***IF THIS CLASS IS FULL, PLEASE REGISTER FOR ANOTHER OPEN SECTION, EVEN IF TAUGHT BY ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR. IF ALL SECTIONS ARE FULL, ADD YOURSELF TO THE WAITLIST VIA MY.CUESTA. CHECK YOUR POSITION REGULARLY AND KEEP IN MIND THAT IF ENROLLED STUDENTS DROP  PRIOR TO OUR COURSE START DATE (MONDAY, 6/12), YOU MAY BE AUTOMATICALLY ADDED INTO THE CLASS. IF YOU ARE STILL ON THE WAITLIST WHEN THE CLASS BEGINS ON MONDAY, 6/12, PLEASE EMAIL ME (SEE THE "CONTACT" SECTION BELOW) TO REQUEST AN ADD CODE. I WILL ACCOMMODATE AS MANY WAITLIST STUDENTS AS I CAN. ADD CODES CANNOT BE PROVIDED UNTIL MONDAY, 6/12.***

Dear Students,

Welcome to HIST 203B: History of World Civilizations (CRN: 51251). My name is Professor Touryan and I will be your online instructor for the next 6 weeks.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

During our class, we will sail across the oceans with Columbus, nail the 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg with Martin Luther, dump tea into the Boston Harbor with the American Patriots, raid the Bastille with French revolutionaries, discover diamonds with Cecil Rhodes in Africa, travel across the Ottoman Empire with the Janissaries, overthrow the last Russian tsar with the Bolsheviks, “Walk to the Sea” with Mohandas Gandhi, storm the beaches of Normandy with the Allies, take a Great Leap Forward with Mao Zedong, witness the fall of the Berlin Wall, and celebrate the end of the Cold War.

Our course highlights these and many more incredible historical events, focusing on major world civilizations from the early sixteenth century to the present, placing special emphasis on the common challenges and experiences that unite the human past. We will also examine the political, social, religious and economic institutions that have shaped societies as well as the significant discoveries, inventions, scientific achievements, and literature that have connected peoples across the globe thereby altering the course of world history. I hope you are excited to take each of these incredible journeys!

ONLINE FORMAT

Please note, this class is fully online, there are NO mandatory meetings for this class. Please make sure you have a reliable Internet connection, a newer computer (no older than 5 years), and a current operating system.

IS AN ONLINE CLASS FOR ME?

I strongly suggest that all prospective online students complete the following "self-assessment" information put together by Cuesta College and the Online Readiness Tutorials designed by the California Community Colleges Online Education Initiative - Is Online Education for You? Please also take the Online Education Readiness quiz to assess whether or not an online class is right for you. If, after reviewing these materials and completing the readiness quiz, your results show that an online is not right for you or may not be right for you, please drop this course and sign up for a traditional classroom course. Please see Class Finder for other options.

LENGTH OF COURSE

This class runs 6 weeks from Monday, June 12th through Thursday, July 20th. You must be able to commit to all 6 weeks of class. No assignments, quizzes, exams, or other coursework may be completed early to shorten the length of this class.

TEXTBOOKS

The following textbooks are required for this course:

Main textbook: Carter, Richard & Richard Warren, Forging the Modern World: A History (2nd Edition) (Oxford University Press, 2018). ISBN-13: 9780190901899.

• Textbooks are available at the campus bookstore or on Chegg

Primary source textbook: Carter, Richard & Richard Warren, Sources for Forging the Modern World (2nd Edition) (Oxford University Press, 2018). ISBN-13: 9780190901936.

• Textbooks are available at the campus bookstore or on Chegg

ASSESSMENTS

There will be two types of assessments in our class: reading quizzes and analytical essays. While this course is fully online, there are specific due dates for the assessments mentioned (see forthcoming syllabus for specific deadlines).

• Reading Quizzes: Students will complete five (5) reading quizzes, which cover weekly chapter readings in our main text Forging the Modern World (Carter). Quizzes consist of 10 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each for a total of 20 possible points. Students will be given 30 minutes to complete each reading quiz. ALL QUIZZES ARE OPEN BOOK & OPEN NOTE. Students will have a reading quiz every three weeks (for specific due dates see the forthcoming course syllabus).
• Analytical Essays – Students will write two (2) short analytical essays (2-4 pages in length) during the semester. For these essays, students will be expected to synthesize and analyze assigned primary source readings found in Sources for Forging the Modern World (Carter) and any supplemental readings provided via links and/or pdf files via Canvas for each of our two content units.

WORKLOAD

While some weeks are lighter than others, expect to spend an average of 6-8 hours a week completing course readings, reading through weekly course lectures material, watching supplemental films, and studying for and completing assignments/assessments.

COURSE SYLLABUS

On the first day of class, you will gain access to Canvas where you'll be able to view our course syllabus and other class material. For instructions on how to access Canvas, see the information below:

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

We will be using Canvas for our course. Please read the following instructions for logging in:

To visit Canvas, visit www.cuesta.edu and click on the word “Canvas” which is located on the upper left hand corner of Cuesta’s homepage, you can also access Canvas via your MyCuesta homepage, or type in the link below into your browser: http://cuesta.instructure.com/

• Your login name matches your My.Cuesta login name: firstname_lastname
• Your Canvas password also matches your My.Cuesta password 
• Once you are logged in, you will see your Canvas dashboard with a list of courses in which you are currently enrolled (you should be automatically enrolled in HIST 203B)
• If you need further technical support, please read the following Canvas Quick Reference Guide for students or email: support@my.cuesta.edu (in the email, please include your name, section number (CRN), class name, instructor’s name and describe the specific problem you are having; please allow 48 hours for a response)

ACCOMODATIONS 

For students with disabilities, please visit the following link to DSPS and familiarize yourself with their available services. If you wish to contact DSPS directly with more specific questions, please email them at: dspsinfo@cuesta.edu

CONTACT

If you should have any further questions regarding our course, feel free to contact me at: elena_touryan@cuesta.edu. For high school students taking this course, please be advised that you must email me directly; I cannot communicate with your parents and will not respond to any emails received from them at any point during the course.

COURSE OUTCOMES

1. Demonstrate basic knowledge and understanding of the history of World Civilizations from the early sixteenth century to the present.
2. Demonstrate ability to interpret, analyze, and compose arguments utilizing appropriate support from primary sources (letters, diaries, speeches, etc.) and secondary sources (work produced by historians such as textbooks, articles, quotations, etc.).
3. Demonstrate an understanding of diverse cultures, including political, social, religious, and economic institutions and how these have shaped societies over time.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical significance of major discoveries, inventions, scientific achievements, literature, etc. that have connected peoples throughout the world and altered the course of history.

I look forward to meeting each of you and learning with you this semester. 

 

Bon Voyage,

Professor Touryan