California State University, Los Angeles

Department of Chicano Studies

*ONLINE COURSE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS*
(updated July 17, 2007)

This page provides some specific information about online courses in Chicano Studies. More general information about the University's online course interface is available at http://www.calstatela.edu/webct/.

Instructions for how to register for them, how to access the course, and other important details are available below and also available at http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/aa/ess/webct/student_help.htm.

IMPORTANT NOTE - Accessing an online course through WebCT is a two-step process:

• FIRST - You must register through GET for the course section that is the online section
• SECOND - When the course is available on the WebCT "Course List" for the quarter it is offered--usually the first week of that quarter--you must then register AGAIN but through WebCT "Self-Registration" (see below for instructions). Once you are GET registered, you are in the course and will have no problems Self-Registering on WebCT. Also, there are no additional fees for WebCT Self-Registration.

For Fall Quarter 2007

CHS/LAS 335 – Race and Culture in the Americas
The online section is: CHS/LAS 335, Section 02 - Course Number 15144
Repeat: There is no campus classroom or time. This is a 100% online course.

Taught by Prof. Michael Soldatenko


Course Description
This course is a comparative study of race relations and ethnicity in the Americas. CHS/LAS 335 is interdisciplinary, drawing upon scholarship and source materials from history, social sciences, and humanities. Special attention will be given to the arts, cinema, video, literature, and photography.

Course Requirements
The course will require a serious participation commitment. Despite its online status, the course will not be a passive learning experience. Students will be required to interact in week-by-week modules with other students as well as with the instructor online and in discussion boards. STUDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE WEEK BY WEEK. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to pass the course.

Technology Requirements
The technology that is necessary for successful completion of the course includes: 1) at least weekly access to a computer that has internet access and an up-to-date browser, 2) access to a computer that has Microsoft Word and Acrobat Reader.

Key Explanations and Instructions:

Online Delivery - This is a 100% online delivery course. That means there is no on-campus class meeting, ever. Instead, all interactions between the students and the instructor take place in WebCT. You MUST "self-register" for the course on WebCT. Self-registering on WebCT for CHS/LAS 335 is NOT the same thing as registering for the course on GET. You must do both; self-registering on WebCT does not include any extra registration fees.

Syllabus and Readings - The syllabus will be available the first week of class, within the WebCT course pages. All readings will be online either on electronic reserve at the CSLA Kennedy Library or by link.

The course will be available on WebCT by the first week of Fall Quarter. The course content will be provided week by week as the quarter progresses; so you won't be able to see the whole course of work in the first week of classes, though you will see the schedule for the whole term. The first week and the second week will run you through a thorough orientation to how the course works online, so that you feel comfortable with the requirements and you get to know each other within the online classroom community.

If you have any questions, email Prof. Michael Soldatenko.