HIST 2 - Western Civilization since 1600
Instructor:
Anne M. Breedlove
Email Instructor
Course Description
History of the Modern Western World; Romanticism and the Industrial Revolution to the present.
To take this class, you must have daily access to a computer with an Internet connection, an email account, and experience using a web browser. You will also need to update your email address in CLASS-Web when you register.
Check the college catalog for CSU/UC transferability and to see if this course meets AA/AS degree requirements.
This class begins Jan 22 and ends May 30.
On-Campus Meetings
There are no required on-campus meetings for this class.
How This Class Operates
This is not a self-paced class; there are due dates throughout the semester that you are expected to meet, just like in a traditional, face-to-face class. Some assignments will be done on your own, others will be done in groups. Active participation is required.
Communications will take place primarily via email, the class discussion board and chatrooms. Other possible forms of communication include telephone and face-to-face meetings during on-campus office hours.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Differentiate between primary and secondary sources.
- Read and critically analyze primary and secondary sources for information about the past.
- Write college-level academic research papers.
The goals of the course are:
- To learn about the major events, issues, and peoples in modern European history.
- To learn how and why it is a Westernized world we live in today.
- To appreciate how much of our present way of life, assumptions, and challenges are connected to the past.
This class is divided into Modules, and each Module contains a learning activity and a multiple-choice quiz based on the text. Learning Activities will be either working with primary sources from the text, film, or current news reports. All the Modules will be accessible, but students will only be able to access currently active and open Modules. All Modules open at 12:05 a.m. on a Monday and close at 11:55 p.m. on a Monday. Therefore, there is a one-day overlap of open Modules.
Class Projects
Two Major Questions Reports are meant to give students a creative way (without being a major research paper) to learn about key events in modern European history through the primary sources in the supplementary chapters in the text.
Succeeding in an Online Course
Students who succeed in online courses tend to be independent, self-motivated learners with good computer skills. If you are a procrastinator who relies heavily on the instructor for motivation, can't use a computer too well, have taken less than 21 units of college credit in your lifetime, and/or have a grade-point-average under 2.0, you should probably consider enrolling in a face-to-face course instead.
Also, don't enroll in this class if you believe the myth that learning online requires less effort than learning face-to-face. This course covers the same content and has similar activities as the face-to-face version of the course; only the method of delivery changes.
LPC offers a tutorial called "Succeeding in an online course" that will not only tell you if you are a good fit for online learning, but it also offers many strategies -- among other pertinent information -- that will help you succeed online. Please complete the tutorial.
Succeeding specifically in History 2
Success in online courses requires a very different set of skills than in face-to-face courses. Are you:
- Self-motivated?
- Able to read a schedule and stay on top of due dates?
- Able to make a habit of checking into this course every 2-3 days for breaking news?
- Able to read, understand, and follow directions?
- In possession of a reliable computer connection that you don't have to worry about breaking down?
- Able to use the word-processing software program Microsoft Word?
- Interested in participating in a creative, online, collaborative learning environment?
Blackboard
This course will use the Blackboard course management system as its virtual classroom. To learn how to log in to Blackboard, go to the Blackboard Login Procedures page. Once you enroll, you will not be able to log in until the first day of class.