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	2014
	Honolulu Community College Patrick M Patterson

 

Hist 250:  World History Through Film

 

Contents
Instructor:
Course Description
Method of Instruction
Transfer of Credit
Student Learning Outcomes
Textbooks Required
Student Conduct Code
SAFE Zone
Late Assignments and Exams
Make-up Exams
Paper and Bog Rules
Presentation elements:
Content elements:
Critical Thinking/Method elements:
Plagiarism (Copying)
Cheating on Exams and Quizzes
Keeping Records of Your Work
Technology Problems and Class Work
Effort and Assigning Grades
Class Schedule:

 

Instructor:

Pat Patterson
Office: Building 7, Room 617
Office Hours: M-Th 12:00-1:00 PM
Phone: (808) 845-9417
Course Website: http://laulima.hawaii.edu

Course Description

History 250 examines our varying interpretations of the meaning of global historical events as they have been explored through film.  The course will further explore the use of metaphor and narrative, and perspective in the writing of history.

Method of Instruction

The course will involve viewing films about historical events and issues, and using those films as a pathway to understanding the stories we tell ourselves about our own past and the purposes behind those stories. 
This is a writing intensive course.  As such, the major goal of the course, and the primary method of learning, will be through writing.  You will learn to explore your ideas, and historical events, through the process of writing - learning to use writing as a tool for thinking and problem-solving.  More than 70% of your course grade will be based on writing assignments.  You will be required to produce at least sixteen pages of finished, graded written work before the end of the semester.  Failure to meet this requirement will constitute failure in the course regardless of scores earned on exams and papers.  Contact with the instructor and active effort to improve your writing skills are required, and will be a critical part of the evaluation and grading process.

Transfer of Credit

This course transfers to all other UH System campuses as a WI and Diversifications/Humanities course.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

In this course, you will learn, and be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Demonstrate recognition of, and ability to think critically about, the contrast between history and historiography (historical interpretation)
• Describe the way in which key ideas and events in history as portrayed in film and literature are metaphors for contemporary problems and questions.
• Demonstrate an ability to compare and contrast historical experiences across cultures and time.
• Demonstrate understanding of the historical roots of current events.
• Describe the ways in which history is used as a way to understand contemporary society.
• Create and sustain a critical written argument about the relationship of a film to history and to its own time.
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills including historical reasoning, precision in expressing ideas, accuracy, breadth and depth in understanding ideas, and critical fairness in expressing new thoughts.

Textbooks Required

• Rosenstone. History on Film, Film on History
• Corrigan. A Short Guide to Writing About Film, 8th edition
• Morton.  Amadeus:  Music On Film Series

Critical Essays:  Since this is a writing intensive course, the major part of the grade will come from formal written work.  Four essays of four or more pages in length will be required during the semester.  Each of these essays will require you to turn in one draft for comments before turning in the final draft for a grade.  In addition, at least once during the semester each student is required to have a writing conference with the instructor, during which advice about writing in general and the paper in question more specifically can be given.  Failure to turn in all four papers, lack of appropriate length in any paper, and failure to turn in drafts and attend the writing conference will be grounds for failure of the course.
Exams:  In addition to the papers, the course will require a midterm and a final exam to help the instructor assess your factual knowledge of the historical and film topics covered.
    

Assignments and Examinations	Total Points
3 Critical Essays of 4-6 pages each	60%
Unit Discussion blog	20%
Historical Film Script	10%
Final Examination	10%

Students with Disabilities Statement
Students in this class who need accommodations for a disability should submit documentation and requests to the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (SSD) in Bldg. 2, Room 108A. Phone 845-9282 voice/text or 845-9272 voice/text for more information. If you have already registered your requests with SSD this semester, please contact the instructor and be prepared to provide a current verification letter from SSD. (rev. 3-29-2004)

Student Conduct Code

Students in this class will be expected to follow the HCC and UH student conduct code (http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/policies/scc.pdf)

SAFE Zone

This classroom is a Safe Zone. You may disagree with other students or the instructor, but you are required to listen/read with respect and to address others' ideas seriously and respectfully. We can have a debate without intimidation or anger. Disruption, intimidation, or other forms of physical, verbal, or digital abuse or harassment will result in expulsion from the class temporarily or permanently and will have a negative impact on grades up to and including a failing grade for assignments and/or the course as a whole.

Late Assignments and Exams

Late assignments will not be accepted. Discussions, exercises, and class notes may not be turned in late for any reason. Personal injury or illness, the illness, injury, or even loss of loved ones is tragic, and I sympathize and have experienced those things myself. These are not reasons to delay coursework. You may turn any assignment in early for one of these reasons. You may choose to miss an assignment for these or other reasons, and those choices are yours to make. However, turning them in late is not an option in this course.

Make-up Exams

Make-up exams will be different from the exam the class takes. For all late exams, regardless of the reason, a grade penalty equivalent to one full grade level for each week the exam is late will be exacted. (The first week begins on the day immediately after the day the exam is due. So, if an exam is scheduled for Monday, and you are given a make-up exam, and take it on the Tuesday immediately after the exam was due, your penalty is to lose one grade level - if you earned a B, it will be recorded as a C, for example).
Examination Rules
Each exam must be taken during the time designated.
Late exams will not be accepted. Make-up exams will be accepted only under the circumstances described in the Late Assignments and Exams, and Assignments and Examinations sections of the syllabus.
Exams MUST be taken in class except in the case of disability or an approved make-up exam.
During the exams, no assistance will be allowed. No notes, no books, and no websites other than the examination window on Laulima are allowed. This includes a ban on the use of other functions of Laulima - no reference to discussions, e-mail, or other Laulima tools or functions is permitted.
No personal music players, no electronic dictionaries, no cellular phones or other personal media players or personal digital assistants of any kind may be used during the exam. If your phone rings during the exam, and you choose to answer, or to even look at the screen, you will be directed to stop your exam at that point. What you have finished by that time will be graded by the instructor. You will not be allowed to continue after you finish your call, regardless of the subject. Be prepared, tell friends and relatives you cannot receive calls during the exam, and turn off your phone, i-pod and any similar devices.
It is your responsibility to check the syllabus and to arrive on time for the exam. You will not be allowed to retake your exam if you are late or mistake the exam date.
Use your best judgment when taking exams. Don't plagiarize, don't cheat. The test is there to evaluate your skills, and represent those skills back to you as an indicator of your current knowledge and ability, and give you goals to strive for as you try to improve. It is not a measurement of you as a person. Cheating on an exam is really cheating yourself as well as cheating those other students who put effort in despite their own challenging lives.

Paper and Blog Rules

Writing will be the primary means of learning, and of assessment, for this course.  Your papers and blog entries must be original – yours, and not a rehash of someone else’s ideas.  No plagiarized papers, or even sentences, will be accepted this semester.

Writing will be graded according to rubrics based on several key elements that address mechanics, content, style, and method.  Those elements include a solid thesis statement that is appropriate to the type of writing being undertaken, and the degree to which the thesis statement and organization of the paper addresses the question or subject at hand; the quality of grammar, syntax, and spelling.  The content elements will include accuracy, precision, clarity, and relevance.  The method/critical thinking elements will include logic, depth, breadth, and fairness.
Below are the things I will be looking for in each category as I evaluate your writing.

Presentation elements:

• Thesis statement:  The purpose and focus are clear and consistent
• Grammar:  Sentences are executed correctly and are easy to understand.  Words are spelled correctly.
• Organization:  The organization of the written work is clear, purposeful, and effective

Content elements:

• Precision:  The paper makes use of specific vocabulary and careful distinction of meaning when making points.
• Accuracy:  The paper draws conclusions from evidence and facts that can be easily found by others.
• Clarity:  The main points are clear and useful.
• Relevance:  All statements, evidence, and paragraphs are relevant to the goals and focus of the paper.

Critical Thinking/Method elements:

• Logic:  The statements and analysis of the paper make sense in a logical way. The paper uses cause/effect and other logic in reaching its conclusions
• Depth:  The paper addresses the complexities of the question, and avoids superficial analysis or obvious but superficial comparisons.
• Breadth:  The paper considers other points of view on the question and deals with them in terms of the same criteria used in the main argument.
• Fairness:  Relevant viewpoints are considered in good faith - the paper takes seriously opposing points of view and arguments rather than making fun of them.

 

Plagiarism (Copying)

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. If you do not know what plagiarism is, be sure to learn. I will be checking every paper and every presentation for plagiarism. Any use of the words, or the ideas of another person without giving credit to them is plagiarism. Further, any re-use of your own or another student's work, turned in for another class or another assignment, is also plagiarism. According to the UH Student Conduct Code, any instance of plagiarism is grounds for expulsion.
My policy is very simple. If you plagiarize once, you fail the assignment on which plagiarism was found. There is no appeal and no credit. If you plagiarize twice, you fail the course, and the Administration will be notified. I don't bend on this.

Cheating on Exams and Quizzes

Any student who is found to be cheating will fail the course, and the administration will be notified. According to the UH Code of Student Conduct:
"Cheating includes, but is not limited to, giving or receiving unauthorized assistance during an examination; obtaining or distributing unauthorized information about an examination before it is given; using inappropriate or unallowable sources of information during an examination; falsifying data in experiments or other research; altering the record of any grade; altering answers after an examination has been submitted; falsifying any official University record; or misrepresenting the facts in order to obtain exemptions from course requirements."

Keeping Records of Your Work

Keep all assignments you turn in for class. If the instructor requires copies in order to verify grades, you must be able to provide them. This is the responsibility of the student and helps to avoid the problems that can occur in the event of unintentional loss of data.

Technology Problems and Class Work

We all use technology, and we all need to learn to manage it effectively. Problems with servers, computers, connections, and modems, among so many others, are all a part of life. They are not emergencies, and they are not an excuse for late work.  Make allowances for the possibility of technology failure. Do your work early and often. Back up everything you do for this course, including e-mails. E-mail lost in cyberspace, a broken server connection, or a virus-infected computer will not be accepted as excuses or reasons for late work.

Effort and Assigning Grades

Grades in this course will be assigned based on performance only. The instructor has no way to measure how long you studied, or how hard you may have tried. If you wish to dispute a grade, you may do so. Understand that disputes will be adjudicated based on the grading rubric for the assignment, and references to effort and time spent will have no effect. Appeals to need of a grade for GPA reasons, or need to pass in order to graduate also will have no merit in adjudicating grading disputes.

Class Schedule:

• Week 1: Jan. 13-19 
  • Course Explanation/ Costume Dramas: Glory
• Read:  Rosenstone, Ch. 1, and Corrigan, Ch. 1-3
• Assignment #1: Movie notes & Scene Annotation (to be turned in via Blogs on Jan 22 by 11:55 PM)

• Week 3: Jan. 27- Feb. 2
  • Begin Essay #1 (Categorizing your first film: is it history or is it "costume drama"?
  • Quiz:  Film terminology
  • Movie categorization essay draft due 2/2 at 11:59 PM via Blogs tool
  • Read Rosenstone Ch. 2 , 3; Corrigan Ch. 2

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