Instructor:  Cameron Walker, Ph.D.           

Email:  cwalker@fullerton.edu (preferred); camwalker@aol.com

Emails will be promptly answered, although I am out of the country so email may be a little slow due to time differences.

Blackboard website: http://fullerton.blackboard.com

REQUIRED TEXT:  Ancient Civilizations, Second Edition,  by Christopher Scarre and Brian Fagan, Prentice Hall: New Jersey.

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

The course examines the evolution and development of civilizations at various stages of complexity—from early hunter-gatherer and farming societies to the ancient state-level civilizations in both the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Mesoamerica, South America, and Europe.  Both the causes and consequences for the rise and fall of these complex societies are examined within the context of archaeological and anthropological concepts. 

Computer Requirements

Since this is an online course, the use of a computer and the Internet is required. You will be utilizing Blackboard for several different components of the course: your grades, quizzes, participation in discussion boards and chats, and correspondence with the instructor.

To access the Blackboard system:

Login to the Blackboard system. This system is easy to use but you must carefully follow directions to access it successfully. PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!

·         Go to your student portal page at https://my.fullerton.edu.

·         On your portal you can find your blackboard username and password. Click on Blackboard and login to the course.

If you have any problems or questions please call the Help Desk at 278-7777. Do not call me or the Department, we will be unable to help. If you are unfamiliar with Blackboard tools, there are several tutorials that are offered through Blackboard and I encourage you to utilize them.

Also required for this course are the following computer programs: MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat Reader which may be downloaded for free.

ALL POSTS AND EMAILS MUST BE SIGNED WITH YOUR REAL NAME. I WILL NOT RESPOND OTHERWISE.  If you do not have a professional email (ex. cwalker@fullerton.edu) and are instead using your “fun” email address (ex. funkpunky77@gmail.com), I suggest you get a professional email from one of the following sites that are FREE: fullerton.edu provides your student account, yahoo.com, hotmail.com, AOL, etc.

“Netiquette”

Remember, although this is an online environment, it is still in an educational and classroom format. Treat your postings, chats, and discussions in a professional and educational manner. It is not appropriate to discuss extracurricular activities that are irrelevant to course and content and class discussions. If you do feel the need to have such discussions, please utilize another internet resource such as AIM, AOL, Yahoo, etc. Disruptive behavior online will not be tolerated. Do not use all capital letters in your posts. Do not make personal comments, and check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Your postings on Blackboard are NOT private discussions and I will be monitoring them for content and for grading purposes.

Basic Rules for Postings and Discussions:

• BE polite
• BE sure to identify yourself
• BE sure to identify quoted material
• BE sure to send messages to the most appropriate list
• NO long posts - 50 line limit
• NO obscene language
• NO religious or sexual solicitation
• NO personal attacks on list members
• NO long ASCII graphics
• NO long quotations
• NO cross-postings

Please refer to and download for future reference http://nursing.wsu.edu/current/netiquette.pdf  for more information about the importance of netiquette in your discussion postings.

Course Requirements and Grading:

There are 5 components for student participation for each of the 4 modules:

1.    Exercise 1 - at 4-5 sentences each

2.    Exercise 2 - at 4-5 sentences each

3.    Response postings to Instructor Questions (2 questions for each module) at 4-5 sentences each

4.    Original posting to comment on chapter material at 4-5 sentences each

5.    Response postings to student discussion (at least one for each module) at 4-5 sentences each

This course also requires:

6.    Final exam (there are no quizzes or midterm).

Submitting Your Assignments:

Your assignments (exercises and essays) are to be submitted on Blackboard under the Discussion Board. I am not on campus for the summer and can only respond by email.

Discussion Postings and Participation (further information):

You are expected to participate in class discussions following Netiquette Guidelines. You will receive points for postings and participation in online discussion sessions.

Discussion points and grading are as follows:

10 points = 5 points x 2 responses for Instructor Discussion Questions

10 points = 5 points x 2 responses for quality of responses for

Instructor Discussion Questions

10 points = 5 Points X 2 - Online Exercises (2 for each Module)     

10 points = New Posting in Module                                   

10 points = Response Posting in each Module

50 points total per Module Topic (corresponds to assigned text chapters)    

4 Module Topics x 50 points each =200 points

Online Exam:

You will have a final Exam worth 100 points. Your exam may consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false and short answer questions that will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the materials and weekly discussions.  It will open book and timed for 1 hour and 50 minutes.  You will have a 24 hour period in which to take the exam.

NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN FOR THE FINAL EXAM.   If your computer or internet server is not reliable, consider taking the exam on a library or other computer.

Essay/Reaction Piece:

• Students will be required to read an article and write a typed, double-spaced, 4 – 5 page essay with a references cited page.  The article must come from a journal or book and not a web site.

• 1 essay @ 50 Points 
• You should draw upon information from course materials to analyze the significance of the article in relation to the text readings and assigned exercises.
• Please submit the essays electronically via Blackboard Drop Box.  They must be your writing with appropriate references and references cited page.
• Grammar and punctuation count toward the grade.
• Essays will have 5 points deducted for each day they are late.

Your essays will be graded as follows:

15 Points - Discussion of the archaeological relevance of the article. 

10 Points - What kind of impact (emotional, psychological, spiritual) has reading the article had for your understanding of archaeology?

10 Points - Citations throughout your paper in AAA format and a Works Cited Page.  Please cite your paraphrased information as well as direct quotes.  WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE!!

15 Points - The essay will be at least 3-4 pages, left justification, double spaced,

12 pt. font.  Points will be deducted for improper formatting, grammatical and spelling errors.

_________________________________________________________

50 points total

Academic Honesty:Academic dishonesty, as referred to in UPS 300.021, “includes but is not limited to cheating on examinations or assignments, unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, falsification/fabrication of university documents, any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to the student (such as, but not limited to, submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor), assisting or allowing any of these acts, or the attempt to commit such acts.”

Plagiarism, dishonesty, or cheating will result in an automatic F in the class and University Policy Guidelines will be followed.

CourseGrading:_____________________________________________

Participation/Discussions (4 modules at 50 points each) = 200 points

          Essay at 50 points                                                     =   50 points

­­          Total Possible Points                                                 = 350 points       

Writing Guidelines:

-      Papers are to be double-spaced.

-      Pages are to be numbered.

-      Papers are to have a Bibliography or References Cited page.

-      Papers are to be properly referenced.  If it is someone else’s ideas, words, research, etc., then they must be cited, i.e.  (Walker 2004:15), not only when they are quoted.  Sometimes, more than one source must be acknowledged, for example: (Walker 2004:15; Mason 2000:364).

-      Grammar, punctuation, proper word usage and spelling count, so avoid:

o   Incomplete sentences

o   Run-on sentences

o   Inaccurate use of their/there

o   Inaccurate use of then/than

-      Papers are to be turned in on time.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING GOALS:

The objectives and learning goals for the course are as follows:

·         Provide students with a broad knowledge of the evolution and development of prehistoric human societies and ancient civilizations in both the Old and New Worlds.

·         Provide students with a background and understanding of the major theoretical and methodological approaches involved in studying the causes and consequences of ancient civilizations from an archaeological and anthropological perspective.

·         The learning goals outlined below for two GE categories are addressed in this course by providing students with diverse cross-cultural perspectives in both time and space about the origins of civilization, and the evolutionary developments that produced these ancient civilizations in various cultures around the world.

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: FULFILLMENT OF CATEGORY III. C. 2 AND V

This course (Anthropology 327: Origins of Civilization) fulfills the minimum of 3 units in a General Education (GE) requirement under the category of Disciplinary Learning in the Social Sciences:  Implications, Explorations, and Participatory Experience in the Social Sciences (GE Category III. C. 2.).  In addition, this course also fulfills the GE requirement in the category of Cultural Diversity (GE Category V) (see CSUF Fall 2004 Class Schedule, pp. 29-34, and the CSUF 2003-2005 Catalog at www.fullerton.edu/catalog/academic_programs/generaledu.asp).

GE Category III. C. 2. Disciplinary Learning in the Social Sciences:  Implications, Explorations, and Participatory Experience in the Social Sciences.  As stated in the CSUF 2003-2005 Catalog:

Courses in this category draw upon, integrate, apply, and extend knowledge and skills previously acquired in Category III.C. Disciplinary Learning: Social Sciences, and require completion of appropriate courses in Category III.C.1 as a prerequisite to enrollment. In addition, courses in III.C.2. Implications, Explorations and Participatory Experience in the Social Sciences include the following goals for student learning:

·         To understand broad, unifying themes in the social sciences from cross-disciplinary perspectives.

·         To solve complex problems that require social scientific reasoning.

·         To relate the social sciences to significant social problems or to other related disciplines.

GE Category V. Cultural Diversity.  As stated in the CSUF 2003-2005 Catalog:

Students must complete at least one three-unit course in category III.B.3, III.C.2, or IV that includes all of the following learning goals for cultural diversity:

·         To understand that culture is socially constructed and fundamental to social interaction.

·         To appreciate the complex relationships that gender, ethnicity and class bring to a discussion of society and culture.

·         To understand that because we live in an inter-connected world, we need to understand the diversity and relationships within and among cultures.

·         To recognize and evaluate how one’s cultural history affects one’s sense of self and relationship to others.

In addition, all General Education courses require written assignments that “involve the organization and expression of complex data or ideas and careful and timely evaluations of writing so that deficiencies are identified and suggestions for improvement and/or for means of remediation are offered.  Assessments of the student’s writing competence shall be used in determining the final course grade” (see CSUF 2003-2005 Catalog at www.fullerton.edu/catalog/academic_programs/generaledu.asp).  The research paper assigned in this class fulfills these writing requirements.

Information about students' right to accommodations for documented special 

needs can be found via the Disabled Student Service Office, UH 101, 

(714) 278-3117 or as documented at www.fullerton.edu/disabledservices/.

Download syllabus Microsoft Word (.doc) file. If you do not have Word, please use the Word Viewer.

Anthropology Home