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Description
of Course
The History of Japanese
Culture and Institutions (HIS 256) s a general survey covering major political, social,
economic, cultural, and religious changes in the areas the
Japanese Islands from the prehistoric period through the Cold War. Such an
ambitious undertaking does have some limitations. Other great
world cultures are discussed only as they directly relate to
problems confronting the population of Japan.
There are a few
things that you should know before your register. This
course is based on reading and writing. You should have
completed your college English requirements before registering for
HIS 256.
You need to have access to a computer with standard Internet
browser, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
You must have an email account and it has to be your VCCS account.
Here is how find your VCCS email account, at http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart.
Be
sure to have M.S. Word on your computer and know how to send and
open attachments. We will email Word documents back and
forth as attachments.
You
will be expected to check you email and the Blackboard Site on a
regular basis.
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Blackboard
Blackboard is
the name of the website on the College network and is accessible
at http://bb.vccs.edu. On
Blackboard, you will find course documents, announcements, and
course assignments. To access Blackboard you will need a
College user name and password. You can use the same
username and password that you have for your College email.
During the first week of the semester, the College will enroll
students in Blackboard. There may be a lag time on your
registration on Blackboard, so be patient. If you cannot
access Blackboard, contact the College Help Desk at 703-426-4141.
To access this course on Blackboard, go to http//:bb.vccs.edu.
Your Blackboard username will be entered in lower case and your
password is your birth date: month, day, year. For
example, if your birth date is August 23, 1968, your password would
be 082368.
At times, the Blackboard State System will go down or undergo
maintenance. The interruptions last for a few hours.
You are responsible for doing the assignments at the appropriate
time, so do them early.
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Email
Your email
address will consist of the first letter of the first name + the
last name + an assigned 4-digit number, and the email domain.
For example Charlie Braden's address would be
cbraden0001@email.vccs.edu.
Note, Charlie is a small gray cat living in the District!
In order to find out what the 4-digit number that has been
assigned to you, go to http://webmail3.utility.vccs.edu/index.pl,
or if you need directions on looking up email addresses, usernames
and passwords, go to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart.
Your username is case sensitive; for email use all uppercase
letters followed by the 4-digit number.
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Participation, Attendance, and Withdrawal
Attendance is
required. If a student is absent for two weeks and has
notified the instructor, he/she will be withdrawn.
If a student has excessive absences (9hours), he/she will
be withdrawn.
Throughout the semester, Blackboard questions will be posted that
will require a student response. A student participation
grade will be based on frequency and depth of participation.
Think creatively, think critically and base your statements on
evidence from your reading or experience. Your
participation will contribute to your understanding of the
evolution of Japanese History
Participation will count as as 5% of your final course grade. The
participation grade will be determined by your answers to required
questions. For example, did you answer the required
questions? Did you make the required replies to other
students' responses? Are your responses detailed and
logical. Short answers will not be counted.
The college, your instructor, and several other accrediting
agencies requires that students must complete assigned work
detailed on the course syllabus in order to receive college credit
for any course. 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 initiate the request
the grade of "W". Any student who disappears or fails to
withdraw will receive "F" as a final grade. In
order to receive an Incomplete ("I"), the student must
confer with his/her instructor.
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Instructor Contact
All NVCC instructors have
office hours. As soon as the class assignments have been
stabilized for the semester, I will post my scheduled office hours
on my website under contact. If you would like to meet with me in
my office, it would be a wise procedure to make an appointment.
All on-line Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Alexandria
Campus' students are urged to meet with their instructor, if it is
at all possible. You will need to telephone me when you have
problems related to your inability to complete assigned work
during the allotted time period. Please place the call to
NVCC during any of my scheduled office hours (703-845-6357).
The easiest way to contact me is by email: jebraden@nvcc.edu
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Textbooks
The
textbook for this course is A Brief History of Japanese
Civilization, Conrad Schirokauer, latest
edition, paperback. The other readings can be obtained
at the bookstore. Textbooks
can be purchased at the Alexandria 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.
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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. Suggested 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 on the World Wide WEB.
The library address can be found on the college website.
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Examinations
During the semester you will be
expected to complete three examinations. The first examination
will be taken during the sixth week of the semester and will cover
all assignments, Blackboard postings, and textbook material
dealing with material covered during the first five weeks. The
second examination covers the next several weeks of study and will
be taken during the eleventh week of the semester.
The third examination will be taken during the final week of the
semester.
Each examination contains at least two sections (multiple choice
questions, identification items, essays, short answer questions,
etc.). All grades received are equal when calculating the final
grade. For example, the grade of "B" on the essay is
equal to the grade of "B" received on multiple choice or
identification items. At the end of the semester all grades will
be converted to their mathematical equivalents and divided by the
number of grades received.
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Grades
on Subjective Questions
The
essays on each exam will be taken from examples provided on your
study guides. 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, please email me at jebraden@nvcc.edu.
Also, if you wish to speak with me in person, please feel free to
telephone me at 703-845-6357. It is best to telephone during
my regular scheduled office hours. My office hours will b
posted on Blackboard and my website under contact.
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.
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Grades
on Objective Question
The multiple choice
questions or identification items are designed to test your
general understanding of 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.).
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Rules
for the Examination
1. No
notes
2. No
books
3. No
helpful friends
Always
check to see if you have placed your name on the examination book,
the test, and the answer sheet.
You will need three
examination books and one No. 2 lead pencil. which can be
purchased, These items can be purchased at the
Alexandria Campus Bookstore. On the day that you take the
exam, take the Examination Book with you to the Testing Lab.
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 THREE EXAMS, ONE
FIELD PROJECT, A PAPER AND CLASS ACTIVITIES. . 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.
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GRADING
CRITERIA, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, FOR ALL WRITTEN WORK
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
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Research
Paper
If
you elected to complete a paper an individual consultation by
email or after class with your instructor should be completed before the end of
the FOURTH week. The paper must be turned in to your instructor
the TWELFTH week of the semester.
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."
The research
paper must be computer-generated or typewritten with reasonably
dark print on heavier paper, double-spaced, no less than FIVE
pages, proof-read without a disfiguring number of corrections on
any given page. The paper must have a complete title page.
The paper must have footnotes and a bibliography. The
researcher must use books and scholarly articles on the selected topic as well material
on the internet. Remember, anyone can post material on the
internet. It is best to start with a well known authority on
your subject. If the paper is transmitted to your
instructor by email, it must be an attachment.
The research paper must be turned in to the instructor by the
TWELFTH week of the semester.
proof-read without a disfiguring number of corrections on any
given page.
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BOOK
REVIEWS
A student may choose to write a book review 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.
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?
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 FIVE pages, proof-read without a disfiguring
number of corrections on any given page. If the paper
is transmitted to your instructor by email, it must be an
attachment.
The paper must have a complete title page.
All book
reviews must be turned in to the instructor by the
twelfth week of the semester.
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The
Museum and Cultural Field Project
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. Your first cultural project might include an
examination of the Japanese Collection at the Free Gallery of Art
or the Sachler Gallery of Art, a comparative Art Project at the National
Gallery of Art, the Walter's Gallery in Baltimore, or a trip the
Metropolitian Museum in New York, 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.
The cultural project is due the eighth week of the semester.
Students wanting to complete their cultural field projects at
Metropolitian Museum in New York will be permitted to turn in the
report the week following the Field Trip
The second Cultural Project involves how the Japanese live.
You will be able to interview Japanese individuals in order to
learn about weddings, funerals, religious beliefs, methods of
cooking, films, martial arts, Kubuki theatre, writing of poetry,
calligraphy, the tea ceremony, Ikebana, Bonsai, Oragami, clothing,
Shogi or Go, or another project approved by your
instruction. Your cultural project will be presented to the
class. Cultural projects reports will begin during the
eighth week.
The Museum and
Cultural Project report to your instructor must be well written
and no longer than three pages. Your documentation for the
Museum and Cultural Project will be the notes that you took during
your investigation and must be included.
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FINAL
GRADE REPORT
The final grade will be calculated from following activities--examinations
(60 points), the two Field Projects (15 points), the research paper
and class report (20 points).
Class participation (5 points) includes emails, Blackboard responses,
lectures, videos, or any other activity related to the material
covered in this course.
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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