013).
Weekly Topics and Readings

Week 1: How (not) to change the world

Monday, August 29: A Sogs Life
Wednesday, August 31: Humble Ambition
Readings: Model Short Paper; Paper Rubric; Gandhi, Talisman
Big questions: What is social innovation? What is your innovation?
Unit 1: Andrew Carnegie
Week 2: How to make your fortune
Monday, September 5: No class: Have a meaningful Labor Day!
Wednesday, September 7: Hard Work, Talent, or Luck?
Readings: Carnegie Video 1; Carnegie, Autobiography, chapters 3-6; Jack A.
Goldstone, Gender, Work, and Culture: Why the Industrial Revolution Came
Early to England but Late to China
Big questions: Who benefited from the industrial revolution? What can we learn
from it in the 21st century?
Week 3: How to spend your fortune
Monday, September 12: Is Inequality Unjust?
Wednesday, September 14: The Limits of Philanthropy
Readings: Carnegie Videos 2 and 3; Carnegie, Memo; Carnegie, Wealth;
Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Big questions: Why is the world so unequal? And what should we do about it?
*** Paper 1 Draft is due by midnight on Sunday, September 11. Peer evaluation is
due by midnight on Wednesday, September 14. Paper 1 Final Draft is due by
midnight on Sunday, September 18. ***
Unit 2: Mahatma Gandhi
Week 4: How to become a mahatma
Monday, September 19: The Train
Wednesday, September 21: Empire
Readings: Gandhi Video 1; Gandhi, My Experiments with Truth, Part 1,
chapters 1-5 and Part 2, chapters 8-9 and chapter 20; Matthew Restall, Black

Conquistadors: Armed Africans in Early Spanish America; Wheat, Eltis, and

Boruki, Atlantic History and the Slave Trade to Spanish America
Big questions: What drove imperialism? Is our world still ruled by empires?
Week 5: How to start a revolution
Monday, September 26: The Salt March
Wednesday, September 28: The Calcutta Fast
Readings: Gandhi Video 2; Salt Tax, Young India, February 27, 1930 in volume
48 of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG) and Discussion with
C. Rajagopalachari, September 1, 1947, in volume 96 of CWMG; Shahid Amin,
Gandhi as Mahatma
Big questions: Why do empires fall? What role do leaders and ordinary
people play in major social changes?
Week 6: How to outlive your obituary
Monday, October 3: Gandhis Education
Wednesday, October 5: Gandhis Legacy
Readings: Gandhi Video 3; www.cmu.edu/bajaj; Mark Juergensmeyer, Gandhi
vs. Terrorism, Daedalus
Big questions: What makes a life successful? How do you define success?
*** Paper 2 Draft is due by midnight on Sunday, October 2. Peer evaluation is
due by midnight on Wednesday, October 5. Paper 2 Final Draft is due by midnight
on Sunday, October 9. ***
Unit 3: Albert Einstein
Week 7: How to love learning
Monday, October 10: Piano Lessons
Wednesday, October 12: Quantum Leapsspecial guest lecture
Readings: Einstein Video 1; Einstein, On Education; Einstein, Education for
Independent Thought; Einstein, Relativity, preface and 16-18; Mitra, Build a
School in the Cloud, available from http://www.ted.com/
Big Questions: What does it mean to learn? And how can we learn better?
Week 8: How to make mistakes

Monday, October 17: Pacifism

Wednesday, October 19: The Bomb
Readings: Einstein Video 2; Einstein, What I believe; Einstein, Letters to
Roosevelt; Walker, Introduction to Prompt and Utter Destruction
Big Questions: Who won the Second World War? And why is the world still so
violent?
Week 9: How to stand out
Monday, October 24: The Roots of Innovationspecial guest lecture
Wednesday, October 26: The Danger of Speaking Up
Readings: Einstein Video 3; Einstein, Why Socialism; The Sources of Soviet
Conduct, by X; A Second Look at Mr. X, by William Appleman Williams
Big Questions: Who lost the Cold War? What could we do to create a lasting
peace?
Unit 4: Rosa Parks
Week 10: How to be brave
Monday, October 31: When to Sit Down, When to Stand Up
Wednesday, November 2: Gandhi in Montgomery
Readings: Parks Video 1; King, Sermon on Gandhi; Slate, Kamaladevi
Big questions: What empowers one person to create massive social change? What
prevents people from trying?
Week 11: How to build community
Monday, November 7: Freedom Summer
Wednesday, November 9: Against Apartheid
Readings: Parks Videos 2 and 3; Ella Baker, Bigger than a Hamburger; James
Scott, Everyday forms of Peasant Resistance, The Journal of Peasant Studies
13, no. 2
Big questions: What does it mean to build community? What are the advantages
of serving your community as versus building bridges between communities?
Week 12: How to inspire at scale

Monday, November 14: Spades and Symbols

Wednesday, November 16: Facebook Revolutions?
Readings: Kony 2012 Videos 1 and 2; Gladwell, The Revolution Will Not Be
Tweeted
Big Questions: How can technology empower positive social change? How can
technology empower negative social change?
*** Paper # 3 is due by midnight on Sunday November 13. Peer evaluation is due
by midnight on Wednesday, November 16. Paper 3 Final Draft is due by midnight
on Sunday, November 20. ***
Unit 5: Rachel Carson
Week 13: How to find your passion
Monday, November 21: Into the Woods
Wednesday, November 23: Happy Thanksgiving!
Readings: Carson Video 1, Ramachandra Guha, Radical American
Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique
Big Questions: Is environmentalism a global movement? Or many movements?
Week 14: How to share your passion
Monday, November 28: The Winding Road
Wednesday, November 30: Truth, Art, and Power
Readings: Carson videos 2 and 3; student selected readings
Big Questions: How can art create social change? Is all innovation a form
of art?
*** Final Paper due by midnight on Wednesday, December 7 ***
Week 15: How to learn something at Carnegie Mellon
Monday, December 5: Platos Secret
Wednesday, December 7: What to Remember
Big Questions: What do you want to learn at CMU? How can you learn more?