home | intro | about me |writing guide
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:
|
Course: |
Western
Civilizations I |
|
Section: |
Hist
101 |
|
Semester: |
Summer 2020 |
|
Date/Time: |
Monday/Wednesday/Friday deadlines |
|
Location: |
Online |
|
Name: |
John
(Kinch) Kincheloe |
|
What is this
Course? |
|
Email: |
jkincheloe@nvcc.edu |
What do I
need to do? |
|
|
Phone |
(703)948-7571 |
How do I
do assignments? |
|
|
Office
Location: |
HEC
316-A
|
What
are the course rules? |
|
|
Website: |
Although often falsely depicted as a linear and inevitable
march of increasingly complex land based cultures, Western
Civilization can better be classified as an amalgamation of
hundreds of different civilizations interacting and
learning from one another across a series of waterways that
connect the ancient world.
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
Surveys the general history of the Western world from
about 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and allows students to reach a basic
understanding of the characteristic features of the Western
world'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 from earliest times.
Objectives
- Establish a chronology of historical events in the
Western world before 1600 CE.
- Explain the changing geopolitical structures of the
Western world up until 1600 CE.
- Define the importance of key individuals and
developments in Western civilization before 1600 CE.
- Identify the social, economic and political forces
at work in the evolution of early and medieval Western
history.
- Recognize and describe the significance of some of
the cultural achievements of ancient and medieval Western
civilization.
- Analyze complex historical sources and materials
and reach conclusions based on interpretations of those
materials.
There
are no pre-requisites, but 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)= - WC =Western Civilization and BWH=Boundless World History course draws from both textbooks housed by
'lumen learning"
-Additional online books = Use
any full text online or print version of these that you
want.
- Epic of
Gilgamesh
-Beowulf
-Additional
online materials will be made available via links in Canvas.
All assignments
are graded on a 100 point scale and averaged accordingly to the
percentages listed below.
|
Assessment
|
Percentage
|
|
||
|
|
|
Grading
Scale |
|
|
|
Discussions |
35 |
A |
90-100 |
|
|
3 Argumentative papers |
35 |
B |
80-89 |
|
|
Cumulative Essay |
30 |
C |
70-79 |
|
|
|
|
D |
60-69 |
|
|
|
|
F |
59 and below |
|
§ Primary Document discussions will occur
every Unit.
§ Discussion will be graded based on both
quantity and quality of posts.
§ Due every Monday and Wednesday by Midnight.
o
3- 2pg. argumentative
papers
o
Utilizing
readings from primary sources, books, and/or the textbook.
o (All papers should be submitted via attachment on Canvas by the assigned due date and time.)
o Cumulative Essay
This is the
capstone assignment where you will make sense of all we
worked on this semester.
3-4 pg (1000 words) typed essay question
Over the course of the semester you have examined
the relationship of religion to culture, society, and
government across four thousand years of western history. What is
the role of religion in history?
Extra
Credit
Assignments (due by the end of Week 5) = Digital History Project- check it out here.
Take
a look and talk to Kinch if you are interested.
This is a paperless course.
- All additional readings,
assignments, and course materials can be found here on my
website kinchteach.com
-All assignments and quizzes need to
be submitted in Canvas.
-All feedback will be given through
Canvas.
Formatting:
All Papers should be double
spaced, using 12 point Calibri font and one inch margins.
All papers must be word processed and submitted through
Blackboard as “doc,” “docx,” or “rtf.”
E-mail submissions will not be accepted.
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 (under course
documents on BB.) You also might want to consult the
following handy websites:
o NVCC
Loudoun's
Writing Center
o
Charlie
Evans’
History 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.
Late Assignments
-Late papers and discussions will be accepted after the
due date and time for half credit, as long as they are submitted
before the final class period of the term.
-Any Quizzes, 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.
HW, Hybrid
Assignments, and presentations will be graded and posted within
a week of their due date.
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.
Due to the fact that there are only 11 in
person meetings... attendance is MANDATORY.
Missing more than one class (or 3 hours of class across the
term) will result in a grade of "F" for the course.
Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Students involved in cheating will receive a grade of
“0” on the activity during which cheating occurred and
particularly flagrant or obviously intentional instances of
cheating 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.
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 by
"Turnitin" software.
Be aware of
the following:
-
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.
The primary means
of communication outside the classroom between the Instructor
and the student is via Blackboard Announcements and e-mail.
Students should check Blackboard and their e-mail daily for
any Instructor communications. Failure on the part of the
student to check Blackboard and e-mail on a regular basis 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.
In event
of an emergency just regarding this class, check
Blackboard for announcements regarding course
progress/assignments.
Academic Integrity Policy /
Closing Information (weather) / Communication (e-mail) / Course
Drop/Withdrawal Policy /
Disabilities and Accommodations / Emergency Preparedness / Financial
Aid / NOVACares
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/.
|
Monday
- Friday: |
8:00
a.m. to 9:00 p.m. |
|
Saturday: |
8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
|
Phone:
|
703-426-4141 |
|
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.
|
Campus
Police: |
703-450-2540 |
|
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