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History is an attempt to understand the
stories of the past. We
must not ignore dates and facts, but interpretations define
the way we view the world around us.
Course
Information:
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Course: |
Western
Civilizations I (13 week) |
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Section: |
Hist 101.040 |
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Semester: |
Fall 2025 |
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Date/Time: |
Mon/Wed = 4:00 - 5:45pm |
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Location: |
LR 263 |
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Name: |
John
(Kinch) Kincheloe |
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What is this
Course? |
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Email: |
jkincheloe@nvcc.edu |
What do I
need to do? |
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Phone |
(703)948-7571 |
How do I
do assignments? |
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Office
Location: |
LC
328
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What
are the course rules? |
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Website: |
- Although often falsely depicted as a
linear and inevitable march of increasingly complex cultures,
Western Civilization can better be classified as an amalgamation
of hundreds of different civilizations interacting
and learning from one another. This course
examines numerous Western Civilizations to better
comprehend how nomadic, agricultural, African, European, Middle
Eastern, pagan, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian societies
contributed to the development of present day Western
Civilization. In
the process you just might gain a better understanding of the complexity of
the various cultures in this age of
increasing globalization.
By
the end of the semester you should:
-Develop
your own understanding of “Modern Western Civilization” and
how the numerous civilizations of the western world
contributed to such a society.
-Organize
your own ideas on the relationship of early civilizations to
present day cultures throughout the Western World.
-Be able
to devise original arguments about historical trends and
events and prove them using both primary and secondary
information.
Course
Description
HIS 101 surveys the general history of Western civilization from about 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and allows students to reach a basic understanding of the characteristic features of Western civilization's early historical development in that span of time. Students will learn about some of the important political, economic, social, intellectual, cultural and religious changes that shaped the development of the West.
Topics to be Included
NOTICE
Lectures may contain disturbing content,
including, but not limited to: violence, sexual assault, war
crimes, genocide, mental or physical illnesses or
disabilities, discrimination or
persecution on the basis of gender, race,
ethnicity, religion, and/or sexual orientation, etc. If you
have been personally impacted by one or more of these topics
and suffer from
PTSD, please email the professor if you
would like prior notification of lectures containing
discussions of the effecting topics.
This
is a writing intensive course so an introductory English course
is highly recommended.
There
are no books to purchase for this class. All textbooks and
monographs are free Open Online Resources linked below:
-Textbook (online)= - Open Textbook Library: Western
Civilization
(Alternative
Google Doc/PDF based textbook format: Click here)
-Additional online materials will be
made available via the Course Schedule.
-Tip= Use nightlight or nightshift
screen setting to make reading online easier. (How
to turn off Blue Light-click here)
Class
Date
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Topic:
Face-to-Face
Meeting
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Group Discussion |
Reading
/ Assignments
(to be
completed before the class)
Monday- Read
Textbook
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(Sep. 10) |
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Introduction Assignment |
Read WC (Textbook) : Introduction
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| Section
1 = Ancient Cultures ???-200 BCE |
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Map Quiz 1 due |
Read WC (Textbook):
Ch. 1 & Ch. 2
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Read WC (Textbook): Ch. 3
& Ch.
4
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(Sep. 29 &
Oct. 1)
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The Aegean
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Read WC (Textbook):
Ch. 5 &
Ch. 6
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| Section 2 = Roman Age (753 BCE-1204 CE) | ||||
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Read WC (Textbook): Ch. 7
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(Oct. 13 No class) |
The Roman Republic 753B.C.E.–305 B.C.E. |
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Read WC (Textbook):
Ch. 8
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(Oct. 20 & 22) |
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Read WC (Textbook): Ch. 9
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Week 8
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The Rise of Monotheism Islam and the Jesus Cult |
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Read WC (Textbook):
Ch. 10 & Ch. 11
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| Section
3 =Medieval Age (793-1600 CE) |
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and the Viking Age |
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Read WC (Textbook): Ch. 12 & Ch. 13Read Primary Sources:-On the Resurrection, by Justin Martyr-The Didache: The Twelve Apostles To The Nations-THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S LAST SERMON |
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Battle of the Mediterranean: The
Early Medieval age.
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Read WC (Textbook): Vol. 2 -Ch. 1Read Primary Sources-Capture
of Constantinople: (Crusaders)
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Week 11
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Middle Ages: 309-1517 |
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Read WC (Textbook): Vol. 2 -Ch. 2Read Primary Sources-Pope Innocent III - Letters on Papal Policy- -Emperor Henry IV Concerning a Truce of God-Interrogation Techniques, by Gui |
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Week 12
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Group 8 -Discussion Research Project due |
Read WC (Textbook): Vol. 2 - Ch. 3 & Ch. 6 |
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(Dec. 1 & 3) |
Presentations |
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Read WC (Textbook): Vol. 2 - Ch. 5 |
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Week 14
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\ |
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All assignments
are graded on a 100 point scale and averaged accordingly to the
percentages listed below.
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Assessment
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Percentage
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Grading
Scale |
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Participation/Group
Presentation |
10 |
Exceeds Expectation |
A |
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Argumentative Papers
(2) |
30 |
Meets Exceptions |
B/C |
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Class Notes Submissions
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30 |
Needs Improvement |
D/F |
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o Group
Presentations
Discussion
lead --Click Here for detailed
instructions.
-Your group will
present on and lead discussion of the primary sources assigned
for your week. (Wed.)
o
Participation
§ Attendance &
Engagement
It is each
students responsibility to check in on
"Qwickley."
§ Assessment
Introduction,
Mapping assignments, and Reading quizzes will take
place across the semester.
o
Utilizing
readings from primary sources, books, and the textbook.
o
All
paper have unlimited resubmissions to "Meet Expectations
o Class Notes Submission
§
Three
times during the semester you will need to submit your
Class notes from lecture and discussion for assessment.
o
Research Project (click here for
instructions)
§ Across
the semester you will propose, research, compose a script,
then create a video to be watched in class.
- All additional readings,
assignments, and course materials can be found in the schedule
above.
-All assignments and quizzes need to
be submitted in Canvas.
-All feedback will be given through
Canvas.
All papers must be written/composed
in Google Docs.
E-mail submissions will not be accepted.
Formatting:
All Papers should be double
spaced, using 12 point Arial font, and one inch margins.
Style and Grammar:
You must present your arguments in clear, concise, and
grammatically correct English. Make sure to proofread and
use spell-check. For information on writing papers for this
class, make sure to read Kinch’s writing guide . You also
might want to consult the following handy websites:
o NVCC Loudoun's Writing Center
Citations:
You
MUST include a formal citation any time you refer to a specific
passage in a text, even if you do not quote the text
directly. The required method for citing sources in this
class is Chicago Style
formatting for footnote citations.
According to this format, you “Insert Footnote” (under
references) and enter the citation information as laid out in
this link.
Assignment Late
Policy
-Essay Papers= Late papers can be submitted multiple
times after the due date, as long as they are submitted before
the final class period of the term.
-Class Notes, Discussion posts, and Quizzes can be
submitted after the due date for half credit.
-Discussion, Participation, and Presentation assignments will
only be accepted during the week they are due.
-All assignments should be stored on a cloud server and submitted online. Excuses such as “my dog ate my homework” and “my computer crashed” are no longer valid.
Presentation/Video
will be given in person at the end of class, and the grade will
be posted within a week.
Papers and Exams
will be graded and posted within two weeks of their due date, in
order to give more detailed feedback.
Attendance Policy:
Absences, Late arrival, and leaving early will affect
a student’s grade due to the student not being able to
participate in class/group discussions. Students missing more
than thirty percent of the scheduled classes without an excused
absence from the professor will receive ZERO points for the
class participation grade. Class absence does not excuse a
student from meeting assignment due dates
Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Students involved in dishonest academic activity will
receive a grade of “0” on the activity during which dishonest
act occurred and particularly flagrant or obviously intentional
instances of cheating, AI usage or plagiarism will result in a
grade of "F" for the course. In addition the student
will be reported to the Dean of Students for further
disciplinary action.
**Please read the section titled Student Conduct, Rights,
and Responsibilities: F.
Academic Dishonesty in the Student
Handbook.
Academic
dishonesty, as a general rule, involves one of the following
acts:
1. Cheating
on an examination or quiz; including the giving, receiving, or
soliciting of information and the unauthorized use of notes or
other materials.
2. Use of AI,
NLP, and LLM to produce written content for
essays, discussions and Exams (See below for clarification
of use.)
3. Plagiarism - This is
the act of appropriating passages from the work of another
individual, either word for word or in substance, and
representing them as one’s own work. This includes any
submission of written work other than one’s own.
-Please note that even copying a
sentence or two from another source without citing it is enough
to trigger a plagiarism penalty. Likewise, changing a word
here or there from content which you copy is plagiarism.
Your work should be entirely in your own words except
for the passages which you quote and appropriately cite. All of
your papers for the class will be checked for plagiarism and AI
usage by SafeAssign software.
Be aware of
the following:
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Internet-enabled devices, dictionaries and/or calculators are
prohibited during testing.
- If you need
to leave the room during testing, for whatever reason, your
test will be collected immediately for grading without any
additional time for more work on the test or quiz.
Use of AI Technology:
In this course tools such as Turnitin, Packback, and ZeroGPT will be used to detect and flag instances of plagiarism and potential use of AI writing in your assignments. Students must complete their own work and provide attribution when using the words or ideas from a source. Unless otherwise explicitly instructed, students must not use AI writing and composition tools. If you are asked or required to use tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly, these must be cited in your submission.
----Any suspected violations will need to be justified in an oral interview with the professor.
---You will be required to show your Google Drive history to the professor to demonstrate that you wrote each word.
The primary means
of communication outside the classroom between the Instructor
and the student is via Canvas Announcements and e-mail.
Students should check Canvas and their e-mail daily for any
Instructor communications. Failure to do so is not an excuse
for missed/late assignments or exams. The Instructor
turn-around time to respond to e-mails is 24-to-48 hours
Monday through Friday.
Instructors receive a significant number
of e-mails from students over the course of the semester. To
specifically identify the course in which the student is
enrolled, all e-mail from the student must include
the course and section
number (e.g., ACC211-000) in the Subject of the
e-mail.
I will email you at the email address on
my class list which is your VCCS email address. If you do not
check this address frequently, I would recommend you set it up
for automatic forwarding to an email address you do check more
frequently. When emailing the instructor, always send email
from your VCCS email address.
Please be considerate. Disruptive
behavior, on the ground and online, will not be
tolerated. Private conversations during lecture or class
discussions, ringing mobile phones, texting, sleeping, or
walking into class late or out of class early all distract and
disturb your instructor and your classmates, and will count
against your participation grade. Repeated instances of
rude behavior will result your removal from the
classroom.
--All students are considered adults and
will conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times.
Please read the section titled Student Conduct,
Rights, and Responsibilities: B. Student
Conduct in the Student Handbook.
Academic Integrity Policy /
Closing Information (weather) / Communication (e-mail) / Course
Drop/Withdrawal Policy /
Disabilities and Accommodations / Emergency Preparedness / Financial
Aid / Wellness
and Mental Health
Everyone
was trouble at times, but there is help. When struggling
please reach out to me, a counselor, or click here: https://nvcc.singlestoptechnologies.com/
The IT Help Desk provides
first-level technical support to all faculty, staff and
students of Northern Virginia Community College. Additional
details and resources are located at http://www.nvcc.edu/ithd/.
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Monday
- Friday: |
8:00
a.m. to 9:00 p.m. |
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Saturday: |
8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
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Phone:
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703-426-4141 |
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Email: |
Procedures
and items to be aware of (click here)
Anyone observing an
emergency situation should contact the Campus Police Office or
the dean of students.
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Campus
Police: |
703-450-2540 |
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Dean of
Students: |
703-450-2512 |
------Note: The
instructor
has the right to alter or change the course and course
schedule at any time as he deems appropriate.-------
contact: jkincheloe@nvcc.edu