Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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
didn’t write. Downloading and printing material from the Internet as your own
work will earn you an AUTOMATIC F IN THIS COURSE. Don’t take the risk.
EMAIL POLICY
All class-related communication must be through your NCCC email account (P-
mail). 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 student’s correct name.
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 instructor’s
discretion.
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Syllabus Supplement
typed and should address the main points of the missed material, the student’s
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.
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.
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
week’s readings by theme. Connect common themes appearing in different
authors and different weekly assignments.
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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Syllabus Supplement
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. (Don’t allow discussion to drift off the point!)
2. Knowledge of the reading’s content.
3. Connection of the reading’s 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 student’s
opinion of the material.
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Syllabus Supplement
Course Schedule
DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
May 31, 2011 The River Valley Reading Assignment: Patterns in
Civilizations Western Civilization (PWC),
Background I.
Discussion Reading: The Epic of
Gilgamesh
June 2, 2011 Ancient Israel Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 1.
and the Hebrew Discussion: Gilgamesh
Bible (Reaction Paper Due by Friday at
5:00PM)
Discussion Reading: Hebrew Bible
Readings, (PWC, pp. 39-89).
June 7, 2011 Ancient Greece Reading Assignment: PWC,
and the Greek Background II, Ch. 2.
Tragedy Discussion: Hebrew Bible
(Reaction Paper Due by Wednesday at
5:00PM)
Discussion Reading: Sappho, (PWC,
pp. 123-127); Sophocles, Antigone.
June 9, 2011 Plato and Greek Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 3.
Philosophy 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.
June 14, 2011 Aristotle and Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 4.
Greek Discussion: Plato
Philosophy (Reaction Paper Due by Wednesday 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.
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DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
July 7, 2011 The High Middle Reading Assignment: PWC,
Ages 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 Bath’s Tale, The Wife of
Bath’s Tale, The Prologue to the
Pardoner’s Tale, and The Pardoner’s
Tale.
July 12, 2011 The Reading Assignment: PWC,
Renaissance Background VI, Ch. 12.
Discussion: Aquinas and Chaucer
(Reaction Paper Due by Wednesday at
5:00PM)
Discussion Reading: Machiavelli, The
Prince; Pico Della Mirandola, Oration
on the Dignity of Man, PWC, pp. 375-
377.
July 14, 2011 The Reformation 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).
July 19, 2011 The Scientific Reading Assignment: PWC, Ch. 13
Revolution and 14.
Discussion: Luther
(Reaction Paper Due by Wednesday at
5:00PM)
Discussion Reading: Galileo Galilei,
The Starry Messenger and Letter to the
Grand Duchess Christina.
July 21, 2011 FINAL EXAMINATION
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