Course Description: History 2311 is a survey of Western Civilization= up to 1660

Western Civilization I

History 2311-N1

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Course Information Fall 2007

Instructor: William Allbritton &= nbsp;

Office: L. A.130 Schulenburg campus<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

Phone: 979-743-5212

External e-mail: wallb= ritton@blinn.edu (Only use this e-mail to contact the instructor if the class’s intern= al e-mail is down.)

Blinn College’s WebCT HOMEPAGE: ht= tps://webct6.blinn.edu

ON-LINE OFFICE HOURS:<= /span> MW 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m= .

CLASS: Meets August 27^th= through December 12^th

ON CAMPUS <= /span>

Campus Office= Hours: MW 7:00a.m.-7:30a.m, 10:15a.m.-12:00 p.m., 1:00p.m.-2:00pm.

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &= nbsp; TR 9:55a.m-10:25a.m. 1:35p.m.-2:35p.m. &n= bsp;

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Fri. 9:30a.m.-10:00a.= m.

Course Des= cription:

Western Civilization I (2311) History of Western Civilization I begins with the appearance of the first written records in t= he Fertile Crescent and ends with the Religious Wars o= f the Protestant Reformation. The f= ocus of this course is the first half of the history of a civilization that has = been identified with the continent of Europe although it has its origins in the = area known as Mesopotamia or modern day Iraq. Other major influences include the Mediterranean basin, lands in North Afri= ca, and the Near and Middle East as well. The course follows the development of Western Culture as it shifts toward Europe. In the course of this jou= rney, students will examine the processes of conflict and assimilation between various cultures and ancient civilizations, both in the East and the West, = which led to the development we call Western Civilization. Some examples of the above civiliz= ations will include the Mesopotamian and Egyptian, the Greek and Persian, the Greek and Hebrew, and the Roman and German Barbarian. Processes of religious development and conflict will be studied such as the clash of polytheism and monotheism. Also emphasized w= ill be the appearance and the influence upon Western Culture of the three great wo= rld religions emerging from Monotheism; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Partic= ular attention will focus on the dominant role of Christianity in developing soc= ial, cultural, intellectual, educational, artistic, and political movements of t= he Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation Ages. Finally, the course examines the rise of secular influences, the rise and decline of feudalism, the emergenc= e of strong nation states, exploration and discovery, new advances in science and technology, and military developments. Credit: 3 semester hours=

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completio= n of the course, students will develop an understanding of the topics covered in the lectures, readings and classroom discussions so they can have a deeper appreciation of Western Heritage. In the process, the relevancy of Western Civilization to the understanding of present day economic, religious, political, intellectual, military and cultural events will be apparent.

TEXT=

Kagan, Donald, Ozment, Steven, and Turner, Frank. The Western Heritage. 9^th edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jers= ey: Prentice Hall, 2007.

Readings=

Please read this section very carefully and be aware o= f the implications for your successful progress in this course. History 2311 is designed to allow = you a successful and enjoyable introduction to Western Civilization. History 2311 should not be too dif= ficult for you if YOU KEEP UP WITH THE AS= SIGNED READINGS. This on-line course is organized ar= ound your text. Therefore, reading= (and re-reading) the chapters is more important in this course than in most trad= itional classroom courses. The instru= ctor does provide lecture notes and comments which may differ in focus and content from the text, but the readings are critical to your success.

Tentative Units and Te= st Dates*

All times lis= ted are Central (U. S.).

Unless stipul= ated otherwise, all availability begins at Midnight and ends at 11:59pm of stated date.

Sections diff= er in the amount of both time and material covered, so pay close attention to the following (most of this information will also be posted in the on-line calendar):

Unit #1

Section #1=3D August 27^th through Septem= ber 3^rd- Course introduction and Chapter #1, "The Birth of Civilization."<= /p>

Section #2=3D September 4^th through 11t^h- Chapter #2, "The Rise of Greek Civilization."

Section #3=3D September 12^th through Sep= tember 19^th Chapter #3, "Classic= al and Hellenistic Greece."

Section #4=3D September 20^th through Sep= tember 28^th - Chapter #4, "Rome: From Republic to Empire,” and review for Exam #1. Instru= ctor led review session (using Elluminate Live!) date and time TBA.

Exam #1=3D Available for 3 days (72 hours) beginning a= t 12:00 am on Saturday, September 29^th and ending on 11:59pm Monday, Oct= ober 1^st.

Unit #2

Section #5=3D September 29^th through October 6^th - Chapter #5, "The Roman Empire."= ;

Section #6=3D October 7^th through Octobe= r 17^th- Chapter #6, "Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages" and Chapter #7, "The High Middle Ages.”

Section #7=3D October 18^th through Octob= er 25^th- Chapter #8, "Medieval Society (1000-1300)."

Section #8=3D October 26^th through Novem= ber 1^st-Chapter #9, "The Late Middle Ages."

Review for Exam #2.&n= bsp; Instructor led review session (using Elluminate Live!) date and time TBA.

Exam #2=3D Available for 3 days (72 hours) beginning a= t 12:00 am on Friday, November 2^nd and ending on 11:59pm Sunday November= 4^th.

Unit #3

Section #9=3D <= /span>November 2^nd-November 9^th- Chapter #10, "Renaissance = and Discovery."

Section #10=3D November 10^th through Nov= ember 20^th- Chapter #11, "The Age of Reformation and Chapter #12, "The Age of Religious Wars."

Section #11=3D November 21^st through December 6^th- Both Chapter #13, "European S= tate Consolidation in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries" and Chapter= 14, “New Directions in Thought and Culture in the sixteenth and seventeen= th Centuries.” Review Sess= ion date and time TBA.   Instructor led review session (using Elluminate Live!= ) date and time TBA.

Exam #3=3D Available for 3 days (72 hours) beginning a= t 12:00 am on Tuesday, December 4^th through 11:59pm on Thursday, Decembe= r 6^th.

December 7^th&=
nbsp;and 8^th-Review for Comprehensive Fi= nal.

Comprehensive Final Available from 12:00am Sunday, Dec= ember 9^th through 11:59 pm Wednesday, December 12^th.

* All unit, section, and exam content and dates (except for final) are subjec= t to change at the instructor’s discretion.

Requirements/Grades

Participation &n= bsp; (15 points per section)    =             &nb= sp;         150 pts

Three major exams (100 pts. ea.)-            =             &nb= sp;       300 pts.

Comprehensive final- &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = 100 pts.

Quizzes (10 pts. ea.)-=             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            = 100 pts.

_______________________________________________

**Total        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;            650 points possible

A: ≥ 581; B: 580-516; C: 515-451; D: 450-386; F: ≤ 385

**YOU ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO TAKE ALL MAJOR EXAMS AND FINAL OR YOU WILL RECEIVE AN “F” FOR THE COURSE REGARDLESS OF YOUR POINT TOTAL.

Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students caught cheating (including copying, plagiarizing) on exams, quizzes, or any other assignment will receive, at the instructor’s discretion, an “F” on that exam/quiz/assignment and possibly an “F” for the course.

Participation<= /b>

Students are expected to read all assigned mat= erials (text, internet, etc.) and on-line lectures, to complete all writing assignments, to complete all quizzes, to participate actively and regularly in all on-line bulletin board class discussions including: 1). posting all of the required messages and responses. 2). reading all of the available messages and responses directed toward you and the ones marked Everyone = Read . 3). reading all of the other student postings because you never know which postings will be covered on t= he exam. 4). responding fully and intelligently to all assignments given by the instructor. As a rule of thumb (meaning this i= s a suggestion), students should be spending, on average, a minimum of 3 and on= e-half hours per week, on-line inside the History 2312 classroom. (See "Attendance” for additional information.)

The more regularly students participate in class, the= more successful in class they are likely to be!= (The same holds true for the reverse--the less regularly students participate in class, the less successful in class they are likely to be.)<= o:p>

The quality of postings is also important. Postings on the discussion board w= ill be divided into two parts. In the first part the instructor will post a series of questions for students to choose from on a first-come first-serve basis with NO repeats (unless all have been chosen). Answers here are trea= ted like a short essay and should be the equivalent of a word processing docume= nt about 3/4 to 1 page in length (double-spaced 12pt font). They are worth 5 points each per section.

In the = second part of the discussion board the instructor will lead a continuous class discussion in which all students MUST participate by making at least three postings per section. The purpose of this activity is to se= rve as a substitute for discussions in a traditional classroom environment. Theref= ore, this is an important part of the course and should be taken very seriously.= These student responses are more informal than the questions (although prop= er grammar and citations are still required) and can vary in length from 3-4 sentences to a few paragraphs. You can NOT make all three of your= postings at once because this is supposed to be an interactive discussion. In other words, at least one of your postings must be a few hours (3 at least) apart from your others or you will not receive full credit. WARNING: If a student simply lo= gs in one day and posts all 3 of her/his comments in a short period of time she/he will receive a 0 out of 10 for that sections discussion grade. Also, if the instructor asks a stu= dent to clarify or expand her/his response the student must do so within the time allotted for the section or within 48 hours if the question was asked at the end of the section. The discu= ssion postings are worth a total of 10 points per section.

Remember, Web CT does have a spell check feature when using = the HTML creator so there is no excuse for a large number of misspelled words in your postings.

If you quote the text, Internet, someone else’s posting, or any other source besides your brain, the material must be place= d in quotation marks and sourced using a parenthetical reference or an in-text reference.

For example, if you want to address an issue raised by another student, you must reference the other student. It should look something like this= :

I think that Jane Doe’s assertion “The An= cient Greeks are not as important to Western Civilization as the Ancient Egyptians” is incorrect because . . .

or this:

The Ancient Greeks defined chaos as “the dark, = silent abyss from which all things came into existence.” (http://www.ancientgreece.com/html/people&= nbsp;

frame.h= tm)

= A student's overall active, meaningful, and frequent = class participation will be considered when the participation grade is determined. This grade is approximately 23% of your total grade and is therefore, very important. It should NOT be considered an "easy A" because the instructor will be monitoring your participa= tion very closely. The instructor = will deduct points for poor quality participation just like a poor quality answe= r on an exam. A student must finish all postings during the time allotted for that section. Once a new section h= as begun you will not receive cre= dit for postings in the previous section(with the exception of a 48 hour period to answer instructor responses in the Classroom Discussion Section). See "Policy on Late Assignmen= ts and Makeup Work" below for more information.

=

Note from the instructor: I know this is confusing at first,= but after you complete the first section or two you will understand what is expected. There are 15 extra participation points built in so if you mess up the first time all is NOT lost.

Quizzes

I you complete all the quizzes you will have at least 1 drop. Quizzes inside the WebCT classroom= are timed and are subject to limited availability. This means that students will have not only a specific allotted amount of time to complete a quiz (such a= s 12 minutes) but also a specific window of time in which this quiz can be acces= sed and completed (usually the length of the section). Regarding quizzes, students should remember the following:

Quizzes are to be completed by each student individually. Students who collaborate on quizzes, share quiz questions, or share quiz answers will be subject to the Blinn College Scholastic Dishonesty policy, discussed under "Requirements/Grades" above.

Because quizzes are timed, any quiz answers that = are not saved when the allotted time expires will not be submitted (or accepted) for grading. (Students should click the "Save Answer" button after each question. Clicking this button wi= ll cause a check mark to appear next to the question number, indicating t= hat the answer has been saved).

Once a quiz question has been accessed, this ques= tion must be either answered or skipped in order to proceed to other questions. Students will have the opportunity to see and answer = each quiz question only once b= ecause questions cannot be revisited.

Students are responsible for accessing, completin= g, and submitting each quiz during the designated availability days and times. Students who do not access, complete, and submit a partic= ular quiz during the quiz's designated availability window will receive zer= os.

Each quiz should be accessed only once. (On= ce students access a quiz, even if the quiz is exited and not completed, = the quiz timer begins--and continues--to run. Exiting an accessed qu= iz, then, does not stop the allotted time limit from expiring.)

Major Exams and Comprehensive Final

All major exams (except for the Comprehensive Final) w= ill be available for three days (72hrs.). There will be 100 questions of which 80-90 will be multiple choice a= nd 10-20 will be short answer. Questions will come from the text chapters, discussion boards, instructor notes, and any other assigned readings. ALL MAJOR EXAMS AND THE FINAL MUST BE TAKEN OR YOU WILL RECEIVE AN “FR= 21; FOR THE COURSE REGARDLESS OF YOUR TOTAL POINTS.

All major exams and the final will be “locked down” meaning no other window or program will be allowed to function = on your computer while taking an exam. More information concerning this exam feature will be made available= to you prior to the first exam.

Extra Credit

1. Extra credit available to students is the successful completion of all the questions under "Western Civilization Documents CD-ROM." These must be answered and e-mailed to the instructor before the time allotted expires for the section that chapter is covered in class. If you complete this task (on time= ) for every chapter covered by an exam you could earn up to 3% points for the maj= or exam covering those chapters. You can gain these points for each major exam if you complete all of the questi= ons from the chapters covered by the exam.&nbs= p; If some of your answers are poorly done you will not earn all 3% poi= nts, in other words, quality does count here.&n= bsp; No late work will be accepted.

2. If you complete all your work on time and have participated fully in class (meaning you have taken every quiz/exam and posted everything required for all secti= ons) you will be allowed to double your comprehensive final grade and replace yo= ur lowest major exam grade with it. This does not help your participation or quiz grades in any way; it = only replaces your lowest major e= xam grade with the grade you made on the final. You can NOT skip a major exam a= nd use this opportunity to replace it. As a matter of fact if you skip a major exam or the final you automatically fail the entire course.=

Civility Statement

“Members of the Blinn College community, which includes faculty, staff and students, are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all aspects of campus life. Blinn College holds all m= embers accountable for their actions and words. Therefore, all members should comm= it themselves to behave in a manner that recognizes personal respect and demonstrates concern for the personal dignity, rights, and freedoms of every member of the College community, including respect for College property and= the physical and intellectual property of others. If a student is asked to leave the classroom [or is denied access to the on-line classroom] because of unc= ivil behavior [including language and/or tone], the student may not return to [or access] that class until he or she arranges a conference with the instructo= r: it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for this conference.= 221;

Students should remember the above when interacting with one another (and with the instructor) inside (or outside) the on-line classroom. In sh= ort, students should be respectful of others, both actually and virtually, wheth= er they are interacting face to face, on the telephone, inside private mail, inside the chat room, or inside the bulletin board.

The following guidelines (which apply to all communication inside the on-line classroom, including the bulletin board, private mail, the chat roo= m, and all other on-line components) help to ensure that the on-line classroom= is a positive and respectful learning environment:

Students should conduct themselves on-line as they would be expected to conduct themselves in a traditional classroom.
Students should respect the varying opinions and backgrounds of others; thus, the use of abusive, derogatory, harassing= , or profane language or tone inside the on-line classroom is inappropriate= and should be avoided.

Students should not type in all caps; as such typ= ing implies SHOUTING and is generally considered to be rude.

Students should remember that the on-line classro= om is not an entirely private setting. Blinn= College administrators do have access to the on-line classroom, and no on-line communication inside this classroom, not even inside Private Mail, is truly private.

Students should remember that communication in the on-line classroom is recorded. As a result, students should refr= ain from writing, posting, or sending any messages that they might later regret, as all messages inside the on-line classroom are easy to copy,= to forward, to print, etc. In other words, students should not gene= rate written messages that they would not actually say to someone else in person.

Because communication inside the on-line classroo= m is written and not oral, and because this written communication is receiv= ed without vocal tone, body language, or physical facial expressions, students should approach this communication carefully. Real peop= le, not just a computer, are the recipients of this communication, and as a result, on-line miscommunication is all too easy. The use of "emoticons," such as happy faces :-), can help to alleviate = some of this miscommunication.

Students should be considerate of the recipients = of their messages. These recipients should be greeted by name, shou= ld receive messages that are concisely and accurately titled (in the "subject line"), and should be presented with clear and grammatically correct written communication.

Students should not expect instant replies or responses to their messages, as other participants in the on-line classroom are not necessarily constantly or simultaneously on-line.
Students should remember that "flaming,"= ; or sending angry messages to others, must be avoided. (If a student= is tempted to send a hostile message to someone else, then that student should stop, take a break, and calm down. After the student is c= alm, a respectful message, as opposed to a hostile one, should be sent.)
Students should send questions or complaints about course requirements directly to the instructor via Private Mail inside= the on-line classroom. Broadcasted complaints in any form are both inappropriate and unacceptable; such complaints also become part of th= e class record.

Policy on Late Assignm= ents and Makeup Work

The College District believes that class attendance is essential for stu= dent success; therefore, students are required to promptly and regularly attend = all their classes. Each class meeting builds the foundation for subsequent class meetings. Without full participation and regular class attendance, students shall find themselves at a severe disadvantage for achieving success in college. Class participation shall constitute at least ten percent of the f= inal course grade. It is the responsibility of each faculty member, in consultat= ion with the division chair, to determine how participation is achieved in his = or her class. Faculty will require students to regularly attend class and will keep a record of attendance from the first day of class and/or the first day the student’s name appears on the roster through final examinations. = If a student has one section’= ;s worth of unexcused absences during the semester, he/she will be sent an e-mail (t= hat you registered in BORIS not the one on the class WebCT site) by the College requiring the student to contact his/her instructor and schedule a conference immediately to discuss her/her attendance issues. Should the student accumulate two = sections’ worth of unexcused absences, he/she will be administratively withdrawn from class. This is the policy = we will follow in this online class. It is identical to the new policy for traditional classes except we measure absences by sections rather than calendar weeks.

There are three forms of e= xcused absences recognized by the institution:

1. Observation of religious holy days – Sec. 51.911(b), Texas Education Code. An institution of higher education shall excuse a student attending classes and/or required activities, including examinations, for t= he observance of a religious holy day. A student whose absence is excused under this section may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to = take an examination or complete an assignment. The student should notify his or = her instructor(s) not later than the 15th day of the semester concerning the specific date(s) that the student will be absent for any religious holy day= (s); and

2. Representing the College District at an official institutional functi= on. If a student is asked by the College District to be an official representat= ive of the College District at any function approved by the institution, the student will be excused from any classes missed and must be allowed to comp= lete all work without penalty for that absence(s) in a timely manner as directed= by the faculty member.

3. A high school student representing the independent school district at= an official institutional function. If a high school student is asked by the independent school district to be an official representative of the school district at any function approved by the institution, the student shall be excused from any class missed and must be allowed to complete all work with= out penalty for the absence(s) in a timely manner as directed by the faculty me= mber.

Other absences may be excu= sed at the discretion of the faculty memb= er. You should contact the instructor prior to missing exam or participa= tion deadlines, but the student must contact the instructor within 3 days (after the final day the exam or parti= cipation period is available) if you wish to take a makeup or receive a participation extension.

If you do not contact the instructor during the three-= day period (real days not class days), you will receive a zero for that exam or participation grade. Makeups = can differ from the original test= s in format and length.

Participation grades– In the case of participati= on, you must have an official excuse for the entire participation period which = is usually at least one week.

More Detail on Attendance

·        Students are expected to participate actively and regularly in every class section for the course's duration. Students should be spending, on average, a minimum of three and one-half= hours per week on-line inside the History 2311 on-line classroom, just as students would be spending three and one-half hours per week physically attending cl= ass in a traditional classroom setting. Thus, students should expect to spend a minimum of ten to twelve hours per week actually working on this class<= /b>. (Students should plan to check their Private Mail accounts inside the WebCT classroom daily, as the instructor will regularly use these accounts for important classroom communication.)

·        An accurate, daily record of each student’s on-line attendance and participation is kept by the Web CT program itself.

·        Students are responsible for providing the instructor with verifiable evidence to substantiate any significant lack of participation in class. If students know in advance that, for more than a d= ay or two, they will not be participating on-line in class because of an extenuating circumstance*, then they should inform the instructor ahead of time. (Informing the instructor ahead of time ensures t= hat a new due date for assignments to be missed can be established before students actually miss these assignments. If this is impos= sible the instructor must be informed of the official excuse that covers the entire period the grade - whether exam or participation - was available within 3 days after or else the student recei= ves an automatic zero for all activities/exams.) Also, any time students = are off-line for more than a day or two, they are responsible, first, for knowi= ng whether additional assignments have been made, and, second, for obtaining a= ny missed on-line information.

*Note: Extenuating circumstances do not include illness unless the student notifies the instructor (via phone or e-mail) of the illness prior to or within 3 days of missing significant class deadlines and then rejoins class after the illness by mailing a doctor's note to the instructor. Notes and/or phone calls from parents will not be conside= red as excuses for absences. Likewise, difficulty in accessing a computer= is not an extenuating circumstance and will not be accepted as an excuse for absences. It is the responsibility of the student (not of the instruc= tor, Blinn College, or the Distance Education Office) to ensure that regular access to a computer (on weekdays, during the days, during the evenings, on weekends, and/or on holidays) is available.&n= bsp;

Quizzes – No guaranteed makeups unless you have = an official excused absence for the entire section that quiz covers (for examp= le a long serious illness).

ADA Statement

Bl= inn College would like = to help students with disabilities achieve their highest potential in college. In order to receive accommodations on examinations or assignments, proper documentation must fi= rst be provided to the Office of Disability Services located (at the Brenham campus) in room 104 of the New Administration Building (979 830 4157). The student m= ust then self-identify and conference with the ADA office to begin receiving accommoda= tions in a class.

Other Important Dates<= o:p>

Friday, August 31^st             =       Last day to register, change, or add classes

Friday, November 16^th             Last day to drop with a “W” grade&nb= sp;

Wednesday, November 21^st     Thanksgiving Holiday be= gins

Monday, November 26^th          Classes Resume
Friday, December 7^th         &= nbsp;   Final Exams begin