ID 300: Vietnam General Education Competency Area: Interdisciplinary Capstone, Integrative Seminar in Ethics and Values Dr. Amanda Van Lanen Section: 61 Office: Spalding 109 Meets: Online Office Hours: MW 1:30-2:45pm Phone: 208-792-2684 And by appointment Email: alvanlanen@lcsc.edu Course Description: This course will examine Vietnamese society and history, particularly the nation's relationship with the United States in the 20th century, in order to explore the question of values, value conflicts, and ethics. This is a capstone course that will draw on all of the knowledge you've gained through your other General Education courses. It is an interdisciplinary course that will examine the Vietnam not only through a historical lens, but also through the lens of politics, literature, music, film, and the media. Prerequisites are completion of ENG 102 or 109 and 24 hours of General Education core or permission of the instructor. Course Objectives: This course is a general education capstone course that is designed to explore questions of values and ethics within an interdisciplinary framework. Students will learn to understand meaning of values and ethics from a variety of academic disciplines and human perspectives. Students will examine the major value and ethical questions surrounding the Vietnam, including: Was it a global war, or a local conflict? Was the U.S. justified in its involvement? Were the Vietnamese justified in their actions? Students will also explore the various value and ethical dilemmas surrounding the military, civilian involvement, governmental involvement, diplomacy, and other political, social, and economic factors that are impacted by war. GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to demonstrate the following competencies: 1. Read and evaluate concepts and perspectives from multiple disciplines related to ethics and values. 2. Use writing, discussion, research, and collaboration to analyze and understand how individuals and societies are shaped by ethics and values. 3. Demonstrate self-reflection, broadened perspective, and respect for diverse viewpoints by exploring issues related to ethics and values. 4. Integrate and apply accumulated knowledge to develop strategies that address issues of ethics and values. Required Textbooks: Mark Atwood Lawrence, The Vietnam : A Concise International History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) You will need to borrow, rent, or purchase a movie about the war to complete the Week 13 assignment (approved list will be available as part of Week 13 assignment). Other course readings and films will be posted on Blackboard. 1
Course Requirements /Film Quizzes: On most weeks, we will have a quiz over the week s readings or film. The purpose of the quiz is to make sure that everyone is keeping up with the course readings. Quizzes may also review material from previous weeks. Quizzes will be due on Mondays (unless there is a Monday holiday) so that every one is prepared to interact on the discussion boards and complete other course work. Quizzes are worth 15% of your final grade. Discussion Boards: Each week you will be required to participate on a discussion board. Some weeks I will provide you with discussion questions. Other weeks will be more open-ended. Each week you will be required to make an initial post by Monday (unless there is a Monday holiday). You will then be required to reply to at least three classmates posts as part of the discussion. The discussion boards will be open until midnight on Thursday. See the Discussion Board Etiquette document on Blackboard for more information on my expectations for the discussion boards. Discussion Boards are worth 25% of your final grade. Short Essays: You will be required to write several short (3-4 page) reflective essays on the course readings. These essays will always be due on Thursdays. More information on the essays will be available with the essay prompts on Blackboard. Essays are worth 25% of your final grade. Research Project: This class will culminate with a research paper that focuses on a value or ethical issue related to the Vietnam. This paper is worth 35% of your final grade. See the Research Project module on Blackboard for more detailed information about the assignment. Course Policies Assignment Submission: Papers are due at midnight on the dates specified in the syllabus. All assignments should be submitted through Blackboard. Email submissions are not accepted without my permission. Late papers will be assessed a 10% penalty for each day they are late unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor. Communication/Email: Since this is an online course, good communication is critical for your success in this course. Please contact me as soon as possible if you have any questions or concerns that need to be addressed. If you are in the local area, please feel free to drop by my office during scheduled office hours or make an appointment. If you are not in the local area, feel free to call during my office hours or set up an appointment for a phone conversation. Email is generally the best way to reach me. Make sure you use the correct email address (alvanlanen@lcsc.edu) or the email function on Blackboard. I am not responsible for emails sent to the incorrect address. I only check email during regular working hours (M-F 8-5pm). I will reply to your email within two working days. I will always respond to let you know I have received your message. If I have not replied within two working days, assume that I have not received your email. 2
I make every effort to return assignments and provide feedback in a timely manner. I aim to provide feedback on shorter assignments ( Quizzes and Discussion Posts) within 48 hours of the due date. Writing assignments will be returned within a week of the due date. Academic Honesty: Students in this course will abide by Lewis-Clark State College s policy on Academic Honesty. The policy can be found online at http://www.lcsc.edu/studentaffairs/student-code-of-conduct/academic-dishonesty/. The policy states: Academic Dishonesty Cheating or plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. The College functions to promote the cognitive and psychosocial development of all students. Therefore, all work submitted by a student must represent his/her own ideas, concepts and current understanding. Academic Dishonesty includes: 1. Cheating - intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. The term academic exercise includes all forms of work submitted for credit hours. 2. Fabrication - intentional and/or unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or the source of any information in an academic exercise. 3. Collusion - facilitating academic dishonesty intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of Academic Dishonesty. 4. Plagiarism - the deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas or words or statement of another person as one s own without acknowledgment. The sanctions imposed for a violation of this section of the Code are independent of, and in addition to, any adverse academic evaluation which results from the student s conduct. The course instructor is responsible for academic evaluation of a student s work and shall make that evaluation without regard to any disciplinary action which may, or may not, be taken against a student under the Student Code of Conduct. In this course, any assignment completed without total academic honesty will be grounds for failing the course and will be reported to the appropriate school officials. Disability Accommodations: Students requiring special accommodations or course adaptations due to a disability and/or a health-related issue should consult their course instructors and the LCSC Student Counseling Center immediately (RCH 111, 792-2211). Official documentation may be required in order to provide an accommodation and/or adaptation. Click here for Blackboard accessibility information: http://www.blackboard.com/platforms/learn/resources/accessibility/accessibilityresources.aspx Additional LCSC Information: Click here for the current syllabus addendum http://www.lcsc.edu/provost/syllabusaddendum/ Graded Assignments: Grading Scale: Quizzes 15% A = 92-100%; A- = 90-91% Discussion Boards 25% B+ = 88-89%; B = 82-87%; B- =80-81% Short Essays 25% C+ = 78-79%; C = 72-77%; C- = 70-71% Research Project 35% D+ = 68-69%; D = 60-67%; F = 59% and below 3
Course Schedule: See Blackboard modules for reading assignments and further instructions. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Week 1: Introductions Classes Begin Introductory Post 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 Week 2:What are Ethics? Week 3: Road to Revolution Week 4: Cold Week 5: Escalation Week 6: Literature and the Soldiers Perspective 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Essay #1 Quiz 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 President s Topic Day: No Proposals Class Initial Post 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Essay #2 4
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 Week 7: The Television Week 8: Women and the Week 9: Protesting the 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Essay #3 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Revised Topic and Bibliography 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Week 10: Peace at Last? SPRING BREAK 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 NO CLASS THIS WEEK 5
APRIL/MAY 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 11: My Lai 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Week 12: Rough Rough Drafts Draft Week Week 13: Unending Part 1 Week 14: Unending Part 2 Week 15: Final Thoughts 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Essay #4 due 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Research Paper Final Draft due 6