The Kremlin in Moscow from the Moscow River.  As you know from my remarks at the end of HIS 111, you just cannot have enough pictures of the Kremlin.  Photo courtesy T. T. Hammond.

• Familiarize yourself with the textbook.
• Read the introduction letter from Professor Evans for further course and contact information.
• Read the information on the course assignments and grading.  This is very, very important.
• Read the introduction notes for the course.
• Since the use of proper grammar, spelling and style are an inherent part of each assignment in this course, please check the course writing resources available in Charlie's History Writing Center for more information.
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit. These are important for your midterm and final exams--you might want to take a look now at the exam information.
• Take the Course Introduction Check quiz. Log into Blackboard and you will see the button for the quiz in your course. This is a short, 10-question orientation quiz that you must take and pass with a score of 9/10 before you can continue in the course. If you must, you can re-take the quiz more than once. The quiz is also worth 10 points of extra credit.
• Submit the Required Introduction paragraph.

• Watch the short video on developing a time management schedule for your course work.
• Post an informal hello in the Blackboard online discussion forum.

• You may listen to some further general introductory remarks from Professor Evans' HIS 102 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.
• Read some short remarks on Why Do We Teach and Study Western Civilization; or World Civilization, or Why Study Any History? We also have a list of history associations available.
• Judy Eastwood, a former student, has provided some excellent study aids for the course as *.pdf files (part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4).
• 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  There will be many assignments in this course which will require you to read and analyze a historical document.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 (unit 8) and final (unit 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.

• For 25 points of extra credit, review this entire course website, check the online ELI student orientation and email your instructor any questions that you might have.  This must be done in units 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 (also in slightly different versions at A Cosmic Calendar or The Cosmic Timeline).  You can also watch this on YouTube. (well worth watching!) Here is a link to the actual timeline of the universe.
• 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!