HISTORY 121

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR:

            Mr. Swezey

            Office: M3-2A

            Phone: 215-751-8656

            E-mail: hswezey@ccp.edu

 

History 121 is a course in the history of the Medieval and early modern world, roughly from the end of the Roman Empire to the 18th century. With respect to the non-Western world it will cover, the development of Islam into the Ottoman and Safavid empires, most of dynastic China, Japan from the Heian period into the Tokugawa Shogunate, India from the Gupta dynasty into the Mughal dynasty and early French and British imperialism, the rise of states and the spread of Islam in Africa,.South America from the meso-American empires into Portuguese and Spanish imperialism.

 

The central activities of this course are reading, writing, and moderated interaction on the course web site.

 

REQUIRED BOOKS: The core of the course is the two books listed below.

A HISTORY OF WORLD SOCIETIES, complete 6th edition

By John P McKay

Houghton Mifflin, 2004; approximately $105.00

ISBN: 0-618-30195-X

In McKay we will cover Chapts 8 through 21. The semester reading schedule for those chapters is posted on the course web site.

In addition to the above books I may post additional readings within the web site in the form of primary documents from different civilizations, or essays on particular topics written by prominent historians.

 

MEETING TIMES:

NO ORIENTATION MEETING is scheduled for this course.

NO CLASS MEETINGS. ALL COURSE WORK WILL BE DONE OVER THE WEBSTUDY SITE.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS:

There will be a two to three page writing assignment for each half of the course. The assignments will be based on the McKay and/or any readings that will be posted on the WebStudy site. In addition there may be short writing assignments of a couple of paragraphs for each chapter.

FORUM:

You will be expected to participate in FORUM exchanges on the course web site as part of the course. The topics of the Form will relate to the assigned readings and will constitute part of the preparation for the writing assignment. There will be several Forums for each half of the course.

EXAMS

There will be an essay Midterm and Final which will be e-mailed to you.

The Midterm will be due about the end of the 7th week, October 22

The Final exam will be due on Thurs., Dec. 16

 

WEB SITE ACCESS

Access to the web site is through the web page; http://www.ccp.whyy.org. Click on the blue log in area. Go to the log in box. Your Login Name will be the first letter of you first name+your last name+the last 4 digits of your SSC No., with no spaces. Your Password will be exactly the same. For example:

                        LOGIN NAME                                   PASSWORD

                        Hswezey1234                                      hswezey1234

After the login you will arrive at a title page. Notice that it is structured like a binder with tabs on the right. The “About” tab leads to a page that provides basic information about the course. The “Timeline” tab opens a page that contains a weekly breakdown of the course. The Timeline is where all of the readings, assignments and guide and exam questions will be posted.  You should check the timeline frequently. 

Notice that at the top there is a small icon that looks like on envelope. A click on that will open up the e-mail function within the course web site. The opening page will notify you if you have mail. Occasionally I will e-mail you information and explanations pertaining to the course. Use this e-mail function for any questions or comments for me. ATTEMPT TO GET ON TO THE COURSE WEB SITE WITHIN A WEEK. CONTACT ME THROUGH MY COLLEGE E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY PROBLEMS.