HIST1111 -- World Civilizations I (CRN 20567) 3 credit hours
Georgia Highlands College, Spring Semester 2010
TR 11-12:15pm, Room I-129
Dr.
Goals and Outcomes
During this course, I hope each of you will improve your
skills in the following areas: written communication, critical thinking,
international issues, and historical knowledge. Specifically we will examine
the following two learning outcomes:
1)
Students will
demonstrate knowledge of current and historical social systems
2)
Students will understand historical issues
pertinent to their coursework in the humanities.
Your
tests and papers are designed with these in mind. You will strive to synthesize
and analyze the material, not just spit it out on a test. My personal goal is
for you to understand and recognize the importance of some area of history that
you had never considered before.
The specific content goals
for HIST1111 include the following:
1)
The student will
understand the emergence of Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations in the Fertile
Crescent and be able to compare and contrast these two ancient cultures.
2)
The student will
understand the Classical cultures of Greece and Rome and why their influence
continues to shape western political and philosophical thought and artistic
conventions.
3)
The student will
understand the culture and politics of ancient China and India.
4)
The student will
understand the ways in which the Medieval Period represents the breakdown of
the Roman Empire, the impetus for the rise of European nation states, and the
development of the Christian Church as a binding agent for the West.
5)
The student will
understand the impact of the birth of Islam.
6)
The student will
understand how the Renaissance gives re-birth to Classical Culture through
humanism whereby art, philosophy, and politics are transformed from a
predominantly clerical society to an increasingly secular one.
7)
The student will
understand the rise and fall of Islamic empires and their relationship with the
West.
8)
The student will
understand the European age of exploration, including the impact of the
Columbian Exchange, trans-Atlantic Slavery, triangular trade and the creation
of the modern, integrated Atlantic economy.
9)
The student will
understand how the Protestant Reformation shattered the Christian unity of
Europe and how the Catholic Counter-Reformation led to a century of religious
wars.
These are the historical
events and concepts that I want you to understand this semester.
Texts
Robert Edgar, et. al., Civilization, Past & Present, Vol. I ,
12th edition (Pearson-Longman: 2008)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
Make-ups
Please make separate arrangements with me in the event
you must miss an exam and need a make-up. The make-up must be taken within one
week of the missed exam and will include one extra essay.
Participation
Regular participation, attendance, and the turning in of
assignments are expected. 5% of your total grade is based on participation.
Academic Integrity
Having academic integrity is paramount in any class.
Plagiarism or cheating is not tolerated. Any instance of this will result in a
grade of zero for that assignment. All instances must be reported to the Office
of Student Life, resulting in serious academic repercussions. See the following
site from the GHC Student Handbook: http://www.highlands.edu/campuslife/handbook/html/academic_integrity_code.htm
Disability Statement
If you feel that you need
accommodation(s) due to a disability, please feel free to discuss this with me
early in the semester. Georgia Highlands College has resources available for
students with certain disabilities. Accommodations (such as providing materials
in alternative formats, assuring physical access to classrooms or being
sensitive to interaction difficulties that may be posed by communication and/or
learning disabilities) may be made through Student Support Services on all
campuses. For more information please contact 706-295-6336.
Financial Aid
This message only
applies to students receiving financial aid. Federal regulations state that
if a student did not attend classes and received failing grades, then the
grades were not earned and financial aid needs to be reduced accordingly. Please be advised that any student
receiving a 0.00 GPA will be required to prove that the 0.00 GPA was earned by
attending classes or completing requirements for each class. Students
who have earned at least one passing grade for the semester will not be
affected by this regulation. If a student has properly withdrawn from all
classes, the students financial aid should be adjusted from the time they
signed the withdrawal form.
Extended Absence Policy
Students,
who have circumstances that prevent them from continuing to attend classes over
an extended period of time, sometimes request that the faculty member permit
them to submit work in absentia to receive credit to complete the course. If
the concurrent absences will constitute more than 15% of the class sessions for
the term, then written permission from the Division Chair is required before
any course assignments can be completed while missing class. The student must be in good academic standing
in the course to make the request. All
approved coursework must be completed by the end of the semester in which the
course was begun. (Note: If a program has a more stringent absence policy than
this, then the program policy prevails.)
IC@GHC
GHC has developed a program
called IC@GHC, which relates to Information Competency, or being able to
efficiently find, select, and use information.
The
mission of IC@GHC is to create a curriculum-wide culture of information
competency (IC) among students, which will be demonstrated through writing or other modes of communication. You may find your
other teachers emphasizing these skills in class, and we will also,
particularly as they relate to historical research.
Tests
There will be three exams this semester, including a
non-comprehensive final. All exams are part short answer, part essay, and will
be based on class lecture, discussion, and the text. Please bring three blue exam books (available in this bookstore) to me
this week. These are what you
will use for the exams. They will count the following percentages toward your
final grade: exam 1 -- 20%; exam 2 -- 20%; final 20%. 5% of your grade will
come from class participation. The remaining 35% of your grade will come from
two additional assignments: a research paper (20%) and an analytical paper
based on The Epic of Gilgamesh (15%).
Research Paper
You will complete a six
page typed, double-spaced research paper on a topic of your choice. They only requirements
are that I approve your topic, that it be historical
(from the period we are studying this semester), and that you use at least four sources, one of which is to be a
primary source (written during the time period that your paper is about). If you
choose to use a web site as a source, you may use only one. Neither your
textbook nor encyclopedias count as sources. They are good for background,
however. Remember the following important dates: Tues., Jan. 26 -- turn in a possible topic; Tues., March 9 -- turn in thesis statement and list of sources; Tues., April 20 -- turn in paper. Your
paper can come to me either as hard copy, on a disk, or as an attachment to
email. If you send it electronically, it is due before class starts on Nov. 18.
You will need a bibliography page in addition to your six full pages of text.
You must document your sources in this paper, using MLA or Chicago Manual of
Style format. We will work on developing a thesis for your paper in class.
Analytic Paper
This paper is to be three-four
pages in length (800-1000 words) and is due Thurs., Feb. 25. You will choose a more focused topic on the Gilgamesh text from a list that I will
provide. No matter what topic you choose, your paper should address historical
significance how does what you are discussing reflect upon their culture and
era?
Class Outlines please read the chapters in your Edgar text before
class. Even though I will not read to you from the text, it is your tool for
study and a deeper understanding. If you read the material before class each
time, you will better understand the topic for the day and be able to more
effectively participate in class discussion.
Tues., Jan. 12 Introduction
to class
Thurs., Jan. 14 Prehistory (Ch.
1)
Tues., Jan. 19 Mesopotamia (Ch.
1) please have read Gilgamesh
Thurs., Jan. 21 Mesopotamia
and Egypt (Ch. 1)
Tues., Jan. 26 Egypt (Ch. 1). Possible term paper topic due.
Thurs., Jan. 28 Research
paper discussion
Tues., Feb. 2 Egypt (Ch. 1)
Thurs., Feb. 4 China (Ch.
2)
Tues., Feb. 9 India (Ch. 3)
Thurs., Feb. 11 Greece (Ch.
4)
Tues., Feb. 16 Greece (Ch.
4)
Thurs., Feb. 18 Dr. Musselwhite gone, no class
Tues., Feb. 23 Exam 1
Thurs., Feb. 25 Rome (Ch. 5). Gilgamesh paper due.
Tues., March 2 Rome (Ch. 5)
Thurs., March 4 Rome and the East (Chs. 5-6). Midterm the last day to withdraw without
penalty
Tues., March 9 Islam (Ch. 7). Thesis
statement and list of sources due.
Thurs., March 11 Africa
(Ch. 8)
Week of March 15 -- no class, Spring Break
Tues., March 23 Middle Ages
(Ch. 9)
Thurs., March 25 Middle
Ages (Ch. 9)
Tues., March 30 Middle Ages
(Ch. 9)
Thurs., April 1 Exam 2
Tues., April 6 Asia (Ch.
10)
Thurs., April 8 The
Americas (Ch. 11)
Tues., April 13 Eurasian
Empires (Ch. 12)
Thurs., April 15 Asia, II
(Ch. 13)
Tues., April 20 Renaissance (Ch. 14). Term paper due.
Thurs., April 22 Renaissance
(Ch. 14)
Tues., April 27 Reformation
(Ch. 15)
Thurs., April 29 Reformation (Ch. 15). Last day of class.
Tues., May 11 10:00am-12:00pm Final Exam