Announcements
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
Exam Review Sheet posted
27 April 2024
I’ve updated the final exam page. On this page you’ll find information about the final and some review materials. The exam will take place Tuesday, May 21 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Note that the exam starts a half hour before our usual meeting time.Read more…
Current Announcements
Quiz #9 grades and markups posted
16 May 2024
The grades and markups for Quiz #9 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I strongly recommend spending a moment to take a look at my commentary on the quiz, as I use the markups and quiz notes to emphasize some of the key take-aways from last week’s topics. The Quiz Notes for this quiz are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Archive
Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning (SETL)
13 May 2024
I’ve been asked to remind everyone about the student evaluations, as they’re looking for a higher proportion of respondents.
CUNY considers students’ assessments of their instructors to be an important tool, and that's a good thing. The survey plays a key role in allowing the College to respond to student needs and desires. Student evaluations of teaching and learning (SETL) results can be used:
- by faculty as feedback on their instruction and pedagogy;
- by faculty, departments, schools, and the college as one source of evidence of teaching effectiveness for annual reviews as well as for tenure and promotion considerations;
- by students as part of selecting courses and instructors;
- by the college as evidence of the student experience in Lehman College courses and for a variety of accreditation and other accountability processes.
You can find the SETL page for all your courses in your Lehman emails or by logging into Lehman 360.
Welcome to Week 16!
11 May 2024
This week we’re discussing the principate. What exactly is the principate? How is it that Rome, which was so intolerant of the idea of a king that the mere rumor he was angling to become king factored into Caesar’s assassination, accepted the one-man rule of Octavian, who came to be called Augustus? What made Augustus different from a king?
Looking forward to an interesting discussion. See you Tuesday!
Clouds Essay grades and markups posted
7 May 2024
The grades and markups for the Clouds Essay are posted on the My Grades page on the course website. Again, my apologies for the delay in completing these.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to BlackBoard with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.
Welcome to Week 15!
5 May 2024
This week we’re talking about a series of massive turning points for the Roman Republic: the very different dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar, and the final collapse of the Republic, to be replaced by the one-man rule of Augustus.
What do you think Sulla was most interested in accomplishing? What is his legacy? What do we think of Pompey?
What was Caesar’s goal, for himself and for Rome, and why was he killed? All things considered, does he deserve praise as a great leader or censure as an ambitious seeker of power? What about Antony—he was the experienced lieutenant of Caesar, so why did he lose out to a kid who started with nothing but Caesar’s name?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!
Welcome to Week 14!
27 April 2024
This week, after we discuss Roman contest with Carthage, we see the culmination of the Roman empire as it gains control over the west and east—only to fall apart at home in a series of assassinations, scandals, and civil wars.
Two factions emerge in the Roman aristocracy as we head into the Late Republic: the optimates—those who believe in tradition and the systems of the Republic; and the populares—those who insist Rome must take a new direction to survive. Why does this break occur? What do the two sides really stand for? Are populist firebrands like Tiberius Gracchus heroes of the people, or self-serving demagogues?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. No class Tuesday—see you on Thursday!
Quizzes #7 and #8 grades and markups posted
23 April 2024
The grades and markups for Quizzes #7 and #8 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I strongly recommend spending a moment to take a look at my commentary on the quizzes, as I use the markups and quiz notes to emphasize some of the key take-aways from last week’s topics. The Quiz Notes for these quizzes are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.