HIS 102
History of Western Civilization II

This is the HIS 102 course home page which provides general information about the course and the links for the specific weekly assignments in the course schedule below.  You might wish to add this page to your bookmarks for quick access in the future.

• Check the Quick-Start Syllabus that ELI mailed to you for your applicable Critical Course Dates (They can also be found on the ELI home page.)  These important dates are specifically relevant to your enrollment in the course.  You must get started quickly in your course.
  • You must withdraw before the Last Refund Date (Fall 2009: 10 September first session, 25 September second session; Summer 2009: 3 June first session, 17 June second session) to receive a refund.
  • You must log into Blackboard (or submit an assignment) by your Blackboard Sign-in Deadline (Fall 2009: 10 September first session, 25 September second session; Summer 2009: 3 June first session, 17 June second session) to avoid being administratively deleted from the course without a refund.
  • If you have not completed (received a grade for) the Introduction paragraph and the Seventeenth-Century Europe paragraph by the Inactive Student Withdrawal (Fall 2009: 28 September first session, 12 October second session; Summer 2009: 20 June first session, 4 July second session) date, I will withdraw you from the course without tuition refund per official college and course policy.  This gives you about four or so weeks to get started.  (No Exceptions; No excuses accepted.)
  • Your Last Withdrawal Date (Fall 2009: 3 November first session, 18 November second session; Summer 2009: 24 July first session, 7 August second session) is the last date on which you can withdraw yourself from the course using Novaconnect, without grade penalty.  Also, to remain in the course, by this date you must have completed the Introduction paragraph, the Seventeenth-Century Europe paragraph and the Midterm exam.  If you do not complete these assignments by your Last Withdrawal Date, I will automatically remove you from the course with a grade of "W."  (No Exceptions; No excuses accepted.)
  • Finally, remember, you must complete all course assignments, including the final exam, by your official course End Date (Fall 2009: 20 December first session, 4 January second session; Summer 2009: 7 September 2009 first session, 21 September second session).
   
• Check the quick-start syllabus to verify your instructor's name. 
• Please note that your enrollment in this course is subject to the general ELI rules and regulations.  Please be sure to review these procedural matters now.  For an Incomplete grade in the course, a student must earn 500 points, pass the midterm exam and explain the extenuating circumstances leading to the incomplete request. 
• Take appropriate action now if you will need proctored examinations. 
• Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments or accommodations is encouraged to contact a counselor for disability services. Contact information can be found online on the college web page.   For additional information, please contact an ELI counselor at elicounselors@nvcc.edu or 703.323.2425.  All information is kept confidential. 
• You must send all of your assignments and extra credit work by e-mail according to the Using Email in Your ELI History Course instructions.  (No more than one submission per calendar day will be accepted.)  Feedback on your work will be returned via e-mail, usually within 24-72 hours.  Your work is considered to have been submitted only when it actually reaches your instructor's inbox in a gradable form.  In other words, the simple fact that you may have emailed something does not constitute "submission" of an assignment. 
• Please review the information on Using Blackboard for instructions on how to access the online discussions and your gradebook.  (Please note that you must always include your instructor's name on the subject line of any online posting and you should never attach a document to one of your postings.)

• To begin the course, review this page and all of the course weekly assignments and then click on the link to week 1 on the course schedule below. 
• Finally, please remember that you must pass the final exam with a grade of "C" (175/250) or better to earn a passing grade in this course.

• Judith Coffin and Robert Stacey, Western Civilizations, either the Second Brief Edition combined volume (W. W. Norton, 2009, isbn 9780393932652) or the Brief Edition, combined volume (W. W. Norton, 2005, isbn 9780393925586)  Either is acceptable.  Please note that you can use this same textbook for HIS 101.
• Charles Dickens, Hard Times (isbn 9780451526724)

• Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (isbn 9780385474542)
• Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (isbn 9780449213940)
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (isbn 9780451527097)

1. Define and describe the importance of key individuals and events in Western history.
2. Understand the general chronology and geography of Western history.
3. Understand the main forces at work in the historical development of the West.
4. Develop an ability to analyze historical sources and reach conclusions based on that analysis.
5. Compose critical essays that explain the importance of certain historical events in the West.
6. Understand the role and work of the historian.

• It is expected that students possess college-level reading and writing skills.
• You should also have relatively good technology and web-use skills.  Take the short quiz, Is A Web Course for Me?, to determine your preparedness to succeed in a web-based course.
• I would recommend that you allot at least three hours a week of study time for this course.

• 1,000-900:  A
•    899-800:  B
•    799-700:  C
•    699-600:  D
•    599-000:  F

An unknown World War II memorial in Germany--there are many of them there.  Have any of you seen this on your travels, or others on your travels around Europe?  Let me know your impressions.

ps.  I am always looking for photographs, images, slides, artifacts, etc. that I can use in my courses.  If you have anything that you think might be of use or interesting to me, please let me know.  I credit all images/materials that I use in the course.