HIS 111 Week 1

HIS 111
Week 1: Introduction Babylonian Ruins

Ruins of Ancient Babylon; photo courtesy Sean O'Neill.
See some of his other photos taken while serving in Iraq.
Blue Separator Bar

What you must do this week

Familiarize yourself with the textbook.
Read the introduction letter from your instructor (Professor Evans or Professor Clevenger) for further course and contact information.
Read the course introduction notes.
Read the information on the course assignments and grading. This is very, very important.
Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the week.
Submit the Required Introduction paragraph.

What you should do this week

What you can do this week

You may listen to some further general introductory remarks from Professor Evans' HIS 101 course. Even though the remarks were made for a Western civilization course, they are equally applicable to this world civilization course.
Watch the short clip of the Medieval Help Desk about some problems that medieval monks faced with the transition from using scrolls to reading books. Log into Blackboard and check for it under course materials.
Review the sample analysis of an excerpt from Hammurabi's code of laws. There will be many assignments in this course which will require you to read and analyze a historical document.
Begin to review for the map portion of the midterm (week 8) and final (week 15) exams. Now is a good time to begin to study and prepare. Please check the Blank World Map and the Map items, a list of the geographical places, features and areas that you will be expected to locate on a blank map for the tests. Check some recommended sources for map study.

Extra Credit Options

For 25 points of extra credit, review this entire course website, check the online ELI student orientation and send your instructor any questions that you might have. This must be done in weeks 1 or 2 of the course to receive credit.
For a maximum of 25 points of extra credit, comment in a long paragraph on the perspective of time displayed in Carl Sagan's Cosmic Calendar (or web.singnet.com.sg/~teohanch/t1CosmicCalendar.html). You can also watch this on YouTube. (well worth watching!)
Comment in a long paragraph on the remarks relevant to What is Civilization, and the characteristics of "civilization" according to François Pierre Guillaume Guizot, for a maximum of 25 points.
You can also earn extra credit at any time by (a) finding a typo, spelling error or broken link (and sending your instructor that information) or (b) finding any website or web materials that are relevant to this course. (Send the title of the site, the url and a brief explanation of why you find the information interesting and applicable to the course.)
Other opportunities for extra credit?
Suggest an assignment for use somewhere in the course. Be creative!