HIS-1011-VO01 -
Western Civilization I
Synonym: 72115
Location: Online
Credits: 3
Day/Times: Meets online
Semester Dates: 25-Jan-10 to 09-May-10
Instructor: Charles Emond
View Faculty Credentials
Materials/Lab Fees: $0
Course Description:
An introduction to the foundations of Western civilization up to the time of the formation of modern nation states. Students will study major events in Western civilization, together with social, political, and economic forces associated with them.
Essential Objectives:
1. Describe the emergence of ancient Egyptian and selected neolithic civilizations.
2. Analyze Hellenistic culture and its influence on the development of Western civilization.
3. Assess the rise, division and fall of the Roman Empire, and its relationship to the formation of European civilization.
4. Explain the tension between medieval thinkers and the society in which they lived.
5. Identify the new ideas and world views that characterized the Renaissance and evaluate their effect on European institutions.
6. Discuss the roles of women in the various societies and periods surveyed.
7. Analyze the continuing conflict between church and state, challenges to the ideal of a universal Christian church, and the ideological polarization of Europe after Luther.
8. Read primary sources, including diaries, letters, speeches and proclamations, and write historical analyses from primary sources.
9. Identify frame of reference, unstated assumptions, facts, and hypotheses in readings.
Additional Instructor Pre-Assignments/Notes/Comments:
Strolling in the Roman Forum
Athens, Greece (May 2009)
Methods:
History is a subject often thought by students to be dry and boring. I attempt in this course to make it interesting and yes, even exciting! I have taught it online for many years now and found that our wide-open weekly discussions usually include links to our own complex world as well as connections with and between those of the past. These discussions are often dynamic!
This is not a course where you will be required to memorize names, dates and facts! Rather, my focus is on helping you to develop a sense of an era and an easy familiarity with each culture we study. I want you to come away with a strong framework upon which to hang future references to those cultures which formed our own.
This course is based on an active discussion forum! I have found that most people learn best by reading new material and then discussing it
with others who have done the same reading. The various viewpoints and
backgrounds of the class participants always make our weekly discussion
forum an exciting place to be, and in taking this course you must be
prepared to spend time and energy every week
accessing the forum and participating in it with enthusiasm!
There are no tests or quizzes in this course. There is just the
assigned reading in
your texts, the assigned weekly reading of my brief notes, the discussion forum and the
weekly written responses. Toward the end of the course there is a very
short research project on a topic of your choice which is shared with
your classmates for their comments.
I
also provide one-on-one interaction with each student through the weekly written response.
These responses are not shared with the rest of the class, they are emailed to me
and I like it when a student makes them his/her own.The best of these
engage me in dialogue based on the reading and on the topics under
study.
I can always be contacted by direct email at vtcje@sover.net and I will respond immediately. Please email me if you have any questions about this course or if you just want to chat with me before signing up.
Evaluation Criteria:
1.
You must participate in the weekly discussion forum in a manner that
demonstrates that you have done the assigned reading. My expectations
are that you will check in, follow the discussion and get involved
enough to post a minimum of three times a week on three different days.
This minimum will earn you a grade of
D. Students who wish receive an A get involved early and stay involved
throughout the discussion. Participation in these discussions accounts
for 50% of your grade.
2. The weekly written
responses must show the way in which YOU are thinking in response to
the subject matter of the course and must be carefully done and turned
in on time. I should also be able to tell from these that you have done
the assigned reading.These responses account for 30% of your grade.
3. If a response is
more than one week late without any explanation or excuse, or if you
are absent from two discussion forums without an explanation or excuse, you will receive an automatic F in this course. 4.
You must have and maintain a viable email address which you check
daily. We need to be able to communicate with each other throughout the
semester
5.
Your grades will be reported to you every week and you will always know
precisely how you are doing and where you stand in this course.
6. You must post an
acceptable, college-level longer essay (term project) as scheduled and
read the posted essays of your classmates. This accounts for the remaining 20% of your grade.
7.
Throughout the semester, opportunities will be given to earn extra
credit in order to make up for any grades with which you are not
satisfied.
Textbooks:
Spring 2010 textbook data was uploaded on January 1. We strongly suggest that you verify the information below with our online bookseller EdMap before purchasing textbooks from another vendor. If your course is at the Burlington site, check the UVM Bookstore for textbook and pricing information.
A History of Western Society Volume 1 - 9/e, ISBN: 9780312683115,
$102.26
Faculty Contact Information:
Email Address: Charles.Emond@ccv.edu
Hiring Coordinator for this course: John Christensen - jdc03020@ccv.vsc.edu
Syllabus:
Course outline
Week #1 Read Chapter 1
Discuss general historical concepts
Week #2 Read Chapter 2
Discuss Chapter 1: Origins
Week #3 Read Chapter 3
Discuss Chapter 2: Kingdoms & Empires in the Near East
Week #4 Read Chapter 4
Discuss Chapter 3: Classical Greece
Week #5 Read Chapter 5
Discuss Chapter 4: Hellenistic World
Week #6 Read Chapter 6
Discuss Chapter 5: The Rise of Rome
Week #7 Read Chapter 7
Discuss Chapter 6: Pax Romana
Week #8 Read Chapter 8
Discuss Chapter 7: Late Antiquity
Week #9 Read Chapter 9
Discuss Chapter 8: Early Middle Ages
Week #10 Read Chapter 10
Discuss Chapter 9: State & Church in the High Middle Ages
Week #11 Read Chapter 11
Discuss Chapter 10: The Changing Life of People in the Middle Ages
Week # 12 Read Chapter 12
Discuss Chapter 11: Creativity and Challenges of Medieval Cities
Week # 13 Read Chapter 13
Discuss Chapter 12: Crisis of the Later Middle Ages
Week #14 Read Chapter 14
Discuss Chapter 13: The Age of the Renaissance
Week #15
Discuss Chapter 14: Reformations and Religious Wars
Discuss term
Final forum and class closes on Friday.
Please note: In order to receive accommodations for disabilities in this course, students must make an appointment to see the Americans with Disabilities Coordinator in their site
and bring documentation with them.
Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.
Course description details subject to change. Please refer to this document frequently.
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