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World Cultures
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Spring Semester 2008
Dr. Timothy James ScarlettAssistant Professor of ArchaeologyDepartment of Social Sciences Office Hour: Wednesday 11-12 pm and by appointment on campus or downtown over good cups of joe at the Cyberia Cafe. Course LocationLecture Section C/Lab L03 M/W/F 3:05 - 4:55 Dow Environmental Science and Engineering Building #8, Room # 641
Course Philosophy:This course presents a tremendous opportunity for students to learn about the world. The events of 2001-2002 left no doubt-- citizens must have knowledge of the world's current peoples and their histories. Very few Americans knew much about Afghanistan before September 11th, 2001. Over the next two years, that small country commanded the world's attention and consumed billions of your tax dollars. As with all general MTU courses, this class presents each student with a profound learning opportunity. The extent to which you take advantage of this opportunity is entirely within your control. I have blended several approaches to this class, and you will find lectures to be part analytical description, part intellectual criticism, and part travelogue. You decide for yourself how much to engage with your world, but our world will periodically engage with you regardless of your interest. World Cultures constitutes the second of four core-studies classes at Michigan Technological University. I've directed the course toward first-year students. In this course, lectures examine diversity and change around the globe from the perspectives of the social sciences, humanities, and arts. Subject matter ranges from prehistory to the present. Films, live performances, and guest speakers accompany classroom lectures. This course fulfills a general education requirement at Michigan Technological University. This section is similar to all UN 1002/3 courses taught at MTU, but the sections are not identical. All World Cultures sections include common critical readings and analyses of cultural events. All classes also require students to attend certain common activities, films, and performances. Students can take advantage of study groups headquartered in MTU's writing center (Walker 107, 487-2007). Active participation in discussions about course material and current events will help you develop skills for critical consumption of media news reporting. The taxpayers of the State of Michigan fund these study groups, with a contribution from your tuition and lab fees. You should take advantage of them. The study groups provide an excellent opportunity to practice communication skills and are one forum where you can opt to integrate academic and intellectual perspectives on the modern world. Jim Turnquist directs MTU's Career Services Center. He surveys all of the firms that come to campus to interview MTU seniors in anticipation of job placement. Mr. Turnquist wrote to me that “"more companies than ever either have divisions in other countries or plan on expanding in other countries. We have had situations in which a student was chosen for a co-op assignment because he could speak Spanish. He spent his assignment in South America. We had another occasion when a company specifically wanted someone that could speak Cantonese or a Chinese-related language.” He recommended that students critically engage the modern world and become proficient with global issues". Mr. Turnquist continued, “"The American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) conducted a survey of various companies throughout the U.S. The survey asked them to rank the characteristics of the candidates that they considered the most important when considering a new hire. An international background / foreign language skills ranked in the top 10".” In addition, Mr Turnquist's office just completed a report on co-ops. They ask companies to evaluate MTU students upon completion of their assignment. Our students' supervisors, across all disciplines and fields, reported that our seniors have excellent technical training. They universally agree that our students' greatest weakness is in communication skills. He sent me the following rankings quoted from his report:
Mr. Turnquist strongly believes that “the University should require all students to take a speech class, an entire year of an English communication class, and a technical communication class. According to Counseling Services, over 50% of our students are introverts. Maybe MTU should require more course work that involves social interaction.” The MTU core curriculum presents you with an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other equally-qualified applicants for future jobs. While not identical to Mr. Turnquist's recommendations, Perspectives on Inquiry (Un 1001) and Revisions (UN 2001) are both courses dedicated to improving your written and oral communications. In contrast, World Cultures (UN 1002) and Institutions (UN 2002) present you with insights into the history and functioning of the modern world. You decide how much benefit you derive from each course.
Required Texts:Marston, Sallie A., Paul L. Knox, and Diana M. Liverman 2007 World Regions in Global Context: Peoples, Places, and Environments. Second Edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Baltensperger, Brad (general editor) 2007 World Cultures: Course Activity Guide and Narratives. Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston. From time to time, we will have guest lecturers. These persons will be experts on a specific place or topic or they will have recently completed field research projects relevant to what we are discussing in class. I expect that all students will attend these lectures and be prepared to answer exam questions on the information presented therein. Grading Criteria:There will be fifteen (15) "clicker" quizzes given during the course, each worth 10 points. You will use your clicker to take the quiz at the beginning of each class. I sometimes plan to use the quizzes to reward you for completing class activities or simple administrative tasks. Some of the quizzes will, however, occur on-line at the WebCT class web site. Most quizzes will occur in class before lecture begins on that day. There will be no make-up quizzes, but only your top 13 scores will count. Each quiz is worth ten points, so your quiz scores can total 130 out of 130 points. You will complete four exams during the course. Exams will cover lectures, textbook readings, narratives, cultural events, and guest lectures. Each exam is of similar length, typically during the second hour of class, and the format and will include short- and long essay questions. Each exam is worth 100 points. Your exam scores can total 400 out of 400 points. Make-ups will be given only in cases of verified and unavoidable emergencies. You must notify me of conflicts (such as away games or religious holidays) prior to any scheduled exam. If you expect to face issues like these over the term, you should read my policy about student's responsibilities. You might have an emergency and miss a major exam. Arrangements for taking the make-up exam should be made within three working days after the scheduled examination date. If this procedure is not followed, the student will not be allowed to take a make-up exam. Unexpected emergencies will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. You will attend thirteen (13) cultural events during the semester, including films and live performances. I will offer assignments on eight (8) of these events. For six (6) of those eight, you will complete a project. Three of the events are live performances and ten are foreign films. You may choose which six of the eight possible assignments you would like to complete. While the Course Activity Guide and Narratives book describes most of the cultural activities in general terms, the specific nature of each assignment will be given out during lecture and posted on the web site. preceding the film or event. Each project is worth 20 points. Grading is based on content, format, professionalism, and style, and I will explain my overall expectations for your writing assignments. The Teaching Assistants or I will provide additional details to accompany specific tasks. Dr. Scarlett's Guide to Writing for World Cultures is newly located here. This page includes discussions on the structure, format, style, and evidence expected of your work. I've also included many helpful links that will guide you to edit your own writing and improve your grade! The writing guide page explains each section of the evaluation rubric used to grade writing assignments in UN 1002, Section A. You can download examples: Rubric I: the regular rubric for evaluating most written work in this course. Ten of the cultural events are held during Friday's lab section. Generally, these will be foreign films connected to class topics. You must attend three live cultural events and performances outside of class. Your lab fee paid (in part) for these external events, so you pick up free tickets for these events. You will receive a detailed handout regarding the live events. While pre-paid, seats will be on a first come, first serve basis. If you do not go early to pick up your tickets, you may not get the night or event you would prefer to attend. Log on to this website to choose your tickets: TBA You can use the web site to sign up for tickets. You can then pick up your tickets at the Rozsa Center box office. Do not wait for the night of the show to pick up the tickets. The box office will sell your tickets to someone on the day of the show. If you experience an unavoidable conflict, such as an MTU athletic event or medical emergency, you can substitute another cultural event at the Rozsa. I will design substitute projects for appropriate performances. You should contact either Dr. Scarlett or one of the Teaching Assistants in writing within the first two weeks of the term regarding schedule conflicts due to University events (athletic teams, etc.) and in case of emergency as soon as reasonably possible. Excuses or reschedules for scheduled events will not be accepted after April 1st. Unless a verified and unavoidable emergency occurs, projects turned in after the due date will be subject to point deduction as follows: -10 percent for every business day. For example, one student had a paper due Monday, but didn't turn it in until Friday. He opted to have his grade reduced by 50 percent (-10% per day for five days). If the student scored a 15/20 on this paper, but it was –50% because it was late, his score would be 7.5/20 {(15*50%)/20}. Avoid trying to print papers at the last moment. Printer and computer problems are not "emergencies" but things that you should expect and plan to avoid. There will be no make-up papers permitted after the cultural events have ended. Plan accordingly. There will be no opportunities to get "extra-credit" for any type of assignment. I encourage students to spend time and do well on regularly scheduled projects and not to miss any exams, quizzes, or other work. Always print two copies of your paper-- one to turn in and one for your own files. Keep your copies until you have received your final grade from the university. If you examine your grade book in Blackboard and believe a discrepancy exists, bring your graded paper and rubric to show me as evidence of the error. The Final Course Grade is the average of 650 possible points. The final grade will be a straight percentage; the class will not be curved. The summary of possible points is listed below:
At any given point in the course, a student can compute their own grade by summing the current point-total scored on completed assignments and dividing that total by the possible number of points at that date. The final grade is a letter determined on the following scale:
Equal Educational Opportunity:I am committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. MTU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education or services at MTU, you should contact Dr. Gloria Melton, Associate Dean of Students (487-2212). For concerns about discrimination, you may contact your professor, her/his department head, or the Affirmative Action office directly at 487-3310. Student's Responsibilities:I believe it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact the instructor during the first week of the semester to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments. The instructor and TAs will meet with the student to formulate a written plan for appropriate accommodations. I respect each individual's right to privacy. If you choose not to identify your need for accommodation, I will not be able to take action on your behalf. If you disclose your needs while the class is ongoing, reasonable accommodations will begin from the documented disclosure forward. In addition, student athletes, those observing religious restrictions, and students involved in other university sanctioned activities who might experience scheduling conflicts must contact the instructor during the first two weeks of class to discuss conflict resolution. All requests for excused absences must be put in writing and given to the instructor prior to the activity . In addition, any student that has authorized their grade to be released to an organization or individual (i.e. a fraternity academic supervisor, a scholarship committee, etc.) must also notify me with a written note within the first week of the semester. Note that United States federal law prohibits me or the teaching assistants from sharing your grade with anyone unless you provide written consent. If you need a mid-term grade report, notify the teaching assistants or me in writing the class period before you need the update. If you bring us a grade report form at the end of class without warning, we will not sign it. I will be happy to provide you with interim grade estimates, but such an evaluation takes time to prepare. You will extend the professional courtesy of written advance notification. Tips for StudyingIn this class you will learn many details about the peoples of the world. In your readings, focus on the main ideas and how particular details relate to the generalizations that we are trying to make. It is essential that you keep up on the reading. You will be exposed to, and be expected to master, a lot of new concepts and definitions each week. If you get behind in your reading or in learning the concepts and definitions, it will often be difficult to follow the lecture. You will also fail to get the most benefit from the cultural activities. Most of you have never taken a course like this before. There will be a great deal of information in every lecture, and as many as 12 lectures covered on each exam. Consider that each test will potentially cover 18 or 25 lecture hours, 7 book chapters, 14 supplemental readings, maps, and other miscellaneous information. As you may have already discovered in last-semester's lecture-based courses, you really can't cram this much material the night before the exam. Instead, I recommend that you adopt some of the highly successful study habits your peers use. Two that I hear about repeatedly from students are:
As you read and review, make an outline of the textbook material, as well as brief summaries of the case studies in the textbook and the assigned articles. In addition to having a good grasp of the assigned readings in the Marston text, you should be able to discuss the Study Questions at the end of each chapter or section in the books. As you go through the semester, you may want to build a vocabulary list from lectures and readings to supplement the Glossary found in Marston. As a student at Michigan Technological University, you have an email account on MTU's server. This class will have a list-serve for student discussion of course material and important administrative announcements. A list-serve is like a mail board where one person can send a note, and the server will bounce the message to all of the other members of the class. This list exists for two purposes. First, I use it to communicate with you about course material and administrative concerns. You should read your email at least three times a week. The list also permits students to discuss course materials as a group. From time to time, I will also post general announcements about cultural events on MTU's campus which are unrelated to class assignments. Inappropriate or unproductive use of the list-serve, or postings inconsistent with the spirit of the class, will result in penalty at the discretion of the instructor. Your use of this discussion group is also governed by MTU's computing ethics code. I maintain a web site for this course. The address appears on the front of this syllabus package. I place a variety of things on this site for your use, including .pdf files of my lecture outlines, assignments, activities, and other relevant documents. I like you to print out my lecture overheads ahead of time and bring them to class, so I will generally post files at least a day before you might want them. You will quickly observe that the overheads will not substitute for class attendance. Most of what I discuss will link to, but not derive from, what Marston and her co-authors wrote in our text. You are expected to take class notes on the lectures, films, activities, performances, and events. As many students are unfamiliar with foreign films, the Activity Guide discusses key points, context, and questions to be noted in film data. Class lecture notes are not for publication or reprinting (including on the internet) without the written consent of the instructor. You are liable for copyright infringement when you take such actions, and besides that it is just not polite. If you've purchased notes from last year, be aware that I've changed the class in many important ways since last spring. I do not permit copies of my exams in scoop files. Support Services at Michigan Technological UniversityThere are many support resources on campus to ensure that you achieve the academic goals you set yourself. MTU's Writing Center serves as your main resource during this class. Graduate and undergraduate students staff the Writing Center, and two professional staff members assist when appropriate. They keep up to date with reading and writing assignments given in classes in order to help students work through those projects. Besides the dedicated World Cultures study teams mentioned earlier, the WC staff can help you improve many competitive skills, including: understanding writing assignments; planning, organizing, and revising papers; proofreading; overcoming writer's block; increasing reading comprehension and efficiency; effective study strategies; resumes; library research; learning English as a foreign language; coping with learning disabilities; and many other elements of successful college experience.
In addition to the Writing Center, there are many specialized support organizations on campus. The Counseling Services Office provides free and confidential service to MTU students and their spouses. Counseling Services assists you with those academic, social, and personal/emotional issues that may interfere with your effective use of your talents in the college setting.
The Center for International Education provides service-oriented leadership in support of Michigan Tech's goals and priorities in the areas of international programming, study abroad, and international student, scholar and faculty services . The Center for International Education (CIE) offers English as a Second Language (ESL) programs throughout the year. Fall and spring ESL courses include intermediate and advanced level courses as well as academic support courses for both undergraduate and graduate students.The Center strives to be a contributing and valued participant in Michigan Tech's ongoing efforts to meet the changing needs of a global, technological, diverse, and environmentally sensitive society.
Finally, MTU staffs a Career Center filled with resources to assist you to to win the job that you want when you are ready to graduate. Although it will be three years before many of your peers start to think about graduation and job searches, you'd be wise to start paying attention to the job market now and consider how you'll use classes such as World Cultures to your competitive advantage to get the exciting placement you want.
The Dean of Students maintains on-line information about both academic integrity and the Student's Code of Conduct. While you discussed these issues during orientation, you should stay informed of these policies. Check the Dean of Students web pages, particularly the section on Advising Services: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/dos/advising/ http://www.admin.mtu.edu/dos/advising/rules.htm In addition, the Dean of Students has many additional learning resources posted at: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/dos/advising/learning.htm
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