Common Course Syllabus 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 Available Formats: Conventional, INET, ITV Campus: Levelland, Reese, ATC, Plainview Textbook: Varies according to instructor, but for ALL dual credit classes: The American Nation, Carnes and Garraty, Pearson & Longman, Thirteenth Edition. Volume One ISBN 0-205-56805-X, 2008. 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excessive and in the instructor's opinion, minimum course objectives cannot be met due to absences, the student will be withdrawn from the course.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 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.CLASS INFORMATION, REQUIREMENTS, & POLICIES History of the United States to 1876 South Plains College – Reese Center Instructor Christy Dockrey – Fall 2011 HIST 1301.202; MWF 11:00–11:50 RC 312 Instructor: Christy Dockrey Office: RC316G Office Hours: MWF 8:15-10:00 and M 12:00-12:15; TR 8:15-9:30 and by appointment Phone: 806-716-4663 * leave a message with your full name, phone number, and the reason for your call (the instructor will not return calls to long distance phone numbers) E-mail: [email protected] Optional Text: The American Journey, Volume 1, 6/e, by Goldfield, et al; Pearson, 2011. ISBN: 9780205010578. Course Description and Objectives: The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a survey of the history of the United States from European colonization to the end of Reconstruction following the Civil War. Instructional focus will be to promote an understanding of the elements and events that contributed to the development of American characteristics and nationality, the founding of the United States government, and the factors that eventually tore the nation apart in civil war. Emphasis will be placed on the ideas and social concepts that constitute the American heritage. Academic English Rule South Plains College requires all students to become proficient in "academic English," a form of English that is typically used in academic, professional, and business contexts. While slang, regional idioms, and informal kinds of self-expression are appropriate in some contexts, they are out of place in academic writing. Writing instructors and professors in courses across the campus expect all students to demonstrate proficiency in using the conventions of academic English in their written work, whether it is in-class exams or take-home essays. (Each instructor may also add additional requirements regarding written assignments that are contained in your syllabus.) Course Requirements: Students are expected to complete reading assignments, take notes, and participate in class discussions. If a student misses a lecture, it is the responsibility of that student to obtain notes from a classmate. Notes will not be provided by the instructor. Study guides, handouts, and other information will be posted on the class Blackboard which can be accessed from the SPC homepage or at http://southplainscollege.blackboard.com/. Students are required to download and print these for use in class. The librarians at the Reese SPC Library in Building 8 are available to assist students who wish to use the library computers to acquire course materials. The course lecture content will be organized into four units and there will be a major exam over each unit. The four major exams and two quizzes over outside reading materials will be used to assess students’ grades in this course with the percentage breakdown as follows: Requirements and Value Avg. of 2 Quizzes 20% First Unit Exam 20% Second Unit Exam 20% Third Unit Exam 20% Final Exam 20%The articles assigned for outside reading will also be posted on the class Blackboard. Students should access and print the articles well in advance of quizzes. Technical difficulties incurred during the 24 hrs. before the quiz will not constitute an excuse for not being prepared to