Northwestern College
WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO 1789
History 101-1, Spring
Semester 2011
(4 Credits)
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Professor: Douglas Firth Anderson |
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Class Period: T/Th, 9:25-10:55 a.m. |
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Office, Phone, & E-mail: VPH 212, x7054, firth@nwciowa.edu |
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Class Location: VPH 313 |
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Office hours: MWF, 2:10 p.m., or by appointment |
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Student Assistant: Jasmine Smith |
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Web page: http://home.nwciowa.edu/firth/ |
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A. [W]e intend Northwestern graduates to be persons who Engage Ideas
B. Life can only be understood backwards ... .
C. [H]istory holds the potential ... of humanizing us in ways
offered by few other areas in the school curriculum. ...
II. Why Isn't Studying and Understanding History Simple? A. [H]istory [i]s a web of contingency. Contingency is about events, choices, and agency. Webs are about structures and processes, which amplify the agency of individual choices in some ways, and constrain them in others.
B.
The historian … might well take as her credo this statement by Karl Marx from
The Eighteenth Brumaire
of Louis Bonaparte: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it
just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered,
given, and transmitted from the past. …” Or, as stated more concisely in The German Ideology, “circumstances
make men just as much as men make circumstances.” David Nasaw, “AHR
Roundtable: Historians and Biography. Introduction,” American Historical Review 114 (June 2009): 578. C. History-making . . . is a creative enterprise, by means of which we fashion out of fragments of human memory and selected evidence of the past a mental construct of a coherent past world that makes sense to the present.
III. How Might a Christian Perspective Shape Our Understanding of the Past? Does Micah’s injunction to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (6:8) have any bearing on a Christian’s historical work? I believe that it does. We do justice when we give all the historical actors their due, not privileging those who had the most power, or for whom we have more data. Loving kindness means exercising compassion towards our historical subjects. They were no more limited by their location and biases than we are. They were creating their lives as they went; we need to re-create those lives with a minimum of moralizing. To walk humbly is to recognize that even hindsight is not fully accurate and that our accounts are never definitive.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What is this course? "This course acquaints students with the major periods and contours of Western Civilization from its roots in the ancient Near East through its development in the eighteenth-century Enlightenment" (NW Catalog). Various aspects of Western European society and culture, including politics, economics, philosophy, the fine arts, popular mores, and religion, will be examined in historical context.
What will class meetings be like? The course will meet twice a week. In general, lectures will constitute much of in-class time each week. Additionally, however, significant time will be regularly taken in discussion of the readings, listening to music, considering maps and artwork, and viewing relevant documentaries and films.
What will be expected in general of each student? The workload of the course reflects both liberal arts expectations in general and historical method in particular. Attendance at all class meetings is, of course, expected. Some 1400pp. of reading will be required. Writing will include three papers as well as various brief writing assignments. Both large group and small group discussion time will be provided for. Five quizzes on the main text reading and in-class material will be required.
COURSE OBJECTIVES (WHAT DIFFERENCE THIS COURSE SHOULD MAKE):
1. To become familiar with major elements and examples of Western social and cultural history from prehistoric times through the Enlightenment, since the Western tradition has been the single most important shaper of our own contemporary American society and culture; in short, to know something of Western civilization is to know something of ourselves.
2. To develop skills in analytical reading, critical thinking, historical writing, and oral discussion through course assignments and activities, since such skills are key tools for learning how, with the Apostle Paul, to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
3. To develop practice of historical method through attention to such issues as context, continuity and change, causation, moral judgment, and interpretation while engaged with course material, since historical method can be a tool for living "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Mt. 10:16).
4. To provide tools and opportunity for beginning to reflect Christianly about Western historical development, for "in [Christ] all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).
COURSE OUTLINE:
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Date
(TTh) Class # |
In-Class Subjects, Quizzes, & Papers |
Reading
Assignments |
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I. PROLEGOMENON |
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Course Introduction I: What is History? |
*Handouts |
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Course Introduction II: History, Civilizations, Culture, & Christ |
*McIntire
(MyNorthwestern1) *S & S, pp. 2-8 |
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II. THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST & MEDITERRANEAN |
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The Ancient River Civilizations of the Near East |
*S & S, pp. 8-25 *Perry, pp. 1-17 |
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Ancient Religion |
*S & S, pp. 26-35 *Perry, pp. 18-24 |
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The Ancient Greek Polis I: Arete |
*S
& S, pp. 38-58 |
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The Ancient Greek Polis II: Historia |
*S & S, pp. 58-72 *Perry, pp. 30-33, 49-59 |
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To the Hellenistic Age |
*S
& S, pp. 74-101 |
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Alexander the Great I |
*Gergel, pp. vii-68 |
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Alexander the Great II |
*Gergel, pp. 69-150 |
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QUIZ #1/Ancient Rome I: The Republic |
*S
& S, pp. 104-116 |
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Ancient Rome II: The Empire |
*S & S, pp. 116-131, 134-155 *Perry, pp. 88-101 |
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The Rise of Christianity |
*S
& S, pp. 155-169 |
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PAPER #1/Heirs of Rome |
*S
& S, pp. 172-205 |
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III. THE MIDDLE AGES |
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Early Middle Ages: Emerging Christendom |
*S
& S, pp. 208-235 |
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QUIZ #2/High Middle Ages I: Chivalry & Towns |
*S
& S, pp. 238-262 |
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High Middle Ages II: Christendom Militant |
*S
& S, pp. 263-271 |
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Hildegard I |
*Hildegard, pp. 3-85 |
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Hildegard II |
*Hildegard, pp. 89-203 |
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Late Middle Ages: Disarray |
*S
& S, pp. 274-299 |
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IV. THE EARLY MODERN ERA |
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QUIZ #3/The Renaissance |
*S
& S, pp. 302-333 |
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Utopia I |
*More, pp. xi-47 (Intro. & Bk. I) |
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Utopia II |
*More, pp. 49-113 (Bk. II) |
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Religious Reform & Reaction I: Protestants |
*S
& S, pp. 336-353 |
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PAPER #2/Religious Reform & Reaction II: Catholics |
*S
& S, pp. 354-369 |
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European Expansion |
*S & S, pp. 372-401 *Perry, pp. 206-216 |
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QUIZ #4/The Rise of the Nation State |
*S
& S, pp. 404-437 |
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A New World of Reason |
*S
& S, pp. 440-452 |
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Longitude I |
*Sobel, pp. 1-87 |
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Longitude II |
*Sobel, pp. 88-175 |
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An Age of Enlightenment/ Faith and History: A Reconsideration |
*S
& S, pp. 452-464 |
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May 10 |
Tu., 10:30-12:30 p.m. scheduled finals period; QUIZ #5 & PAPER #3 DUE |
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1. For this reading, log onto MyNorthwestern, then to this course, then to Syllabus, then to Downloadable Version, then to Handouts.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Reading (in assignment order):
· Various materials on MyNorthwestern.
· Sherman, Dennis and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World. Vol. 1: To 1715. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. ISBN 9780073316697
· Perry, Marvin[, ed.]. Sources of the Western Tradition. Vol. 1: From Ancient Times to the Enlightenment. Brief ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. ISBN 0618539018
· Gergel, Tania, ed.. Alexander the Great: Selected Texts from Arrian, Curtius and Plutarch. Intro. Michael Wood. London: Penguin Books, 2004. ISBN 0142001406
· Hildegard of Bingen. Selected Writings. Ed. & trans. Mark Atherton. London: Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0140436049
· More, Thomas. Utopia. Ed. & trans. Paul Turner. London: Penguin Books, 2003. ISBN 9780140449105
· Sobel, Dava. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. New York: Walker & Co., 2007 (orig. ed. 2003). ISBN 9780802715296
2. Assignments:
A. A total of 60% of the course grade will consist of THREE PAPERS.
A.1. PAPER #1 (zooming in for the closest focus):
· Choose one of the following:
1.1. Take
a position regarding the following proposition, discussing major
historical developments and supporting examples to make your case: Alexander
the Great’s conquests exemplified the chief purpose
underlying all the great ancient empires from the Egyptian and Assyrian through
the Roman, namely, to bring together as much as the world as possible under one
dominant civilization.
1.2. Take a position regarding the following proposition, discussing major historical developments and supporting examples to make your case: Alexander the Great’s divinization during and after his lifetime was an unusual religious development in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, since all ancient religions of the Near East and Mediterranean emphasized the frailty of humans in relation to the inscrutable divinities (gods and goddesses).
Further specifications: due by 11:55 p.m., Feb. 22 (Tu.); covers all relevant in-class and assigned material through Feb. 15 (Tu.; Rome); should be no less than 4 pp. and may be longer than 6 pp.; is worth 15% of the course grade. Also see section A.4. (below) and the Paper Grading Checklist (final page of syllabus) for general guidelines, including formal specifications and factors in grading the paper. Please submit a Microsoft Word file (that is, .docx, .doc, or .rtf) of the paper to the MyNorthwestern coursework file for this assignment (MyNorthwestern will automatically send your paper to Turnitin.com).
A.2. PAPER #2 (zooming out a bit for a mid-range focus):
· Choose one of the following:
2.1. Take a position regarding the following proposition, discussing major historical developments and supporting examples to make your case: Comparing how women were seen and treated as women in ancient and medieval Western Civilization, little changed between Enheduanna to Nympha to Hildegard to Christine de Pisan, despite the rise of Christianity.
2.2. Take a position regarding the following proposition, discussing major historical developments and supporting examples to make your case: Hildegard of Bingen and Thomas More illustrate two important critical traditions in Western Civilization which can be seen in ancient, medieval, and early modern eras, namely, the tradition of religious criticism (Hildegard) and the tradition of philosophical criticism (More).
Further specifications: due by 11:55 p.m., Apr. 12 (Tu.); covers all relevant in-class and assigned material through Apr. 7 (Protestant Reformation); should be no less than 5 pp. and may be longer than 7 pp.; is worth 20% of the course grade. Also see section A.4. (below) and the Paper Grading Checklist (final page of syllabus) for general guidelines, including formal specifications and factors in grading the paper. Please submit a Microsoft Word file (that is, .docx, .doc, or .rtf) of the paper to the MyNorthwestern coursework file for this assignment (MyNorthwestern will automatically send your paper to Turnitin.com).
A.3. PAPER #3 (zooming out for the broadest focus):
· Choose one of the following:
3.1. Take a position regarding the following proposition, discussing major historical developments and supporting examples to make your case: As John Harrison struggled with the Board of Longitude over claiming the prize for solving the longitude problem, so did scientists and the scientific community in general from Hippocrates and Aristotle through Hildegard of Bingen and Roger Bacon to Galileo Galilei and John Harrison struggle with various entrenched interests over the rational investigation of nature.
3.2. War has been a conspicuous part of the history of Western Civilization from ancient times through the 18th century (and beyond). Imagine a conversation between Alexander the Great, Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas More, and John Harrison on the topic “War: why does it happen, and can it be avoided?” (Place it in the Hub; how they all get there is up to your imagination.) You are there as a Beacon correspondent, listening in to the interaction, and offering historical background and context for your readers along with a summary of the discussion. What would your story of the conversation be? (Base your report on what direct evidence there may be from each historical individual about such things, but you will primarily need to think indirectly and contextually. That is, given their respective lives and times--their experiences, beliefs, and societies--what would each most plausibly think? Remember, the point of this essay is a historically plausible discussion on war. You have a model of such writing in "Nympha's Story" on My NWC.)
Further
specifications: due by the end of the scheduled final period (Tu., May 10,
12:30 p.m.); covers all relevant in-class and assigned material; should be
no less than 6 pp. and may be longer than 8 pp.; is worth 25%
of the course grade. Also see section
A.4. (below) and the Paper Grading Checklist (final
page of syllabus) for general guidelines, including formal specifications and
factors in grading the paper. Please submit a Microsoft Word file (that
is, .docx, .doc, or .rtf) of the paper to the MyNorthwestern coursework file
for this assignment (MyNorthwestern will automatically send your paper to
Turnitin.com).
A.4. WHAT REALLY MATTERS for PAPERS:
1. WHAT IS EACH PAPER SUPPOSED TO ACCOMPLISH?
a) To show that you have done all the relevant reading and listened well in class to lectures and discussions, so that you can write
b) a historically informed and contextualized argument in response to the chosen paper assignment.
2. ARE THE PAPERS INTERRELATED AND WHO IS THEIR AUDIENCE?
a) Yes, the papers are interrelated. They are intended to be cumulative and comprehensive. That is, the second paper should include historical material covered, in principle, by the first paper choices as well as newer material, and similarly, the third paper should include older as well as newer material. This approach is to help you learn to think both in detail--what examples are best?--and also synthetically and developmentally--i.e., how might this connect to that and what does this suggest about historical change? The papers can be thought of as analogous to a camera lens: the first paper zooms in for the closest view, the second zooms out a bit for a mid-range view, and the third zooms out the farthest for the widest view.
b) Address your paper to adults who know little about your topic, but are curious about the past and who appreciate, thoughtful, clearly written work.
3.
WHAT ARE THE DETAILS TO
WHICH EACH PAPER SHOULD CONFORM?
a) provide plentiful historical support from the reading, especially from relevant primary sources.
b) provide
"when" as well as "who" and "why" in
discussion and illustrative details.
c) be in your own words, except for
clearly indicated and brief quotations. (Working together to discuss
an outline is fine, but each paper should be your own written work.)
d) use " " when quoting, except for quotations that are three
lines or longer, in which case the quotation should be set in block form (i.e.,
no quotation marks, single spaced, and indented left margin) like the
following:
... [O]ut of all the material of the philosophers' discussions, surely there comes nothing more valuable than the full realization that we are born for Justice, and that right is based, not upon men's opinions, but upon Nature. This fact will immediately be plain if you once get a clear conception of man's fellowship and union with his fellow-men For no single thing is so like another, so exactly its counterpart, as all of us are to one another. (Cicero, in Perry, p. 76)
e) note your sources in parentheses at the end of sentences or paragraphs in the following forms:
· (S & S, p.26)
· (Justinian, in S & S, p. 197)
· (Tertullian, in Perry, p. 107)
· (McIntire, online doc.)
· (Sobel, p. 39)
f)
be typed double spaced with a header (no title
page) containing paper title, your name, your e-address, and the due date.
g) be submitted by the specified date (see late
paper policy under Course Miscellany, #1).
h) be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (that is, .docx, .doc, or .rtf)
through My NWC (when in your My NWC account, click on the link to this course,
then click on coursework, then click on the appropriate paper, then, in the
drop box, search for your Word file, select it, and send it in; your paper will
automatically be sent to Turnitin.com). If you encounter trouble in
submitting the paper through My NWC, consult with the folks in the Computer
Center, especially Tina Jansen and the Help Desk folks (helpdesk@nwciowa.edu). A graded copy, with grading checklist
attached, will be returned to you by e-mail attachment.
i) be written with only
the assigned reading and in-class material.
Careful reading and thought, not research, are the emphases in this
introductory history course. The only
outside source that one should need to use is an English language dictionary
(if you don't own a printed one, there are some fine links to online ones on
the NWC Ramaker Library page).
A.5. FACTORS IN EVALUATING EACH PAPER (the more each of the following factors is fulfilled, the better the paper):
1. Significant use of relevant assigned course reading, primary as well as secondary sources.
2. Addressing the entire question selected.
3. Proposing a clear thesis or claim that is well-supported throughout the paper.
4. Thoughtfully analyzing and insightfully connecting various relevant course materials in relation to the question and the thesis/claim.
5. Meeting the formal specifications.
A.6. PAPER MISCELLANEOUS:
1. Samples of "A" papers from one or more previous 101 course have been deposited at the Writing Center, where a copy of this syllabus has also been deposited. The Writing Center is a good place to visit for aid in completing the paper assignments. Peer tutors for this course are available. I also am willing to review drafts of papers and provide feedback, so long as there are not too many, they are not given me the night before the final copy is due, and other obligations do not loom over me at the same time.
2. Rewriting papers for a better grade is not an option. This course provides three paper assignments, in progressive length and weight in the course grade. And, there are the helps noted in the previous point. Thus, the course grade does not hinge on any single paper.
B. A total of 25% of the course grade will consist of FIVE QUIZZES.
1. Quizzes will be based on identification items (IDs) drawn from the readings (S & S and My NWC), lectures, videos, and maps.
2. IDs will normally be given in class, but ahead of the assigned reading.
3. Each quiz will be a unit exam that will consist of
· 5 people or events to place in chronological order in relation to each other;
· 10 sentences to complete/fill-in;
· 10 sentences to label as true or false; and
· 5 items to place on a map.
4. Each quiz will be 30 points and 5% of the course grade.
5. Quizzes will be given during the first twenty minutes of class on the dates indicated in the outline above, and they will cover all material since the last quiz. That is, quizzes are unit exams.
6. Quizzes are closed book, that is, books, notes, maps, and electronic devices should be closed, stowed, or off while the quiz is being administered.
7. Reviews for quizzes will be offered by the instructor's student assistant, usually on a weekday evening at least 2 days prior to the class in which the quiz will be given.
8. Quizzes #1-4 can be "made up" if they are missed for reasons of illness, emergency, approved field trip, or co-curricular activity. Quiz #5, however, is a component of the final. Finals can only be rescheduled through application to the Registrar's Office (svankley@nwciowa.edu); travel plans are not a legitimate reason for rescheduling finals.
C. A total of 15% of the course grade will consist of DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENTS and CLASS PARTICIPATION.
1. At the first class session, students will be divided into numbered small groups.
2. Each student will be responsible for remembering to which group they are assigned.
3. Small groups will not be used in every class, but they will be used often in the course, primarily to foster student cooperative learning and discussion, and also as an aid to the instructor for assessing student class participation.
C.1 DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENTS will constitute 12% of the course grade
1. An as-yet-to-be-determined number of discussion assignments (DAs) will be given, usually on some aspect of the assigned reading, particularly the online documents.
2. DAs will pose a problem or ask a question about the assigned reading or other class material.
3. DAs will sometimes be given one or more class sessions ahead; at other times assignments will be made in class for completion during class time.
4. DAs will normally be collected at the end of the class for which the DA was assigned; occasionally the instructor might delay collecting to allow for a fuller answer than time in class allowed.
5. Late DAs will not be accepted, unless the reason for lateness has to do with a legitimate, excusable conflict (e.g., approved field trip, illness, co-curricular activity, emergency).
6. DAs may be handwritten, but they must be legible and be clearly labeled with the student's name, DA #, date, and RSC box # at the beginning of each assignment.
7. Unless specified otherwise, each DA is worth 3 points for accuracy, thoughtfulness in interaction with the assigned material, neatness, and meeting the above formal specifications.
8. The instructor's student assistant will grade the DAs.
C.2. CLASS PARTICIPATION will constitute 3% of the course grade
1. Class participation is a portion of the grade based on the instructor’s estimation of the integrity of each student’s engagement with the course material and the classroom environment.
2. Normally, regular attendance and the handing in of complete assignments when due will be taken as at least sufficient for fulfilling this part of the course grade. If such fulfillment is of exceptional quality, this will be noted.
3. When appropriate, the instructor is prepared to be flexible with occasional student scheduling problems, but the instructor must be consulted. “Exceptions” are not an entitlement.
4. Factors that could give the instructor pause about a student for this portion of the grade include (but are not limited to):
· frequent absences.
· frequent lateness in attending class or excuses for the failure to complete assignments or to complete them when due.
· frequent in-class indications that could give the impression that a student has done little to no work with the assigned materials.
· persistent in-class demeanor or behavior that could give the impression that a student has little respect for themselves, others, and the task(s) at hand.
COURSE MISCELLANY:
1. Late Assignments
1. All assignments are due as stated in the syllabus or announced in class.
2. They are to address the assignments current for this course, not an assignment from a previous version of this course, lest they be subject to the equivalent penalty for late papers (see #4 below).
3. Extensions due to illness,
approved field trips, regularly scheduled games or performances, or other
reasons outside the control of the student can be made, but it is up to the
student to petition the instructor for such legitimate extensions.
4. Papers: If a paper is handed in late up to a week after it was due and without a legitimate extension, it will normally receive a penalty of at least one full grade down from whatever score the work merits apart from the penalty. If a paper is over a week late and without a legitimate extension, it will not be accepted.
5. Finals: Finals (in this course, that is Quiz #5 and Paper #3) can only be rescheduled through application to the Registrar's Office; a Final Exam Change form is linked to the Registrar's Form webpage. Travel plans are not a legitimate reason for rescheduling finals. All material must be in to the instructor by the scheduled period; no materials will be accepted thereafter.
6. Quizzes: Quizzes #1-4 can be "made up" if they are missed for reasons of illness, emergency, approved field trip, or co-curricular activity. Quiz #5, however, is a component of the final (see the preceding point #5).
7. DAs: Late DAs will not be accepted, unless the reason for lateness has to do with a legitimate, excusable conflict (e.g., approved field trip, illness, co-curricular activity, emergency).
2. Academic Honesty
1. It is expected that all reading and written work done in and for the course will be done with integrity. That is, reading and writing as assigned is to be done with honest single-mindedness by each student, without undue reliance on others to do the work, and without deceit about the work's timeliness, authorship, and sources. Integrity of this sort is not easy or convenient; it does not provide shortcuts or guarantee an "A." Yet it is the best path to growth in wisdom, and wisdom is the fruit of education most to be savored.
2. Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism, as defined in the Student and Faculty Handbooks.
3. Cheating in quizzes, plagiarizing in papers, copying DAs, and other forms of academic dishonesty, will, when duly determined, lead to a "0" score for the assignment involved and the filing of a report with the Office of the Provost, per the Student and Faculty Handbooks.
3. Grading
1. We the faculty of the History Department do not believe that "grade inflation" is good for you. Jesus admonishes us to "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'" (Mt. 5:37); in other words, let grades have integrity as indicators of knowledge and/or competence for a given assignment or course.
2. Therefore, an A=excellent or outstanding work; B=good work (more than adequate but not excellent); C=sufficient work (the assignment or the course’s requirements have been met, but not with any remarkable quality); D=insufficient work (does not fully meet the assignment); F=failing work.
3. Grades for assignments and for the course as a whole are based on a 100% scale, as follows:
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A = 90-100 |
B = 80-89 |
C = 70-79 |
D = 60-69 |
F = 0-59 |
4. Within the 100% scale for letter grades, + and - will be given on the following scale (exceptions: no A+ or F + or F-):
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+ = x7-x9 |
- = x0-x2 |
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5. Remember--grades are NOT a measure of your personal worth; that is already established by God! Grades are measures of the quality of your work for a given assignment and/or course--nothing more and nothing less.
4. Advice for Doing Well in History Courses
A. READING
· This course is about texts and contexts of the Western past. That is, this course is about attentively reading various primary and secondary texts and thinking about the settings--context--for the relevant pasts. Thus, reading is central to this course.
· There are three important things you should do with the reading: Read it all; take notes on it so that you can use it; and draw on all of it that may be relevant for each course assignment.
·
Reading
for history courses is not so much about memorizing data, but about seeing the
structure, the argument, and the supporting evidence in a reading, and to also
think critically about context (e.g., authorship, audience, developments taking
place, etc.). Mark and take notes on these things as you read. The
time you take on making notes as you read will save you time later when you go
back to look for material for your writing assignments.
· We will engage some of the reading in class, but, there is not enough in-class time to go over all the reading. Pay attention to discussions. What reading we do go over in class will have to provide you with models for how to deal with all that we cannot deal with directly. If there is something in the reading you wish to ask about or discuss, please do not hesitate to raise your question or make your observation.
B. WRITING
· Writing is the primary method by which you will show me that you have read the assigned material. It will also indicate to me how well you are connecting together the various course materials: reading, lectures, discussions, films, and other materials.
· Since this is a history course, grammar, spelling, syntax, and other such things that might well be graded in a writing course are not the focus in your writing here. Nonetheless, the better you are at writing a clearly worded, coherently ordered essay with an introduction, a thesis or claim, several main points (with supporting evidence from the reading and other course materials), and a summary conclusion, the better the historical substance of your writing will stand out. For help with writing, please don't hesitate to see my assistant or other history tutors in the Writing/Academic Support Services Center (VP127).
C. THE PACE OF THE CLASS
·
This
course may seem "slow" in terms of assignments, but do not take the
slowness for lack of rigor in how the main assignments will be graded.
·
As
the past itself took time, so this course about the past has to let some things
unfold before there can be meaningful interaction with course material.
Writing about the reading means on has to do the reading before one can write
about it. And, the reading and writing are cumulative, that is, you will
continue to draw up earlier reading in the latter part of the course. One
implication of this is that more than 50% of the course grade will come with
assignments in the second half of the class.
·
So,
plan ahead! All the major due dates are in the syllabus, and the
reading assignments are there as well. A good habit to cultivate is to
read ahead, especially for materials that will be the focus of class
discussion.
D. TIME IN AND OUT OF CLASS
·
The old wisdom still stands: "you reap what you
sow" (Gal. 6:7b).
Sooner or later, what one puts into something is usually directly related to
what one receives, whether one is engaging in farming, music, sports, drama, or
studying.
·
As
noted above, reading is central to this class--and reading takes time.
A rule of thumb for humanities courses (history, literature, philosophy,
religion) is that spending 2 hours on the class in addition to every
hour in class usually brings better fruit than spending less than that.
That is, for a 3-hour-a-week, 4 credit class, an
average of 6 hours per week on the class is a reasonable goal if you wish to do
well in the class.
·
If you signed up for this course, I expect you to be in
class.
I hope that you are interested in the course (or that I can awaken interest in
you for the course), and that you will thus want to come. I will try hard
not to waste your time. Apart from this, someone is paying lots of money
for you to attend here, and presumably you (and whoever else is involved) are
interested in getting your money's worth from your investment. And, the
less you are in class, the more you miss opportunities for understanding the
course material: discussions; concepts explained; themes noted; issues to
ponder; connections to make; additional material presented; explanations of
assignments or other things; etc. On the one hand, I do not formally take
class attendance. On the other hand, if you are often absent, I do tend
to notice. If you are absent a lot, and with no legitimate explanation,
then when it comes time for me to total up your work for a course grade, I will
have little to no reason to give you any benefit of the doubt.
E. STUDY ADVICE
·
Rule of thumb: If you wish to do well in history classes,
generally plan on two hours of outside work for every in-class hour.
Much reading and some writing is involved, and this takes time to do
adequately, let alone well.
·
Spirituality: Approach your studies with a prayerful
attitude. Pray for discipline, for attentiveness, for discernment and
understanding. Christ is Lord of all of life, so he is Lord of our learning.
Give him the glory with the mind he has given you. We don't think of playing an
instrument or playing basketball without practice; why would anyone think that
glorifying God with our minds takes any less time--any less prayer and
disciplined action?
·
Reading: READ ATTENTIVELY AND INTELLIGENTLY. For history courses,
the point of reading is to gain information AND to put that information within
some context, or thesis, or pattern. Your goal in reading for a history course
is to watch for all the cues the author gives you as to 1) what facts are more
important than others and 2) how the facts are marshaled into larger patterns
that "tell a story" or "make a point."
·
Taking notes is always relevant—in and on your reading,
on lectures, on discussions, on videos. (If you have a photographic
memory or already know all the material, then of course taking notes would be
pointless . . .)
F. FURTHER HELP
·
You should be able to handle this course with sufficient
time and attention. After all, hundreds of other students have. However, if you
run into problems, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP: me, my student assistant,
folks in the Writing Center.
·
In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and
the Americans with Disabilities Act, NWC will provide, on a flexible and
individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have a
documented disability that may affect their ability to participate in course
activities or to meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are
encouraged to contact both their instructor and the college disability service
provider (John Menning; john.menning@nwciowa.edu) to
discuss their individual needs and accommodations.
Prof. Anderson’s
HISTORY PAPER GRADING CHECKLIST
NAME______________________________ PAPER #____
Note:
1.
This checklist is not intended to be an exact instrument; no specific number of
points, for example, is tied to each item in the list, nor do I keep a record
of this list. The checklist is meant to give you a sense of which features of
your paper were the strongest and which the weakest.
2.
In the evaluation of your paper, content (i.e., section A) is more important
than form and style (section B). On the other hand, content and form are almost
always interrelated--e.g., if what you are saying is not clear, your analysis
is automatically weakened.
A.
HIGHER ORDER FEATURES
|
|
Excellent |
Good |
Adequate |
Inadequate |
Unacceptable |
|
ARGUMENT/THESIS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANALYSIS
& INSIGHT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HISTORICAL
SUPPORT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HISTORICAL
UNDERSTANDING |
|
|
|
|
|
|
USE
OF ASSIGNED READINGS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
No |
|
ADDRESSES
THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT |
|
|
|
B. FORMAL FEATURES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
C. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: |
|
|
Good |
Adequate |
Inadequate |
|
INTRODUCTION
& CONCLUSION |
|
|
|
|
PROSE |
|
|
|
|
ORGANIZATION |
|
|
|
|
NOTATION
& BIBLIOGRAPHY |
|
|
|
|
OTHER
ASSIGNMENT |
|
|
|