Core Course Review Documentation
Foundational Component Area: LANGUAGE, PHILOSOPHY, & CULTURE
Component Area Option?
Yes – Cultural & Global Understanding
Yes – Undergraduate Inquiry & Creativity
Proposed Course: HIST 1333 Survey of Western Civilization I
Credit Hours: 3
Proposed by: Sharon Arnoult & Dirk Lindemann
Date: 9/18/2012; revised 10/10/2012
Please document how the proposed course meets each of the following requirements. (You
may provide a written explanation or copy and paste the appropriate information from the
syllabus.)
Content:
Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture
express and affect human experience.
This course is an introductory overview of the major events and trends in western
civilization up to the eighteenth century, or modern era, which assumes no prior
knowledge.
HIST 1333 courses include (but are not limited to) the following content:
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Comprehending the structures, ideas, cultures and characteristics of the major
pre-modern civilizations related to the Western world.
Comprehension of the philosophical doctrines and ethical value systems of premodern western cultures and the role of religious beliefs, movements, and
institutions in Western history.
Understanding the historical and cultural developments of the major ancient
Mediterranean civilizations, and analyzing the decline of the Mediterranean
world.
Identification of the major political, economic, social, cultural and religious
developments of the medieval period and analyzing its subsequent decline.
Comprehension of the major aspects of the Renaissance and Reformation and
analyzing the importance of these movements in shaping the modern world.
SKILLS: Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in
order to understand the human condition across cultures.
Students in HIST 1333 develop the following skills:
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The ability to synthesize and evaluate considerable amounts of factual information.
The ability to identify and understand the key historical persons/events that shaped the
course of western civilization.
The ability to identify and understand key religious, political and intellectual ideas that
have affected the development of western civilization.
The ability to apply critical reasoning to evaluate and effectively communicate complex
historical ideas and/or processes.
The ability to distinguish cause and effect in historical processes/events and/or to
compare and contrast differing systems or structures.
Learning activities:
Sample activities through which students will learn the skills and objectives for this course
may include the following (relationship to core objectives indicated by: 1: Critical Thinking; 2:
Communication; 3: Personal Responsibility; and 4: Social Responsibility):
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Reading the textbook, course content which may be created by the instructor, and such
non-textbook sources as the instructor feels appropriate. (1, 2, 4)
Hearing information presented orally and analyzing and synthesizing it. (1, 2, 4)
Analyzing and understanding information presented visually, such as maps, paintings,
graphs, etc. (1, 2, 4)
Completing on-line or in-class quizzes and study guides/questions. (1, 2, 4)
Videos covering relevant materials. (1, 2, 4)
Preparing and writing exam essay questions and/or a paper or papers which involve
critical thinking in the analysis and evaluation of material as well as clear and effective
communication. (1, 2, 3, 4)
In-class discussion over historical problems. (1, 2, 4)
ASSESSMENT OF CORE OBJECTIVES: Assessments should be authentic, intentional and
direct. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this
category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation
and synthesis of information
Critical thinking skills, in particular the synthesis, analysis and evaluation of information,
will be assessed through exams which may include objective items, identifications, short
written answers and essay questions.
Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation
and synthesis of information
Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas
through written, oral, and visual communication
Personal Responsibility - to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to
ethical decision-making
Social Responsibility - to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the
ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
These four skills will be assessed through a written assignment, an essay that will be either
part of an essay exam or a separate in-class or out-of-class assignment. Students will be
asked to analyze and evaluate the decisions and actions of a particular historical person or
group of persons/movement in a written essay form. Specific questions to be addressed in
this analysis include: what were the values/beliefs that influenced this/these person(s)?
To what degree were those values/beliefs specific to that person(s) historical context? How
did those values/beliefs affect what this/these person(s) did? How did they or s/he regard
the result of those actions? While the person(s) who are the topic of the essay will vary
from semester to semester, all sections of HIST 1333 in a given semester will use the same
subject(s) and questions.
This written analysis may be part of an examination or may be given as a separate
assignment, but all sections of the course will use the same subject(s) and questions,
although the subject(s) will vary from semester to semester. In either case, students will be
assessed both on their analysis/evaluation and on their ability to communicate with clear
and effective writing.
In assessing the students’ use of critical thinking in this assignment, faculty will rely on the
AACU Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric.
In assessing the students’ communication skills, faculty will rely on all but the third row
(“Genre and Disciplinary Conventions”) of the AACU Written Communication VALUE
Rubric. Faculty assessment of student’s consideration of ethical decision-making in an
historical context will not explicitly rely on the AACU’s Ethical Reasoning VALUE Rubric but
this assignment does contribute towards that rubric’s goals of developing a student’s
ability to assess “the social context of problems [and] recognize ethical issues in a variety of
settings.”
In terms of Social Responsibility, past societies can be as different from modern ones as
western societies are from non-western ones. Intercultural competence involves a
recognition of both differences and similarities across cultures which are separated by time
as well as distance. In this assignment, students will demonstrate an awareness of
historical cultural differences and similarities by their recognition of the specific historical
context of the beliefs/values/actions of the person(s) in question.
Faculty will assess the students’ level of intercultural competence by using the second row
(“Knowledge”) of the AACU’s Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Provide any additional information supporting course
inclusion in the core (optional).
PLEASE ATTACH THE FOLLOWING
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Syllabus
Assessment for Critical Thinking Skills
Assessment for Communication Skills
Assessment for Personal Responsibility
Assessment for Social Responsibility