Fall Pre SyallabusFall SyllabusCommon Course Syllabus Jay Whitefield, Instructor of History Department of History Department: Social Sciences Discipline: History Course Number: HISTORY 1301 Course Title: American History to 1877 Credit: 3 Lecture, 0 Lab Satisfies a core curriculum requirement? Yes, Social Science and ALL Undergraduate Degrees Prerequisites: TSI compliance in Reading (face-to-face), TSI compliance in Reading and Writing (internet) Available Formats: Conventional, INET, ITV Campus: Levelland, Reese, ATC, Plainview Textbook: Varies according to instructor. Course Specific Instructions: Each instructor will attach his/her course with specific instructions. Course Description: This course is a survey of United States history from colonial foundations to 1877. Primary emphasis is placed on ideas and social concepts that constitute the American heritage. Course Purpose: To acquaint students with the diversity of American history and to promote critical thinking in interrelating the past to the present. Fundamentally, the course promotes general understanding of a body of knowledge any literate person should possess about the history of his own country. Course Requirements: To maximize a student’s potential to complete this course, he/she should attend all class meetings, complete all homework assignments and examinations in a timely manner, and complete all other projects or papers as assigned in the instructor’s specific instructions. Course Evaluation: See the instructor's course information sheet for specific items used in evaluating student performance. Attendance Policy: Whenever absences become excessive and in the instructor's opinion, minimum course objectives cannot be met due to absences, the student will be withdrawn fromthe course. Each instructor will have additional information about attendance on his/her course information sheet. Student Learning Outcomes: Students who have completed this course will be expected to:  demonstrate knowledge and understanding of major perspectives in  American history.  demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cause and effect of major events of the past.  understand the nature of history as a fundamental subject in the study of humanity.  evaluate the diversity of interpretations of the past and the quality of evidence for that interpretation.  tolerate ambiguity in explanations of the past and realize that historical explanations will often be complex and tentative  apply historical knowledge with caution to current events, seeing common threads of development of the past with the present. Through course assignments, papers, activities, and assessments, students will:  demonstrate the ability to read and write clearly and concisely,  value diversity and differences in people,  explore relationships of ideas and see their similarities and differences,  gain a basic understanding of the career fields related in the major,  assimilate and synthesize information,  integrate ideas across the curricula, and  interrelate the past to the present.TITLE: History 1301, United States History to 1877 TIME: MTWTHF 8:47-9:37 Fall Semester 2011, Roosevelt ISD INSTRUCTOR: Jay Whitefield OFFICE HOURS: I do not have set office hours since I am here at Roosevelt ISD every day. If you need to set up an appointment to discuss class, either talk to me following class or email me at [email protected] I am also usually in my room or on campus following school. Please, feel free to stop in and visit with me. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1) To obtain a better understanding of the events, people, and ideas that helped shape the history of the United States to 1877. 2) To not only understand history and think historically, but to become a better reader and writer. 3) To gain an understanding of what a college class is like and what is expected of the student on the university level. 4) To not only pass the End of Course exam, but to go above and beyond and have every student be commended on their social studies test. COURSE MATERIALS: 1) Text—Carnes, Mark C, and John A. Garraty. The American Nation: A History of the United States, Volume One—To 1877. New York: Pearson Longman Press, 2008. 2) Supplemental Readings and Film a. Primary Sources b. Monograph c. Film COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Members of this class will be responsible for all material addressed in this course, including lectures, readings, discussions, and films. The final course grade will be based on the following:1) Exams—You will have two exams throughout the semester. These exams will cover lecture, discussion, the textbook, supplemental readings, and films. The exams will be made up of multiple choice and True/False questions, and one written essay. 2) Quizzes—You will have weekly quizzes in this class. These quizzes will be ten questions long and be multiple choice, True/False, fill in the blank, or short answer. I will usually announce when quizzes will be administered, but I reserve the right to give unexpected quizzes if I feel that you have not prepared for class. 3) Short Essay—You will be expected to write a short essay—3 to 5 pages—over supplementary reading that you will be assigned. In the essay you are expected to write in simple past tense, and use proper quotations and citations from your reading. I will give you more information on this as the semester progresses and post it on my teacher website. 4) Final Exam—You will have a COMPREHENSIVE final exam covering all the material we covered in class. Furthermore, this exam will have new material on it, which was covered since the previous midterm. It will be similar to the previous tests, but will be longer and have two essays you will write. GRADE SCHEDULE: A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), F (0-59). ATTENDANCE POLICY: Since this course is dual credit, you are required by the State of Texas to attend school. However, if you miss class for any reason, it is YOUR responsibility to obtain missed notes/assignments from another student. Since this is a college course, I will not baby you and make sure you have the notes, or complete your assignments. It is up to you to visit with either another student or me, after you have returned to school to find out all of the information you have missed. Remember, you are here by choice with the help of Roosevelt