PRESENTATION COLLEGE – ABERDEEN, SD

W0RLD CIVILIZATION II (HS263-IN)

Three Semester Hours

Spring 2012

Blackboard

Welcoming people of all faiths, Presentation College challenges learners toward academic excellence and, in the Catholic tradition, the development of the whole person.

Instructor: Dr. Brad Tennant, Associate Professor, Department of Arts and Sciences

Office Hours: C333 Office Hours: M-F 7:00-9:45; 1:00-1:45 CT; TR 7:00-11:00 am; 1:00-1:45 pm CT (or by appointment).

(605) 229-8577 or 1-800-437-6060 ext. 577

E-Mail: brad.tennant@presentation.edu

Text: Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume II, 10th Edition by Marvin Perry.
Publisher: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (ISBN-13: 978-1-111-83725-9)  

Supplementary Readings (links are also found on the HS263IN Blackboard page):

Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes.

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/h/h68l/

Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html

Course Description:

WORLD CIVILIZATION II (HS263) is a survey of the historical, cultural, and political highlights of the modern world (ca 1500 to the present). Particular emphasis is placed on the development of modern political, social, and economic ideologies of the west and their impact on world history. World Civilization II fulfills the requirements for a social science/human culture core course elective.

Instructional Techniques:

This is designed entirely as a Blackboard course. Weekly assignments will involve reading the text or a website and responding to questions. The reading and writing assignments will take approximately 3 hours per week. Check each assignment on a regular basis for individual due dates. Discussion boards will be used to post your thoughts or questions about the various topics. Please feel free to ask questions and make comments.

ADA Statement:

Presentation College is committed to ensuring equal learning opportunities for all students and provides reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities in accordance with the College’s procedures. If you are a student requiring accommodations or services, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 1-800-437-6060, Ext. 581.

Presentation College General Education Course Goals and Outcomes for HS263:

3. Culture and Social Heritage - Graduates will develop a critical understanding of human cultures and their creative achievements.

3a. Analyze historical events, ideas, and societies from a multi-cultural perspective. 3b. Understand interrelationships of individuals and societies in their historical/cultural contexts. 3c. Demonstrate understanding of the concepts and conversation common to a particular humanities discipline. 3d. Critically analyze creative ideas and works in the humanities from a contextual perspective. 3e. Demonstrate reading and critical analysis skills in the context of the humanities and social sciences.

Instructor Goals:

1) To gain a broad understanding of the people and events that shaped the course of world history.

2) To learn more about the social, political, and economic factors that have contributed to the development of modern civilization.

3) To gain a better understanding of the complex diversity of human experiences that makes up the history of today's interdependent world.

Assessment and Grading:

Students should be familiar with Presentation College's policies regarding academic integrity. These are found in the college catalog under "Academic Policies."

Weekly Lessons – Students must prepare essays on any THREE questions for each lesson. Each essay should be no longer than 1-2 paragraphs and will be marked 0/3/5 points. Students should PARAPHRASE rather than copy the material from the book. The odds of two people using exactly the same wording in their responses are not that great. DO YOUR OWN WORK. These should be emailed to the instructor as a Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) attachment.

Discussion Points – Each week, you will be asked to write a paragraph with your thoughts or questions related to the readings. These can be about any topic mentioned in the lesson. These will be posted on the Discussion Board.

Outside Readings - There will be a set of questions for each of the outside readings – Leviathan and The Communist Manifesto. These will be emailed to the instructor.

Paper – You will choose one of TIME magazine’s “Person of the Year” selections and write a 1 ½ - 2 page report to be posted on the Discussion Board. Single spacing is fine. Since I do not want more than one person to do the same selection, please email me your choice. First come, first serve. Because some individuals were chosen more than once, it is possible, for example, that one student could do FDR for 1934, while another student does FDR for 1941.

Student assessment will be based on the following:

Weekly Lessons (3 questions x 5 points x 10 lessons) = 150

Discussion Points (5 points x 10 lessons) = 50

Questions over Outside Readings (20 points x 2 readings) = 40

TIME’s Person of the Year Paper = 20

260 points possible

The following grading scale will be used based on the highest total number of points earned by a student in the class. After I have graded the work for each week, I will let you know the current overall highest total number of points. This way you should always know exactly what your grade is in the course.

96% and above = A

90-95% = A-

87-89% = B+

83-86% = B

80-82% = B-

70-79% = C

60-69% = D

59% and below = Failing

The following rubric will be used for assessing the questions, discussion points, and outside readings.

· Advanced (5 points): Student includes accurate and specific information in the appropriate historical context with virtually no significant mistakes.

· Average (3 points): Student provides a general understanding of the topic but is limited in specifics or contains a significant mistake.

· Unsatisfactory (0 points): Student does not demonstrate any accurate or specific information in the appropriate historical context.

The following rubric will be used for assessing the paper.

· Advanced (20 points “A”): Student includes accurate and specific information in the appropriate historical context with virtually no significant mistakes.

· Above Average (17 points “B”): Student uses relevant and accurate information but either has minor mistakes or lacks specifics.

· Average (15 points “C”): Student provides a general understanding of the topic but is limited in specifics or contains a significant mistake.

· Below Average (13 points “D”): Student demonstrates a vague or poorly developed understanding of the topic with several significant mistakes.

· Unsatisfactory (0 points “F”): Student did not submit a paper.

Attendance:

As stated in the Presentation College catalog, "Each student is expected to attend every class session and be on time. If for any reason a student must be absent from class, the responsibility of making up work rests entirely upon the student." This is also true when submitting your work on time. It is your responsibility as the student to stay on task with the assignments.

- This is a survey of the history of modern civilization since circa 1500. It will require a great deal of reading and writing.

- Assignments are due by 12:00 pm (noon) CT of the scheduled date. Please allow me two to three days to respond to your work, although I will try to reply by the end of the day. I will not be in a rush to correct work that is submitted late.

- You should always keep copies of your work.

- Two points will be deducted after 12:00 pm (noon) each day an assignment is late.

- You may work ahead is you so desire. Although I will try to reply as soon as possible, I may not correct your work until it is closer to the actual due date.

- I do NOT give “incompletes.”