History U.S. History to 1877 HIST 1301 Fall 2010 CRN 54092 Houston Community College-SE Campus Felix Morales Building Room 318 Monday & Wednesday 7:00 PM 8:30 PM Course Semester Credit Hours 3 Course Contact Hours 48 Course Continuing Education Units (CEU) - 0 Course Length 16 weeks Type of Instruction - Lecture Instructor: Tina Solomon tina.solomon@hccs.edu (I will return emails within 48 hours) I do not have official office hours but I will be available before and after class for any issues, concerns, or questions you may have. Do not hesitate to talk to me if you need to. I am also available by appointment and through email. Course Description: The American nation from English colonization through the close of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Core Curriculum course. Through lectures, video, outside readings, and informed class discussion, the instructor and the students will explore the events of American history through Reconstruction (1877). Topics include, but are not limited to, European exploration, Native American cultures, colonization, the Revolutionary War, slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Course Prerequisites: College-level reading College-level writing Course Goals: 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 denote how the past affects the present.
Course Student Learning Objectives: The student will develop an understanding of: Conditions in Europe concurrent with exploration and settlement of the New World Origins and culture of native Americans Settlements and lifestyles of the original colonies Unifying forces Americanizing the British colonies Conflicts between colonies and mother country The warfare of the American Revolution The philosophy behind the Articles of Confederation and the resulting weaknesses The issues and ratification of the Constitution of 1787 Issues and origins of political factionalism (Jefferson vs. Hamilton) National expansion and expanding nationalism Democratization during the Age of Jackson Nullification, the bank war, and the second party system America s pursuit of perfection Cotton and the slave/plantation system of the South Industrialization of the Northeast Manifest Destiny and expansion into the Far West Issues and items that break down sectional compromise Strategies, events, and personalities of the Civil War Presidential and Radical Reconstruction Retreat from Reconstruction/ future implications SCANS Skills: Texas colleges must demonstrate that the Basic Intellectual Core Competencies are incorporated into all Core classes. This course addresses the competencies in the following ways: Reading: The textbook, the Learning Web, and historical monographs will provide the basis for journal entries, papers, essays, and exams. Writing: Students will write all responses to their selected essays and will conduct communication with the instructor through typewritten word. Students will write one historical research paper, two critiques, and answer essay questions. Speaking: Students working in collaboration with other students on chapter assignments will have the opportunity to develop their speaking proficiency. Listening: Students working in collaboration with other students on chapter assignments will have the opportunity to develop and practice their listening skills. Students will also practice critical listening to audio and video materials. Critical Thinking: Many of the essay questions and writing assignments will require higher-level, critical thinking skills to solve successfully.
Computer Literacy: This course requires significant computer literacy from the students who must be proficient at sending and receiving Email, researching for papers, as well as producing original written works. Course Calendar: August 30 September 1 Intro/Syllabus/Learning Web Ch. 1: Native Ams. /Eur. Exploration September 6 NO CLASS Labor Day September 8 September 13 September 15 September 20 Ch. 2: English Settlement Ch. 3: The Colonies Ch. 4: African Slavery Ch. 4: The Seven Years War September 22 Ch. 5: American Revolution Journal #1 due September 27 Movie: John Adams (part 1) September 29 Movie: John Adams (part 2) October 4 Ch. 6: Results of the American Revolution Film Critique #1 due October 6 Ch. 7: The Articles of Confederation October 11 Ch. 7: The Constitution Journal #2 due October 13 October 18 October 20 October 25 October 27 November 1 November 3 November 8 Review for midterm Ch. 8: Adams/Jefferson Midterm exam Ch.9: The Market Revolution Guidelines for monograph paper Ch. 10: Jacksonian Democracy Ch. 11: Slavery Ch. 11: Slavery November 10 Ch. 12: Reform in the North Journal #3 due November 15 Ch. 13: A House Divided Monograph papers due
November 17 November 22 Ch. 14: The Civil War Ch. 14: The Civil War November 24 NO CLASS Thanksgiving holiday November 29 Movie: Glory Journal #4 due December 1 Movie: Glory December 6 Ch. 15: Reconstruction Film Critique #2 due December 8 December 15 Review for final exam Final exam @ 7:30 PM Instructional Methods: lecture class discussions film analyses primary document analyses historical monograph analysis Student Assignments: Student Assessments: read a variety of historical material complete exams submit writing assignments participation/attendance 4 journal entries 2 film critiques 1 monograph paper Midterm exam Final exam Instructional Materials: 1. Give Me Liberty!: An American History by Eric Foner 2. Plantation Mistress: Woman s World in the Old South by Catherine Clinton 3. Ar n t I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South by Deborah Gray White 4. Virtual Reader of American History, volume 1, http://learning.sec.hccs.edu/members/histreader This is a collection of historical documents, articles, poems, songs, maps, political cartoons, and pictures. Information from these resources will be needed to complete journal entries as well as used as a resource in writing assignments. The virtual reader is located on the campus homepage.
HCC Policy Statements: ADA: Students With Disabilities Any student with a documented disability (i.e. physical, learning, psychiatric, visual, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the disability services office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the disability services office. The counselor for Southeast College can be reached at (713) 718-7218. Academic Honesty: Academic irregularities cannot be tolerated. Attempts to compromise the integrity of this course will result in a grade of zero for the assignment or dismissal from the class. Students must not collaborate on the exams in any way (including the use of materials from former students) and must not copy material from any source to use as their exam responses or writing assignments. See the HCCS Student Handbook for details. Cheating is not that hard to define and as college students, you should have a firm idea about what cheating is. Just to be clear, here are some simple definitions: Cheating is: Copying from another student s exam. Cheating is: During an exam, using material not authorized by the person giving the exam. Cheating is: Collaborating with another student during an exam Cheating is: Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an exam or paper. Cheating is: Bribing another person to obtain a copy of an exam. Cheating is: Plagiarism, which means using someone s work or someone s ideas and representing them to be your own. That someone may be another student, a friend, a relative, a book, or an author of material on a website, etc. Do not take material from anywhere without giving proper credit or reference. In other words, do not copy from an Internet source and paste it into your assignments. Cheating is: Collusion, which means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit that you represent to be your own. All papers and critiques will be submitted to Turnitin.com. This is a service HCCS subscribes to for identifying plagiarized materials. You will receive the access information for this course in class and you must print out and include a plagiarism report with your papers/critiques. This report must contain a similarity index, not just a receipt of submission. Otherwise, the paper/critique will not be accepted and the student will receive a grade of 0 on the assignment. In this class, the standard penalty for academic dishonesty is a grade of 0 on the assignment. The penalty for gross plagiarism and cheating on exams is failure in the
course. Depending upon the severity and frequent academic dishonesty can lead to a recommendation for probation and/or dismissal from the College System. If you ever have any question about what is cheating, what is plagiarism, what is unauthorized collusion, please contact the instructor before you do or submit anything. It is much better to ask first than to get caught later. Student Attendance: You are expected to attend all lecture classes regularly. Remember, regular attendance will account for 10% of your final grade. You are also responsible for material covered during your absences. If you miss a class, it is the student s responsibility to acquire notes and information from another student. Do not contact the instructor as far as acquiring missed material. If you miss an exam, the instructor may be willing to consult with you concerning a make-up. However, if the instructor allows a make-up, the instructor may change the format of the make-up exam and the student must make up the exam within one week of the original exam date. In addition, late papers will not be accepted and the instructor will not accept paper submissions and/or journal entries via email. Class attendance is checked daily. Also, it is your responsibility to drop a course for nonattendance and/or excessive absences. The instructor will not drop a student. Notice: Students who take a course more than twice face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC 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 6 total course withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. To help students avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an Early Alert process by which your instructor will alert you and HCC student services of the chance you might fail a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic performances. You should visit with your instructor, a counselor, or HCC online Student Services to learn about your options. Students MUST visit with a faculty advisor, a counselor, or online student services prior to withdrawal from class. If a withdrawal is to be given, this must be done by Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 4:30 PM. After that date and time, students will no longer be allowed to drop and will receive the grade that they earned. Any remaining assignments not submitted will receive a zero; thus, students will be subject to receiving an F for the class. Faculty will NO longer be allowed to give Ws on the final grade sheet.
I will NOT drop a student! If a student fails to come to class and/or does not complete the assignments, that student will earn an F. If a student does not want an F, it is his/her responsibility to drop this course. I will NOT drop a student. International Students: Receiving a W in a course may affect the status of your student Visa. Once a W is given for the course, it will not be changed to an F because of the visa consideration. Since January 1, 2003, International Students are restricted in the number of distance education courses that they may take during each semester. ONLY ONE online/distance education class may be counted towards the enrollment requirement for International Students per semester. Please contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have any questions about your visa status and other transfer issues. Student Course Reinstatement Policy: Students have a responsibility to arrange payment for their classes when they register, either through cash, credit card, financial aid, or the installment plan. Faculty members have a responsibility to check their class rolls regularly, especially during the early weeks of a term, and reconcile the official class roll to ensure that no one is attending class whose name does not appear on the roll. Students who are dropped from their courses for nonpayment of tuition and fees, who request reinstatement after the official date of record (OE date), can be reinstated by making payment in full and paying an additional $75 per course reinstatement fee. A student requesting reinstatement should present the registrar with a completed Enrollment Authorization Form with the signature of the instructor, the department chair, or the dean, who should verify that the student has been regularly attending class. Students who are reinstated are responsible for all course policies and procedures, including attendance requirements. A dean may waive the reinstatement fee upon determination that the student was dropped because of a college error. The dean should note the nature of the error in a memo to the registrar with the appropriate documentation. Instructor Requirements: Exams: There will be two exams in the course a midterm and a final which will consist of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and two essay questions on each exam. The student will choose one essay question to answer for each exam. The midterm will cover the material covered in the first half of the course. The final exam will not be comprehensive. It will cover the material discussed in class following the midterm exam until the end of the course. Please bring a scantron and a blue book to each exam. There will also be three writing assignments consisting of two film critiques and a monograph paper. Film critiques: There will be two films shown during the semester. Students are required to write a 2-3 page review of the movie and describe its accuracy in its depiction of the period of U.S. history currently being discussed in class. This is not to be simply a
rehashing of the plot of the film. The reviews are to be typewritten, double-spaced, with a 12 font size. No handwritten papers will be accepted. In addition, the reviews are to be printed out and turned in to me. I will not accept papers on discs or via email. If a student is absent on a day when a film is being shown, it is the student s responsibility to watch the film on their own time. Remember no late critiques will be accepted and your paper must include a plagiarism report from Turnitin.com. Monograph paper: Should be 3-5 pages in length, typewritten, double-spaced, with a 12 font size. Handwritten papers will not be accepted. Papers must be printed out and handed in to me by the due date. Please include a cover sheet and a bibliography (works cited page) with your assignment. Furthermore, these do not count in the page count of your paper. You must have at least 3 full pages of text written by you, minimum. I will not accept papers on discs or via email. Further guidelines for the paper will be discussed in class. This is not a book report. Your purpose is to read and analyze the two monographs required in the course. These are Plantation Mistresses by Clinton and Ar n t I a Woman? by White. The lives and experiences of women-as plantation mistresses and slaves-are addressed in these two books. It will be your assignment to examine the material covered in both monographs and develop and support an argument (with examples from the books) as you describe which group of women faced the most challenges and difficulties. Although you will be developing a thesis based on your opinion, you must support your thesis with evidence from the books. You may also use the course textbook, the Learning Web, and class lectures as sources. Remember no late critiques will be accepted and your paper must include a plagiarism report from Turnitin.com. Journal entries: There will be 4 journal entries submitted during the course. The student will be assignment specific entries in the Learning Web and must, after reading them, write their reflections on these entries. These must be typed and turned in on the due dates. Again, I will not accept entries submitted via email or on disc or flashdrive. Please note that while historical content is a crucial part of the writing assignments, the student will also be graded on the mechanical aspects of writing. This includes spelling, grammar, structure, proper citations/references, etc. There are no make ups of missed exams/assignments and late papers will not be accepted. Papers are due no later than the date listed in the course calendar. Papers should be turned in at the beginning of the class they are due, however, you may turn papers in earlier than the final due date. Of course, there are times when unexpected events occur. These can include such things as illnesses, accidents, and/or deaths. However, not feeling well the day of the exam is not acceptable. Emergencies must be documented (i.e. doctor s excuse or accident/police report). Cases will be considered on an individual basis. In other words, makeups will only be considered in extreme emergencies. No exceptions.
It is your responsibility to read this syllabus. If you have any questions pertaining to the information contained in this syllabus, feel free to ask them. This syllabus serves as an official record of what is required for this course. Please do not lose it. Classroom Etiquette: Please turn off all electronic devices prior to the start of class. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, computers, pagers, MP3s, and I pods. In addition, as per the Alvin Community College policy, there are no children allowed in the classroom. Please be courteous to your fellow students as well as to the instructor. Excessive and loud talking is not only a disruption; it is also a distraction to others in the classroom. Also, if you come in late or leave at any time during the class, please do so quietly. It is a violation of Alvin Community College policy to infringe upon the rights of other students to be provided with an environment that is conducive to learning and instruction and any violation of that right will not be tolerated. Leaving class to take or make a phone call is unacceptable. Please attend to personal business before or after class. In addition, sleeping in class will not be tolerated. You will be asked to leave the class. Finally, please be aware that once an exam begins, you may not leave the classroom and then return to complete the exam. If you leave the room during a test or exam, you will turn that exam in and it will be considered finished. HCC Grading Scale A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 D = 60-69 F = 59 and below Grading Criteria: The semester grade will be calculated as follows: Midterm exam 20% Final exam 20% Monograph paper 20% Movie reviews (2) 20% (10% each) Journals 10%
Attendance/Participation 10% The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus. Note: 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.