1 Course Syllabus HIST 1302—History of the US since 1876 Social Sciences Department; Division of Arts and Sciences South Plains College Instructor: Dr. Sharon Bogener Email: All written communication must be through Course Email in Blackboard. Office: Administration 119, Levelland Campus Office Hours: MTWR 8:30-9:30, M 11:00-1:00, F 8:30-10:30 (or anytime I am in the office!) and by appointment Phone: (806) 894-9611, ext. 2462 (please leave your full name, which class you are in, your phone number, and the reason for your call). Please remember that I do not check my office phone on weekends or evenings. Print and keep a copy of this syllabus—it is your guide to this class—and you are responsible for knowing its contents! Before you ask questions about policies, procedures, etc., check your syllabus! All dates and other content information is available in Blackboard. Course Description: This course is a survey of United States History. Primary emphasis is placed on ideas and social concepts that constitute the US heritage but we will also examine the major cultural, economic, diplomatic, and political trends in the US. The emphasis will be on understanding and interpreting history rather than memorization of dates. Our goals include improving critical thinking skills, formulating significant questions about the past, and understanding past events as products of multiple factors. Required text: The American Promise: A History of the United States, Volume II: To 1877 Author: Roark, et al Paper Text, 544 pages ISBN-10: 0312452934 ISBN-13: 978-0312452933 This book is available as an e-book from www.ebooks.bfwpub.com. The companion website for the text is www.bedfordstmartins.com/roark. A link is provided in Blackboard.2 Common Course Syllabus Department: Social Sciences Discipline: History Course Number: HISTORY 1302 Course Title: American History since 1877 Credit: 3 Lecture, 0 Lab Satisfies a core curriculum requirement? Yes, Social Science and ALL Undergraduate Degrees Prerequisites: TSI compliance in Reading 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 the disputed election of 1876 to the end of the Cold War in 1990. 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 from the 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. Students need the following basic skills to be successful in this course:  Effective time management skills  Efficient reading skills since you will be reading the entire textbook and taking a quiz from each chapter  Good writing and research skills since you will be required to write a research essay  Computer literacy3 Computer and Internet Requirements:  The student must have access to a computer with a reliable Internet connection. I do not recommend a particular brand of computer. It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that they have the necessary computer resources and skills to take this class.  There are computer labs available for student use on our Levelland and Plainview Campuses and at Reese Center.  To test for the ability to browse the Web, a computer must be able to visit the SPC Home Page. Click on the “Blackboard” tab at the top right corner of the page. Blackboard has several tools you can use to make certain your computer is upgraded to use Blackboard formatting. It also has a tutorial that is very helpful. All technological questions should be directed to Jessica Tucker at (806) 894-9611, ext. 2180 in the SPC Technology Center or [email protected] (contact information is also available on the opening page of Blackboard). I do not offer any computer or Blackboard related technological assistance or advice.  You must be able to receive and send email from and to me.  If you have any trouble opening my attachments or any of the documents, it is YOUR responsibility to find a computer that will allow you access to these documents.  Make sure your