WCA, Course Directions & Req

I suspect that since you are reading this you have enrolled in Western Civilization 104A--Self-Paced. This site includes a course description, a course outline, a course assignment sheet, a list of lecture notes and other assorted handouts used in the regular Western Civilization class.

This page should provide you with all the information needed to complete your specific tasks. If you have not done so already, please proceed to my office (8320). On the left side of my door you will find a large brown envelope marked for this course. Carefully place your hand in the envelope and remove the sheet of paper that says GUIDELINE FOR COMPLETION. The sheet of paper provides you with a guideline as to when I expect you to complete the assignments and the exams. You will also find a copy at the bottom of this page. In the envelope as well is a 5 x 8 card. You can fill this out and slipped under my door or place it in my mailbox in the faculty mail room on the second floor of building #1--this becomes your official registration in the course. If you prefer you can fill out a form online: Instructor's Course Registration. If I fail to receive a 5 x 8 card or the online form from you, I will list you as a no show.

You may complete this course at your leisure-of course that means by the end of the semester. The sheet you took out of the envelope on my door jam says “GUIDELINES.” Guidelines are not specific due dates, but a concept of what needs to be done and when to complete this course in one semester. The preferred way of turning in the required assignments is via e-mail. Send them to me at akirshner@ohlone.edu. Either attach them as a Word or PDF document or copy and insert them in the body of the e-mail. DO NOT send Works or Word Perfect attachments. I will be posting grades evey few weeks on the internet at
http:// www.ohlone.edu/ people/akirshner/gradeswc.html and
http:// www.kirshnerisms.com/gradeswc.html

When you are ready for Exam I, Exam II or Exam III, please request them via e-mail and I will send you the exam. However, I will not send an exam until I have received your reaction reading papers that are scheduled before the exam. I will also not send an exam if I haven't received the last exam from you even if you completed the papers. I grade the exams like I would a mini term paper—meaning, I expect loads of information with lots of typed pages. Please remember to place the exact question you are answering on your answer sheets or mail me back the exam paper I sent to you. If you prefer, you can take the exam on campus during my office hours as posted.(NOT AN OPTION FOR SUMMER COLLEGE) If you cannot make it at that time, I might be able to set a different schedule. If I cannot be in my office during your availabilty to take the exam you will have to take the e-mail option. You cannot use notes or books on exams taken at Ohlone. However, on the take-home exams you can, in fact should, do as much research as you would with a term paper.

If you do not complete the course by the end of the semester I will be forced to give you an F (failure). If you must miss the final exam for a college approved reason you can obtain an Incomplete form from the Registrar’s office. If you receive an incomplete, DO NOT reregister for this course. The computer will throw you out anyway. An incomplete maintains your registration.

This course can be taken credit/no-credit. If you want to go this route, fill out the form in the Admissions Office before the fourth week of school. I do not have to be informed that you have taken advantage of the credit/no-credit option.

If you have any questions you can contact me at my office. My office (8320) hours are posted at About My Courses. (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE) You can call me at 659-6242 during those times or leave a message on my tape machine at any other time. You can e-mail your questions, papers or exams to me at akirshner@ohlone.edu.

1. Few students complete the self-paced course. Not that this course is any more difficult than the classroom course, but most students are not use to scheduling their own time. I always advise students to take the classroom section as there is an instructor with a whip over them. If this is the only way your schedule permits you to take this course--GOOD LUCK!

2. Treat this course like any other scheduled class. If you set up a regular schedule you will finish the course and receive an excellent grade. Very few students who complete the course get a grade less than B. Most students get A grades, but as I wrote above, few students complete the course.

3. I advise you to follow the “Guidelines on Completion” as close as possible. Few students who wait for the last moment to turn in their work have done well. Getting ten two page reaction papers and three term-paper size exams done in a few days is near impossible.

4. Ohlone's withdrawal policy permits a student to withdraw before the third week of class without a grade or notation appearing on the transcript. Between the third and twelfth weeks of school a student must receive a W if s/he withdraws(BE SURE TO CHECK EXACT DATES IN THE CATALOGUE). If the student fails to withdraw after the stated date, s/he can only receive an F or an I.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

Academic dishonesty defrauds all those who depend upon the integrity of the college, its courses, and its degrees and certificates. Students are expected to follow the ethical standards required in Ohlone courses. These standards are defined in the Policy on Academic Dishonesty. Violations of this policy include cheating and plagarism.

STANDARDS OF STUDENT CONDUCT:

The student has the right and shares the responsibility to exercise the freedom to learn. The student is expected to conduct himself/herself in accordance with the standards of the College that are designed to perpetuate its educational purposes.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is a survey of the cultural, social and political developments of civilization in the Mediterranean through the rise of early modern history. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Western Civilization before 1600 and includes a world perspective.

Dennis Sherman and Joyce Salisbury, The West in the World, 3rd edition, 2008. ISBN-13: 9788-0-07-340692-3

1. A reading list applicable to each section of the course outline is listed below. Upon completion of each reading assignment you must submit a two-page typed paper explaining what you learned about history, your society or yourself. This reaction paper is from the readings within this packet and in the textbook—not the lecture videos or transcripts Please note that I am asking for a reaction paper, not a summary of the readings--I have read the material. Each paper is worth 10 points.

2. The assignment sheet lists lecture videos that you must view in the library. You must view these videos or read the respective lecture online. This means that one or the other is required. The lecture videos cannot be taken home. You can obtain the videos at the Ohlone Library. They have been placed on reserve for this class--Dr. Kirshner's Western Civilization 104A Course. If any problems arise, please let me know as soon as possible. Sometimes new clerks lack familiarity with this course. Using the call numbers I have listed with the material should help. You can find the links to the lecture transcripts at http://www.Ohlone.Edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html.

3. After you have complete all the required assignments for Sections I through III, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam I at the college during my office hours. After you have completed all the required assignments for Sections IV through VII and Exam I, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam II at the college during my office hours. After completing all the required assignments for Sections VIII through X and Exam II, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam III at the college during my office hours. All exams, whether you take them at Ohlone or via e-mail, will consist of essay questions and you will have to answer one of the three questions provided. Only e-mail exams are availble during the summer.

4. If you have any questions regarding the readings or would like to discuss an historical even with me, you are welcome and encouraged to visit me in my office. Since I do not hold office hours during the summer, you will need to sends me your questions via e-mail.

5. Again let me state that your exams MUST be mini-term papers. A term-paper is generally 25 to 30 pages. So I will let you decide what a mini-term paper is, but you can be sure it not 2 or 3 pages.

6. Your grade will be an exact average of three exams and the sum total of ten two-page reaction papers (worth 10 points each).

2. gain an understanding of the impact of early civilizations on Modern societies.

3. develop an awareness of the interaction and intertwining of historical events.

4. develop specific knowledge of the history of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, the Medieval Era, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Age of Exploration.

5. acquire, through the study of the past, practical skills necessary to cope effectively with Modern society.

6. develop the ability to solve problems through the process of rational thinking enhanced by studying the great minds of the past and tested in discussions and exams.

7. develop basic academic skills through the reading and memorization of important events in Western Civilization.

SECTIONS:
     I. BE PHYSICAL: An inquiry into the beginnings of civilization
          A. Interpretation of Evidence
          B. Nature or Nurture
         C. Evolution vs. Revolution
          D. Woman the Creator

    II.   LIFE AND DEATH: Early Civilization
          A. Geographical Determinism--Egypt and Mesopotamia
          B. Stirrings in Asia
          C. Rural-Urban Values
          D. Civilization to Civilization: Contributions

   III.   PERFECTION IS STERILE: Barbarian Tides
          A. Toilet Power: Crete
          B. Polis, Hubris, Ideals
         C. Antithesis—Sparta and Athens
          D. Alexander and Alexandrias(Hellenism)

    IV.   THE TWO FACED GODS: Polarization
          A. To Beware the Ides of March
          B. On the Way to the Forum and Away
          C. Decline and Fall, Maybe!
          D. Quest For Power in the East-Byzantium

     V.   A FISH STORY: The Rise of Christianity
          A. "Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous
          without ability."--George Bernard Shaw
         B. Internal Self
          C. A Cross to "Bare"

VI.   FALSE IMAGES: Early Medieval Europe
          A. It ain't so uniform!
          B. A Chess Game
          C. Miss America, then and now
        D. From Temple to Mosque

VII.   UNIVERSAL TRUTH: Disruption and Renewal
          A. Revealed Knowledge
          B. Faith and Reason
          C. Guilded
          D. The Crusading Spirit

VIII.   WHAT A PLAGUE!: The Waning of the Middle Ages
          A. The Changing Face of Heresy
          B. Economic Expansion
          C. 1453: Where to From Here
          D. Pegasus and Unicorns

     IX.   RENEWAL: The Renaissance
          A. A Rebirth of What?
          B. Men can do all things if they will--And women?
          C. Society and Art
          D. An Anal Retentive Victory

   X.   WHO IS SKEPTICAL?: Life and Expansion
          A. How do we live now?
          B. Mar Clausum vs. Effective Occupation
          C. Natural vs. Legal Servitude: blacks, women +
          D. Eurocentric--to be or not to be

NOTE:
All readings stated as required are required. Reading the lectures online listed under These Lecture Transcripts is also required.Instead, if you choose, you can view the class lectures on video tape. These videos are only available for reading in the library. Video tapes are from the Fall 1994 Western Civilization 104A course. The lecture transcripts are from 2005.
Please use call numbers on videos, tapes and tapescripts. Call numbers are on the Master List that follows the Course Outline. The lecture transcripts are linked from
http://www.Ohlone.Edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html

I.       BE PHYSICAL!

         REQUIRED READING:
         p. xvii to p. 8 in the text and the packet on reserve in the library titled: Bushman, Jarmo, Velikovsky. Ask for it at the reserve desk.

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 1 (VID/549), Lecture 2 (VID/549), Lecture 3 (VID/550)
         Lecture 4 (VID/551), Lecture 5 (VID/552), Lecture 6 (VID/553), Lecture 27(VID/582)
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
          Orientation, Orientation Continued, Site Map Exercise, Did darwin get it Wrong?, Origins of Civilization, Woman, Homosexuals,     Beer     and Civilization, Mother Goddess, Animals and Group Dynamics

          Optional: Videos, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"--First 10 minutes only-- AND "Did Darwin Get It Wrong?

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 7 (VID/554), Lecture 8 (VID/555), Lecture 9   (VID/555), Lecture 10 (VID/556), Lecture 11 (VID/557)
          ALSO VIEW: Videos, "Egypt, Dreams & Rituals" AND "Egypt, Women's place and life in the Village"
          OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         Velikovsky (true or false?) and Geographical Determinism, Geography, God and Floods!, Dating in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Who Wore the Pants in Mesopotamia?, Contributions of the Ancients!, LAW & ORDER + CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE!

         REQUIRED VIEWING
          Lecture 12 (VID/558), Lecture 13 (VID/559), Lecture 14 (VID/560), Lecture 15 (VID/561)
          OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
          Beware the Greeks with the Trojans, Fates, Hubris and Polis + Bull Stories, Water vs. Rock: Athens and Sparta, Gold leads to Art, Philosophy, Perfection and even War, Girlie-Men Conquer the World!

         Optional: Video, "The Greeks, In Search of Meaning"

          REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 16 (VID/573), Lecture 17 (VID/573), Lecture 18 (VID/574), Lecture 19 (VID/574), Lecture 20 (VID/575) & Video, "The Romans: Life, Laughter and Law"
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         RETURN EXAM & ROME-Two Faced!, Dear Pres. Bush, The Younger: The US is no Rome!, Friends, Romans, Countrymen: The Late Republic, Hail Caesar & Caesar & Caesar, Sex, Lies and Rome

V.     A FISH STORY

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 21 (VID/576), Lecture 22 (VID/577), Lecture 23 (VID/578) ALSO VIEW: Videos, "Testament: The Bible & History AND "Gospel Truth,"
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
An Easter to Remember: The Beginnings of Christianity, The Way of the Cross

Optional: LECTURE VIDEO #6 Music from Islam, Ancient Egypt, China, India. Gregorian Chants(11/6/92)

         REQUIRED READING:    Chapter 6 & 7

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 24 (VID/579), Lecture 25 (VID/580)
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         The Dark Knight is White & Plays Chess!, Miss America in a Feudal Society,

VII. UNIVERSAL TRUTH

         REQUIRED READING: Chapter 8

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 25 (VID/580), Lecture 26 (VID/581), Lecture 28 (VID/583), Lecture 29 (VID/584) ALSO VIEW:Video, "The Middle Ages, A Wanderer's Guide"
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         Learning the Hard Way!, School Used to be Fun & Now it is a Riot!

          REQUIRED VIEWING
          Lecture 30 (VID/584), Lecture 31 (VID/585), Lecture 32 (VID/585),Lecture 33 (VID/585), Lecture 35 (VID/586)
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         Crusades: Now and Then!, The Aftermath of Death!, Connections-Film, Where to From Here?

         REQUIRED VIEWING
         Lecture 36 (VID/587), Lecture 37 (VID/587), Lecture 38 (VID/588), LECTURE VIDEO: #9 The Arts of the Renaissance (12/14/92)
         OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
         Renaissance: Humble--to be or not to be!, Dissent! Renaissance Video, Three for the Price of One!, Like It or Not, We are All Protestant! Part I; Like It or Not, We are All Protestant! Part II

        REQUIRED VIEWING
          Lecture 39 (VID/588), Lecture 40 (VID/589)Lecture 41 (VID/590), Lecture 42 (VID/590)
          OR THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
          Violating the Prime Directive

The schedule that follows suggests completion dates for your assignments. Although it is not mandatory, I strongly suggest you adhere to this schedule. Please be sure to read the material on my internet site http://www.ohlone.edu/people/akirshner/wcasp.html or http://www.kirshnerisms.com/wcasp.html. In the Fall of 2005 I was lucky to have a Court Reporter take verbatum notes for my class. These are available at http://www2.ohlone.edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html. You can send all your papers to me via e-mail—this includes your exams. This is the preferred method. Either attach as a Word or pdf file or copy and paste the paper into the e-mail—especially if you are using Microsoft Works or Word Perfect. You write your papers based only on the textbook readings. This is explained further in the packet online. Grades will be posted periodically at http://www.Ohlone.edu/people/akirshner/gradeswc.html. My e-mail is: AKirshner@ohlone.edu

EXAM I October 8 (If you have not turned in at least one paper by this date, I urge you to withdraw from the class.)

EXAM II November 7 (If you are only ready to take Exam I by this date, I urge you to withdraw.)

Paper 9 November 21(If you feel by this date that you cannot complete the course this semester you should withdraw as I must give you an F for the course.)

EXAM III December 16 (If you haven't completed the course by this time, you will receive an F for the course. If you want an incomplete the form must be obtained at Admissions and filled out completely. Records clerks do not need to know why you will miss the exam. You can discuss this with me when you bring the form for my signature before December 16.)

WESTERN CIVILIZATION 104A