WESTERN CIV.
SYLLABUS 2011-2012
HATBORO-HORSHAM HS
Instructor: Bryan Moore
Classroom: Module 4
Phone: 215.420.5867
Email: bmoore@hatboro-horsham.org
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday, 3:00-4:00pm
Website: www.bmoore.net
Purpose and Conduct of the Class
This required course is meant to provide you a better understanding of the history of the Western civilization, including both Antiquity and “modern” Europe; i.e., Europe since the Renaissance. The aim of the course is to give you the tools to make informed interpretations about the past, present, and future. Thus, a large portion of the course is devoted to current events and their relationship to historical events.
Readings
Since Western civilization encompasses thousands of years, we will rely heavily on one of the following textbooks:
- Beck, Roger B., et al. World History: Patterns of Interaction. New York: McDougal Littell, 2005.
- McKay, John P., el al. A History of Western Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
You will also be assigned a number of outside readings to digest and be prepared to discuss in-class.
Evaluation
This is a required course for juniors and the expectations are high; your grades will come from a variety of sources, including both formative and summative assessments; both reading and writing will play a key a role in this course. On Friday of each week there will be a current events quiz based on the discussions in class worth 5 points; a list of the day's current events is available daily on the class website.
Novel Assignments
In addition to the above mentioned assignments, there will be four assessments, one each half-quarter related to reading: each student is required to choose four books to read on the attached list and will be required to demonstrate their knowledge of the book through an assignment to be discussed later; the exact details to each assignment will be distributed in class.
Examinations
There will be some number of summative examinations throughout the course, as necessary. Those tests will usually be based on the material from several chapters in the textbook and class discussions about those topics covered in the material. Exams will be announced well in advance.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism and academic dishonesty run rampant in all sectors of academia and are an ever-growing problem for schools. I would have you note those are two distinct items: to plagiarize is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own; use (another’s production) without crediting the source;” academic dishonesty is more encompassing, as copying assignments or cheating may not seem like plagiarism but are academically dishonest. Plagiarism and cheating are covered clearly on page 22 of Hatboro-Horsham High School’s Student/Parent Handbook and, as such, I will not go into depth on that matter here.
Attendance and Classroom Behavior
This sounds basic, but you need to be here. You never had a course like this nor has this material been covered in any other course and your absence from class will greatly diminish your ability to succeed. If you must miss class, it is your responsibility to find-out what you missed, which does not include asking me “what did I miss?” Instead, you should question your peers and copy any notes they may have taken in your absence. Coming to me with questions about what you missed will not work well; however, if you do not understand something we covered, I’ll be more than happy to go over it with you.
I am aware we live in the 21st Century and technology has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives. We will use that technology, including mobile phones, when appropriate—the key word being appropriate—but texting throughout class will not be tolerated. Using your phone for note-taking or in-class research is encouraged, as it is an invaluable tool; however, I ask before you even enter my classroom to make sure your phone is in “silent” mode.
READING LIST
Author: Joyce, James
Title: Finnegans Wake**
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0141181265
Author: Machiavelli, Niccolò
Title: The Prince**
Publisher: Bantam Classics
ISBN: 0553212788
Author: More, Sir Thomas
Title: Utopia**
Publisher: Penguin Putnam, Inc.
ISBN: 0140441654
Author: Orczy, Baroness Emmuska
Title: The Scarlet Pimpernel*
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 0553214020
Author: Penman, Sharon Kay
Title: The Sunne in Splendour**
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345363132
Author: Plato
Title: The Trial and Death of Socrates**
Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc.
ISBN: 0486270661
Author: Remarque, Erich Maria
Title: All Quiet on the Western Front*
Publisher: Fawcett Books
ISBN: 0449213943
Author: Tolstoy, Leo
Title: War and Peace**
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 0679600841
Author: Turgenev, Ivan
Title: Fathers and Sons**
Publisher: Penguin Classics
ISBN: 0140441476
Author: Wiesel, Elie
Title: Night*
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 0553272535