Course specification for HIS1000

¾«¶«´«Ã½app

USQ Logo
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
Please consult the web for updates that may occur during the year.

HIS1000 World History to 1500 CE

Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: World History to 1500 CE
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Humanities & Communication
Student contribution band : Band 1
ASCED code : 090305 - History
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Other requisites

Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.

Rationale

This course explores key themes in the world's ancient history and provides a basis for future studies in Arts. It provides students with an overview of various societies and cultures, ranging in location from China and India to Europe and Latin America. In addition to improving students' historical awareness, the course increases an appreciation of the world’s diverse cultural legacies. Students will improve their capacity for analysis and written argument through structured guidance and debate.

Synopsis

This course examines the rise and fall of societies from the Neolithic period to the start of the European Renaissance, focussing on cultural change, political and religious beliefs, and, in particular, social structures. Students will gain historical knowledge across a broad period, and will acquire analytical and research skills.

The course introduces the basic principles of historical methodology. It complements the course ANT1000: World Archaeology which employs an anthropological approach, and HIS2103: World History from 1500 CE. The course is particularly suited to Arts and Education students, and is ideal as a general elective for all those seeking an introduction to the study of world history.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. engage critically with historical problems;
  2. understand the principles of historical research and enquiry;
  3. discuss the main events, places and people in the development of societies in the defined period;
  4. identify cultural connections and similarities between societies and places in the defined period;
  5. demonstrate competency in writing skills, bibliography and documentation in the History discipline.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Foundations: ancient societies to ca. 600 BCE 30.00
2. Blossoming: the classical societies and their legacies, ca. 600 BCE – 600 CE 30.00
3. Expanding horizons: encounters and transformations in the intermediate era, ca. 600 – 1500 CE 40.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=HIS1000)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Lockard, CA 2015, Societies, networks and transitions, Vol 1: To 1500: a global history, 3rd edn, Wadsworth/Cengage, Boston, MA.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Bentley, JH & Ziegler, HF 2015, Traditions & encounters: a global perspective on the past, 6th edn, McGraw Hill, Boston, MA.
Christian, D 2011, Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History. Berkeley, ¾«¶«´«Ã½app of California Press, California.
Frankopan, P 2018, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, Knopf.
Pearson Education Inc 2008, Primary Source: Documents in Global History, Pearson Education, New Jersey.
Reilly, K 2016, Worlds of history: a comparative reader, 6th edn, Bedford/St Martin's, Boston.
Roberts, J & Westad, O 2014, The new Penguin history of the world, 6th edn, Penguin, London.
Upshur, JH 2010, World history: the development of early civilizations, 5th edn, Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Belmont.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 39.00
Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 126.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ONLINE QUIZZES 100 40 25 Feb 2020 (see note 1)
ESSAY PLAN - 1000 WORDS 100 20 23 Mar 2020
RESEARCH ESSAY - 2000 WORDS 100 40 18 May 2020

Notes
  1. The online quizzes may be taken by the student on completion of each study module

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.

    External and Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

    On-campus: It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination for this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. All students are to submit nominated assignments through Turnitin. Non-compliance with this request could result in assignment marks being withheld. Students should refer to the USQ instructions on how to set up a Turnitin account and submit assignments into Turnitin.

Other requirements

  1. Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.

Date printed 19 June 2020