HS 101 History of World Civilization I SYLLABUS

4 Semester Credit Hours
Prerequisite Courses: CS112 and EN111
Instructor: Richard W. Elder
---Start Anytime---
Office: College Library, relder@bmcc.edu Telephone: 800-844-BMCC (2622)   Last Syllabus Modification - 6/01/06

The music on this syllabus is the World War I song .... As The Caissons Go Rolling Along (click this link to learn more about the song).  

"The cure for fear is facts." ---Dan Rather CBS Evening News ---10-12-01

Table of Contents:
 

Course Objectives	Class Calendar
APA Format Guide (Term Paper Instructions)	Student Grades
Class Grading, Point System, and Evaluation
Attendance and Class Participation
Universal Intellectual Standards
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
Frequently Asked Questions and Frequent Issues Page

BMCC Policies
All students please review the following policies and procedures

Student Handbook : (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/index.html).
Drop or Add a Class : (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/index.html#course).
Book Refund and Book BuyBack Policies:(http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/vbookstore.html)
Billing or an outstanding bill: (http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/billingProcedures.html).
Information about class schedules and transcripts:(http://www.bmcc.edu/StudentServices1/Handbook/transcripts.html).

Unacceptable Use of Internet Resources

The modern Internet has presented a new and easy way to plagiarize works of others. The cutting and pasting of documents from the Internet and turning them in as one's own work is highly unethical. If copied documents are turned in as one's own without proper source documentation this is also considered plagiarism.

The Negative Results of Substantiated Plagiarism

The consequences of substantiated plagiarism in this class are as follows:

A student who has plagiarized will lose all credit (class points) for the plagiarized work. A grade of F (0) will be placed in the student's records for the plagiarized assignment(s). A second substantiated incidence of plagiarism will result in a grade of F for the entire course.

Purpose of the Course:

This course is a survey of the history of World Civilization from its prehistoric roots through the year 1740. This study will investigate the origin and development of cultural trends from the civilizations of the Americas, Asia, India, and the Mediterranean through the era of European Feudalism, culminating in the emergence of modern Europe. This course will include a study of political history, philosophy, and literature. HS 101 meets a social science or humanities elective and is a required course in the Teacher Education Program. Prerequisite Courses: CS112 and EN111.

Course Objectives:

1) Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge about several early human civilizations from the Paleolithic Age through the time frame of the Mesopotamian culture by explaining in a written essay about the achievements, religious beliefs, and cultural practices of the early Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Greek societies. Furthermore, students will be able to demonstrate through written definition the meaning of the word Neolithic and Paleolithic.

4) To engage students in a written discussion about the evolution of the Roman society from that of Royal Rome, Republican Rome, and Imperial Rome. To allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the evolutionary changes which took place in Roman society through a series of  written essays in which students are to expostulate about Rome and demonstrate critical thinking skills in which the topic is clearly explained and the relevancy of the facts presented are in agreement with the question presented in the essay topic.

5)  To encourage students to gain knowledge of the Middle Ages (476-1527), and to be able to demonstrate knowledge of the vibrant changes that occurred between 476 and 1527 by being able to demonstrate knowledge gained  through written essays about Charlemagne, The Christian Crusades to the Holy Land, the Black Death, the relationship between peasants and the nobility, the importance of the printing press, and the Reformation.  Students should be able to demonstrate a depth of knowledge on each of these key topics in which they write definitively and with clarity on each of the pertinent topics presented here concerning the Middle Ages.

6) This section only applies to on campus students in this class. To motivate students to critically assess four topics in Western Civilization, and allow for students to demonstrate the ability to interact with other history students who are researching and formulating ideas and hypothesising on the topics which have been presented for research and discussion via the class Message Board. Students will demonstrate proficiency concerning the subject matter by posting relevant comments to the class Message Board.

Student Outcomes as a Result of Taking this Course:

Upon completion of HS 101 students will have gained an understanding of the origin and development of cultural trends of the civilizations of the Americas, Asia, India, and the Mediterranean through the era of European Feudalism; culminating with the emergence of modern Europe. Students will also have gained an understanding of political history, philosophy, and literature. 

Textbook:

Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment, Frank M. Turner.,
       The Western Heritage, Vol. 1, 9th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
       Education (Prentice Hall), 2007.

Class Calendar:

The textbook you are to use for this semester is fourteen chapters long. If you decide to enroll in the second semester of the World Civilization sequence of this class you will start HS 102, World Civilization II with Chapter 16.

Part 1

The Foundations of Western Civilization

1,000,000 B.C. E. - 400 C.E.

Week 1:

Introduction to the History of World Civilization I. Chapter 1, The Birth of Civilization: Early Humans and their Culture, and Early Civilizations to about 1000 B.C. Egyptian Civilization -- the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom. Ancient Near Eastern Empires, the Hittites, Assyrians, and Palestine.

The requirements for the term paper can be found by clicking on the APA format link on the syllabus.

Week 2:

Chapter 2, "The Rise of Greek Civilization: The Minoans and Mycenaeans, the Greek Migrations and the Age of Homer, the Polis, the Hoplite Phalanx, and the Expansion of the Greek World. Also be sure to know about Sparta and Athens.

Week 3:

Begin Chapter 3, Classical and Hellenistic Greece: the Delian League and the Athenian Empire, The Peloponnesian Wars and the Fall of Athens. The Macedonians and the Hegemony of Sparta, and Alexander the Great, and Hellenistic Culture.

Week 4:

Begin Chapter 4, Rome from Republic to Empire: the Etruscans, Royal Rome, the Republic, Rome and Carthage, and the Punic Wars. The Republic's Conquest of the Hellenistic World, Marius, Sulla, and the Jugurthine War, the Fall of the Republic, Julius Caesar, the Triumvirate, and Octavian.

Week 5:

Chapter 5, The Roman Empire: Administration, Army, Religion, Cicero, Ovid, Horace, and Imperial Rome. The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Emergence of Catholicism, The Crisis of the Third Century, Barbarian Invasions, and the Decline of the Western Roman Empire. Exam No.1, Chapters 1 - 4.

Part 2

The Middle Ages 476 C.E. - 1300 C.E.

Week 6:

Chapter 6, Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Creating A New European Society and Culture (476 - 1000) Germanic Migrations, the Byzantine Empire, Islam and the Islamic World, the Developing Christian Church in Europe, Papal Primacy The Kingdom of the Franks, the Merovingians and Carolingians, The Reign of Charlemagne, and the Breakup of the Carolingian Kingdom.

Week 7:

Chapter 7, The High Middle Ages: The Rise of European Empires and States (1000 - 1300) Reviving the Catholic Church, the First, Second, and Third Crusade, Innocent III, Battles of Hastings and Bouvines, William the Conqueror, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Magna Carta. The America's during the Middle Ages, a look at Native American culture prior to the arrival of Columbus, the Hopewell Indians, the Copper Culture, the City of Cahokia and the Mississippian Culture, the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas. The Hohenstaufen Empire, Medieval Russia and the Mongol invasion of Russia.

Week 8:

Chapter 8 Medieval Society: Hierarchies, Towns, Universities, and Families (1000 - 1300) Nobles, Clergy, Peasants, Towns, Education, and the Women of Medieval Society. We will also turn our attention to North American Indian civilizations; circa 1000 - 1300. Are you aware that near the location of modern day St. Louis, there once thrived a Native American city of at least 30,000 inhabitants--- Cahokia ?
 

Please click here to fill out a midterm evaluation form. We are asking students to do this at the mid point in each course.

Part 3

Europe in Transition 1300 - 1750

Week 9:

Chapter 9, The Late Middle Ages: Social and Political Breakdown 1300 - 1453) The Hundred Years War, the Black Death, the Papacy of the Late Middle Ages, the Avignon Papacy and the Crisis in the Church, the Councils of Pisa, Constance, Basel, and Ferrara-Florence.

Week 10:

Chapter 10, Renaissance and Discovery: The Italian city-states, Florence, Naples, Venice, Milan, and Rome. Italy's Political Decline, the Medici and Borgia Families, and Niccolo Machiavelli. The Northern Renaissance, the Voyages of Discovery, the Spanish Empire in the Americas, and the Economy of Exploitation. Exam No. 2 is to be taken this week.

Week 11:

Chapter 11, The Age of Reformation: Society, Religion, Martin Luther, and the German Reformation to 1525. The Reformation Elsewhere, the English Reformation, the King's Affair, Catholic Reforms, and the Counter-Reformation. Ignastius of Loyola and the Jesuits, and the Church in Spanish America.

Week 12:

Chapter 12, The Age of Religious Wars: the French Wars of Religion and the Appeal of Calvinism, Catherine de Medicis, Henry of Navarre, and The Edict of Nantes, England and Spain, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, The Thirty Years War, The Treaty of Westphalia. 

Week 13:

Chapter 13, European State Consolidation in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Republic, and the "Glorious Revolution". The Rise of Absolute Monarchy in France, Louis XIV, King by "Divine Right", Versailles, and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Rise of Absolute Monarchy in France, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia Enters the European Political Arena. 

Week 14:

Your term paper is due this week. Attach and e-mail it to the instructor.

Chapter 14, New Directions in Thought and Culture in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Scientific Revolution, Nicholaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Witch Panics and Witch Hunts, Philosophy in the Wake of Science, and John Locke: Defender of Moderate Liberty. Your class term paper is due this week. 

Week 15: Final Exam.

Please click here to fill out a end of the semester evaluation form. We are asking students to do this at the end of each course.

Attendance and Class Participation:

This on-line course does not require attendance per-se. There is no requirement for weekly or periodic on-line chats in this course. The instructions for signing on to the college chat room are provided in case it may become necessary to have real time contact with the instructor. The chat room will be our means of doing this if needed. You may contact the instructor at other times by e-mail or telephone (e-mail is the preferential method). Important Note: This course is designed so that there is one assignment due per week for each week of this course. If difficulties arise with the schedule you are responsible for contacting the instructor by e-mail.

Attendance (for on campus students) and class participation in HS 101 is highly recommended. In nearly every class situation it has been shown time and time again that regular attendance improves a student's understanding of subject matter and success in the course being studied. This class will meet thirty times. Each student may miss four classes for any reason without any negative consequences toward his or her final grade. Each absence in excess of four will result in a 2% reduction in your final grade for this course. Excused absences will be allowed on a case-by-case basis with prior notification to the instructor. The instructor may wave this rule if in his opinion the lack of attendance is for a legitimate and unavoidable reason. Furthermore, students need to attend at least 75% of all classes to receive a passing grade.

Class Grading and Point System:

Exam # 1--------------------------------------------	100 points
Exam # 2--------------------------------------------	100 points
Exam # 3--------------------------------------------	100 points
Term Paper------------------------------------------	100 points
On-Line Quizzes-----------------------------------	100 points
Discussion Group Essays  (On Campus Only)	100 points

A term paper of five to eight pages in length will be required and is due at the end of Week 14.  This may be attached and sent to the instructor by e-mail. The paper must be in APA format (refer back to link at top of syllabus for the APA format guide). The term paper may be on any topic covered by the time frame of the textbook, which is of interest to the student. Please advise your instructor of your intended topic so that you do not pick something too difficult to research for a 100 level (first year) history class.

Evaluation and Grading Conversion:
 

A	= 94 - 100%	C	= 74 - 76%
A-	= 90 - 93%	C-	= 70 - 73%
B+	= 87 - 89%	D+	= 67 - 69%
B	= 84 - 86%	D	= 64 - 66%
B-	= 80 - 83%	D-	= 60 - 63%
C+	= 77- 79%	F	= 00 - 59%

There are 500 possible class points for on-line students and 600 for on campus students. Let's assume that a student earned the following grades in HS 101. This is how the student's grade would be calculated: the student earned a 71 on exam 1, an 89 on exam 2, a 78 on exam 3, a 90 on the term paper and a 98 on the on-line quizzes. The student therefore earned a total of 426 class points. 426 divided by 500 equals 85.2 which rounds down to an 85. This hypothetical student would have earned a B in this class.

Statement on Late Papers, Exams, and Classroom Decorum:

Late papers, exams, and quizzes will be subject to a 10% grade reduction. Papers, exams, and quizzes are considered late if they are not submitted to the college by e-mail by the close of the day (11:59 p.m) on the seventh day of the week which is counted from the date of your original class enrollment as provided to your instructor by the Virtual College office.

Important Message From Your Instructor There are a few things I need to clarify with all on-line students: Effective November 17, 2005 this message pre-empts the previous on-line course policy concerning class work which is submitted late. On-line classes offer a lot of flexibility to students -- the flexibility in on-line classes relates to what time of day you choose to do your assignments and which day you choose to do the assignment as long as the course work comes in on time per the syllabus. In each on-line class taught by Rick Elder there should be one assignment arriving on a weekly basis. Assignments that arrive late will be assessed a late submission grade reduction of 10%. Here is how your instructor keeps track of timeliness --- if a student enrolls in a class on June 1st, the first course work would be due seven days later on June 7th by 11:59 p.m. If the work arrives on June 8th it will be considered late, and the grade will be reduced by 10%. Late work is hard to manage for both the student and your instructor. Also... 1. You are expected to finish any on-line class you enroll in by the class ending date that the Virtual College office provides to your instructor. Your instructor considers 11:59 p.m. to be the end of the day for on-line classes. 2. Class work needs to be turned in on a regular basis, weekly assignments need to come in on a weekly basis.  Assignments that do not come in on a weekly basis will lose 10% of the potential class points for the assignment, thus late work can have a negative impact on your grade in this course. 3. On-line classes can offer a lot of flexibility and convenience to both student and instructor, but on rare occasions, some students have decided to wait until a day or two before a class is to be completed before turning in the bulk of the course work. This practice is not acceptable! Work that is turned in more than three weeks past the scheduled due date will receive a grade of O points (F).   4. If any difficulties arise in your life that may impede your progress in this class, please communicate with your instructor. Arrangements to help you can be made -- before deadlines have passed, and a valid reason has been presented, but not after deadlines have passed. I thank you for your cooperation in making the on-line experience a good one for all of us that are involved in on-line education. Your instructor,  Rick Elder, BMCC

Because this is a college class, on-line language is expected to be of a mature and non-offensive nature. Student work that is more than two weeks late will not be accepted for a grade at all; barring extenuating circumstances that the instructor is made aware of in advance of the two week deadline.

Statement on Academic Integrity:

All work turned in for grading is expected to be your own original work.  Plagiarism is unacceptable.

Statement on BMCC's Cultural Activities:

Because BMCC is a tribally sponsored Community College, participation by the student body in various cultural activities enhances both student and faculty awareness of Native American culture. Some of these activities are pot-luck dinners, talking circles, and ceremonial drumming, to name a few. All members of the BMCC community are encouraged to attend these activities that are practiced on a college wide basis. Although many on-line students may not be able to attend, due to distance from the campus, please know that if you are in the area and wish to attend any cultural activities you are very welcome to do so.

  

Statement on Transferability:

Bay Mills Community College participates in the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRO) Articulation Agreement. This History course does fit into the MACRO Agreement. This Agreement provides BMCC students with more assurance of having their general education requirements completed when they transfer to a participating four year school (See the current BMCC Catalog for a complete explanation of MACRO).

It is wise to check with the institution of higher learning that you intend to transfer to in order to make absolutely sure that any course you have taken with BMCC or any other college will transfer to your intended four year school.

Note: If because of unforeseen circumstances it becomes necessary to change this syllabus you will be notified in advance by the instructor. I (student) have had a chance to read, review, and ask questions about the syllabus for HS 101. Furthermore, I understand the sections of the syllabus concerning how the final grade will be calculated. By clicking this link and filling out the form I (the student) acknowledge that I understand the syllabus.