Prefix 121-- Sections 003 & 0H1
Course Guide – Western Civilization to 1700
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Semester: |
Fall 2013 |
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Instructor: |
J. Kelly Robison, PhD |
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Phone: |
566 3240 |
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E-mail: |
robisonk@sanjuancollege.edu |
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Office: |
1847 Humanities |
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Office
Hours: |
10:00 – 11:15, 1:00 – 3:45,
M-F; 1:00 – 3:45, TR; 10:00 – 2:15, F (or meetings on Friday) |
Meeting Location and Times
1801 West
Classroom Complex
11:30 –
12:45, Tuesdays and Thursdays
Course Description
This course
examines the intellectual, social, economic, cultural, and political evolution
of Western Civilization from the origins of humanity to 1700. Topics covered include ancient civilizations,
the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific
Revolution.
This course
presents an opportunity to think critically about the issues that shaped the
past and how that past affects the present. Additionally, students can explore history
and begin to understand the ways in which historians address the past. Finally,
the course will encourage students to develop better reading, writing,
studying, and analytical skills.
Prerequisites
ENGL-095, RDNG-096
Required Text
Perry, et
al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and
Society. Vol
1 to 1789. Tenth
Edition. New York: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013.
Required Technology and Software
·
Internet
access
·
Word
Processing
Course Requirements
Students
will do the following activities:
Exams –
Mid-term = 125 points, Final = 125 points
There will
be two exams, a mid‑term and a final.
The exams will consist of one essay question, though you will have a
choice of several questions. There will also be an objective component. Study guides will be provided at least a week
prior to the exam date. Please buy
bluebooks at the bookstore for the exams.
When you
write an essay exam, assume that the person who is reading the essay knows
nothing about the topic you are discussing. Simply mentioning is not explaining
‑‑ be thorough. Use a formal essay
construction when you write. This means having an introductory paragraph that
has a thesis statement and sets up the rest of the essay. The body of your
essay should offer factual evidence that proves your thesis. A concluding
paragraph sums up what you have written.
Research
Paper – 100 points + 25 points + 25 points
You may pick
any topic that interests you, provided that it deals in some way with U.S.
history until 1865. The paper exercise will consist of three stages. Each stage
is due in class on the date given in the schedule. This exercise is worth a
total of 150 points.
Topic
statement and bibliography‑ 25 points
Final draft ‑
100 points
Topic
Statement/Preliminary Bibliography. Submit a one-page paper (typed) with your
topic. More importantly, ask a
historical question that you will answer in your paper. Also submit full citations for at least eight
sources.
Research
Paper format:
·
Write five double‑spaced, typed pages of text (not including note page
and bibliography)
·
Use standard 12 point font.
·
In the introduction state a thesis.
o In the body of the paper
present evidence that supports this thesis.
·
Use Chicago‑style notations (footnotes).
·
The bibliography may not include encyclopedia, textbooks, or other general
references.
o Not more than a third of
all references may be from internet sources.
If Internet sources are used, then each internet source must be
accompanied by a brief statement (three or four sentences) evaluating the
reliability of the source.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism
is presenting the work of someone else as one's own. Honesty requires that any ideas
or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be
fully acknowledged. The offering of material assembled or collected by others
in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment is also
considered plagiarism. Any student who fails to give credit for any ideas or
materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism NOTE: A paper that
has been plagiarized will receive '0' points.
San Juan
College has strict guidelines for Plagiarism and other forms of Academic
Dishonesty. You may find those guidelines here:
http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/documents/Academic%20Honesty%20Rules%20Final.pdf
Late Assignments
Please note
that no late papers will be accepted and exams must be taken on the exam date
unless prior arrangements have been made. The scheduling of make‑up exams
is completely at the discretion of the instructor. Note: A grade of Incomplete
will be given only if the student has completed at least three‑quarters
of the assignments and cannot complete the class‑work due to unavoidable
circumstance.
Additional Requirements for Honors Students
(Section 0H1)
Select two
primary documents. The document analyses
should be no more than one page in length. There is no need to attach a cover
sheet, simply put your name at the top of the paper. The title of the document
being analyzed should be at the top of the paper as well. Use standard fonts of
standard size. Each analysis is worth 25 points.
First,
briefly describe the content of the document, noting the time in which it was
written, its general theme or themes, the author (where appropriate) and other
factual material that seems appropriate to mention. This is the easy part. All
you are doing in this section is summarizing what the author has to say.
Second, and this is the more difficult section,
compare or analyze this document to the appropriate section of the text, noting
how the document illustrates, amplifies, or explains textual themes or
narrative. Don't bother trying to find the particular document in the text.
Oftentimes the documents are not mentioned by name. You do have to read the
text book though. What you are trying to do is set the document within the
context of the times. Why is this document important? How does it help to
explain a certain time period?
Participation and Attendance Policy
Poor grades
are a reflection of poor class attendance. Regular class attendance is expected
and roll will be taken every day. Students are allowed five absences after
which the final grade will be affected. If a student has five absences, then
that student's final grade will be no higher than a C. If a student misses
seven class periods, the final grade will automatically be an F. There will be
no distinction made between excused or unexcused absences.
In order to
minimize disruptions to your fellow students, please be in the classroom when
the class starts and stay through the entire period. Talking in class is also a
disruption unless it is for the good of the entire class. If you must use the
bathroom or make a phone call, either get those things
done before class or after class, not in the middle of class. Also, please turn
cell phones off when you enter the classroom.
Grading
A student's
grade for the course will be based on the total number of points of the
possible 400. There is no curve.
The grading
scale is:
A=350 ‑
400. Superior work which is not only
accurate and complete, but also insightful and comprehensive; it demonstrates
the ability to make critical judgements on one's own
part and skill in justifying such positions.
B=300 ‑
349. Above average work which is
accurate and complete, but also shows the ability to correlate facts and judgements involved in different "compartments"
of a topic as well as indicating some development of a critical perspective.
C=250 ‑
299. Average work
which is accurate, but somewhat incomplete, lacking the fuller developments of
above average work.
D=200 ‑
249. Below average work which is
inaccurate and incomplete, but indicates some effort to deal with the issues at
hand.
F=under
199. Inadequate work which is inaccurate
and incomplete and fails to fulfill the assignment.
Semester Calendar
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19 Aug |
Introduction |
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21 Aug |
The Rise
to Civilization Perry, ch 1 |
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26 Aug |
Mesopotamia Perry, ch 1 |
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28 Aug |
Egypt Perry, ch 1 |
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2 Sep |
Workshop ‑
Writing the Research Paper |
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4 Sep |
Little
States and Mighty Empires - Perry, chs 1 & 2 |
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9 Sep |
Topic Statement and bibliography due |
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11 Sep |
The Greek
City-States - Perry, ch 3 |
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16 Sep |
Greek
Thought and Culture - Perry, ch 4 |
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18 Sep |
The World
of Alexander the Great - Perry, ch 5 |
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23 Sep |
Roma Republica - Perry, ch 6 |
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25 Sep |
Roma
Imperium - Perry, ch 7 |
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30 Sep |
The Ascent
of Christianity - Perry, ch 8 |
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2 Oct |
Eastern
Civilizations - Perry, ch 9 |
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7 Oct |
The Dark
Ages and Carolingian Renaissance - Perry, ch 9 |
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9 Oct |
Medieval
Society - Perry, chs 9 & 10 |
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14 Oct |
|
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16 Oct |
Fall Break |
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21 Oct |
The High
Middle Ages - Perry, ch 10 |
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23 Oct |
The Crusades
and the Papacy - Perry, ch 10 |
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28 Oct |
Late
Medieval Thought - Perry, ch 11 |
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30 Oct |
The
Calamitous Fourteenth Century - Perry, ch 12 |
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4 Nov |
TBA Research Paper Due |
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6 Nov |
The
Renaissance Perry, ch 13 |
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11 Nov |
The
Reformation - Perry, ch 14 |
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13 Nov |
The Age of
European Discovery - Perry, ch 15 |
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18 Nov |
Economics
and Society in Early Modern Europe - Perry, ch 15 |
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20 Nov |
Absolute
Monarchism - Perry, ch 16 |
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25 Nov |
England
and the Netherlands: Odd-Men Out- Perry ch 16 |
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27 Nov |
Thanksgiving |
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2 Dec |
The
Scientific Revolution - Perry, ch 17 |
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4 Dec |
The
Enlightenment - Perry, ch 18 |
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9 Dec |
College Policies
The following information also
applies to your work in this class.
1.
Academic Accommodations—American
with Disabilities Act (ADA)
If you
believe you need academic accommodations due to physical or learning
disabilities, you are
encouraged to inform me as soon as possible.
If you have special needs for campus emergency situations, please inform
me immediately. You can also contact the college’s disability advisor in the
Advising/Counseling Center at 566-3271. The counselor can work with you in
verifying your disabilities and developing accommodation strategies.
2.
The Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Your
personal information and grade are confidential. Aside from routine reporting to the college
required for this course, I will not share such information with anyone unless
I have your permission.
3.
Academic
Honesty Rules
San Juan
College expects all students to adhere to the Academic Honesty Rules as posted
online: <http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/AcademicHonesty>. These are the
official guidelines for all classes at San Juan College (July 2006).
4.
Student
Conduct Statement
College is
preparation for professional opportunities, and professional conduct is
expected in courses, including online classes, as well as any written
communications, and interactions with members of the college community.
As part of our learning community, students are expected to interact and
communicate in a mature, respectful, thoughtful, and supportive manner.
Students who demonstrate disrespectful, hostile, belittling, bullying or
other disruptive behavior will be subject to potential consequences and
possible dismissal from the college. The college will take appropriate
action when students demonstrate threatening behavior (to others or self).
Students should refer to the Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook for
additional information.
Student Safety:
Keeping students safe is a priority, and part of that is ensuring
that we have the ability to communicate emergency messages, whether for school
closures due to weather or for more or urgent situations. RAVE is San Juan
College’s emergency messaging system used to notify the campus community. You will automatically receive safety
information with e-mail messages; however, you should register with RAVE in
order to also receive text messages. To register, go to
http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/campusalerts. When registering, please make sure
that your mobile status is “confirmed.”
In the event of an emergency, a RAVE message will be sent, and,
depending on the situation, you will be instructed to do one of the following:
• Evacuate the
building.
• Shelter in place
(campus doors are locked, and operations continue as normal. During this
situation, no one other than law enforcement is allowed in or out of the
campus).
• Lockdown (campus
doors are locked. All operations cease, and you should take cover in your
immediate area. No one other than law enforcement is allowed in or out of the
campus).
In the event of such an emergency, you should also follow
instructions of SJC staff.
The SJC Department of Public Safety is available 24 hours per day,
and can be contacted by calling 215-3091 or 566-3333.