The Course Syllabus

Los Angeles Valley College
Syllabus for Western Civilizations to 1500
History 001
Section 16999
Instructor: William Van Benschoten (aka Mr. Van)
Fall 2019

Instructor’s Email: Please use the Canvas Inbox on
the Global Navigation Bar, on the left.

Mr. Van’s History Group on Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MisterVansHistoryGroup/

Office Hours: by appointment or by using the Canvas Conference Tool

Course Goals

This course on Western Civilizations has the potential to be one of the most interesting and exciting you take in college. The historical period we’ll be studying, from Prehistory to about 1500 c.e./a.d., has seen technological, artistic, social, cultural, and political changes that boggle the mind. In this class we will survey some of these changes and try to make sense of their causes and consequences. We cannot cover everything worthy of our attention; some things have to be left out because there simply isn’t enough time – even in a 16-week course.  So we’re offering an intellectual buffet that allows you to sample from art, politics, architecture, war, literature music, films, and folklore, and that introduces you to the wide range of rich material that makes up the history of Western Civilizations.

 Finally, we’ll be working on the “R’s”: writing, reading, and reasoning. Historical writing and thinking are not restricted to a priestly caste. This course will help you sharpen the skills critical to thinking better, intelligently, and historically. To this end, we’ll be synthesizing evidence from both primary and secondary sources and comparing and contrasting multiple perspectives of a given event. Along the way we’ll be addressing current issues and trends in the news and appraise the value of historical knowledge in understanding these issues and trends. 

Course Prerequisites

Though there are no official prerequisites for this course, if you have not taken the writing series offered at our college or passed a basic writing course at the college level, it may be better to improve your writing skills first. Good reading comprehension is also essential and will make your time in the course better spent. For an online course, the following skills are essential:  

• Computer literacy: Basic computer skills, such as saving and opening files in various formats, cutting and pasting text, and so on.
• Basic Writing Skills
• Typing skills
• Easy Access to a computer less than 2 years old
• Reliable internet Access
• Familiarity with Threaded Discussions or Forums
• A strong, even unrelenting, desire to learn  
  
  

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who successfully complete this course will --

a.) demonstrate factual and chronologically accurate knowledge of key events, issues, trends, and people of the relevant time period and geographic region.

b.) demonstrate the ability to interpret historical information by applying analytical skills used by historians -- such as synthesizing evidence from both primary and secondary sources, comparing and contrasting multiple perspectives, contextualizing information, and/or identifying causes and effects of change and continuity. 

c.) appraise the value of historical knowledge for understanding more recent and/or comparable issues, events, and trends.

d.) Analyze the impact of the development and transmission of the Western historical tradition on Western societies and the world up to the year 1400.

REQUIRED TEXT:

There is one required text for this course. 

The Making of the West, to 1750, vol. I, 6^th edition, Value Edition
by Lynn Hunt et al, Bedford/St. Martins.

Be sure to get the Value Edition.

Here is the ISBN: 978-1-319-10500-6 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

What will this course require? That:

1. You complete and submit all of your work on time. No late work will be accepted unless you have a verifiable emergency. To learn what a verifiable emergency is, see below.
   
   
2. You participate earnestly and positively in our discussions and other class activities. To participate in such activities, you must naturally have done the readings assigned for that week before taking part. The discussions are a big part of this course, so invest your time and effort in them.
   
   
3. You read carefully – very carefully – this syllabus during the first week of the course and thereafter as needed. Most of your questions about this course will be answered in this document! 
   
   
4. You will ask questions constantly: questioning is essential.  
   
   

THE WORK FOR THIS ONLINE COURSE

Please be aware that unless otherwise noted, almost all of the assignments in our class start on the Monday of each week and close on the following Sunday, at 11 p.m. (PST - Pacific Standard Time). Sunday at 11 p.m. (PST) will be the deadline for most of your assignments in this course. Please note this carefully. 

After the Sunday deadline has passed, the assignments will automatically "close" and not be accessible for love or money. Late work will not be accepted. (Please read that again.) 

Besides readings, quizzes, discussions, and essay assignments, you may be asked to analyze documents, videos, and images. You may also be invited to participate in online group activities, such as the peer-editing of papers, and the posting of comments to the Discussions.

There will be a Field Trip Project. A link to it is on the home page.

Analytical essay assignments will be assigned. The assignments will ask you to analyze historical questions, to use your textbook and primary documents in constructing your answer, and to write grammatically and effectively. These essay assignments will be posted in advance of their due-date. 

There will also be weekly quizzes. They are worth points, so do not neglect them. The quizzes will mostly be on the material we are covering for the current week. Earlier questions from earlier quizzes may also appear. If you’ve read the assigned readings carefully and reflected on the material, you will do well on the quizzes. 

The Grade Breakdown

The grade breakdown is as follows:

Essential Information about the Discussions

Class Discussion is an extremely important part of our Online Course. This is reflected in the weight given it in the grade breakdown, half of your total grade. Doing well in the discussion will require that you learn from others by reading their posts and that you add to the discussion and education of others by contributing your own posts. It is essential that you contribute consistently to the Discussions to pass this course. The Discussion area of our course should be your home away from home.

To understand how your weekly posts will be graded and what you should put in them, please read the document "About Our Discussions" (click on this hyperlink). It is essential reading. In fact, print it and tape it to your computer screen for the remainder of this semester. It will help you daily.

The Discussion Grading Table

In grading your Discussion posts, I will be looking for several things. For instance, how informed and informative were the posts? Did the student use the assigned material in her comments? (this is ESSENTIAL) Did the student address the posts of his or her classmates and "join the conversation"? How well did the student work with others to explore the key themes in each chapter? Were all posts critical (questioning, probing, involved) or were they simply "phoned in"?

Here is the Grading Rubric I will usually use in grading your Discussion posts:



HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE

• Question everything. Demand evidence. Think for yourself. 
• Block out time in your schedule to do the work and follow the schedule. 
• Read this syllabus and any other course material carefully and frequently. 
• Participate in course discussions regularly, daily. Since this is a summer accelerated course, we will be moving through the material quickly. There is no room for missed assignments or missed classes.
• Treat your efforts and your fellow course participants’ learning efforts with respect. We are all in this together, if we choose to be.
• Question everything.
• Have patience and a sense of humor with the material.  
• Ask for help when you need it and share assistance with others when you can help. 
• Question everything.
  
  

Late Assignments

HELP! 

If you experience any technical problems during your usage of this online course, please do not hesitate to contact Tech Support. They will issue you a request or job number confirming your call and the problem you think you might be having. Provide this confirmation in all messages to the instructor regarding your possible problem.

You may contact the help desk by clicking on our HELP! -- Canvas Technical Support. (blue type usually denotes a hyperlink: click on the link to access the linked page)

If you have a course related issue (course content, assignment troubles, quiz difficulties) please do the following in this sequence: 

1. Read the Course Syllabus again, carefully.
   
   
2. Consult the “FAQ” and “Q&A” pages on the Course Homepage. If your question is not answered there, post your question and I or your fellow-students will help you.
   
   
3. Visit the LAVC Virtual Valley webpages, part of the LAVC website.  
   
   
4. E-mail me. However, email me only if 1.) you have a question about a grade or 2.) you wish to report a breach in netiquette on our course website. I can be reached by clicking on the Inbox on the left of your screen, on the Global Navigation Bar. 
   
   

Computer or Internet Access Problems

Whenever you have what appears to be a technical problem with the Canvas platform, please go to the Student Resources page at Virtual Valley, here -- http://www.lavc.edu/virtualvalley/oei-and-canvas.html Links to an external site.

There you will find this: 

What kind of Canvas resources are available to students?
Go to the following links:

The Canvas Student Guide Links to an external site.

Getting Started With Canvas as a Student

You are responsible, of course, for the good repair of your own computer equipment and internet connection: both. Any assignment that is missed or late because of your own technical problems cannot be made up. 

Scope out a backup computer and internet connection, now, in case of emergencies later. You'll be glad you did. 

For tech support, please note the 'Help' button at the bottom of the Global Navigation toolbar in Canvas. Click on it.

Class Participation and  Enrollment

If you do not start to perform the assigned work by Tuesday of the first week of class, I will give your "seat" to another student and drop you from  enrollment. Please hit the ground running, check into our class often, and contribute.

Dropping this Class 

If you decide not to continue coming to class, it is your responsibility  -- not mine -- to drop this class at the Registrar's office. If you do not drop yourself, your likely grade for the course will be an "F".

If you miss class or have to leave early for a verifiable emergency, it is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible to notify me of the emergency.

Verifiable emergencies are unexpected, unforeseeable events that make it impossible for the student to perform by deadline their work for this class. Verification must include the signature of the person who knows well your emergency, a date, and the phone number of the person who can vouch for your emergency. That person cannot be a friend or family member. If the emergency is medical, it must be the signature of a medical professional directly involved in your case. 

Please know that I reserve the right to drop students without notice who fail consistently to NOT submit work for more than two weeks. Your participation in our online class is expected as it would for any on-ground class. 

HOW CAN YOU REACH ME?

There is no reason for you to be unable to contact me on any matter related to the course. Email me by clicking the Inbox on the left of this page, in the Global Navigation Bar. 

I will most likely answer your email within 24 hours if you email me on a week-day. If you don't hear from me in 24 hours, please email me again noting that this is your second email. 

When you email me, be sure that your full name and the class section number are in the subject line. This is important if you wish for a speedy reply. The password for your Week-1 Quiz is "studentcraft1"

For example, a subject line might look thus: "Justin Bieber, History 001"

Finally, remember that – like you – I treasure my weekends. If you send me an urgent email on Saturday or Sunday or late Friday night, chances are I will not receive your email until early Monday morning. Then again, I might. What’s important to understand is that the chances of getting a quick reply to your urgent email is much more likely during the work week, but less likely on the weekend.

Academic Integrity

Cheating on examinations, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the test or assignment and referral to the Vice President of Student Services for further disciplinary action, following due process. 

Plagiarism is the use of others’ words and/or ideas without clearly acknowledging the original source. Plagiarism includes copying an assignment from someone who has taken this class before, using quotes or information from a textbook, web source, journal or other source without proper citation. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA CREDIT WORK

There is no planned optional extra credit work for the course. Work hard and do your best on each assignment day by day, week by week.  

MAKING UP MISSED EXAMS

Make-up exams will be allowed only for verifiable emergencies. All verifiable emergencies require written proof that the emergency has or is taking place. 


 

 NB: Mr. Van reserves the right to modify this syllabus when necessary.