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HIST 2311-04: Western Civilization I
Course Syllabus
Fall 2020
Department of History and Great Texts
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of Western Civilization from the Ancient World to the end of the Middle Ages in Europe.
There are no prerequisites.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Name: Sara S. Frear
E-mail: sfrear@hbu.edu
Office Phone: 281-649-3657
Office Location: UAC 118
Office Hours: MW, 11 – 11:50 a.m.; TR, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; Virtual Office Hours:
M, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. or by appointment
Day(s) and Time Course Meets: MW, 1:00 – 1:50 p.m. and online
Day and Time of Final Exam: Wed., Dec. 9, 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. All final exams will be
delivered remotely via Blackboard.
COURSE DELIVERY (FALL 2020)
The HBU Husky Strong Task Force has provided direction concerning residential course delivery
for the fall 2020 semester. The University will deliver most graduate courses in the traditional
manner of residential classes meeting in-person with faculty and students using face coverings
and physical distancing measures, where rosters would be split, students would be notified in
advance. All assignments are to be submitted electronically via Blackboard.
The plans for undergraduate course delivery is for high-density class sections to be split into two
groups, which will alternate in-person and remote attendance. Students will complete the
content for the remote part of the class via the University’s Learning Management System,
Blackboard. Videos and content for the remote part of the class will be recorded and made
available for students in Blackboard. Faculty will disseminate rosters and instructions within 24
hours before the first class session of the term informing students as to which days they are to
attend in-person versus remotely. Residential classes will meet in-person with faculty and
students using face coverings and social distancing measures, while in classrooms and
University buildings. All assignments are to be submitted electronically via Blackboard.
All in-class sessions for both graduate and undergraduate courses will be recorded using
Panopto and embedded in the course in Blackboard.
All undergraduate and graduate class sessions will move to remote-delivery after Wednesday,
November 25, 2020 beginning with the Thanksgiving holiday and students will complete the
semester remotely, including final exams, via Blackboard. Undergraduate and graduate
residential course delivery methods and measures are subject to change pending, local, state,
and federal guidance.
MISSION AND OUTCOMES
UNIVERSITY GOALS
The mission of Houston Baptist University is to provide a learning experience that instills in
students a passion for academic, spiritual, and professional excellence as a result of our
central confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”
As stated in the First Pillar of its Ten Pillars Vision, the university is committed to providing for
its students a firm foundation in the liberal arts tradition as it developed in the West, and the
study of history is an integral part of the liberal arts. This tradition is a path to wisdom as well
as professional excellence.
COLLEGE GOALS
This course is designed to support the mission of the School of Humanities to develop intellectual,
moral, and aesthetic growth in its students.
Knowledge of Western history is fundamental to education in the humanities. This is particularly
true of early Western civilization that laid the foundations for the modern West.
DEPARTMENTAL GOALS
The mission of the Department of History & Great Texts is to produce majors / minors with
informed intellectual, aesthetic, and global perspectives, equipped to read widely, comprehend
readily, think deeply, argue persuasively, and communicate clearly as they interact within a
diverse, complex, and increasingly interwoven world.
