surveys the history of the West from ancient times to the early modern period. Class meets TR from 9:30 to 10:45 in Room 312.

, Office 302V, work phone 878-5640, fax (703) 878-5676, e-mail  nvrossa@nvcc.edu (work) and akross@erols.com (home)
            Mondays, Wednesdays  1000-1130, 1400-1600
            Tuesdays, Thursdays  1100-1200
            Monday evenings   1730-1830

To Purchase in the Bookstore
Text, Perry, et. al., Western Civilization, 6th edition
Text, Wiesner, et. al., Discovering the Western Past, 3rd edition
3 Scantron Forms No. 882-ES
Bookstore Hours:  August 23-26 9:00a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
                             August 27-28 9:00a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
                             August 30- Mon-Wed 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.; 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m; Thur-Fri 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.

No Course Prerequisite
HISTORY 101 is an introductory course designed to provide a solid foundation for further study in the discipline. Reading and writing proficiency levels for this course are similar to those set for ENGLISH 111. The assignments are geared to the college freshman level.

Grading Scale
The grading scale used in this course is:

                A         90% or above or at least 340 points
                B         80 to 89.75 percent or at least 300 points
                C         65 to 79.75 percent or at least 245 points
                D         60 to 64.75 percent or at least 235 points*
                F         Below 60 percent or less than 235 points
*In general, I prefer not to give D grades. A grade of D, however, may be given in cases where a student’s course average is passing but less than 65 (or 270 points), a student has failed to complete all course work, or a student has not passed any unit exams.

Final Grade
Your final grade will include these components:
1. Class attendance  10% (not to exceed 30 points)
2. Weekly quizzes  10% (not to exceed 30 points)
3. Writing (journals, project)) 30% (not to exceed 70 points)
4. Exams   50% (not to exceed 250 points)

Please discuss any special problems or needs during the first week of the course. Students needing accommodations due to a disability should provide the instructor with an accommodations request form which can be obtained from the counselor for students with disabilities located in the Counseling Center, Room 202.
 
 

Course Goals

The following course requirements are intended to meet these course goals:

1. Students will identify essential concepts, events, and persons from each historical period.
2. Students will understand the relationships that exists between concepts, events, and person within a single period.
3. Students will understand the variety of source material involved in historical study.
4. Students will analyze data within its historical context.
5. Students will improve their writing skills.
6. Students will gain further appreciation of the diversity and complexity of American history.

Testing Requirements

You will take 6 exams in this course. I will drop your lowest exam score. The last exam must figure into your exam point total and cannot be dropped. All test dates below are tentative and subject to change. Chapter references are to the Perry text.

EXAM ONE   Chapters 1-2   September 2
EXAM TWO  Chapters 3  September 21
EXAM THREE  Chapters 6-7  October 7
EXAM FOUR  Chapter 8  October 26
EXAM FIVE  Chapters 9-10  November 11
EXAM SIX  Chapters 13-14  December 9, 8 a. m.

Class Attendance

Attendance is taken every class. Your point total for attendance is figured on a percentage basis. Each of you have 5 units of "personal leave" in this course starting right now. A unit of personal leave is equal to one attendance check. "Personal leave" counts as an "excused absence." Once you have used up your personal leave, your absences will begin to affect your attendance points. Keep this in mind. You are responsible for the work you missed in class during your absence and there are no make-up for quizzes that you didn’t take because you were absent in this class.

Chapter Quizzes
Chapter quizzes are give at the beginning of the class on the reading assigned for that class. Each quiz has 5 questions worth 1 point for each correct response. While bonus questions may appear on some quizzes, the total number of points in this category remains fixed at 30 points.

Informal and Formal Writing
Keep a journal. This course requires you to keep a journal of your reactions and reflections while you are enrolled. A class journal is not the same thing as a personal diary. Your journal will be read by me and commented on during, and at the end of, the course. For this reason, it is a good idea to keep your journal separate from your other class notes. At a minimum you must write two entries each week. There will be assignments in class that require you to write in your journal, but your entries need not be limited to these occasions. At the end of the course you will submit your journals for a final evaluation. This will require some editing on your part, and those instructions will be given out nearer the time the journals are due.
Complete the writing project. You will complete a short writing project, 5-7 typed pages, which involves formal, as opposed to informal (journal), writing. The project will be completed outside of class and submitted for a grade at the end of the course. The project will ask you to explain your methods of research as well as your findings. Further instructions regarding the topic, the extent of research, and evaluation criteria will be forthcoming.

LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW W ITHOUT GRADE PENALTY: OCTOBER 28
Syllabus, page 3
Class Schedule
August 24  First class meeting, course orientation, chapter 1
(Unless otherwise indicated, all chapters refer to the Perry text.)
August 26, 28  Chapters 1, 2
August 31  Chapter 2
September 2  Exam 1, chapters 1, 2
September 7-9  Chapter 3
September 14-16  Chapter 3 cont.
September 21  Exam 2, chapter 3
September 23, 28  Chapter 6
September 30-
October 5  Chapter 7
October 7   Exam 3, chapters 6, 7
October 12  FALL BREAK, NO CLASS
October 14-21  Chapter 8
October 26  Exam 4, chapter 8
October 28  Chapter 9
November 2 - 4   Chapter 9 cont.
November 9  Chapter 10
November 11  Exam 5, chapters 9, 10
November 16-23  Chapter 13
November 25  Thanksgiving holiday
November 30-
December 7  Chapter 14
December 9, 8am Exam 6, chapters 13, 14
 
 
 

November 3-10  selected pages, chapters 10, 12
NOVEMBER 12 THIRD EXAM
November 17 - 19 chapter 13
November 24-
December 1  chapter 14
December 3-10  chapter 15
DECEMBER 17  FINAL EXAM 0800-0950
Readings in the Wiesner volume will be given out in class each week.
 
 

Syllabus, page 3
Class Schedule
August 27  First class meeting, course orientation
September 1-3  chapters 1,2 (Unless otherwise indicated, all chapters refer to the Perry text.)
September 8-15   chapter 3
SEPTEMBER 17  FIRST EXAM
September 22  chapter 4
September 24  chapter 5
September 29-
October 13  chapters 6,7
OCTOBER 15  SECOND EXAM
October 20  chapter 8
October 22 - 29  chapter 9
November 3-10  selected pages, chapters 10, 12
NOVEMBER 12 THIRD EXAM
November 17 - 19 chapter 13
November 24-
December 1  chapter 14
December 3-10  chapter 15
DECEMBER 17  FINAL EXAM 0800-0950

Last day revised:  October 12, 1999
e-mail to nvrossa@nvcc.edu