Intro. I: Course and Instructor

1. Introduction I
Course and Instructor

2. Instructor
 Greetings!
 Welcome to PAR-
101 Online:
Invitation to
Philosophical
Thinking.
 My name is Dr.
Hammad A.
Hussain. I will be
your instructor for
this course.

3.  First, let me say a few words about
myself as a philosophy instructor.
 I earned my PhD in philosophy at the
University of Oklahoma in 2010, with
areas of specialization in ancient
Greek philosophy and modern
philosophy, and several areas of
competence.

4.  I have designed and taught many
philosophy courses, both in person
and online.
 I have been teaching philosophy for
the Philosophy and Religion (PAR)
Department at UNCW since Fall 2016.

5.  As someone who is credentialed to
design and teach this course, my job
is to provide you with professional
instruction, grading, feedback, and
mentorship.

6. Course: Important
Preliminaries
 The most important thing to note
about this course is that it condenses
a semester’s worth of material into
four online course weeks (plus the
Final Exam).
 Thus, the course is, by necessity, very
fast-paced and intensive.
 Moreover, each course week is
irregular.

7.  Thus, it is extremely important to read
the course syllabus, and familiarize
yourself with the course policies and
the “Course Schedule” at the end of
the syllabus.
 The “Course Schedule” lists the
deadline for each assignment in the
course.

8.  If you have not already done so, I
strongly recommend that you read the
syllabus now.
 If you have any questions about any
parts of the syllabus, you should ask
me as soon as possible, and I will be
glad to answer them.

9.  Please note that the syllabus is a
binding contract between you and me,
and ignorance of a course policy and
the “Course Schedule” given on the
syllabus will not count as a legitimate
excuse for violating it.

10. Course: Email and
Blackboard
 Next, please note that you should
have a UNCW email account and a
UNCW Blackboard Learn account.
 Please check your UNCW email
account and the course Blackboard
website at least once a day for the
duration of the summer session. They
will be the regular means by which
you will communicate with me
throughout this course.

11.  Prior to the first day of each course
week, you will receive an email from
me that lists all of the required
readings and assignments due (along
with due dates) for that course week.

12.  You should have already received
such an email for course Week 1. That
email also serves as a message
introducing and welcoming you to the
entire course.

13.  On the course Blackboard website,
you should see the “Learning
Modules” link in the left menu bar.
 If you follow the link, you should be
taken to a page that lists the Learning
Modules.
 Each Learning Module corresponds to
a course week. (Again, see the
“Course Schedule” at the end of the
syllabus.)

14.  If you click on a Learning Module link
on the “Learning Modules” page, you
should be taken to that Learning
Module.
 In a Learning Module page, you will
see a table of contents of the Learning
Module in a bar on the left.

15.  The first section at the top of a
Learning Module will list each item for
reading and each assignment due
(along with due dates) during the
course week corresponding to the
Learning Module.
 All of the assignments assume, as a
context, the required readings.

16.  Thus, for each course week, please
note that…
1. the readings should be done in the
order they are listed in the top section of
a Learning Module, and…
2. with the exception of Replies to a
Discussion from a prior course week, all
of the week’s readings should be done
before the assignments.

17.  All of the required readings (including
the slide presentations) are provided
free of charge in the Learning Module.
 Please note that the reading
assignments of selections from printed
works are contained entirely in the
PDF files provided. If you follow the
links on the cover pages of these files,
you will be led to the source of the
selection online.

18.  However, the text outside of the PDF
file is not part of the assigned reading,
and not a subject of the assignments.
 Only the text within the PDF file is
assigned reading and a subject of
assignments.

19.  In each Learning Module, you will also
find the slide presentations for that
module, links to the Discussion board
forums for that course week, and links
to submit the other assignments due
during that course week.

20.  To submit a written Assignment or the
Extra-Credit Essay, you should first
type and save it in an MS Word file,
following the relevant assignment
instructions and rubric (follow the
“Course Files” link in the left menu bar
to access the relevant general
instruction and rubrics document).
 Your completed assignment document
should be in .docx, .doc., or .rtf format.

21.  Then, follow the link for submitting the
assignment in the Learning Module.
 On the assignment submission web
page, please do not copy and paste
your text in the box. Rather, attach
your assignment file using the “attach”
function.

22.  To post a Discussion Initial Post or
Reply, follow the link in the Learning
Module to the relevant Discussion
Board forum. Then, follow the
“Discussion Post General Instructions
and Rubric” (from the “Course Files”
link in the left menu bar) and the
Discussion Form prompt to write your
Initial Post or Reply in the Discussion
Board Forum.

23. Course: Pacing
 Again, the course by necessity is fast-
paced and intensive. Thus, to make
sure you keep up with the course
requirements, I strongly recommend
you adhere to the following pacing
guidelines.

24.  For each course week,…
1. get all of the week’s readings (including
the slide presentations) done by the end
of the 3rd day of the course week, and…
2. this will give you a few days to work on
and submit any required Discussion
posts and written Assignments for the
week by their deadlines.

25.  For example, course Week 1 is from
Wed., May 16 to Tues., May 22.
 Thus, for Week 1, you should get all of
the week’s readings (including the
slide presentations) done by the end
of the 3rd day of the week, which is
Fri., May 18.

26.  This will give you a few days to work
on the required Discussion post (due
by the end of Mon., May 21) and the
written Assignment (due by the end of
Tues., May 22) for Week I.
 I strongly recommend you follow this
pacing pattern for each of the four
course weeks.

27.  Finally, please note that for course
Week 4, in addition to the regular
weekly assignments, you will also
have the Extra-Credit Essay due by
the end of Thurs., June 14, should you
choose to do it.
 However, course Week 4 is also
slightly longer (eight instead of seven
days).

28. Course: Agreement with Ideas
 Students new to a philosophy course
sometimes wonder whether
agreement (or disagreement) with any
particular philosophic idea or theory is
required to receive a high grade in the
course.

29.  The answer to that is: definitely not!
 Your Discussion posts, written
Assignments, and Extra-Credit Essay
will not be graded on whether or not
you agree with any particular
philosophic idea, but on the quality of
your writing and reasoning in support
of your agreement or disagreement.

30.  Among other things, high-quality
writing and reasoning will accurately
represent the philosophic idea, theory,
or argument in question. (Accurate
representation is not same as
agreement).
 Again, you should consult the relevant
rubrics (in “Course Files” on
Blackboard) for more specific
requirements.

31.  Similarly, the Final Exam (which will
be multiple-choice questions) will test
whether you understand the material,
not whether you agree with the
material.

32.  The important take-away from this
course is not your mere agreement or
disagreement with the various
philosophic theories.

33.  Rather, the important take-away is
your knowing your reasoning for your
agreement or disagreement with the
various ideas, and knowing that your
reasoning in each case is logically
rigorous.

34. Course: Questions and
Concerns
 Please note that, in general, I will be
glad to respond to any questions and
concerns throughout the course. This
applies to questions and concerns
about course administration and about
any of the material.

35.  However, please note the following.
1. Before asking me an administrative
question, you should review the syllabus
and this slide series. Often, you will find
the answer in one or both of these two
sources.
2. I cannot answer questions contained in
the Final Exam during the exam day,
since it is an exam.

36.  Otherwise, throughout the course, you
should feel free to contact me with any
questions or concerns about
administration or about the material.
 You may do so either publically or
privately.

37.  To contact me publically, just post your
question or concern on the “Ask Dr.
Hussain” forum on the Blackboard
Discussion board. This is useful if your
question or concern is not private and
is of potential interest to the other
students in the section.

38.  To contact me privately, just send me an
email at hussainh@uncw.edu.

39.  I make it a point to respond in a timely
manner. As stated on the syllabus, I usually
respond within 24 hours of my receiving a
message, and at the latest, within 48 hours.

40.  In closing, the course is challenging,
but if you make a diligent and
consistent effort throughout it,
contacting me when needed, I expect
that you will find it intellectually
stimulating and productive.
 I look forward to instructing and
working with you!

41.  You may now proceed to the
Introduction II Slide Presentation.