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Mission Statement
The Houston Community College System is an open-admission, public institution of higher education
offering academic preparation, and lifelong learning opportunities that prepare individuals in our diverse
communities for life and work in an increasingly international and technological society. The Northwest
History Department will provide an environment conducive to learning and encourages academic
excellence. Furthermore, the History faculty will encourage the development of the following
competencies: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Critical Thinking, and Computer Literacy.
Description & Goals
This is an in-depth, intensive examination of ancient, medieval, and early-modern European history.
Major themes to be covered include the particularly Western idea of separating spiritual (religion)
institutions from temporal (civil government) ones; the development of Constitutionalism; and, the falling
status of women over time. Throughout, emphasis will be placed on techniques of historical reasoning,
analysis and college-level writing and thus the goals of this course are to help you enhance your critical
thinking skills, become better writers, improve your computer literacy, and have a better understanding of
history-specific research techniques, facilities, and databases.
ADA Statement
HCC-Northwest is committed to removing barriers that prohibit students with disabilities from achieving
their educational objectives. Any student who has an impairment that substantially limits a major life
activity, has a history of, or is regarded as having such a disability, is eligible for reasonable
accommodations. This includes students with learning disabilities, those who are physically challenged
because of disease or an accident, those with mental illness, and those with a myriad of other
circumstances. Specific procedures have been established to enable students with a documented disability
to request modifications or accommodations which would allow them equal access to the college. Dr.
Nancy Russell is the college’s ADA Counselor and she may be reached at 713-718-5708. Or, you may
contact Judy Sutton, judy.sutton@hccs.edu, tel: (713) 718-5667, fax: (713) 718-5650 or tty: (713) 7185697, or visit the website at http://nwc.hccs.edu/services/counseling/accommodations/index.html for more
information.
“EVERYONE WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN, BUT NO BODY WANTS TO DIE.”
-Peter Tosh
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PLAGIARISM & CHEATING
There is no greater academic sin than plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of cheating. In the case of
plagiarism or other forms of cheating, you will receive an F in the course. Please read the information
under “Academic Honesty” in my Learning Web site (see address below) and submit the plagiarism
assignment when I collect them on Tuesday, June 6th. Completion of this assignment will result in one (1)
point being added to your total points at the end of the semester. This will be the only form of “extra
credit” and please do ask for an extension (see my LATE POLICY below). Even if you do not submit the
assignment, you are still required to adhere to the information provided in the “Academic Honesty”
section referenced above.
DROP POLICY
You are responsible for dropping this course. If you do not wish to receive a grade then you must drop the
class before the college’s drop date.
“Students who repeat a course three or more times may soon face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC
and other Texas public colleges and universities. If you are considering course withdrawal because you are
not earning passing grades, confer with your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study
habits, reading and writing homework, test-taking skills, attendance, course participation, and
opportunities for tutoring or other assistance that might be available.”
COURSE SPECIFICS
Instructor:
J. Ross-Nazzal, Ph.D.
Office:
Town & Country AD1B (near the Art Gallery)
Office Hours:
7:30-8 and 2-2:30 M-F, or by appointment however I am in class from 8-2.
I will respond to email and phone messages each class day.
Email:
james.rossnazzal@hccs.edu
Phone:
713-718-5818
Website:
http://learning.nwc.hccs.edu/members/james.rossnazzal
Required texts:
Coffin, Judith, et al. (eds.). World Civilizations, Vol. 1, 15th ed., WW
Norton & Co.,
ISBN 0393925366
Brophy, William, et al. (eds.). Perspectives from the Past, Vol. 1, 3rd ed., WW
Norton
& Co., ISBN 0393925692
Erasmus, Desiderius. In Praise of Folly, Dover Press, ISBN 0486426890
More, Thomas. Utopia, Dover Press, ISBN 0486295834
Optional Text:
Writing History: A Guide for Students, Oxford University Press, William Storey.
Attendance. Life is too short to repeat in lecture what is available to you in the textbooks, thus relentless
attendance is required. If you miss a few hours you truly miss a lot because the lectures are tightly
integrated. In other words, you will have a harder time understanding later lectures if you miss the earlier
ones, which means that you will have a difficult time doing well (i.e., passing). In addition, half of the
material on the exam will come from my lectures and my lectures are not covered by the text.
While I lecture, you need to take copious and meaningful notes. Please do not just jot down the few words
that appear on the PowerPoint slides as those are merely the most generalized outline and I place them
there usually to keep me on track. You should take good notes during the lectures because you will be able
to use your lecture notes when you take the exams, provided that: 1) the notes are written (no typed notes
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unless you happen to use a laptop in class); 2) the notes are in your handwriting (no photo copies); and, 3)
the notes are dated for each lecture.
“FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.” – Gene Kranz
Finally, do not arrive late and do not leave early as those are disruptions to class and thus will not be
tolerated. For example, you will not be allowed to interrupt your colleagues by entering the classroom
once a graded exercise is in progress. In the event a student misses class, she or he is still responsible for
all material covered in class.
Participation. Daily participation is required (and you are even graded on your responses, or lack
thereof). Please come to class on time and prepared to discuss the readings with your colleagues and
myself. If any holidays, parties, work, vacations, or secular or religious responsibilities prevent you
from completing the work when it is due, please do not take this class as I do not negotiate
assignments or due dates nor do I give Incompletes.
Grading. As there are many different styles of learning, there are many different types of graded
assessments this semester and they include: “Daily” Writing Assignments (10), Exams (4), Weekly
Discussions (4), and a written book analysis.
Writing Assignments. Using the Perspectives book you will select one (1) document from the chapters
covered in the week and answer all of the questions that follow your selected document. Grammar,
spelling, organization, analysis, and content all contribute to the grade, so be sure to proofread before
submitting. Please attach a cover sheet to each of your submissions that includes your name, the title of
the document, and the assignment number. The ONLY stuff that will appear on your responses will be
your responses. Each writing assignment is worth 20 points, thus this assignment is collectively worth 200
points or 20% of your final grade.
Exams. There are four Exams this semester: Exam I covers chapters1-4, Exam II covers chapters 5-8,
Exam III covers 9-11, and Exam IV covers chapters 12-14 in the Civilization and Perspectives books.
Each exam will consist of a series of Identifications, Non-Cumulative Essays, and a Cumulative Essay.
Each Exam is worth 100 points or collectively 40% of your final grade.
Weekly Discussions. For four weeks (see below) you will respond to my questions, which will come from
the Civilizations and Perspectives texts in a rather loose Socratic manner. As this is a graded exercise, you
will not be allowed to enter the class once the assessment begins. Your participation is worth 50 points
each week, for a cumulative total of 200 points or 20% of your final grade.
Book Analysis. 20% of your semester grade will come from your written analysis of the two supplemental
books. More and Erasmus were not only contemporaries, they also communicated with each other through
lengthy and philosophic letters. Your job is to determine what they believed to be the big problems of civil
and religious life in Europe as well as what their solutions were to the problems by analyzing the assigned
books. This assignment is worth 200 points (20% of your final grade).
After closely reading both books, you will draft an analysis of the books, using evidence from both texts
to support your theses. You will use Chicago Manual of Style or MLA for citation purposes. Your review
will be, at a minimum, three full pages in length. It will be double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12
font with margins no greater than 1.00” all around.
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Your grade for this assignment will be based on form and content to include grammar, spelling, analysis,
and critical thinking. It must conform to the length requirements or else you will receive zero points for
this assignment.
“BLAME IS EASIER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE.” – Anon.
I.
Heading. On the cover page only you need to place the proper citation. Please follow this
model precisely:
Title of the Assignment (be clever)
Class / Month and Year
Your Name
Date of Submission
II.
Body. Three full, complete pages (at a minimum) that critically examines the texts and uses
sufficient evidence to suggest the veracity of your thesis or theses.
III.
Citations. Cite everything that is not your own work. There is no need for a bibliography page.
IV.
Questions. Feel free to use the following questions as a guide.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
What did they see as problematic with the Catholic Church? Why did they believe that?
What did they see as problematic with Christian Europe? Why did they believe that?
On what points did they agree with each other? Explain why they agreed.
What points did they disagree with each other? Explain why they disagreed.
What were their solutions to the problems of the Catholic Church?
What were their solutions to the problems of Christian Europe?
You must draft your paper so that it flows eloquently and smoothly from point to point
–not staccato like a written rendition of The Flight of the Bumblebees.
Late Work. I do not accept late work.
Missed Assignments. I do not offer make-up assignments.
Grade Scale: Percentage
100-90
89-80
79-70
69-60
Points
1000-900
899-800
799-700
699-600
Grade
A
B
C
D
Grades. The grade of A reflects excellence. The A work offers a well-focused and organized discussion
appropriate to the instructor's assignment, reflects critical use of relevant materials, and demonstrates
effective and formal writing requirements. Papers must demonstrate outstanding efforts to identify varied
pertinent sources, to employ those materials critically in the text of the papers, and to provide error-free
citations of those resources.
The grade of B represents an effort beyond satisfactory and indicates the work was completed in an
appropriate and competent manner and, in general, demonstrates a strong attempt at original and critical
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analysis, writing, and research. The B paper may contain a number of minor errors of grammar or citation,
and its thesis or its conclusions may be undeveloped or too weakly supported.
“IF ALL ELSE FAILS, FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.” – My dad
The grade of C indicates that the work was done in a satisfactory or appropriate fashion and represents the
average work expected for university courses. In order to obtain a C grade, your work must adhere to all
of the assignment’s requirements. The presentation is organized around a central idea with arguments
supported by relevant examples. The work is structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences.
Although fulfilling the assignment, the C work may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not
limited to, errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or uncritical
use of materials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and lack of direct relevance of
the selected research materials to the topic.
The grade of D indicates that the work may have a poorly defined topic or thesis, lack clear focus or
organization, and contain unsupported generalizations or conclusions. Research support is inadequate, not
clearly relevant, or improperly documented. A less-than-minimal research effort is evident. The work may
also suffer from numerous or major formal writing errors.
The grade of F indicates that the work is not clearly relevant to the assignment and that its topic and thesis
are poorly focused or defined. The work may display inadequate organization or development,
unsupported generalizations, and nonstandard formal features (including language usage, sentence
structure, paragraphing, and so on). Research support (citations) is absent, inadequate, or irrelevant to the
assignment.
Extra Credit. Please complete all assignments when they are due and in accordance with all instructions
and you will not need extra credit.
A Final Thought on Grades – Getting good grades is easy. All you have to do is to keep up with the
readings, “attend” class with a tenacity of purpose, take full and complete notes as you read, review your
notes on a daily basis, and put forth your most concerted efforts on all class assignments. No one has more
control over your grades than yourselves. You will do well (i.e., pass) if you decided that studying is what
is important and if you take the necessary steps to do well.
5
Week
05 Jun
Topic/Assignment
In the Beginning . . .
Or, It’s All Greek To Me!
Writing Assignment #1
Writing Assignment #2
Writing Assignment #3
Discussion #1
Exam #1
Read/Due
Chs. 1-4 Civilizations/Perspectives
12 Jun
Romanitas
Writing Assignment #4
Writing Assignment #5
Writing Assignment #6
Discussion #2
Exam #2
Chs. 5-8 Civilizations/Perspectives
Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday (1st hour)
Friday (2nd hour)
19 Jun
Papal Monarchy
Writing Assignment #7
Writing Assignment #8
Discussion #3
Exam#3
Chs. 9-11 Civilizations/Perspectives
Monday
Wednesday
Friday (1st hour)
Friday (2nd hour)
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday (1st hour)
Friday (2nd hour)
6
26 Jun
Reformations
Writing Assignment #9
Writing Assignment #10
Pick Up Book Exam
Chs. 12-14 Civilizations/Perspectives
Thursday
Friday
Friday
03 Jul
So, Whaddya Know?
Chs. 12-14 Civilizations/Perspectives
Book analysis due
Discussion #4
OFF
Exam #4
Monday
Monday (2nd hour)
July 4th
Wednesday
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