WCA, Course Directions & Req

I suspect that since you are reading this you have enrolled in Western Civilization 104A--Self-Paced. This site includes a course description, a course outline, a course assignment sheet, a list of lecture notes and other assorted handouts used in the regular Western Civilization class. You will need to fill out the form Online to verify your registration: Instructor's Course Registration. If I fail to receive this form I will list you as a no show.You may complete this course at your leisure-of course that means by the end of the semester.

This page should provide you with all the information needed to complete your specific tasks. At the bottom of this page you will find a GUIDELINE FOR COMPLETION that provides you with a guideline as to when I expect you to complete the assignments and the exams. Guidelines are not specific due dates, but a concept of what needs to be done and when to complete this course in one semester. The preferred way of turning in the required assignments is via e-mail. Send them to me at akirshner@ohlone.edu. Either attach them as a Word or PDF document or copy and insert them in the body of the e-mail. DO NOT send Works or Word Perfect attachments. I will be posting grades evey few weeks on the internet at
http:// www2.ohlone.edu/ people/akirshner/gradeswc.html and
http:// www.kirshnerisms.com/gradeswc.html

When you are ready for Exam I, Exam II or Exam III, please request them via e-mail and I will send you the exam. However, I will not send an exam until I have received your reaction reading papers that are scheduled before the exam. I will also not send an exam if I haven't received the last exam from you even if you completed the papers. I grade the exams like I would a mini term paper—meaning, I expect loads of information with lots of typed pages. Please remember to place the exact question you are answering on your answer sheets or mail me back the exam paper I sent to you. If you do not and I cannot figure out which question from the 10 different exams I have you are answering, it could hurt your grade dramatically. If you prefer, you can take the exam on campus during my office hours as posted.(NOT AN OPTION FOR SUMMER COLLEGE) If you cannot make it at that time, I might be able to set a different schedule. If I cannot be in my office during your availabilty to take the exam you will have to take the e-mail option. You cannot use notes or books on exams taken at Ohlone. However, on the take-home exams you can, in fact should, do as much research as you would with a term paper.

If you do not complete the course by the end of the semester I will be forced to give you an F (failure). If you must miss the final exam for a college approved reason you can obtain an Incomplete form from the Registrar’s office. If you receive an incomplete, DO NOT reregister for this course. The computer will throw you out anyway. An incomplete maintains your registration.

This course can be taken credit/no-credit. If you want to go this route, fill out the form in the Admissions Office before the fourth week of school. I do not have to be informed that you have taken advantage of the credit/no-credit option.

If you have any questions you can contact me at my office. My office (8320) hours are posted at About My Courses. (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE) You can call me at 659-6242 during those times or leave a message on my tape machine at any other time. (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE) You can e-mail your questions, papers or exams to me at akirshner@ohlone.edu.

1. Few students complete the self-paced course. Not that this course is any more difficult than the classroom course, but most students are not use to scheduling their own time. I always advise students to take the classroom section as there is an instructor with a whip over them. If this is the only way your schedule permits you to take this course--GOOD LUCK!

2. Treat this course like any other scheduled class. If you set up a regular schedule you will finish the course and receive an excellent grade. Very few students who complete the course get a grade less than B. Most students get A grades, but as I wrote above, few students complete the course.

3. I advise you to follow the “Guidelines on Completion” as close as possible. Few students who wait for the last moment to turn in their work have done well. Getting ten two page reaction papers and three term-paper size exams done in a few days is near impossible.

4. Ohlone's withdrawal policy permits a student to withdraw before the third week of class without a grade or notation appearing on the transcript. Between the third and twelfth weeks of school a student must receive a W if s/he withdraws(BE SURE TO CHECK EXACT DATES IN THE CATALOGUE . (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE) If the student fails to withdraw after the stated date, s/he can only receive an F or an I.

5. If you are taking this course during the Fall semester, you are welcome to sit it on any of my in class lectures.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

Academic dishonesty defrauds all those who depend upon the integrity of the college, its courses, and its degrees and certificates. Students are expected to follow the ethical standards required in Ohlone courses. These standards are defined in the Policy on Academic Dishonesty. Violations of this policy include cheating and plagarism.

STANDARDS OF STUDENT CONDUCT:

The student has the right and shares the responsibility to exercise the freedom to learn. The student is expected to conduct himself/herself in accordance with the standards of the College that are designed to perpetuate its educational purposes.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is a survey of the cultural, social and political developments of civilization in the Mediterranean through the rise of early modern history. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Western Civilization before 1600 and includes a world perspective.

Henry M. Sayre, The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change, Volume I, Pearson, 2008. ISBN-0-13-086264-9

1. A reading list applicable to each section of the course outline is listed below. Upon completion of each reading assignment you must submit a two-page typed paper explaining what you learned about history, your society or yourself. This reaction paper is from the readings within this packet and in the textbook—not the podcasts, lecture videos or transcripts Please note that I am asking for a reaction paper, not a summary of the readings--I have read the material. Each paper is worth 10 points.

2. The assignment sheet lists lecture podcasts (2008) that you must listen to at Ohlone iTunes(http://itunes.ohlone.edu/) or in the library. You must listento these podcasts or read the respective lecture online. You can find the links to the written lecture transcriptsfrom 2005 at http://www2.Ohlone.Edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html.This means that one or the other is required. Another option exists--you may use the videos (1994) in the library. The lecture videos in the Ohlone library cannot be taken home. They have been placed on reserve for this class--Dr. Kirshner's Western Civilization 104A Course. If any problems arise, please let me know as soon as possible. Sometimes new clerks lack familiarity with this course. Using the call numbers I have listed with the material should help.

3. After you have complete all the required assignments for Sections I through III, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam I at the college during my office hours (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE). After you have completed all the required assignments for Sections IV through VII and Exam I, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam II at the college during my office hours (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE). After completing all the required assignments for Sections VIII through X and Exam II, please contact me via e-mail to send you an exam or for you to make an appointment for Exam III at the college during my office hours (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE). All exams, whether you take them at Ohlone or via e-mail, will consist of essay questions and you will have to answer one of the three questions provided. Only e-mail exams are available during the summer.

4. If you have any questions regarding the readings or would like to discuss an historical event with me, you are welcome and encouraged to visit me in my office. (NOT AN OPTION DURING SUMMER COLLEGE-- Since I do not hold office hours during the summer, you will need to send me your questions via e-mail).

5. Again let me state that your exams MUST be mini-term papers. A term-paper is generally 25 to 30 pages. So I will let you decide what a mini-term paper is, but you can be sure itis not 2 or 3 pages.

6. Your grade will be an exact average of three exams and the sum total of ten two-page reaction papers (worth 10 points each).Translation--I will add up the four grades and divide by four. Grades are standard, eg. 89.6 to 100 is an A.

2. gain an understanding of the impact of early civilizations on Modern societies.

3. develop an awareness of the interaction and intertwining of historical events.

4. develop specific knowledge of the history of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, the Medieval Era, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Age of Exploration.

5. acquire, through the study of the past, practical skills necessary to cope effectively with Modern society.

6. develop the ability to solve problems through the process of rational thinking enhanced by studying the great minds of the past and tested in discussions and exams.

7. develop basic academic skills through the reading and memorization of important events in Western Civilization.

SECTIONS:
     I. BE PHYSICAL: An inquiry into the beginnings of civilization
          A. Interpretation of Evidence
          B. Nature or Nurture
         C. Evolution vs. Revolution
          D. Woman the Creator

    II.   LIFE AND DEATH: Early Civilization
          A. Geographical Determinism--Egypt and Mesopotamia
          B. Stirrings in Asia
          C. Rural-Urban Values
          D. Civilization to Civilization: Contributions

   III.   PERFECTION IS STERILE: Barbarian Tides
          A. Toilet Power: Crete
          B. Polis, Hubris, Ideals
         C. Antithesis—Sparta and Athens
          D. Alexander and Alexandrias(Hellenism)

    IV.   THE TWO FACED GODS: Polarization
          A. To Beware the Ides of March
          B. On the Way to the Forum and Away
          C. Decline and Fall, Maybe!
          D. Quest For Power in the East-Byzantium

     V.   A FISH STORY: The Rise of Christianity
          A. "Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous
          without ability."--George Bernard Shaw
         B. Internal Self
          C. A Cross to "Bare"

    VI.   FALSE IMAGES: Early Medieval Europe
          A. It ain't so uniform!
          B. A Chess Game
          C. Miss America, then and now
        D. From Temple to Mosque

   VII.   UNIVERSAL TRUTH: Disruption and Renewal
          A. Revealed Knowledge
          B. Faith and Reason
          C. Guilded
          D. The Crusading Spirit

VIII.   WHAT A PLAGUE!: The Waning of the Middle Ages
          A. The Changing Face of Heresy
          B. Economic Expansion
          C. 1453: Where to From Here
          D. Pegasus and Unicorns

     IX.   RENEWAL: The Renaissance
          A. A Rebirth of What?
          B. Men can do all things if they will--And women?
          C. Society and Art
          D. An Anal Retentive Victory

     X.   WHO IS SKEPTICAL?: Life and Expansion
          A. How do we live now?
          B. Mar Clausum vs. Effective Occupation
          C. Natural vs. Legal Servitude: blacks, women +
          D. Eurocentric--to be or not to be

NOTE:
All readings stated as required are required. Listening to the podcasts at Ohlone iTunes is also required OR reading the lectures online listed under http://www2.Ohlone.Edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html OR if you choose, you can view the class lectures on video tape in the library. These videos are only available for reading in the library. Video tapes are from the Fall 1994 Western Civilization 104A course. Please use call numbers on the library videos. Call numbers are on the Master List that follows the Course Outline.

I.       BE PHYSICAL!

         REQUIRED READING:
        All of this page + p. xv to p. 33 in The Humanities text and Velikovsky (on Reserve in Library under History 104A) with Jarmo (in same packet) IF YOU CANNOT GET TO THE LIBRARY I HAVE A FEW COPIES TO LOAN-- BUT THEY MUST BE RETURNED RIGHT AFTER THE GROUP MEETING.

         REQUIRED LECTURES:

         ITunes Ohlone
         LECTURE 1: Orientation and Introduction to course
         LECTURE 2: Site Map--Where are you?
         LECTURE 3: Nature or Nurture: Did Darwin get it wrong?
         LECTURE 4: Will the real women please stand up?
         LECTURE 5: Women, Homosexuals and Civilization!

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Orientation, Orientation Continued, Site Map Exercise, Did darwin get it Wrong?, Origins of Civilization, Woman, Homosexual, Beer and Civilization, Mother Goddess, Animals and Group Dynamics

         OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
         Lecture 1 (VID/549), Lecture 2 (VID/549), Lecture 3 (VID/550)
         Lecture 4 (VID/551), Lecture 5 (VID/552), Lecture 6 (VID/553), Lecture 27(VID/582)

Optional: Videos, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"--First 10 minutes only-- AND "Did Darwin Get It Wrong?

          ITunes Ohlone
          LECTURE 6: Velikovsky, right or wrong?
          LECTURE 7: Early Civilization w/ leftover beer! Geographical Determinism-Is god good or evil? Happy cows!
          LECTURE 8: Aryan/Iranian to Iraq & Contributions of the Ancients
          LECTURE 9: Who wore the pants in the Middle East? The loin clothes?
          LECTURE 10: Egypt: Mummies, Mommies + Brothers & Sisters; LAW & ORDER + CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE 9/26/08

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Velikovsky (true or false?) and Geographical Determinism, Geography, God and Floods!, Dating in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Who Wore the Pants in Mesopotamia?, Contributions of the Ancients!, LAW & ORDER + CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE!

   OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
Lecture 7 (VID/554), Lecture 8 (VID/555), Lecture 9   (VID/555), Lecture 10 (VID/556), Lecture 11 (VID/557)
          ALSO VIEW: Videos, "Egypt, Dreams & Rituals" AND "Egypt, Women's place and life in the Village

          ITunes Ohlone
          LECTURE 11: Melvin, the Egyptian accountant; Trojans for all; Half Bull=Crete 9/29/08
          LECTURE 12: How to go to hell! 10/1/08
          LECTURE 13: Rules for Writing Essay Questions!; Cheating at Ohlone and in Ancient Greece
          LECTURE 14: The Greek Way!
          LECTURE 15: Greek Reality: Plato or Aristotle 10/8/08 1:01:09 Ohlone College History 104A Free

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Beware the Greeks with the Trojans, Fates, Hubris and Polis + Bull Stories, Water vs. Rock: Athens and Sparta, Gold leads to Art, Philosophy, Perfection and even War, Girlie-Men Conquer the World!

          OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
          Lecture 12 (VID/558), Lecture 13 (VID/559), Lecture 14 (VID/560), Lecture 15 (VID/561)

         Optional: Video, "The Greeks, In Search of Meaning"

         ITunes Ohlone
         LECTURE 16: Return Exam-go over; Alexander the Great 10/15/08
         LECTURE 17: Skip first 15 minutes-election; Roman Mystery Cults & Religion 10/17/08
         LECTURE 18: Rome-A Two Faced Republic 10/20/08
         LECTURE 19: Rome from HBO; Group chaos! 10/22/08
         LECTURE 20: Rome reclines! 10/24/08
         LECTURE 21: Truth or Consequences: As Rome moves on! 10/27/08
         LECTURE 22: Idiots and Monsters and Five Good Guys; Blame the Christians! 10/29/08

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
RETURN EXAM & ROME-Two Faced!, Dear Pres. Bush, The Younger: The US is no Rome!, Friends, Romans, Countrymen: The Late Republic, Hail Caesar & Caesar & Caesar, Sex, Lies and Rome

         OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
         Lecture 16 (VID/573), Lecture 17 (VID/573), Lecture 18 (VID/574), Lecture 19 (VID/574), Lecture 20 (VID/575) & Video, "The Romans: Life, Laughter and Law"

V.     A FISH STORY

         ITunes Ohlone
         LECTURE 23: Lead in their pipes bring on the Christians 10/31/08
         LECTURE 24: A US Election to be Remembered-An Easter that is Remembered + The Way of the Cross 11/5/08

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
An Easter to Remember: The Beginnings of Christianity, The Way of the Cross

   OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
         Lecture 21 (VID/576), Lecture 22 (VID/577), Lecture 23 (VID/578) ALSO VIEW: Videos, "Testament: The Bible & History AND "Gospel Truth,"

Optional: LECTURE VIDEO #6 Music from Islam, Ancient Egypt, China, India. Gregorian Chants(11/6/92)

ITunes Ohlone
LECTURE 25: False it is! The Dark Knight is White & Plays Chess! 11/7/08

   OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
         Lecture 24 (VID/579), Lecture 25 (VID/580)

VII. UNIVERSAL TRUTH

         REQUIRED READING: Chapter 14

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Learning the Hard Way!, School Used to be Fun & Now it is a Riot!

         OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
         Lecture 25 (VID/580), Lecture 26 (VID/581), Lecture 28 (VID/583), Lecture 29 (VID/584) ALSO VIEW:Video, "The Middle Ages, A Wanderer's Guide"

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Crusades: Now and Then!, The Aftermath of Death!, Connections-Film, Where to From Here?

         OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
          Lecture 30 (VID/584), Lecture 31 (VID/585), Lecture 32 (VID/585),Lecture 33 (VID/585), Lecture 35 (VID/586)

OR READ THESE LECTURE TRANSCRIPTS
Renaissance: Humble--to be or not to be!, Dissent! Renaissance Video, Three for the Price of One!, Like It or Not, We are All Protestant! Part I; Like It or Not, We are All Protestant! Part II

OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
Lecture 36 (VID/587), Lecture 37 (VID/587), Lecture 38 (VID/588), LECTURE VIDEO: #9 The Arts of the Renaissance (12/14/92)

OR VIDEOTAPES IN LIBRARY
Lecture 39 (VID/588), Lecture 40 (VID/589)Lecture 41 (VID/590), Lecture 42 (VID/590)

The schedule that follows suggests completion dates for your assignments. Although it is not mandatory, I strongly suggest you adhere to this schedule. Please be sure to read the material above.

In FALL 2008 one of students used his iPod to record my classes. I have placed these podcasts on Online at the Ohlone iTunes site.(http://itunes.ohlone.edu/)

In the Fall of 2005 I was lucky to have a Court Reporter take verbatum notes for my class. These are available at http://www2.ohlone.edu/people/akirshner/lectureswca.html. You should send all your papers to me via e-mail—this includes your exams (unless you are taking them at Ohlone). This is the preferred method. Either attach as a Word or pdf file or copy and paste the paper into the e-mail—especially if you are using Microsoft Works or Word Perfect. You write your reaction papers based only on the textbook readings. My e-mail is: AKirshner@ohlone.edu

SEPTEMBER 11: I MUST HAVE RECEIVED YOUR ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM INDICATING YOU ARE IN THE COURSE BY TODAY OR I NEED TO INDICATE ON MY ATTENDANCE REPORT THAT YOU ARE A NO SHOW.

EXAM I September 30 (If you have not turned in at least one paper by this date, I urge you
to withdraw from the class.)

October 29: IF YOU HAVE NOT TURNED IN ANY WORK BY THIS DATE OR HAVE NOT SENT ME A NOTE INDICATING YOU INTEND TO COMPLETE THIS COURSE THIS SEMESTER I WILL DROP YOU AS OF THIS DATE.

EXAM II NOVEMBER 4 (If you are only ready to take Exam I by this date, I urge you to withdraw.)

Paper 9 November 25(If you feel by this date that you cannot complete the course this semester you should withdraw as I must give you an F for the course.)

EXAM III December 14 (If you haven't completed the course by this time, you will receive an F for the course. If you want an incomplete the form must be obtained at Admissions and filled out completely. )