Civ 100 Online SYLLABUS/INSTRUCTIONS Summer Session I, June 4-July 6, 2012 There will be a meeting on Study Day at 11:00 AM in BR 235. Attendance is required of everyone who intends to take this course. It is important that you read the following syllabus carefully. Unfortunately, it is long and detailed, but it is the only opportunity I have to explain the course to you, and there is no way to make it shorter while including everything you need to know. This course will be conducted entirely via the Internet. It is an independent studies course. There will be no lectures or exams. Although I am quite willing to answer questions, the opportunity for interaction is, of necessity, very limited. If you feel that you are too undisciplined or otherwise unprepared for an independent studies course, do not take this class. Note that the course consists entirely of essay writing, which will determine your grade. If you have a writing problem, you might be well advised to consider another course in traditional format during the regular academic year. An account will be set up for everyone in the class on Bradley's Sakai system. If you have trouble, call the Bradley computer help desk at 309-677-2964. Here are some instructions about the form of the papers you are to send to me through the e-mail feature of Sakai. To use it, click on the "Mailtool" link in the column at the left of the screen. Then choose "All Instructors." 1) The subject line must be filled in identifying the message as an essay, revised essay, critique, or comment. If you need immediate attention, put something like "HELP" or "URGENT" in the subject line. As you can imagine I receive a large number of messages. The first thing I do is to move the messages into directories where I keep all the assignments by type, and it is difficult for me to open each message to see what it is before moving it. 2) Do not send your assignments as attachments to your messages. Simply to "cut and paste" from your word processor into your e-mail message. You can always type in your papers directly while online. I move messages into Unix files before reading them and cannot accept/read improperly formatted papers. I do not open attachments If you are uncertain about any of this, it would be wise to send me a test message that you have produced with the method you intend to use before the course begins. I will not be able to help you with computer problems. The Bradley computer help desk at 677-2964 serves that function. You must send me papers that are formatted so that I can read them. 3) Microsoft, in its wisdom, uses non-standard code for quotation marks and apostrophes. If you are using Word, you must change the feature known as "Smart quotes" In order to do that, 1. Go to the "Tools" menu and click "AutoCorrect Options" 2. Click the "Autoformat" tab 3. Uncheck "Replace normal quotes with smart quotes" 4. Click the "Autoformat as you type" tab 5. Uncheck "Replace normal quotes with smart quotes" 4) Do not indent to indicate paragraphs. Use the method you see here of leaving a blank line between paragraphs and putting the first line all the way to the left, even with the other lines. In conformity with Bradley's policy of "writing across the curriculum," writing is an important element of this course. Your grade will be affected greatly by spelling, grammar, and other elements of acceptable college-level writing. Corrections I make to your assignments will appear in the following form << INCONSISTENT TENSE FORMS >> interlined in your original document. At the end of the document, you will find a grade. I use a point system: twenty points are possible for each essay, ten points for each critique, and ten points for each comment, making a total of 200 points for the course. Plagiarism will lead to a failing grade for the course. The only way to reach me directly during the course is via e-mail. Especially in the beginning of the course, if you do not receive a response to your paper within a day or so after you send it, something may be wrong with your system and either I am not getting your assignments or they are not getting through to you when I return them. If all else fails, you may call the Western Civ/Honors Secretary, Debbie Beard, at 309-677-3283 and leave a message for me. I cannot return calls. It is your responsibility to see that you are connected to a functioning system. My e-mail address is "pdj@bradley.edu". The text book is one that I have written and is available online through Sakai. Go to the "Course Information" section and click on "Syllabus." As posted on the site, the login is "civ" and the password is "civtexts." The grade for the course is determined by a series of essays, comments, and critiques. The class will be divided into two groups (A and B), and topics will be assigned to each group. Everyone will complete a 1000-word essay on the assigned topic of the week by Wednesday of each week and e-mail it to me. I will send a copy of it to another member of the class who will write a 250 word critique of the essay and e-mail it to the author and to me by Thursday of each week. The author may then write a revision of the original 1000-word essay and send it to me by Friday of each week. In other words, you will read the assigned chapters from the text, write a 1000 word essay on an assigned topic based on those chapters, and critique an essay written by another member of the class on a different topic but also based on the chapters of that week's assignment. An additional assignment is to write a comment of at least 300 words on something that you found of interest at the following website: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html This website is devoted to ancient history, but it has links to sites dealing with medieval and modern history. Use the site appropriate to the period we are in at any given time in the course. E-mail your comment by Monday morning to me. It will be graded for writing and for appropriateness. As explained above, the average of the five essays will count for one half the course grade. Critiques will count for one quarter, and comments will count for one quarter. Spelling, grammar, depth of thought, quality of expression, and appropriateness of response to the essay topic will all be taken into account in the grading process. The grade for the essay will be the average of the grades received on the original submission and the revision. Syllabus: Wednesday 6 June 1000 word essay on Chapts. 1-2 Thursday 7 June 250 word critique on classmate's essay Friday 8 June revision of essay 1 Monday 11 June 300 word comment 1 Wednesday 13 June 1000 word essay on Chapts. 3-4 Thursday 14 June 250 word critique on classmate's essay Friday 15 June revision of essay 2 Monday 18 June 300 word comment 2 Wednesday 20 June 1000 word essay on Chapts. 5-7 Thursday 21 June 250 word critique on classmate's essay Friday 22 June revision of essay 3 Monday 25 June 300 word comment 3 Wednesday 27 June 1000 word essay on Chapts. 8-10 Thursday 28 June 250 word critique on classmate's essay Friday 29 June revision of essay 4 Monday 2 July 300 word comment 4 Wednesday 4 July 1000 word essay on Chapts. 11-13 Thursday 5 July 250 word critique on classmate's essay Friday 6 July revision of essay 5 When I say that an assignment is due on Wednesday, it means that the assignment should be in my e-mail when I sit down to read it on Thursday morning.