Course Description

A survey of the major currents of Western civilization in a world perspective from its beginnings in the ancient Near East through the Enlightenment.

Course Objectives

Students will

• synthesize the process by which Western Civilization has developed over time and space from the dawn of civilization to the seventeenth century.
• analyze differing perspectives of historical interpretation in terms of their evidence and arguments.
• analyze cultural, political, religious, social, and economic aspects of historical interpretation.
• analyze and interpret both textual and visual primary sources to identify elements common to universal human experience, both past and present.
• recall content from reading assignments, class lectures, and research and synthesize that content in essays and class discussion.

Attendance

• To obtain the full benefit of this class, regular attendance is required.
• Punctuality is essential. Three tardies will be counted as one absence.
• Any student who achieves perfect attendance will have an additional 3% of the final average added to the final grade. For those with only one absence, 1% will be added. There is no difference between excused and unexcused absences for this purpose.
• Excessive absences will cause a reduction in the final grade. For MWF sections, reductions will begin after the fourth absence. For TTh sections, reductions will begin after the third absence. Five points will be deducted from the final percentage grade for each absence over the limit for that class. For example, a student in a TTh section who has a final average of 84% and four absences, will receive a final grade of 79%.
• Excessive absences can result in automatic failure of the course. If a student in the TTh section misses 6 classes, s/he will fail the course and will not be permitted to return to class. If a student in the MWF section misses 7 classes, s/he will fail the course and will not be permitted to return to class.
• Note that the student may miss a reasonable number of classes without the attendance penalty. The wise student will reserve these for unexpected circumstances such as illness, car trouble, travel, etc.
• Any student who leaves class early will be marked absent and will receive a zero grade for any quizzes given during that class period.

E-mail

• Students are required to activate and utilize a LibertyNet email account.
• The instructor will use LibertyNet email to communicate important information regarding assignments, testing, and other matters of concern.
• The student is responsible for checking his/her LibertyNet email account daily for communication concerning this class.

Blackboard

For students enrolled in this course, additional information is available on Blackboard.

Honor Code

Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the standards described in The Liberty Way. This includes the Academic and Computing Ethics policy.

Honesty and integrity are essential to an effective classroom environment. The penalty for cheating will be a grade of "zero" on the assignment, test, or quiz; dismissal from class; and/or a grade of "F" for the course. This penaly includes cheating on tests or quizzes and for plagiarism on essays and other assignments. Students must take special care to avoid plagiarism. Material taken directly from a source must be enclosed within quotation marks; all material derived from sources must be properly cited. Any deviation from this practice will be considered plagiarism.

All grades will be posted in the Gradebook located in the Tools section on Blackboard. It is the student’s responsibility to check his/her grades on a regular basis and to consult with the instructor regarding any discrepancies.

Grading issues must be resolved within three weeks of the original due date. No adjustments will be made after that time. There are no exceptions to this policy.

The final course grade will be based on 600 points. Total points earned will be added together and divided by 600. This figure will yield a percentage which will determine the letter grade based on the following scale

No extra credit work is permitted. Please do not ask.

The instructor reserves a margin of 10% on the final grade to allow for class participation, evidence of creative thinking, attitude, and other factors that may not be reflected in the numerical grade.