Course Syllabus
Bunker Hill
Community College
HIS-111 World Civilization I
T/H 2:30 - 3:45,
Room: D211
Spring
Semester, 2012
Class inclusive dates 1/23/2012 – 5/13/2012
Instructor
Information:
·
Dr. Cora T. Miller
·
E-mail: ctmiller@bhcc.mass.edu
·
Text/Call: 508-243-0778
Required
Course Materials:
- The Essential
World History,
Vol. I: to 1800, 6th edition. William J. Duiker and Jackson J.
Spielvogel
Thompson/Wadsworth,
2011.
- Access to online
resource materials such as:
Course
Description
This course
examines similarities and differences among major world civilizations before
the modern era. Topics include
traditions of governance, art, religion and philosophy, technology, family
structure, and everyday life.
Course
Goals and Objectives
The
first instructional objective for this course is to expose the student to a
wide variety of factors that contribute to a culture such as: politics,
religion, art, and traditions. In addition, this course aims to use these
factors to compare and contrast early world cultures and their ensuing
development. Finally, this course
focuses on the development of the student in primary sources exposure, critical
thinking skills, and geographical awareness.
Grading
Policies
·
The final grade for this course
will be determined by the following assessment grades :
·
The official BHCC grading scale
appropriate this course is as follows:
|
Assessment
|
Percentage
Points
|
|
Discussions of Primary Sources
E-Portfolio
|
10
30
|
|
Map Quizzes (4)
|
20
|
|
Exams (4)
|
40
|
|
Total
|
100%
|
|
Letter Grade
|
Numerical Equivalent
|
Grade
Points
|
|
A
|
94-100
|
4.00
|
|
A-
|
90-93
|
3.67
|
|
B+
|
87-89
|
3.33
|
|
B
|
83-86
|
3.00
|
|
B-
|
80-82
|
2.67
|
|
C+
|
77-79
|
2.33
|
|
C
|
70-76
|
2.00
|
|
D
|
60-69
|
1.00
|
|
F
|
59 or less
|
0.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
I
|
Incomplete
|
|
W
|
Withdrawn
|
Course
Participation & Communication Policies
As ongoing
collaboration and dialogue are essential for effective course delivery, it is
important that students participate regularly. Those who do not participate
regularly according to the guidelines outlined may receive no credit for
participation.
1. Students are responsible for all
changes made to the syllabus. Changes are not anticipated or common however,
they will be made at the discretion of the Instructor as needed to effectively
manage the course progress. All changes will
be communicated via e-mail to students’ BHCC accounts.
2. At the start of the course, students
should make sure that they are familiar with the use of BHCC email. This is especially important as students are required to use
their BHCC email for all formal written communication with the instructor.
3. The instructor will respond to all
student emails within 24 - 48 hours
(or every 2 days, not including weekends). Email should be used for individual,
personal items, issues and questions only.
4.
Feedback (and grades) on assignments, projects, activities and quizzes will
occur within 72-96 hours
(or 3-4 days, not including weekends). Missing grades should be brought to the
attention of the
instructor right away.
Teaching Procedures: This class will consist
primarily of lectures, a variety of audio-visual presentations, and classroom
discussions of primary sources and cultural threads.
Attendance Policy: The instructor will
take attendance at each class. Participation
in class discussions is 10% of a student’s grade. Students not participating in
class discussions or being absent from them will receive a zero for that
discussion. Students are requested to contact the instructor when they will
miss a class. Students are responsible
for getting class notes and any materials for classes they have missed.
Procedure for Evaluating Performance: Assignments will be evaluated on the basis of:
- Completeness: Are all requirements of the assignment fulfilled?
- Quality of work: Is the
assignment well-written using full sentences (written by the student) with
complete ideas that demonstrate a good understanding of the material?
- Documentation: What are your sources? Are they original or second-hand? Have
any reference materials used for the assignment been documented using APA
or MLA style format?
- Timeliness: Has the assignment been handed in on time? Potentially LATE assignments must be
discussed with the instructor via e-mail BEFORE the due date.
Explanation of Assignments:
Map Quizzes (20%): There will be 4 map quizzes: Mesopotamia/Near
East, China, Greece, Africa
Exams (40): Four exams will be given on course material.
Classroom Discussions (10%): Discussion of Primary Sources:
Select one from an online
resource, write talking points to hand in,
contribute to class discussion on discussion days.
E-Portfolio (30%) : During the
first week of class, you will be trained by staff at TLTiC (Room: E-230) in the
setup and use of an E-Portfolio. I have
provided a template for you to use for
HIS-111.
Below you will find a detailed explanation of the parts of the E-Portfolio
that you will complete during this course.
Your E-Portfolio
Description: At BHCC, E-Portfolios provide vehicles for students to track their
journeys through college by sharing their accomplishments and reflecting on
their learning in ways that are both personally and publicly meaningful.
Beginning in the Learning Community Seminar for First Year Students and
continuing in other courses throughout their college careers, BHCC students
construct electronic portfolios in which they display and reflect on written,
visual, audio, and other work they create as part of their college experience. In this course, HIS-111, your
E-Portfolio will serve as a medium for you to build
your insights into ancient history.
Find it online: Go to BHCC homepage, under
column labeled “Featured links”, click “Digication”
Training for E-Portfolio: 1st week of
class during class time in E-230.
Evaluation of E-Portfolio: Your E-Portfolio will be evaluated three
times in the semester. Specific due
dates are posted in the next section. A
rubric (next page) will be used to assign points for each evaluation. The E-Portfolio makes up 30% of your total
grade.
E-Portfolio topics , deliverables and due dates:
|
E-Portfolio Topic
|
Deliverable
|
Due Date(s) for Evaluation:
|
|
“About Me”
|
Write a paragraph about yourself as a student at
BHCC. Then describe one or two of your favorite battles, historical figures, cities,
or any other aspect of ancient history from the period we are studying.
Include a picture of yourself or pictures from your favorite things/people in
history.
|
February 9, 2012
|
|
“Media Gallery”
|
Add four media pieces for each civilization we
cover, add a brief comment on why you chose each piece. Choose from: pictures, links to websites,
musical pieces, video clips.
1st half of course: Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Indus Valley.
2nd half of the course: China, Greece,
Rome, Africa.
|
March 11, 2012
May 1, 2012
|
|
“Critical Thinking”
|
Write at least one paragraph but not more than
two responding to a critical thinking question posed for each culture. 1st
half of course: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley.
2nd half of the course: China, Greece,
Rome, Africa.
|
March 11, 2012
May 1, 2012
|
|
“Threads Across Cultures”
|
Choose one topic to explore across the
cultures we study in this course. Select a very basic topic such as:
religion, military, food, dress, architecture. For each culture, write at
least one paragraph about your chosen topic.
Add a picture if you can to illustrate. 1st half of course:
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley.
2nd half of the course: China, Greece,
Rome, Africa.
|
March 11, 2012
May 1, 2012
|
|
Project
|
Your assignment is to choose a focused topic, such as one
famous battle, one aspect of a historic figure's life, or a famous piece of
literature or architecture from ancient history. Create a PowerPoint
presentation of 6-8 slides that, at minimum, answer the following questions:
1. What
period of history and geographic location is your selection from?
2. Why
did you choose it? What about your topic is meaningful to you?
3. What
are the highlights of your selection, in a nutshell?
4. Discuss
a few aspects of your selection that you want other people to remember.
5. What
contribution did you selection make to the culture in which it is found?
6. What
contribution did your selection make to the world?
|
This presentation is to be loaded into your portfolio by
Sunday, May 6, 2012.
|
Rubric Used for Evaluation of All E-Portfolio
Assignments
This is a Grading Form that will be used for grading E-Portfolio
assignments for this course.
|
Objective/
Criteria
|
Performance Indicators
|
|
Exceeds Expectations
|
Meets Expectations
|
Needs Improvement
|
Does Not Meet Expectations
|
|
Completeness/
Timing
|
(10
points)
Contains all required components plus additional features for
information/interest. Contribution is
posted by deadline.
|
(8 points)
Contains all required components. Contribution is posted by deadline.
|
(6 points)
Does not contain all required components. Contribution is posted late.
|
(0 points)
Does not contain any required components.
|
|
Quality of Contribution
|
(10
points)
Contribution is well-written, edited, and thoughtful, showing
care in preparation.
|
(8 points)
Contribution is brief, but descriptive, with few to no editing errors.
|
(6 points)
Contribution is very brief with editing errors.
|
(0 points)
Contribution is not posted.
|
|
Preparation
|
(10
points)
Demonstrates thorough preparation; references assigned readings
|
(8 points)
Logic of response indicates reference to assigned readings
|
(6 points)
Little evidence of reference to readings
|
(0 points)
No evidence of reference to readings
|
|
Relevance/
continuity
|
(10
points)
Consistently contributes information of high relevancy to the
course; builds upon or challenges the ideas presented in the course.
|
(8 points)
Contributes information of good relevancy to the course; usually builds upon
the ideas presented in the course.
|
(6 points)
Contributes information of relevancy to the course; occasionally builds upon ideas
presented in the course.
|
(0 points)
Frequently contributes information not related to the course; no evidence of
using ideas presented in course.
|
|
Contribution to learning
|
(10
points)
Offers substantive ideas or insights that contribute to
understanding the culture; integrates course concepts.
|
(8 points)
Adds somewhat to understanding the culture; integrates course concepts
somewhat.
|
(6 points)
Adds little to the understanding of the culture; integrates a few course
concepts.
|
(0 points)
Adds nothing to the understanding of the culture; integrates no course
concepts.
|
Assignment & Test Schedule:
(Evaluations/tests/quizzes highlighted)
Week 1 Begins Jan. 23
·
Introduction to the course
·
E-Portfolio Training
·
New Topic: Early Man – read text pp.2-8.
Week 2 Begins Jan. 29
·
New Topic: Mesopotamia – read text pp. 8-14
·
View: PPP Mesopotamia - 20 slides
·
Map: Ancient Near East (p. 9 in text)
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 3 Begins Feb. 5
·
Continued Topic Mesopotamia – complete discussions
·
E-Portfolio:
Assignment due: “About Me” by Feb. 9th
Week 4 Begins Feb. 12
·
New Topic: Ancient Egypt – read text pp. 12 -19.
·
View: PPP Egypt - 20 slides
·
Test: Map
Quiz 1
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 5 Begins Feb. 19
·
New Topic: New Centers of Civilization – read text
pp. 19 - 28
·
View: PPP New Centers of Civilization - 15 slides
Week 6 Begins Feb 29
·
New Topic: Ancient India – read text pp. 29 - 51
·
View: PPP Egypt - 27 slides
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
·
Review: Exam 1 Pre-test handed out
Week 7 Begins March 4
·
Continue Topic: Ancient India
·
Test: Exam 1: Pre-history to Ancient India
·
E-Portfolio:
First Evaluation for Mesopotamia, Egypt & India on March 11 (50 Pts).
Week 8 Begins March 11 – SPRING BREAK – no classes
Week 9 Begins March 18
·
New Topic: Ancient China – read text pp. 53 - 77
·
View: PPP China - 27 slides
·
Map #2: China
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 10 Begins March 25
·
New Topic: Ancient Greece to Archaic Greece– read
text pp. 79 - 87
·
View: PPP Greece1 - 22 slides
·
Test: Map
Quiz 2 - China
·
Map #3: Ancient Greece
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 11 Begins April 1
·
Continued Topic: Classical Greece to Alexander –
read text pp. 87 – 103.
·
View: PPP Greece2 – 20 slides
·
Test: Map
Quiz#3 - Ancient Greece
·
Review: Exam 2 Pre-test handed out
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 12 Begins April 8
·
New Topic: Early Rome to the Founding of the
Republic– read text pp. 105 - 112
·
View: PPP Early Rome - Republic - 20 slides
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
·
Test #3:
China & Greece
Week 13 Begins April 15
·
Continued Topic: Fall of the Republic to Collapse
of the Empire – read text pp. 112 - 122
·
View: PPP Fall of Republic to Origins of
Christianity - 14 slides
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 14 Begins April 22
·
New Topic: Rise of Islam and Spread into Africa –
read text pp. 157 – 164; pp. 183 -190
·
View: PPP Rise of Islam & Spread into Africa -
12 slides
·
Map #4: Africa
·
E-Portfolio: Work on Media Gallery, Thread, &
Critical Thinking Question for this civilization.
Week 15 Begins April 29
·
Continued Topic: Ancient Africa – read text pp.
191- 205
·
View: PPP Africa – 20 slides
·
Test: Map
Quiz#4 – Early Africa
·
Review: Exam 4 Pre-test handed out
·
E-Portfolio:
Second Evaluation for China, Greece, Rome, Africa on May 1 (50 Pts).
Week 16 Begins May 6
·
Continued Topic: Ancient Africa
·
Portfolio discussions
·
Test #4: Rome,
Christianity, Islam & Africa
·
E-Portfolio:
Third Evaluation for Presentation on May 6
(50 Pts).
