COURSE: HIST 2453—World History
PROFESSOR: Dr. Doug Baker
Office Hours: To be Announced
Office Phone: 945-3235
E-Mail Address: dr.baker@osuokc.edu
Home Page: www.osuokc.edu/bdougla
COURSE DESCRIPTION: An overview of world history from the birth of the first human civilizations to the modern era. Emphasis is on major political, military, intellectual, and religious events and movements that have shaped world history.
TEXT: Craig, Albert M. et. al. The Heritage of World Civilizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. ISBN: 0-205-66104-1.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOALS:
Upon completion of General Education Curriculum, students should be proficient in demonstrating the following competencies:
Goal #1: Critical Thinking
Explanation:
Critical thinking skills include, but are not limited to, the ability to comprehend complex ideas, data, and concepts; to make inferences based on careful observation; to make judgments based on specific and appropriate criteria; to solve problems using specific processes and techniques; to recognize relationships among the arts, culture, and society; to develop new ideas by synthesizing related and/or fragmented information; to apply knowledge and understanding to different contexts, situations, and/or specific endeavors; and to recognize the need to acquire new information.
*All courses will contain assignments that demonstrate critical thinking, but not all courses will include all listed critical thinking elements.
Goal #2: Effective Communications
Explanation:
Effective communication is the
ability to develop organized, coherent, unified written or oral presentations
for various audiences and situations.
Goal #3: Computer Proficiency
Explanation:
Computer proficiency includes a basic knowledge of operating systems, word processing, and Internet research capabilities.
Goal #4: Civic Responsibility
Explanation:
Preparation for civic responsibility in the democratic society of the United States includes acquiring knowledge of the social, political, economic, and historical structures of the nation in order to function effectively as citizens in a country that is increasingly diverse and multicultural in its population and more global in its view and functions.
Goal #5: Global Awareness
Explanation:
Global awareness includes
knowledge of the geography, history, cultures, values, ecologies, languages,
and present-day issues of different peoples and countries, as well as an
understanding of the global economic, political, and technological forces which
define the interconnectedness and shape the lives of the world’s citizens.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The student who successfully completes the course should be able to:
1. Identify the major characteristics of each of the major civilizations in world history.
2. Recall and relate the major historical events and persons that played key roles in the development of each of the world’s region’s history.
3. Identify and briefly explain the major religious and philosophical world views and how they affected the course of history.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
1. Prerequisites: None
2. Next Course in Sequence: None
3. Instruction Methods: This is primarily a lecture class, although class discussions are also encouraged.
4. Special Information: Class participation is encouraged, but talking among yourselves during the lecture is not acceptable. OSU-OKC policy prohibits the presence of food and drink in the classroom. Also, please remember that all buildings on our campus are tobacco free. Students who persistently disrupt a class or flagrantly violate OSU-OKC policy may be asked to leave the classroom.
5. Attendance: Students are held accountable for all work covered in a course despite valid reasons for absence from class. Students are expected to attend each class period. Regular attendance is necessary for a student to earn a good grade. See #4 under “Course Requirements” for the details of the attendance policy in this class.
6. Honors Credit: A student who meets the following criteria may receive Honors credit by completing a Request for Honors Credit by Contract-Conditions form with the instructor’s permission and submitting it to the Program Coordinator. The student must achieve a “B” or above and satisfactorily complete the contract to earn Honors designation for the course. It is the Program Coordinator who must determine the eligibility of the student for the Honors Contract before the Contract is completed by the student and the instructor.
Requirements for New Freshmen: ACT composite score of 23 or higher, or a high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
Requirements for Students Other than New Freshman: (a) If a student other than a new freshman has completed fewer than 30 credit hours, he/she must have at least a 3.0 retention grade point average; (b) If a student other than a new freshman has completed 30 or more credit hours, he/she must have at least a 3.25 retention grade point average.
Special Cases: Students who do not meet the eligibility requirements may petition the Honors Committee by first contacting the Program Coordinator for an exception to the minimum GPA requirement. Consideration of the petition will be based upon performance during the prior semester at OSU-OKC.
7. Academic
Dishonesty or Misconduct: Academic
dishonesty or misconduct is not condoned nor tolerated at institutions within
the
8. Withdrawal Policy: Any student may withdraw from this class or change to audit on or before the published drop date, which is the Friday of the twelfth (12th) week of the semester (the sixth week of the summer semester). Withdrawals must be processed through the Admissions Office and requires the signature of an advisor within the division. All students remaining on the class roll after the published drop date will receive a letter grade in the course.
9. Incomplete Grades: The Incomplete grade (I) may be given only to a student who has completed at least 70% of the course work, is passing, and has a valid excuse for being unable to complete the course. It is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor, who will complete an "I" contract, stipulating the work that must be made up and the time allowed to do so, for both of you to sign.
10. Americans with Disabilities Act Statement: If any member of the class feels that he/she has a disability and needs special accommodations of any nature whatsoever, the instructor will work with you and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class after the disability has been verified. Please advise the instructor of such disability and the desired accommodations at some point before, during, or after the first scheduled class period.
11. Electronic Device Policy: Cell phones and other electronic devices are disruptive to the class. If a student’s work or family situation requires the student to keep the device turned on during class, the student must turn the phone to a silent or vibrate mode. If a student must receive a call during class, the student will leave the room. A student may not make a call during class. Cell phones and all electronic devices may not be used during an exam unless stipulated by the instructor. Use of a cell phone or electronic device during an exam is considered academic misconduct, and the student will be subject to the appropriate penalties.
12. Unattended Children Policy: For personal safety of children and potential problems in supervision, children should not be at any location on campus without adult supervision. No children are permitted in classrooms, laboratories, teaching areas, or the Library.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Exams: There will be a total of five (5) exams in this course, including the Final Exam, with a total possible of 500 exam points, 100 points for each exam. Each exam will consist of a variety of types of questions, including matching, true or false, and multiple choice.
2. Exam
Schedule: All Exams will be taken on
the Desire to Learn (D2L) online class site.
Please attend class regularly so that you will hear the 1-week’s notice
of the subsequent exam. You will have 50
minutes to take an exam. After the time
period has expired, D2L will not allow you to answer any more questions or to
change any answers. So please pace
yourself accordingly. IF you have a
reason that you need more time to take your exams, then you need to get
certified by the
3. Exam Make-Up Policy: All exams must be taken online during the time periods announced in class. If you fail to take an exam during its time period, you will have to take a Make-Up Exam that is 100% Essay in nature (and one which you will NOT want to take)! The ONLY exceptions to this rule are as follows:
· There is a D2L server problem, which means that it is the fault of OSU-OKC; OR
·
The student can provide official documentation
of a hospital stay, a funeral attended, special medication that affected
his/her ability to take an exam during the time period that an exam was
available online, military orders, etc., unless there has been an obvious case
of a natural or man-made disaster in the area or of widespread power
outages. There is NO Make-Up Exam for the Final Exam. Failure to take the Final Exam on time will
result in a “0” for that exam.
4. Attendance Policy: Attendance in class must be regarded as mandatory in the same way that going to your job is mandatory. As with a job, there will be consequences for excessive unexcused absences. A student with more than 5 Unexcused Absences will have 30 Points subtracted from his/her Total Score at the end of the semester, except that no student can receive an “F” for excessive unexcused absences. The ONLY way to get an absence Excused is for the student to provide official documentation of his/her hospitalization, doctor’s visit, court documents, military orders, attendance at funeral, etc., unless there has been an obvious case of a natural or man-made disaster in the area.
On the positive side of encouraging high attendance, if a student has perfect attendance between any two Ending Lectures (defined as the Last Lecture in preparation for an Exam), the student will receive five (5) bonus points added to the subsequent exam. Moreover, if a student misses fewer questions than allowed for attendance reasons, he/she will then earn extra credit so that the score will be greater than 100% for the given exam. On Exam #1, a student can also receive an additional five (5) bonus points for logging onto the D2L class site NO LATER THAN THE FIRST SATURDAY NIGHT OF THIS SEMESTER. @ 11:59 P.M.
EVALUATION:
The grading scale for this course is as follows:
A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
F = 0% - 59%
INSTITUTIONAL
STATEMENT:
Each student is responsible for being aware of the information
contained in the OSU-OKC Catalog, Student Handbook, and semester
information listed in the Class Schedule.
SYLLABUS
MODIFICATION STATEMENT:
Faculty has the right to change or modify the course syllabus
materials during the academic year. Any
changes will be provided in a written, dated addendum to the course syllabus.
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL LEARNING
1. ATTENDANCE
2. ORGANIZATION
Between each time the class meets you should:
·
Type
your lecture notes on a computer, reorganizing them by
(1) making the headings & sub-headings stand out.
(2) numbering or bulleting listed items.
(3) highlighting key names and terms.
(4) leaving sufficient space between items and sections to avoid confusion in identifying information in your notes.
NOTE: Make a back-up copy of your typed notes on the computer, and print the notes off each time, placing them in a 3-ring notebook.
·
Identify
all items discussed in class on the appropriate Review Sheet, and follow the
recommendations exactly for using the Review Sheet. NOTE:
Remember to do any textbook items also—which requires that you keep up
with class discussions and be aware of the chapter readings in the course
syllabus.
·
At
least skim read the appropriate textbook chapter for the next lecture—which
also requires that you keep up with class discussions and be aware of the
chapter readings in the course syllabus.
3. TIME
It is estimated that college students should spend 2-3 hours outside of actual class time for every hour spent in class. NOTE: This requires a careful evaluation of your personal schedule (e.g., family, work, school, etc.) and making any appropriate adjustments in order to have this much time.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. FIRST EXAM—Parts 1-2
Chapters
1-7
II. SECOND EXAM—Part 3
Chapters 8-16
III. THIRD EXAM—Part 4
Chapters 17-21
IV. FOURTH EXAM—Parts 5-6
Chapters 22-27
V. FINAL EXAM—Part 7
Chapters 28-31
HOW TO STUDY FOR DR. BAKER'S
HISTORY EXAMS
You will be
given 1 Review Sheet at least 1 week before each exam. Each Review Sheet will consist of 2
sections. This page describes those
sections and how to use them in preparation for taking the exams.
1. Identifications: A maximum of Forty-Five (45) items are listed
in this section on each Review Sheet.
You should be able to summarize the essential facts related to each
Identification item.
The use of ruled
(or lined) 3” x 5” index cards is recommended for your study preparation. Limit your card to one (1) side only so that
you write down only the most important facts.
2. Short Essay: Several short essay questions are listed on
each Review Sheet. Even though there
will be NO essays to write on an exam, you need to prepare for all of the short
essays on each Review Sheet as if you
were going to write each of them out in an essay format. All of the short essays will be reflected in
the multiple choice or true or false sections on an exam.
The use of ruled
(or lined) 3” x 5” index cards is recommended for your study preparation. Label each card with an appropriate title and
the number of the Short Essay on the Review Sheet. Then outline the essential points which
specifically answer the question on the Review Sheet.
Special Notes:
(1) Each exam will
also feature a True or False section.
Each question will be taken from items on the Review Sheet for that
exam.
(2) Each exam will
also feature a Multiple Choice section.
Each question will be taken from items on the Review Sheet for that
exam.
These guidelines have been
proven to work. DON’T IGNORE THEM!!!