HISTORY 1503: World Civilization I - Arkansas Tech University



HISTORY 1503: World Civilization I

Fall 2007

Section .002, MWF 9:00-9:50, WPN 275

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INFORMATION

Professor: Dr. Jan Jenkins

Office: Witherspoon Hall 239B

Office phone: 479-968-0456

Office Hours:

MWF, 10:00 --11:00 A.M.;

TR 9:30 --11:00 A.M.;

MW 2:00—3:00 P.M.;

TR 1:30 – 3:00 P.M.

Or by appointment

Office e-mail: ejenkins@atu.edu

Please do not use e-mail for absentee excuses

COURSE

The political, economic, and social development of Man from the earliest times to the seventeenth century.

REQUIRED TEXT

Adler, Philip J. World Civilizations. 4th ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2006.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following are optional supplemental readings:

Grant, Michael. The Rise of the Greeks, 1989.

Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars, trans. by Robert Graves, 1957, or Michael Grant, 1977.

David Howarth. 1066: The Year of the Conquest, 1977.

Herlihy, David. Opera Muliebria: Women and Work in Medieval Europe, 1990.

Joseph Gies; Frances Gies. Life in a Medieval City, 1969.

Marco Polo. The Travels, any edition.

Rice, Eugene F., Jr.; Grafton, Anthony. Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559, 1994.

William Manchester. A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, 1992.

GOALS OF THE COURSE

Rationale and Objectives:

To provide information which will enable you to acquire knowledge of the history of Western and Non-Western cultures and recognize the interdependent nature of the global economic, political, and social institutions and systems.

To provide historical context for world events.

To encourage you to develop your individual interests in history.

To foster specific skills, as follows:

A. Reading Skills - by requiring a text and, where useful, collateral reading materials.

B. Writing and Reasoning Skills - by assisting you to write clear, informative, and analytical essays.

C. Listening Skills - through class lectures, group discussions, videos, and multimedia presentations.

D. Speaking Skills - by encouraging you to participate in class discussions.

SCHEDULE

Assignment dates and Exam dates, except Final Exams, may be changed at my discretion. You will receive adequate notice of any change.

Labor Day holiday – Monday, September 3

Unit Exam 1 – Monday, September 17

Unit Exam 2 – Friday, October 12

Unit Exam 3 – Friday, November 9

Last day to drop courses with a “W” – Monday, November 26

Thanksgiving holidays – Wednesday, November 21 through Sunday, November 25

Reading Day – Friday, December 7

Unit Exam 4 (Final Exam) – Week of December 10-14 (see schedule for finals)

SCANTRONS AND BLUE BOOKS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR EXAMS.

STUDY GUIDES

A study guide for each unit will be provided at the beginning of the semester. These are lists of topics with which you should become well-versed before the appropriate exams and should not be treated as lists of terms to be looked up in the book’s index.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance is required. Your final grade will include a total possible attendance score of 100 points, giving attendance the same weight as a major exam grade. For each unexcused absence after the first two, 10 points will be deducted from your attendance score. You may not use your “free” unexcused absences for exams.

If you are late to class, you will only be given credit for having been present if you see the professor at the end of the class for which you were tardy. Three tardies equal one unexcused absence.

ABSENCES FOR UNIVERSITY-SPONSORED EVENTS

Absences necessitated by your participation in official university-sponsored events will be excused if you provide documentation in advance of the event. It is YOUR responsibility to clear this sort of absence with me--NOT the responsibility of your organization’s sponsor or coach.

GRADES

Grading will follow a ten-point scale (90% = A, 80% = B, etc.), based upon total possible points for the semester. Each exam will be worth 100 points on your final grade. Attendance will be worth 100 points. You may also be given short classroom assignments or quizzes (10-25 points each) based upon lecture notes or assigned readings.

CHEATING OR PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE.

TAPE RECORDERS

Tape recorders may be used in class, but only to supplement your class notes. Please use recorders quietly and without disrupting those around you.

MAKE-UP EXAMS

A comprehensive make-up exam will be scheduled towards the end of the semester for students who have presented valid, verifiable written excuses for having missed regularly-scheduled exams

DROP DATES

A student who drops a course through November 26, 2007, will receive a grade of “W.”

EXTRA CREDIT

The availability of suitable activities varies by semester, so extra credit opportunities are not guaranteed. Any available extra credit opportunities (to a maximum of 30 points) will be announced in class and may include attendance at designated, pre-approved special events. In order to earn extra credit, you must also have attended the class session closest in time to the special event. Extra credit will be added to accumulated point totals at the END OF THE SEMESTER, after the completion of all regular assignments.

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

This course is divided into four units emphasizing social, intellectual, cultural, and political history. General topics and reading assignments are listed below. Please make sure that you have read the assigned chapters ahead of the date indicated--this method will give you a better understanding of the material covered in class and will enable you to raise questions as needed.

Unit I - “Prehistory” (Ch. 1)

“Mesopotamia” (Ch. 2)

“Egypt” (Ch. 3)

“Warriors and Deities in the Near East: Persians and Jews” (Ch. 4)

“India’s Beginnings” (Ch. 5)

“Ancient China to 500 B.C.E.” (Ch. 6)

“Worldview One: Ancient Civilizations, 3500-500 BCE”

Unit II - “The Greek Adventure” (Ch. 7)

“Hellenic Culture” (Ch. 8)

“Hellenistic Civilization” (Ch. 9)

“Rome” (Ch. 10)

“Imperial Decline and the Birth of Christian Europe” (Ch. 11)

“Worldview Two: Classical Mediterranean Civilizations, 500 BCE-800 CE”

Unit III - “The Americas Before Columbus” (Ch. 12)

“Africa from Kush to the Fifteenth Century” (Ch. 13)

“Islam” (Ch. 14

“Mature Islamic Society and Institutions” (Ch. 15)

“Indian Civilization in its Golden Age” (Ch. 16)

“Empire of the Middle: China to the Mongol Conquest” (Ch. 17)

“Japan and Southest Asia” (Ch. 18)

“The Mongol Intrusion” (Ch. 22)

“Worldview Three: Equilibrium among Polycentric Civilizations, 500-1500 CE”

Unit IV - “The European Middle Ages” (Ch. 19)

“Late Medieval Troubles” (Ch. 20)

“The European Renaissance” (Ch. 21)

“A Larger World Opens” (Ch. 23)

“The Protestant Reformation” (Ch. 24)

TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN HISTORY 1503

1. Please make certain that you attend class. Students who miss class generally perform poorly.

2. Please exercise good classroom manners. Remove your hats or other headwear when you come into class; don’t yawn without covering your mouth; and please don’t eat or drink in class. Be respectful of others. You are always welcome to question or challenge the statements or opinions of the professor or your classmates, as long as you are polite about it.

3. Please turn off and put away all cell phones and pagers before you come into class. A ringing cell phone or a beeping pager is a very unpleasant distraction in class. Do not send or receive text mail messages in class, or I will ask you to leave.

4. Absentee excuses must be presented within a week of your return to class. If you have a doctor’s excuse, please make sure that it has the correct date on it and is signed by the doctor. If you are absent because of the illness of a child who is your dependant, please make sure that the doctor’s excuse also has your name on it. If you are unwell and must miss class but are unable to go to the doctor, please remember that you are entitled to go to the campus clinic in Dean Hall. The nurse in charge can issue a written excuse for you.

5. I am happy to meet with students and hold regular office hours for that purpose.

6. Always read the textbook before coming to class. Class lectures on the material are given after the assigned readings. If you will read your chapters before you come to class, you will be familiar with the material and will be able to avoid getting lost in the lecture or trying to write down everything I say.

7. Please take notes during lectures. If your notes are difficult to follow, then you should try a different note-taking method. I will be happy to look at your notes during office hours if you need help or suggestions.

8. Each exam will include essay questions. I will tell you in class when something is a good potential essay for your next exam, so you can put a star or an asterisk in the margin near your notes on that topic. We will also go over the list of potential essay questions before each exam.

9. Remember that the lectures cannot cover everything a student ought to learn from taking a world history survey course. For this reason, you must read and learn some things on your own. Note: You are responsible for material in assigned textbook chapters whether they are covered in class or not.

10. Exams will be returned one week after you take them. Please do not ask for your grades before then.

11. Please remember that if you stop attending class without officially dropping the course, your final grade will be an “F” and will appear on your transcript.

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