INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

GRADING CRITERIA

*Lowest grade will be dropped

You can earn a maximum of 1,000 pts. in this course:

                                    Group Quizzes                                                20 %                200 pts.

                                    1^st Movie Essay                                               15 %                150 pts.

                                    2^nd Movie Essay                                              15 %                150 pts.

                             Discussion Board Assignments                        50 %                500 pts.

COURSE PROMISES:  This course is a journey (should you accept it) that will reveal why people think the way they do; it will help answer why people believe in certain ideas and how those beliefs lead to actions and habits; you will learn how to identity common assumptions and foundations that people utilize to make their way through this complex thing called “life”; at the end, you will discover why you are the person you are today, allowing for a more fulfilling human existence.

NOTE ON COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR PROFESSOR:  You must use your NCTC-based email (either CANVAS or your @nctc.edu email account) to communicate with me. 

During the week (Monday – Thursday), my policy is to respond to emails within 24 hours.  During the weekend (Friday – Sunday) and on holidays, an email sent to me on those days/times might require 48 hrs. before getting a response.  IF ONE IS NEEDING A QUICK RESPONSE, TRY THE ONLINE OFFICE HOURS (Tuesday 8 - 9:00 pm and Wed. 2 – 3:00 pm) using the “CISCO-WEBEX” link near the bottom left of the CANVAS course).  It is best to schedule a time (a 15-min. block).

FAQ

1. All assignments will be due either Wednesday or Saturday (and sometimes, BOTH in one week!). This will allow you to develop a habitual schedule for 5 weeks.  For Group Quizzes, each student will be assigned to a small group of students (4-5).  You will receive both an individual grade (35 pts). and a group grade (15 pts.).  You will click on “Discussions” and then on the appropriate Quiz.  You will post your answers to 1 or 2 questions about the assigned text (see CALENDAR).  You will not see your other group members’ answers until you first post.  The aim of these quizzes is to ensure that you have read and understood the assigned material.  Each group will be collectively assessed by the professor.  This is a healthy and non-competitive way to induce peer pressure (the good kind) by motivating people to read; it’s easier to read if you know your contribution will determine your group portion of the quiz score. 
2. Modules consist of a variety of responses (video clips to watch, power-point lectures, written lectures, Movie Essays, typically concluding with a Discussion Board assignment).  These will help you make sense of the assigned text pages, and should be read AFTER you’ve completed the textbook reading.  These textbook readings are the heart of this course; each MODULE is a collection of activities designed to substitute for face-to-face, in-class lectures.  There will be 1 module per week to complete.  They can take anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hrs (not including the readings!), so you should begin as soon as possible.  If you wait until the day they are due, you will feel rushed and your educational experience will have been a waste.  You will not have to do all the activities in 1 day; you can work at your own speed.  The key to successful online learning is to self-pace your learning experience.  Reading the textbook (1-2 hrs.) and completing the modules are all you need; however, it is imperative that you be proactive and start near the beginning of the work week (Monday).
3. You will complete (on average) 1 module and 1 Group Quiz per week. This is a 5-week condensed class; you will be expected to complete a college-level course that has been abbreviated only to fit in with the Summer 1 timeframe.  It is not an “easier” course, but it has been altered from my normal, 16-week course.  Therefore, you should expect to have work each week.  I repeat: it is only 5 weeks; you should feel “busy” throughout.  This can be helpful for learning philosophy because the material is always fresh on your mind.
4. There are no “exams” for this course; it is hoped that this will alleviate any “test anxiety” that you may be prone to.  It is important to periodically check your syllabus to know what assignment is approaching (and its due date).  This is a responsibility of the student, although the professor will provide helpful reminders occasionally under “Announcements.”  When in doubt, consult your syllabus schedule.  Reduce unnecessary stress!!!
5. NOTE ON OFFICE HOURS:  If you need to speak with me (realtime audio, using your computer’s or i-phone’s microphone), you can schedule a 15-min. block of time during my office hours (see days and hours above) by clicking on “Cisco Webex” in CANVAS.  Then, click on which 15-min. block you’d like to reserve in order to chat with me.  If you do not have the audio capability to converse with me, we can head to “Conference” (under CANVAS) and just type in realtime.  Lastly, we can just email (old-fashioned).

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS:

If you are unfamiliar with philosophy, it is going to be different than any other class you’ve taken.  And, since it is online, it might be even more challenging.  Philosophy and science were only recently separated into isolated disciplines.  The essence of philosophy is to question things (often things that we simply accept as true because we’ve been habituated to accept things uncritically) and to construct rational and reasoned accounts for the nature of things in question.  The “nature of things” also involves the natural world; this is why people were previously labeled “natural philosophers.” Today, we have “scientists” and “philosophers,” but the truth is, all humans do a little of everything.  We think based on the information given us from a young age.  These include cultural memes, scientific “proofs,” “conventional wisdom,” and other ideas.  Each particular group, community, tribe, and nation from a particular era generates their ideas from a certain context—the social, political, cultural, and intellectual environment.  This “habitat” (for lack of a better world) can allow certain thoughts to become “Truth” while discouraging other “truths.” For the longest time, the word “science” (Latin: Scientia) has meant “knowledge” in general.  It is only recently that people began distinguishing scientific knowledge from other types of knowledge (like math, history, psychology, etc.).

As a result, this class should be appealing to people from all backgrounds.  In addition, you may find the readings to be rather difficult, for they will lack “factual” quality of other disciplines.  So if you like to have a sense of certainty, you may find yourself confused and frustrated—but don’t despair.  You might have to read them a couple times to understand what’s being argued.  This is to be expected. 

            I encourage you to budget out your reading time throughout the week.  You will need at least 2 hrs. each week (typically, 1 reading per week).   If you try to skim through this material you will not make sense of it.  Most of our readings will present and follow out an argument.  You have to follow the argument in order to understand the reading:  that is the point of philosophy.  The conclusions are easier to simply accept, but the point is to understand WHY a conclusion is made.  Finally, make sure that when you read you are alone and in a quiet place.  Newspapers, magazines and some textbooks can be mulled over in noisy and crowded places.  Our material cannot.  Carve out bits of time to read wherein you are free from the television, internet, phones, other people etc.  This alone will greatly aid your ability to understand what you read.  If you don’t believe me, I would recommend reading Nicholas Carr’s enlightening The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (New York: Norton, 2010).  You can also watch a short interview with the author here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tqRMbg7MPc  Better yet, ask yourself after 5 minutes what you’re thinking of as you attempt to read your textbook for an uninterrupted hour:  Emails? Headline news? Sports scores?

So, I will be available via email for your questions at any time during the week.  I check my email daily and will get back to you within 24 hours (though maybe not on weekends) if you have a question about what you encounter in your reading.  I will also have Virtual Office Hours so we can chat live (click on the “Cisco Webex” link in CANVAS during my office hours):  SEE TIME/DATES ABOVE, UNDER “OFFICE HOURS.”  You will need to “schedule” a time by clicking on a 15-minute block of time.  These are NON-video chats (AUDIO ONLY) using your computer’s OR iphone’s microphone.  If you do not have access to a microphone, we can chat by typing back-and-forth under “Conference.” If you’d like to ask a private question, email me instead. 

            If you seek additional sources, beware of the internet, even though this is an online course.  There are all kinds of sites that can claim to help you out, but many are run by charlatans, or deal with things beyond our scope.  We will be looking at tiny slices of what a given philosopher has written, so whatever you find on the internet about Plato or Locke may have no bearing on what we are focusing on in class.  I encourage you to either email me with questions or to talk to your other group members or bring it up during office hours.   

            Lastly, remember that philosophy is the art of living.  The point of our encounters is not to get you a job, but to help you understand yourself and your world!

Other Helpful Texts and Support Materials:

Philosophy in 90 Minutes:  One of my favorite series—you can read these literally in 90 minutes.  All of the philosophers that we have assigned text readings for can be found either at bookstores (Half-Price Books) or online to purchase (quite cheap).  I found these very helpful when first studying philosophy.  In addition to being concise and to-the-point, the author (Paul Strathern) is usually funny (a little anti-religious, however). 

Does the Center Hold?   This is an introduction to the big philosophical issues accompanied by bizarrely drawn illustrations.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (online).  plato.stanford.edu: a trusted online source of everything philosophical.

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is  Tuesday, June 30^th.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).

Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc.  Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.

For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321.  Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)_______       

o         Communication

o         Mathematics              

o         Life and Physical Science

X         Language, Philosophy & Culture

o         Creative Arts

o         Government/Political Science

o         Social and Behavioral Sciences

o         Component Area Option

o         American History

X             Critical Thinking

X              Communication

o           Empirical and Quantitative

o           Teamwork

X              Personal Responsibility

X              Social Responsibility