History 1311: History of
Civilization I
Syllabus, Spring 2011
Dr. Shana Worthen
Please contact me via ssworthen@ualr.edu
You MUST put the name of the class in the subject line.
Office hours: via Blackboard Chat interface, by appointment
http://sworthen.owlfish.com
Syllabus Index
Course Description
Schedule
Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5
Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10
Week 11, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15
Textbook
Assignments and Grading
Participation Guidelines
Policies
Course Description
History of World Civilization I is a survey of world history from the earliest records of
humankind through approximately 1600 CE. It is designed to familiarize students with
political, social, economic, religious, intellectual, and artistic histories of the world,
among other types of history. Students will become familiar with major places, dates,
individuals, regimes, and movements in the period covered. In addition to providing an
overview of world history, this course will deal with the historical use of dates; maps, and
basic geographic familiarity with historically significant locations, especially rivers and
other bodies of water; and introduce students to working with primary sources.
Schedule
In addition to the readings assigned on this syllabus, supplemental readings and notes
may be added to these. All supplemental material for a week will be posted to the course
website by the end of the previous week at the absolute latest.
In addition to the following work, students must check the course announcements board
on a regular basis in case of any necessary changes.
A normal course week ends on Monday at midnight. Each week's discussion
contributions are due by this time to count toward that week's discussion grade.
Week 1: The First Civilizations
Assigned Readings
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Essential World History, "A Note to Students about Languages and the Dating
of Time" and "Studying from Primary Source Material". pp. xxx-xxxv.
Essential World History, Ch. 1 "The First Civilizations: The Peoples of Western
Asia and Egypt."
"Working with dates" - file provided in "Supplemental Readings" folder.
"How not to plagiarize" - file provided in "Supplemental Readings" folder.
Work due
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Introduce yourself on the "Introductions" board
Discussion (Discussion will be due on Monday midnight. Reminder: posts only
count as separate posts when separated by at least six hours.)
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 1 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercise on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 2: Ancient India
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 2 "Ancient India."
Work due
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Tuesday-Wednesday - First chance at Pass/Fail Quizzes on dates and plagiarism
(see previous week's reading assignments).
Friday - Analysis Assignment Warmup
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 2 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 3: China in Antiquity
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 3 "China in Antiquity."
Work due
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Tuesday-Wednesday - Second chance at Pass/Fail Quizzes on dates and
plagiarism
Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 3 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 4: The Civilization of the Greeks
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 4 "The Civilization of the Greeks."
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 4 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 5: The First World Civilizations
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 5 "The First World Civilizations."
Work due
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Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 5 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 6: The Americas
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 6 "The Americas."
Work due
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*** Midterm #1 (Tuesday-Wednesday)***
Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Field Trip: Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park in Scott. (Note: The Toltecs
had nothing to do with them.)
Ch. 6 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 7: Ferment in the Middle East: The Rise of Islam
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 7 "Ferment in the Middle East: The Rise of Islam."
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 7 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 8: Early Civilizations in Africa
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 8 "Early Civilizations in Africa."
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 8 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 9: The Expansion of Civilization in Southern Asia
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 9 "The Expansion of Civilization in Southern
Asia."
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion for Week 9 will be due on the Monday after Spring Break.
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 9 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
*** SPRING BREAK ***
Week 10: The Flowering of Traditional China
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 10 "The Flowering of Traditional China."
Work due
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Discussion (Note that the Week 10 discussion board will be available for
participation early, from the beginning spring break.)
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 10 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 11: The East Asian Rimlands
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 11 "The East Asian Rimlands: Early Japan, Korea,
and Vietnam."
Work due
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*** Midterm #2 (Tuesday-Wednesday) ***
Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 11 Tutorial Quiz on the textbook's supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 12: The Making of Europe
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 12 "The Making of Europe"
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 12 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 13: The Byzantine Empire and Crisis and Recovery in
the West
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 13 "The Byzantine Empire and Crisis and
Recovery in the West"
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 13 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 14: New Encounters: The Creation of a World Market
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 14 "New Encounters: The Creation of a World
Market"
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 14 Tutorial Quiz and Critical Thinking Exercises on the textbook's
supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
Week 15: Europe Transformed: Reform and State Building
Assigned Reading
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Essential World History, Ch. 15 "Europe Transformed: Reform and State
Building"
Work due
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Friday - Analysis Assignment
Discussion due by the end of Monday, December 9 th.
Recommended (Optional) Work
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Ch. 15 Tutorial Quiz on the textbook's supplemental website
Review vocabulary and important terms with flashcards, crossword puzzle, and
glossary on the textbook's supplemental website
All work, including late assignments, must be submitted by the end of the last day of
classes, Monday December 9th.
*** Final: Available during the first full four days of the final exam
period. ***
Assigned Textbook
The following textbook is required for this course, and is available for sale from the
UALR bookstore:
Duiker and Spielvogel. The Essential World History. 4th/6th edition. (Cengage 2011).
ISBN 0495902276.
All other readings and course materials will be provided in the class or through the
textbook's companion website.
Assignments and Grading
Weekly discussion participation 2% per week x 15 weeks
Analysis assignments
2.5% per assignment x 8 assignments
(Best 8 out of 10)
Pass/Fail Quizzes
2.5% x 2
Midterm #1
Midterm #2
Final
30%
20%
5%
15%
15%
15%
Grades are calculated on the following scale:
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = 0-59%
Late work: No late work will be accepted. For Analysis Assignments, your lowest 2 out
of 11 possible assignment grades will be omitted from final grade calculations, so you
can miss two or three of them without penalizing your overall grade. Discussion is a
participation grade which is why it cannot be made up either. You will have two chances
to pass the pass/fail quizzes.
Participation will be based on participation in class discussion boards. Students must
make a total of at least two substantive comments each week in response to these
questions and each other's questions. You are not eligible for 90% or more unless you
include at least one specific citation in your posts during that week. I will check in to
these boards regularly to check in on and add to the discussions. See below for further
information on what constitutes adequate participation in the discussion boards.
The analysis assignments will consist of a 200-500 word analysis of an assigned primary
source. This may be a text (translated into English) or an image. Always keep copies of
your analysis assignments until you receive your grade for the assignment, just in case
any files are lost or corrupted.
The exams will be submitted via the Blackboard Assessment interface. Each will consist
of a combination of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and an essay. Each
exam will be available for two days. You may take it at any point during that time.
For the purposes of deadlines, each week of the course ends at midnight on Monday. All
work due that week must be submitted by then, unless another date is specified in the
syllabus or an extension is given for that week on the Announcements board.
In addition to assigned readings and graded assignments, you are responsible for
vocabulary and any supplemental readings assigned over the course of the semester.
You must be polite and considerate to your fellow students. Give constructive replies to
others' comments. All your work for the course is logged.
There will not be any extra credit assignments.
Weekly Work
The student is responsible for the following for each week of the course:
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5.
Reading the assigned textbook chapter(s).
Reading course announcements, if any.
Participating by posting at least twice in the discussion topics and questions set
for that week. (At least six hours must pass between posts in order to count as
different posts. You are not eligible for 90% or higher unless you include at least
one specific citation in your posts during that week.)
Write and submit the analysis assignment (most weeks)
Take quiz or exam, if relevant for that week.
For the purposes of deadlines, each week of the course ends at midnight on Monday. All
work due that week must be submitted by then, unless another date is specified in the
syllabus.
Note the recommendation each week to go through material provided on the textbook's
supplemental website.
Participation Guidelines and Grading Criteria
for Discussions
Discussion Boards are like Chat Rooms, but not real-time. They are the core of this
course. It is important that you follow the discussions carefully and participate regularly
in them.
Full credit can only be given to people who clearly are reading all the other posts and
responding to the other people in the class. Fulfilling the bare minimum requirements for
discussion will earn a C.
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Weekly Discussion closes at Monday at midnight. Late comments are welcome
(as you will know the material better the longer you discuss it) but they will not
count towards the week's grade.
Discussions are graded on a 100 percentage point scale, which will be converted
in 2 points for grade calculations.
Students must participate fully in each discussion for full credit (75% and
above)
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Students must have logged in and contributed to the discussion boards at least
two separate occasions (separated by at least 6 hours) during the week for full
credit. Example: You log in at 8 am on Tuesday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday. This
will not get you full credit, since the times are separted by fewer than six hours.
If you contributed on Tuesday and Wednesday, or two times on Thursday
separated by at least 6 hours, you'd get at least 75% for the week, as long as your
answers were substantial.
Full credit will be given only to comments that are relatively free from grammar
and spelling errors (type them in a word processing program, spell-check, cut
and paste) and written for your fellow students - that means that they should not
be free-form ramblings or filled with colloquial language. They don't have to be
formal, but try to make them in the same tone as you would use in class. You
may use smiley faces, etc. to indicate tone.
Answers taken directly from the textbook will not receive full credit. Be careful
to avoid plagiarism in your answers.
Answers that give specific examples will generally receive more credit.
Thoughtful discussion is the key. The point is to show that you are internalizing
and digesting the information from readings and class, and then applying and
relating that information to particular questions or comments.
"I agree" and other such comments, don't count as comments, but they do count
for something, if you explain why.
Be aware that I will be logging in several times a week myself and adding new
comments and questions!
Minimum requirement for 65% - make at least one substantive post on two
separate occasions.
Minimum requirement for 75% - make at least two substantive posts on two
separate occasions
Minimum requirement for 85% - make at least three substantive posts on three
separate occasions and comment on a variety of threads.
You are not eligible for 90% or more unless you include at least one specific
reference in your posts during that week. Including at least on specific citation
will also give more points regardless of how many times a student posts in that
week. A specific reference is one which leads to a specific piece of information:
a book reference with specific page number(s) or a full, specific URL. Using
specific references on a regular basis will also help you avoid plagiarizing.
To get above the minimum, and anything above 85%, comments must also
demonstrate that you are thinking about temporal and geographic context, as
well as taking into considerations social, power, gender, political, etc.,
relationships and events that might come into play.
Grading will get tougher as the semester goes on and people become more used
to the discussion board.
Communication Policy
Please use use regular email (i.e. ssworthen@ualr.edu) to correspond with me the course.
You MUST include the name of the class in your subject line, or I will not respond (i.e
HCiv, History of Civ, HIST 1311). I aim to respond to student email within 36 hours, not
counting weekends. As I am usually six timezones ahead of Little Rock, this may
sometimes mean that I will not see email sent on Friday until Monday morning.
Students with Disabilities
It is the policy of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create inclusive learning
environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in
barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement-such as time-limited
exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos-please notify the
instructor as soon as possible. Students are also welcome to contact the Disability
Resource Center, telephone 501-569-3143 (v/tty). For more information, visit the DRC
website at http://ualr.edu/disability/.
History Department Assessment Policy
The policy of the History Department is to engage students in the process of assessing
courses in the department's curriculum. Department faculty and the UALR
administration use assessment data to monitor how well students are learning both
historical content and the skills of essay writing. At several points during the semester
you may be asked to participate in this process by writing a brief essay in class or your
instructor might submit one or more of your examinations for review by other members
of the department. All assessment activities are conducted on an anonymous basis and
any evaluations will be kept in strict confidence. When you are asked to participate in
this process please do your best. Direct any questions regarding assessment to your
instructor or the department chairperson.
History Department Learning Objectives Core Courses
1.
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5.
Students will demonstrate a knowledge of historical information such as names,
dates and chronologies, events, terms, and concepts.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the diversity and complexity of
the historical context that shapes human experience.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relatedness of historical
events as expressed in such concepts as continuity and change, causation,
interdependence of cultures, and the interaction between differing groups and
societies.
Students will organize and articulate their ideas through an essay that presents a
thesis relevant to the question.
Students will support their ideas with historical evidence and will reach
conclusions based on that evidence.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses and will be treated as such. ("Plagiarism"
means "to adopt and reproduce as one's own, to appropriate to one's use, and incorporate
in one's own work without acknowledgment the ideas of others or passages from their
writings and works." See Section VI, Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and
Behavior, Student Handbook, p. 39. Copying directly from the textbook or an
encyclopedia article without quotation marks or an identifying citation, for example,
constitutes plagiarism.) Anyone who engages in such activities will receive no credit for
that assignment and may in addition be turned over to the Academic Integrity and
Grievance Committee for University disciplinary action, which may include separation
from the University.
See http://www.ualr.edu/copyright/ for more information.
Copyright Notice
Syllabus copyright Shana Worthen, 2011. with the exception of participation guidelines,
which are copyright Julie Hofmann, 2006, with some revisions.