REQUIREMENTS FOR HISTORY 254
Course information
Instructor:
Jean H. Braden
Room 252, Bisdorf Building
Telephone:
703-845-6357
E-mail: jbraden@nvcc.edu
Attendance
Office
Hours
Textbooks
Library
Examinations
Grades
on Subjective Questions
Grades
on Objective Questions
Rules
for Examinations
Examination
Book
Research
Paper
Book
Review
Grading
Criteria, in order of importance for Book Reviews and PapersCultural
ProjectYour
Final Grade
ATTENDANCE
NVCC is a state institution. The
state and NVCC administrators require regular attendance in class.
Absences do occur, some excusable and some not.
If you are absent more than six hours in succession you will be withdrawn from
the course as of that date with the grade of "F". This action is
reported to the Admissions and Records Office and the Dean of Students. When
an absence of six hours is anticipated, the instructor should be notified.
When a student misses nine hours regardless of reason and succession of hours
the instructor will withdraw the student. This a lot of "red tape"
but it must be remembered that state and federally financed institutions are
not at liberty to do as they please. Financial accountability is a constant
concern for state citizens.
Withdrawal from this class is the responsibility of the student. Any student
can withdraw from any course without penalty through the eighth week of the
regular semester. After that date the student must have the approval of the
class instructor. The student must do initiation of the procedure for
obtaining the grade of "W". Any student who disappears and fails to
withdraw will receive "F" as a final grade.
OFFICE
HOURS
All NVCC instructors
have office hours. As soon as the class assignments have been stabilized for the
Semester, I will give you a printed form with my scheduled office hours. It
would be a wise procedure to make an appointment with me--sometimes three
or four students will be waiting which places me under a bit of tension while
trying to deal with student problems.
You will need to telephone me when you have problems relating to examinations or
prolonged class absence. Please place the call to NVCC during my scheduled
office hours (703-845-6357).
If an emergency should
develop, I do not mind you calling me at home--I have an answering machine (202-546-7510). NVCC will not give you my home telephone number.
My e-mail address
is jebraden@nvcc.edu
TEXTBOOKS
Textbooks
can be purchased at your Campus Bookstore. NVCC bookstores are open one night
during the week after the first week, which means that it is difficult for
students to purchase books after the first week. Non-NVCC students will need
to check for bookstore hours at their Campus Bookstore.
LIBRARY
The
NVCC Library of the Alexandria Campus is located on the second floor of the
Bisdorf Building. Check
at your library circulation desk for library hours. Assigned reading material
not found in the text will be placed on Closed Reserve and kept at the Library
Circulation Desk. Closed Reserve permits maximum student accessibility to
limited material. Closed Reserve audio-visual material must be used in the
Library.
The NVCC Library Catalog and many other indexes and databases are available on
the NVCC Libraries Home Page
There is also an online library tutorial on the Home Page which provides
instruction and practice in the use of library resources. Librarians are
available to assist you at the Reference Desk. An NVCC student Id/library card
is required to borrow materials.
GRADES ON
SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
The
general essay or essays on each exam will be taken from examples provided on
your study guide. You have your essay from the first day--think about the
topic and know what you intend to write before you arrive in the testing
situation. If you wish to discuss certain aspects of an essay prior to the
exam, your instructor is available before and after each class session or
telephone the office during scheduled office hours
Generally, on the essay, "A" is
excellent (you know and understand the material and have shown in your work
considerable understanding of the concepts and interpretation of the subject
matter under consideration); "B" indicates good work (understanding
and interpretation at a high level); "C" indicates fair work
(understanding and interpretation in little evidence, but with a knowledge of
the material); "D" is not a failing mark, it means only that the
work under consideration is poor.
GRADES ON
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
The multiple choice questions
are designed to test your general understanding of classroom lectures and
discussions, reading of the textbook and library materials, and your ability
to reach conclusions when dealing with several known factors. Grades on the
multiple choice sections are "scaled" in relation to the highest
score obtained by an individual student on a particular exam (i.e., highest
score (42), 90% of 42 -- "A", etc.).
Each student will be allotted one class session for the examination
EXAMINATION BOOK
You will need two examination
books, two Scantron Sheets, and one No. 2 lead pencil. which can be purchased,
These items can be purchased at the Campus Bookstore.
Do not place your name on the Examination Book. You will not use the Examination Book that you purchased--it will be exchanged for another.
ABOUT THE EXAMINATIONS--REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE TWO EXAMS, TWO PAPER, AND TWO PROJECTS. IF YOU DO NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED MARK ON YOUR FIRST EXAM, YOU STILL HAVE STILL HAVE MORE THAN AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN AN EXCELLENT GRADE.
RESEARCH
PAPER
If you elected to
complete a paper an individual consultation with your instructor should be
scheduled before the end of the THIRD week. The Cultural paper must be turned in to
your instructor on April 1, 2004.
Papers not conforming to approved form will lose points. Style will follow the
proposed procedures for footnoting and bibliography suggested in Turabian, A
Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations or any other
acceptable college style manual. Information on how to
document material from electronic sources may be found at "Best of the
Web" on the NVCC Libraries Home Page; select "Citing Electronic
Sources" Also,
Jud Sage (NVCC, Alexandria Campus) has an excellent Web page.
You will find his information on writing a formal paper with information on
citing books, pamphlets, interviews, and material taken from the
"Net." Once you have a rought draft of your paper, it would be
a good idea to take it to the Campus Writing Center for suggestions.
All papers must be computer generated or
typewritten with reasonably dark print, a heavier weight paper, double-spaced,
no less than six pages nor more than ten pages, proof-read without a
disfiguring number of corrections on any given page.
Content of the paper must reveal evidence of analytical and critical
consideration of the topic and sources. Your sources must include books,
periodical articles, and Internet sources.
BOOK REVIEWS
A student may choose to write a book
review on the country of his choice rather than a research paper. Any book considered for review by a
student must have the prior approval by the instructor. Generally, the form of
the book review is as follows:
I. Who the author is or was (consult standard biographical reference works in the library). This is to be answered in a few comprehensive sentences. For example:
Jonathan Spence is a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1965. Professor Spence has written many books on China including such works as The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci, The Gate of Heavenly Peach, The Death of Woman Wang, and The Search for Modern China .
II. What was the author's objective in writing the volume? This information is usually found in the Forward or Preface of the book.
III. What materials did the author used in writing the book? Check the Bibliography for Primary and Secondary Source works. Do you know the difference between primary and secondary sources?
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IV. Write a general survey of the content of the book. This section should not be more than five pages of the report.
V. Your personal opinion of the book and why; you must support your opinion by evidence taken from the content of the book.
All book reviews must be computer-generated or typewritten with reasonably dark print on heavier paper, double-spaced, no less than six pages, proof-read without a disfiguring number of corrections on any given page.
All book reviews must be turned in to the instructor by the fourteenth week of the semester.
Cultural
Projects
As indicated in the
NVCC catalogue, this course sequence is a survey of civilization.
Each student is urged to investigate some aspect of the social structure
of the civilization under consideration. The cultural project might
include a trip to the Islamic Mosque, Sackler Gallery, Metropolitan
Museum, Walters Art Gallery, etc. You would be advised to undertake a
cultural project in the field of your greatest cultural interest and
discuss your selection with your instructor.
GRADING CRITERIA, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, FOR BOOK REVIEWS AND PAPERS
1. Command of material
2. Ability to think originally
3. Clarity (if you can't say it, you don't know it.
4. Interest
5. Ability to write English
FINAL GRADE REPORT
TO A&R
The final grade will be calculated
from seven activities--the two examinations), the two cultural projects,
and two written project . The seven assignments constitute 90%
of your grade. The final 10% will accumulate from class attendance,
attendance at campus lectures and seminars, web assignment and library
assignment, and unforseen college opportunities.
A student, given extenuating circumstances, can be given an "I." Please note that an "I" must be completed prior to the end of the next semester. For example, an "I" received at the end of the Fall Semester must be completed prior to the end of the Spring Semester. There is a college form that must be signed by both the teacher and the student before the letter "I" can be given.
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