CIV 111-41, Fall 2009

UNIFIED COMPOSITION AND WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Bradley Hall 336-C

CLASS SCHEDULE

W 26 Aug	Introduction
F 28 Aug	Writing Discussion
M 31 Aug	Ancient Greece	Introduction & Chapter 1Part A
Tu 1 Sep	Movie: House of Sand and Fog		125 Bradley 7:30 PM
W 2 Sep	Ancient Greece	Chapter 1 Part B
F 4 Sep	Hellenic Arts	Chapter 2 and Poetics
M 7 Sep	Discussion of House of Sand and Fog	First Paper due	Explain how House of Sand and Fog is or is not a tragedy in both the Aristotelian sense and the traditional Greek sense.
W 9 Sep	Seminar 1	Reading 1	1. What aspects of Lysistrata are timeless and what are peculiarly Hellenic?
F 11 Sep	Seminar 2	Reading 2	2. Is Antigone better seen as an Aristotelian or traditional tragedy?
M 14 Sep	Rome	Chapter 3
W 16 Sep	Seminar 3	Reading 3	3. Should Epictetus' message be classified as religious or philosophical?
F 18 Sep	Seminar 4	Reading 4	4. Does this discussion of friendship, etc support the contention that we are like the Romans?
M 21 Sep	Roman Arts	Chapter 4
W 23 Sep	Seminar 5	Reading 5	5. Did the Gracchi have admirable motives? Why did they fail as reformers?
F 25 Sep	EXAM 1
M 28 Sep	Christianity	Chapter 5
W 30 Sep	Seminar 6	Reading 6	6. If Jesus' Sermon on the Mount defines Christianity, is Western Civilization really a Christian culture?
F 2 Oct	The Crusades	Chapter 6
M 5 Oct	Seminar 7	Reading 7	7.. Which argument is most convincing about the nature of Jesus? Does his nature matter?
W 7 Oct	The Norman Conquest	Chapter 7
	FALL BREAK
W 14 Oct	Seminar 8	Reading 8	8. Should our sympathies lie with Becket or Henry II?
F 16 Oct	Seminar 9	Reading 9	9. . Could the English make a good case for their execution of Joan of Arc as a witch?
M 19 Oct	Medieval Politics	Chapter 8
W 21 Oct	Seminar 10	Reading 10	10. What may be discerned from Anna Comnena's description of the Crusaders about the Byzantine attitude toward them?
F 23 Oct	Seminar 11	Reading 11	11. Was Hildegard a traitor to her sex or merely a woman of her time?
M 26 Oct	EXAM 2
W 28 Oct	Seminar 12	Reading 12	12. How well do the actions of Richard and Saladin support their images as ideal Medieval monarchs?
F 30 Oct	Seminar 13	Reading 13	13. What does the story of King John and Richard Nixon tell us about the art of politics? Is historical analogy like this legitimate?
M 2 Nov	Medieval Society	Chapter 9
W 4 Nov	Seminar 14	Reading 14	14. Why were Machiavelli's ideas so controversial? "Machiavellian" implies immoral; is that connotation fair?
F 6 Nov	Seminar 15	Reading 15	15. Does the Decameron seem more a Medieval or Renaissance document?
M 9 Nov	Renaissance	Chapter 10
W 11 Nov	Seminar 16	Reading 16	16. Is The Merchant of Venice a plea for tolerance?
F 13 Nov	Seminar 17		17. What Renaissance characteristics are evident in The Merchant of Venice?
M 16 Nov	Renaissance Culture	Chapter 11
T 17 Nov	Movie: Girl with the Pearl Earring	Neumiller 7:30 PM	How well does The Girl With the Pearl Earring reflect social conditions of the time? What are its major characteristics as a movie?
W 18 Nov	Reformation	Chapter 12
F 20 Nov	Seminar 18	Reading 17	18 . What connection does this conversation show between the Renaissance and Reformation?
M 23 Nov	English Reformation	Chapter 13
			THANKSGIVING BREAK
M 30 Nov	Holiday Lecture		Paper due
W 2 Dec	Seminar 19	Reading 19	19 How many tragic heroes are in King Lear?
F 4 Dec	Seminar 20		20. Does King Lear celebrate rationalism or attack it?
M 7 Dec	Conclusion

TEXTS FOR CIV 111

Western Civilization from the Ancient Greeks to 1600, Readings, and link to Writer's Reference located on "Blackboard."

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION. CIV 111-112 is a two-semester sequence which introduces students to the major periods and movements of Western Civilization and to the principles of effective writing. The course integrates writing assignments into the processes of historical analysis. CIV 111 must be completed before the student takes CIV 112. Upon successful completion of both courses, the student will have completed the General Education requirements for Western Civilization and for 3 hours of the Basic Skills Composition Requirement.

II. OBJECTIVES. CIV 111-112 combines the objectives of ENG 101 and CIV 100. The course

1. gives students an understanding of the present age and what it owes to the past by demonstrating

movement through the historical periods of Western Civilization; and

2. prepares the students to communicate effectively in writing during their college careers.

Specifically, students will

a. learn to write accurately, clearly, and effectively;

b. achieve an acceptable level of competence in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics;

c. complete all the stages of the writing process successfully;

d. execute the major forms of expository writing effectively;

e. demonstrate an acceptable degree of competence in research techniques;

f. learn a structured method of historical analysis;

g. acquire a broad-based understanding of the present age's evolution from the past.

IV. EVALUATION AND POLICIES

1. The course grade in CIV 111 will be based on an average of the following components:

3 Exams 30%

2 Papers 20%

1 Seminar Paper 20%

Average of Critiques 10%

Weekly comments 10%

Quizzes/Exercises 10%

2. The hour tests will consist of in-class essays.

3. Seminar papers are to be revised within ONE WEEK. The grade on the revision will be

the grade for the assignment.

4. Attendance is mandatory. Assignments are due on the dates in the schedule, unless

otherwise announced.

5. Plagiarism (the misrepresentation of other people's work as if it were your own) is cheating. For.

THE SEMINAR: PAPER, CRITIQUES, AND DISCUSSION

The general purpose of the seminar days in CIV 111-112 is to create student-centered "conversation" about the issues and themes of Western Civilization and the writing process. Each Seminar Session is centered upon the seminar paper. The writers provide the students in their section with copies of the papers so that they can read them and write critiques of them. Then on the seminar day, the students discuss the papers and their issues.

I. DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING THE SEMINAR PAPERS

1. As a student in these courses, you will choose (or be assigned) a seminar topic, and will be expected to

prepare as fully as possible for writing your paper (usually by reading the course texts, perhaps

consulting a dictionary or reference book and talking with instructor).

2. You should also limit the scope of your treatment so that your discussion is focused upon your thesis, and

you should define the key terms as you see fit (although you may consult with your instructor as much as

you need).

3. Your paper should have a title, be approximately 600-750 words long. For documentation, use the MLA style of parenthetical references

4. Procedure:

a. Meet with your instructor as early as possible to discuss your approach to the paper.

b. Send your paper to the rest of your section over e-mail at least 48 hours before the class day assigned for your topic.

c. After the class discussion of your paper, read the students' critiques of your paper, as well as the instructor's comments. Submit a revision of the paper for evaluation within ONE WEEK.

II. DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING CRITIQUES OF SEMINAR PAPER

1. In preparation for each seminar session, each student will:

a. read the assigned readings in the course text,

b. write a 250 to 500 word critique of the paper on the assigned topic.

c. send the critique to the author and the instructor via e-mail at least two hours before the class discussion of the paper

The purpose of the critique is to evaluate the paper in terms of its effective response to the seminar question and its effective use of writing techniques and language. In critiquing the paper, be positive, but also be specific about things you believe need revision.

2. Respond to the following aspects of the paper:

a. its thesis (does it state a clear and unified point; does the point address the issue?)

b. its quality of support (is the evidence clear and considered? are facts accurate?)

c. its quality of writing (is the paper well-organized and coherent? are both word choice and

sentence structure effective? is the paper free of grammatical or mechanical errors?)

III. DIRECTIONS FOR THE SEMINAR DISCUSSION

The seminar discussion has two purposes:

1. to discuss the content of the paper--its thesis, its supporting points, its development of the argument--in order to provide the writer with feedback and suggestions for revising the paper;

2. to discuss issues and texts related to the seminar topic which may or may not have been treated by the paper