Brazosport College Fall 2012-Hist 1301.22 Instructor: James Harvey college email: jharvey@brazosport.edu Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 8:00 A.M. 8:48 A.M. Brazosport High School, Room 508 United States History to 1877 Required Texts: America: A Narrative History by George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, 8th edition. Vol.1. W.W. Norton and Co., 2009. Course Description: Welcome to History 1301. In this course will develop and hone critical thinking skills and improve written and verbal communication through a discussion of United States history to 1877.We will increase our knowledge and understanding of how and why the United States came to its current form. Major Topics: This course will explore U.S. History to 1877: Indigenous Cultures and European Contact, Early Colonization, Empire Building, Difference and Convergence in the Colonies, The French and Indian War, Resistance and Rebellion to a Republic, The War of 1812, Jacksonian America, Manifest Destiny, Prelude to War, Secession and Civil War, and Reconstruction. Course Format: Through lecture, video, and informed class discussion the instructor and students will explore the events of American history and assess their relative significance. Upon completion of this course, students will have demonstrated evidence of basic intellectual competencies in the core curriculum in reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking, and computer literacy. Course Goal: The ultimate goal of this course is to enable students to evaluate and analyze historical developments and to communicate such knowledge in the form of college-level essays. Course Student Learning Outcomes: Students will evaluate historical developments in an essay; Students will analyze historical evidence by writing an analytical essay; Students will read primary source documents, using them to demonstrate how the past affects the present. Core Competencies: Texas Colleges must demonstrate that the Basic Intellectual Core Competencies are incorporated into all core courses. This course addresses the competencies in the following ways: Reading: The textbook, and alternative books will provide the basis for exams, essays, and the final exam; Writing: Students will write all responses to essays questions and will conduct most communication with the instructor through the written word. Students will write a book critique and answer exam essay questions; Speaking: Students are expected to ask questions and engage in in-class discussion; Listening: Students will practice critical listening skills from lectures, videos, and in-class discussion; Critical Thinking: The essay questions on the exams, the book critique, and the final exam will contain questions and problems that will require higher-level, critical thinking skills to solve successfully; Computer Literacy: courses such as this one require significant computer literacy from those students who have access to computers. Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to demonstrate the ability to analyze historical material and think critically; communicate effectively by writing college-level papers, reports, or essays; trace the European background, discovery, and exploration of America; discuss the Revolution and independence; analyze the period of federation; discuss the creation and context of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; describe westward expansion/migration; analyze slavery; analyze the events and causes that led to the secession crisis and the Civil War; discuss the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Office Hours: Before and after class, and by appointment. Always happy to see you. Grading: Grade Scale Exam 1 25% 100-90 A Exam 2 25 % 89-80 B Term Paper 25% (typed, double-spaced) 79-70 C Final Exam 25% 69-60 D 59-0 F Description of Grade Criteria: Examinations will consist of multiple choice questions and one or two essays. Examination questions will come from assigned readings, lectures and videos. Make-up Examinations: There will be no make up examinations. If you have to be absent on test day, please notify me in advance. This assignment entails critical thinking, writing, listening, and reading skills. Term papers are three-to-five-page book critiques in which each student evaluates the merits and shortcomings of a biography of his choice with teacher approval. Choose a biography of a person who influenced American history before 1877. The paper will provide each student in-depth knowledge of a historical person s contribution to history and help each student improve his/her ability to develop and present a clear, coherent essay. College-level grammar and punctuation is expected, and grammatical and formatting errors will be counted. This assignment entails critical thinking, writing, listening, and reading skills. Conduct: This is an adult learning environment and all students are treated accordingly. If students become disruptive, the instructor reserves the right to remove them from class. Attendance/Withdrawal Policies: Students are expected to attend class regularly, to engage in informed discussion, to ask questions, and to maintain a courteous demeanor. This instructor will cover information not found in the textbook. If you cannot attend class, please get the notes from a classmate. If there is a problem, please feel free to contact me by cell phone or via email. If I am unavailable at the time you call, I will return your call as soon as I am able. Notice: Students who take a course more than twice face significant tuition/fee increases at BC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor / counselor about opportunities for tutoring / other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades. The Texas State Legislature has begun to impose penalties on students who drop courses excessively. In 2007, the Legislature passed a law limiting students to no more than six (6) total course withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. It is the student s responsibility to officially withdraw from the course, and this must be done prior to November 3, 2012 at 12:00pm. After that date and time, students will no longer be allowed to drop and will receive the grade that they earned. Faculty will NO longer be allowed to give Ws on the final grade sheet. Incompletes: Only in exceptional cases will a grade of I (incomplete) be assessed. Feel free to discuss this option with me if you need to. Cheating and plagiarizing are not tolerated. Cheating or plagiarizing will result in a 0 on the test or paper and submission for disciplinary action. All written assignments are to be done by you, written in your words, not someone else s. Cheating is defined as: copying from another student s test paper; using materials during a test that are not authorized by the person giving the test; collaborating with another student during a test without authority; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of any test; bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be administered. Plagiarism means the appropriation of another s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one s own written work
offered for credit. Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit. Expectations: As with any 3-hour college course, you should expect to spend at least 3 hours per week reading. Any help or assistance I can give, please feel free to call on me. However, it is the student s responsibility to read the book. I do not summarize the chapters, nor do I lecture from the book. If the student has a question, please feel free to ask. Syllabus: It is your responsibility to read this syllabus. If there are any questions, feel free to ask them. Please do not lose this; it is your record of what is required in class and when it is due. Special Needs: Brazosport College will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the policy of Brazosport College to provided reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals who are students with disabilities. It is the student's responsibility to contact the Counseling Center in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations. Note: Unless otherwise announced in class, we will follow the reading and examination schedule listed on the Tentative Course Calendar. This syllabus is meant as a guide and is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. If there are any changes made, the student will be notified in a timely manner. Date 8-27 8-29 8=30 Readings from Tindall and Shi Syllabus, Ch 1 Tentative Course Calendar Topics Conquistadors Ancient Americans, Reminders 9-3 No class Labor Day Holiday 9-5 9-6 CH 2 Europeans Encounter the New World 9-10 9-12 9-13 9-17 9-19 9-20 9-24 9-26 9-27 10-1 10-3 10-4 CH 2 CH 3 Ch 4 CH 5 CH 6 The Founding of the English Colonies Slavery French wars The Road to Revolution The Revolutionary War George Washington Exam 1 CH 1-6 10-8 10-10 10-11 CH 7 & 8 Articles of Confederation The Constitution
10-15 10-17 10-18 10-22 10-24 10-25 10-29 10-31 11-1 11-5 11-7 11-8 11-12 11-14 11-15 CH 8 CH 9 CH 10 CH 11 CH 12 CH 13 CH 14 CH 15 CH 16 The Federalist Era Jeffersonian Era, War of 1812, Era of Good Feelings, Jacksonian Era Reform The Texas Revolution The Mexican War Slavery The Road to the Civil War 11-19 CH 17 The Civil War 11-21 & 22 No class Thanksgiving Holiday Exam 2 CH 7-12 Withdrawal deadline: November 2, 2012 11-26 CH 17 The Civil War 11-28 11-29 12-3 CH 18 Reconstruction Term paper due 12-5 12-6 12-10 CH 13-18 Final Exam 8:00 A.M Final Exam CH13-18
ON WRITING BOOK CRITIQUES Greetings. I would like you to write a 3-to-5 page (5 to 6 paragraphs) critical essay in which you evaluate the merits as well as the shortcomings of the book under consideration. I want you to begin with an announcement of what you are going to do in this critique or with an introductory paragraph ending with a detailed thesis statement announcing what you are going to do in this critique. For example: In this critique of Jonathan Zophy s Patriarchal Politics, I am going to identify the author s purpose and evaluate the merits and shortcomings of this book. Then proceed to do so following the organizational pattern you have indicated in your announcement above. Discuss such issues as the purpose (theme) of the book (what is this book about?); How well has that purpose been achieved? How is the book organized? Is the book organized effectively? How well is the book written? Do you like the author s writing style? How useful was this book to you for your work in this course? What did you like about the book and why? What didn t you like about the book and why? The author s theme can usually be found somewhere inside the book s introduction. Always keep it in mind in evaluating the book and state it somewhere early in your essay quoting it directly from the book if at all possible. You should also support your discussion with direct and indirect quotations from the book throughout your essay and include page numbers. Make full use of supporting evidence to back up your arguments. For example: One of the things I like most about Zophy s writing is its liveliness and clarity. For example, he writes that the robber baron Gotz von Berlichingen had replaced his lost hand with an iron hand and used that device to strike further terror into the hearts of merchants when he attacked their personnel and shipments (p. 54). Note the use of punctuation above, and do likewise on your essay. End your essay with a concluding paragraph restating your proven thesis and summarizing your conclusions. Proofread your paper to spot typos and make sure your arguments are clear and well-supported with evidence and discussion. Also, make sure to double-space the paper as you type it.