HIST 122: THE MODERN WORLD

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR:

            Mr. Swezey

            Office: M3-2A

            Phone: 215-751-8656

            E-mail: hswezey@ccp.edu

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

This course will cover World History from the 17th century to the present. I may provide additional material in the form of handouts. These handouts will be supplemental material in Western intellectual or cultural history, material on some aspect of a selected non-Western culture, or excerpts from historians on some major topic or event. The primary goal of this course is for you to engage in history as a matter of interpretation rather than as a body of information and facts, although the issues of interpretation are within a body of information that has to be mastered.

 

REQUIRED BOOKS:

            A HISTORY OF WORLD SOCIETIES, VOL. II SINCE 1500

            SIXTH EDITION

            By: John P. McKay

            Houghton Mifflin, 2004

            ISBN: 0-618-30197-6

 

In addition to the above text there will be additional readings that will be posted on the course web site.

The weekly reading schedule will be posted on the course web site.

 

MEETING TIMES:

NO ORIENTATION MEETING is scheduled for this course.

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

            WebStudy begins on Week of Jan. 17

MIDTERM: Fri., March 4.

            The midterm will be e-mailed to you about a week ahead of time

            You will e-mail your answers over the WebStudy e-mail function

to me by the above date

FINAL: Wed., May 4.

            The final will be e-mailed to you about a week ahead of time

            You will e-mail your answers over the WebStudy e-mail function

to me by the above date

Do not assume that this course will be easy simply because there are no class sessions. There will be more reading assigned than in a regular course. To do well in this WebSudy course you must be a good, critical reader and a good writer.

 

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 AFTER THE CLASS IS SCHEDULED TO START. CONTACT ME THROUGH MY COLLEGE E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY PROBLEMS.

 

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 readings that will be posted on the WebStudy site

FORUMS:

You will be expected to participate in a FORUM exchange in the History 122WebStudy 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. Each student will participate in the student forums by reading and creating a critical response to two of the other students.

 

Questions will be posted to the forum by the instructor. Each student is required to post a formal response to the question in the forum. The suggested length of such response is a substantial paragraph or two; somewhere perhaps between 100-200 words. Please remember that these responses are formal submissions and hence must be presented with all the appropriate care such things require. At the end of the week, the instructor will post a general response to the various submissions, calling attention to various features of those submissions. The point of this process is for students to try out strategies of interpretation, understanding, and presentation, appreciate the alternative strategies used by other students, and learn how such strategies are interpreted by a history professor.

 

Forum submissions will be given letter grades

 

 

EXAMS

The Midterm will cover the first half of the course, and the Final the second half. Each exam will contain two parts. The first part will be general essay questions, which I will give to you at the review session. The second part will consist of short response questions. There will be more questions listed than you will have to answer, consequently you will have a choice of questions for response.