Objectives: The student will acquire an overview of the flow of historical events and how they have created the conditions in which we live and begin to understand the goals and learn the craft of historical study. The skills to be developed include critical thinking, reasoning, analysis, decision making and presenting a point of view, verbally and in writing, with appropriate supporting evidence. This course will focus specifically on using "primary" documents as evidence for historical discourse. Thematically we will concentrate on the developing concepts of freedom and liberty during the Modern Age of Western Civilization.

Readings: Jackson J. Spielvogel,Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume II

Perry, Peden, and Von Laue, Sources of the Western Tradition, Volume II

Other Readings placed on reserve or distributed in class

Course Outline:

Formal lectures are not planned for this course. While I may from time to time speak on our topic for some portion of the class time most days we will talk as a group and discuss the material and its significance. Tuesdays we will look at the developing flow of historical events through reading of the Spielvogel text. On Thursdays we will examine and discuss the primary documents from the Sources of the Western Tradition, on reserve, or distributed in class, which mainly address issues of freedom and liberty.

Because of the nature of this course attendance, punctuality and class participation are essential for all students in all class sessions. For each individual class member to gain the most benefit from the course all must be in class and prepared to discuss and ask questions. This requires that the reading assignments be finished before the meeting indicated on the schedule. Students are allowed two (2) absences during the term. If you must arrive to class late (don't make it a habit) do so quietly and without drawing attention to yourself.

Grades will be determined based on a variety of written assignments and participation in class discussions.

Class participation (10%)

This component of the course grade is based on participation in classroom activities and discussions.

Writing Assignments:

Weekly Document Report (20%)

Each week in discussion the class will decide on one of the documents to discuss in a brief essay which analyzes the meaning of liberty and freedom presented by the author in relation to other readings and how that interpretation has contributed to the development of those concepts in the modern world. These essays must be between one and two pages in length. These essays will be collected every week during the Tuesday class.

Two Papers (50%)

Twice during the semester each student shall select one of the document authors and read a book length writing by the same author and write a 7-10 page paper examining the meaning and significance of that authors work. Selection of authors and works must be approved by me. The first of these papers must be submitted before Spring Break and the second before the last day of class. The first paper may be revised and resubmitted along with the original paper for re-evaluation prior to the Easter vacation. No revisions will be accepted on the second paper. While nothing can replace the tactile pleasure of sitting down and reading a genuine book with words printed on tangible paper there are several online sources for full texts of important works:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

http://www.gutenberg.org/

http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/

All papers must be typed (Times New Roman 12 point font) with standard margins and free of grammatical and spelling errors. When quoting or citing the ideas of others you must cite the original source (see the statement on plagiarism at the bottom of this page).

Final Exam 20%

A final exam will be required of all students. It will consist of an essay written in class at the time scheduled by the registrar.

Grades are calculated on the scale 90-100% A, 80-89% B, 70-79% C, 60-69% D. Plus and minus grades will be assigned as appropriate. In borderline cases the instructor will make the final determination based on improvement. No extra credit work will be accepted.

Students are required to complete all work assigned for this class as scheduled in this syllabus. Work turned in after the assigned date will be subject to a half letter grade penalty for each class period late.

Students needing special accommodations in the classroom should contact the Office of Disability Services at 105 Amstutz Hall (ext. 5953) and inform me early in the semester so that proper steps can be taken to meet those needs.

Academic Honesty, expected of every student as a member of the University community, is essential to the process of education and to upholding high ethical standards. Cheating, plagiarism or any other kind of unethical behavior may subject the student to severe academic penalties, including failure of the course and possible expulsion. This policy and will be enforced in this class.

Capitol Community College's guide to plagiarism (based on the MLA style):

"Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material, of course from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences, and, indeed, phrases but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc. "Someone else" can mean a professional source, such as a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; an electronic resource such as material we discover on the World Wide Web; another student at our school or anywhere else; a paper-writing "service" (online or otherwise) which offers to sell written papers for a fee."

For more information about what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it see http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/ProfessionalStandards.htm

Last Updated: 12 January, 2005