Syllabus Supplement HUM 204: Western Civilization I

Neosho County Community College

Fall Semester, 2011 Section 31, Wednesdays, 12:303:15pm Instructor: Phone: E-mail: Kevin Blackwell (785) 242-2067 ext. 303 (816) 824-0309 kblackwell@neosho.edu Office: Office Hours: NCCC-Ottawa, Office 314 Monday and Fridays, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM Tuesday and Thursdays, 1:00-4:00 PM Friday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

ACADEMIC HONESTY Plagiarism of any type will not be tolerated in this class. Your reaction papers and writings must be your own work. I do not care if you use outside materials as long as you use proper citations and quotation marks around words that you didnt write. Downloading and printing material from the Internet as your own work will earn you an AUTOMATIC F IN THIS COURSE. Dont take the risk. EMAIL POLICY All class-related communication must be through your NCCC email account (Pmail). When writing an email put the following in the subject line: HUM204-31. All students must send a certification email to the instructor within the first week of class. The email should include the students correct name. EVALUATION AND GRADING: Students will be evaluated on their performance in class discussions, as discussion leaders, through reaction papers and on examinations. 1. Class Discussions: Attendance: Since this is a discussion class, attendance is essential. This is a minimum requirement. If you are absent, you will get a grade of zero for that discussion day. Students under obligation to participate in jury duty, a recognized religious observance, and/or activities where they are required to represent the college must give written notice to the instructor at least one week in advance. Failure to provide written notice may result in loss of the opportunity to make up the missed course work. Students missing class as a result of illness or other emergencies must confer with the instructor within a week of the absence. Make up of missed work in these cases will be at the instructors discretion. Makeup Papers: Students may make up a maximum of one missed discussion session by writing a 2 to 3 page paper on the missed material. Papers should be
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typed and should address the main points of the missed material, the students opinion of the material and what the student believes the significance of the material is to Western Civilization. The total points possible for a makeup paper will be 50 points. Knowledge of Readings: You may demonstrate knowledge of the readings by making appropriate reference to them during the course of the discussion. Indicate how the reference helps clarify meaning. Support general statements and summaries with examples and references from the readings. The reference should not be a simple quote from the material; offer some comment or explanation to indicate understanding. Discussion Skills: Interact with others by expanding their ideas when agreeing or by polite explanations when disagreeing. Ask clarifying questions to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Use of Analytical Skills: Use evaluation, logic, and examination rather than simple description. Search for the assumptions behind the ideas. Sort ideas into categories. Weigh the impact of the ideas on historical events. Application of Ideas: Apply the readings to contemporary themes and events; show how ideas developed within their historical context and what influence the ideas have exerted upon Western Civilization over time. Synthesis: Make connections between different ideas and show how they relate to each other. Sort out the major themes in each reading and then group the weeks readings by theme. Connect common themes appearing in different authors and different weekly assignments. Frequency and Nature of Participation: Try to participate at least two or three times per discussion. When you speak, try to develop dialogue with other students rather than engaging in monologues. Build on the comments of others in the natural course of the discussion. Grading: There are FIFTY (50) points available to each student each discussion week. The allocation of these points is as follows: 1. Attendance: 30 points (15 points for lecture/15 points for discussion) 2. Comments indicating knowledge of the readings: 3 points each 3. Clarifying questions/facilitating comments: 3 points each 4. Comments providing analysis of the readings: 4 points each 5. Comments applying ideas: 4 points each 6. Synthesizing comments: 5 points each

Feedback: Students will be given a grade slip the week following a discussion session which will reflect their performance.

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2. Discussion Leadership: Each student will lead one discussion session during the semester. The instructor will be provided with a list of at least twenty questions prior to the date of discussion leadership. Discussion leadership will be graded using the following criteria: 1. Adherence to topic. (Dont allow discussion to drift off the point!) 2. Knowledge of the readings content. 3. Connection of the readings content to the main themes of the course. 4. Emphasis on major ideas and use of questions to examine ideas. 5. Use of questions (at least two) to involve the group in examining application of ideas contained in the readings to current or historical situations. 6. Management of time. 7. Success in leading students into analysis and evaluation of major ideas. 8. Success in leading students into comparisons, contrasts, and connections between ideas. 9. Success in sustaining and stimulating discussion. 3. Reaction Papers: Following each discussion session students will submit an online paper describing their reaction to the discussion and the assigned material. The paper should be completely subjective and should not include a summary of the material. Reaction papers should be one to two pages in length. Reaction papers will be graded on length and on success in conveying the students opinion of the material. 4. Examinations: There will be TWO examinations during the semester, a Midterm and a Final. The exams will include both objective questions (multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank) and subjective essays. Essays will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. Knowledge of the material. Analysis of ideas. Synthesis of major themes. Clarity of written expression.

The course grade will be calculated as follows: Discussion: 50% (lowest discussion grade dropped) Midterm Exam: 15% Final Exam: 15% Reaction Papers: 15% Discussion Leadership: 5%

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Course Schedule
DATE August 24, 2011 TOPIC The River Valley Civilizations ASSIGNMENT Reading Assignment: Patterns in Western Civilization (PWC), Background I. Discussion Reading: The Epic of Gilgamesh Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 1. Discussion: Gilgamesh (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Hebrew Bible Readings, (PWC, pp. 39-89). Reading Assignment: PWC, Background II, Ch. 2. Discussion: Hebrew Bible (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Sappho, (PWC, pp. 123-127); Sophocles, Antigone. Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 3. Discussion: Sappho and Sophocles (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Plato, Apology; The Republic: Book II, Book III, sections 411-end; Book IV, sections 439-444; Book V, Book VI, sections 507-511; Book VII, sections 514-518. Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 4. Discussion: Plato (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Aristotle, The Politics: Book I, chapters 1-13; Book III, chapter 1, chapters 5-7; Book IV, chapter 1, chapter 4, chapters 8-12; Book VII, chapters 14-17; Book VIII, chapters 1-3.

August 31, 2011

Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible

September 7, 2011

Ancient Greece and the Greek Tragedy

September 14, 2011

Plato and Greek Philosophy

September 21, 2011

Aristotle and Greek Philosophy

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DATE September 28, 2011 TOPIC Rome: Republic to Empire ASSIGNMENT Reading Assignment: PWC, Background III, Ch. 5. Discussion: Aristotle (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Virgil, The Aeneid, Books 1, 2, 4, 6, and conclusion. Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 6. Discussion: Virgil (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Seneca, Letters from a Stoic: Letters V, VII, VIII, IX, XVI, XVIII, XXVI, XXVIII, XLI, XLVII, LXV, LXXXVI, LXXXVIII, XC. MIDTERM EXAMINATION

October 5, 2011

Stoicism and the Roman Empire

October 12, 2011 October 19, 2011 Early Christianity

October 26, 2011

Augustine and the Early Church

November 2, 2011

The Early Middle Ages and Islam

Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch.7 Discussion: Seneca (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Christian Scriptures, (PWC, pp. 242-269) Reading Assignment: PWC, Background IV, Ch. 8. Discussion: Christian Scriptures (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Saint Augustine, Confessions, Books 5-9. Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 9. Discussion: Augustine (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: The Koran: (The Cow, Women, The Dinner Table, The Thunder, Abraham, The Prophets, Time)

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DATE November 9, 2011 TOPIC The High Middle Ages ASSIGNMENT Reading Assignment: PWC, Background V, Ch. 10, 11. Discussion: Koran (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Saint Thomas Aquinas Readings, (Class Handout); Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The Prologue, The Prologue to the Wife of Baths Tale, The Wife of Baths Tale, The Prologue to the Pardoners Tale, and The Pardoners Tale. Reading Assignment: PWC, Background VI, Ch. 12. Discussion: Aquinas and Chaucer (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Machiavelli, The Prince; Pico Della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man, PWC, pp. 375-377. THANKSGIVING BREAK

November 16, 2011

The Renaissance

November 23, 2011 November 30, 2011

NO CLASS

The Reformation

December 7, 2011

The Scientific Revolution

Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 13. Discussion: Machiavelli and Pico Della Mirandola (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Martin Luther, Selections from Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate, (PWC, pp. 392-409). Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 13 and 14. Discussion: Luther (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at 5:00PM) Discussion Reading: Galileo Galilei, The Starry Messenger and Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina.

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December 14, 2011 FINAL EXAMINATION

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