HIS 215 (EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY): APPROACHING THE COURSE
HIS 215 is being delivered in the Fall using an asynchronous digital format. We will not meet regularly as a group via videoconferencing, though we may have some optional workshop sessions and I will make time available for one-on-one student-instructor videoconferences. You will be expected to spend an average of 4+ hours a week on the course. Although I anticipate that the work rhythms of even the most dedicated student will vary somewhat throughout the semester due to extraneous factors, you will need to be focused and on-task from the beginning of the course.
The Mister Dan site, my public access web-site, will be the basic resource for the course. (
https://www.misterdann.com/contentsmoderneuropei.htm )We will use the NIC HIS 215 Brightspace site as the place for Discussion Forum Contributions and for Assignment Submissions. You will be able to reach the Brightspace site through logging on using your NIC e-mail at https://mycourses.nic.bc.ca/ .
The Discussion Forums are meant to facilitate the sharing of ideas and to engage you with your classmates. The forums will be divided into your reflections upon the course documentaries (History Playhouse) and your discussion upon other course materials. These contributions together will be one important component of the course evaluation (22%). Try your best to keep current with the Discussion Forums as we move throughout the semester. I will leave Discussion Forums up for two weeks after we have moved on to new topics but then will close old Forums as we proceed. Evaluation will be based not just upon the number of contributions but rather more on the level of their thoughtfulness, with added appreciation for genuine engagement with fellow students.
Before the start of each week, you should read the "Orientation For The Week" overview on the Syllabus page. It will outline your responsibilities for the coming week, including instructions and links for the Discussion Forums and for required Reading, Listening, and Viewing. I will often also include some Optional Extras. These will be interesting supplementary materials connected to the topics under consideration for that particular week. You are encouraged to access these materials, as well as related supplemental materials that you find, but I appreciate that the degree to which you have time to do this will vary throughout the semester. Focus upon those Optional Extras that most interest you. If you are drawn into some Optional Extras, it's certainly appropriate to substitute study on those for some of the other weekly responsibilities.
The most substantial assignment in HIS 215 will be the on-going Early Modern European History Journal (60%). This will consist of a series of commentaries upon the curriculum. I have provided you with two different options for the Journal: (1) The Regular Journal; or (2) The Note-Taking/Journal Combo. These are described in detail on the Assignment Page of my web-site. You should familiarize yourself with these two models and make a clear choice between the options at the beginning of the course.
It is expected that you will work regularly on the Journal throughout the semester, writing in it on a weekly basis. You will need to hand in the Journal to me on three different occasions. Your first installment will be due four weeks into the semester (Sunday, October 2). I want to check to ensure that you are off to a good start during our compressed seven-week semester, and that we share a mutual understanding as to the nature of the assignment. This submission will be graded and is worth 19% of your course grade.
The Journal will again be due at the ten-week mark of the semester. This check-in is ungraded but mandatory. I want to review what progress you are making. Those students who do not submit a Journal installment at this time will incur an academic penalty. You should include all the Journal work you have completed to this point in the semester as a single file through Brightspace at this time.
You will hand in your Journal a third and final time at the end of the semester, on Sunday, December 4. You should submit your entire semester Journal at this time through Blackboard as a single file. This submission will be graded and is worth 38% of your course grade.
You will also be responsible for taking reading notes and writing a mini-essay based upon the book Age Of Discovery: Navigating The Storms Of Our Second Renaissance. You will be asked to respond to the argument put forth by Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna that the study of the Age of the European Renaissance can help us to put our own fast-changing era into perspective. It is important that you get the text and that you base your reading response upon your direct encounter with the book rather than upon reviews and/or second-hand summaries.
There will not be a stand-alone graded assignment associated with the second course book, Germany: Memories Of A Nation, though I encourage those of you with available time to include a thoughtful, analytical response to this text within your Journal.
I have decided not to have any exams in this edition of HIS 215, though I will be expecting you to demonstrate consistent engagement with the course that combines close attention to detail with in-depth analysis through your Journal entries and Discussion Forum Contributions. I hope that you enjoy the course and I look forward to working with you.