HAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

HIS 152  U.S. HISTORY SINCE 1877

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

SECTION HIS-152-9 (022677)

 FALL 2009

ON-LINE

INSTRUCTOR: Patrick Ashwood Ph.D.

OFFICE: BH 225A

PHONE 296-4430

OFFICE HOURS: T 1-2; W 10-12, 1-2; R 1-2    Textbook Link                 HISTORY COURSE WEBLINKS

E-MAIL: pashwood@hawkeyecollege.edu           Department Webpage:  Social Science, Education and Wellness     

 

 

This course is housed in ANGEL.  Here is the link to ANGEL.  Students will not be able to access ANGEL until the first day of class.

 

If you are having problems logging into ANGEL or have other problems with ANGEL do the following:

 

Call 319 296-2320 ext 1415 or email angel@hawkeyecollege.edu       Angel Help      Angel Help Videos

 

PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR BASIC INFORMATION (name, phone #, address, college experience, online experience)

ASSIGNMENTS AND DISCUSSION TAKE PLACE NEARLY EVERYDAY MONDAY-FRIDAY.  WATCH FOR THE DUE DATES. Send in projects and web activities early or on due date.  Discussion must be done within the dates specified.  Exams must be taken within the dates specified. All other work can be done ahead of time.

WEB Course Policies:

This course is on-line. You must be comfortable with your computer for this course.

Computer Skills: I cannot tutor you on e-mail, web site usage, word processing etc.    Lack of computer skills cannot be used as an excuse for late work.  For example, you may need to send me assignments attached to your email. You should know how to do this.  I prefer email assignments to be in Microsoft Word or in rich text format (.rtf) if necessary.  Most work in Angel will be entered into a dropbox. But if you attach the work, I need be able to open it. 

Copies:  Be sure to make copies of all of your work just in case.  It is YOUR responsibility to have back-up copies

Reading will be heavily emphasized in this course. The entire textbook will be utilized and well as other readings.

Workload: You can expect a minimum of 6 hours of work for this class per week.  Lecture is replaced with projects and web activities. You are expected to pace yourself and get your work in on time.

Required readings and activities are listed in the class schedule and they must be read by the day indicated on the schedule. Students are responsible for the material in the textbook for their exams.

CHEATING

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be dealt with severely. Do not use others' works without crediting the source. You will receive a zero for assignments that are plagiarized. Depending on the circumstances you may receive an F for this course and have a letter describing your cheating in your permanent student file. Check the student handbook for more information on plagiarism and cheating.

To receive full credit for projects and tests, they must be presented when due. Late work will lose one letter grade per day late. There are no make-ups. Do your own work.

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

This United States history course examines the period from the end of reconstruction to the present.  Emphasis is placed upon industrialization and its impact, the development of a strong federal government, an aggressive foreign policy, and a growing involvement in an international economy.  The course includes political, economic, and social history of this period, as well as the development of American thought.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

 

1.   Provide a narrative survey of American history from 1877 to the present.

2.   Analyze the key events, people, ideas and institutions of American history from 1877 to the present.

3.   Emphasize the impact of the industrialization process upon American society since 1877.

4.   Study the development of a strong federal government in American society since 1877.

5.   Identify how an aggressive U.S. foreign policy has altered American presence in the world community in the period since 1877.

6.   Study the growing involvement of the U.S. in an international economy.

7.   Explore the variety and multitude of contributors to American society in the period since 1877--in particular, it will study the contributions made by women and other groups that have been politically and economically marginalized.

 

For more information concerning this course please refer to the course guide.

 

HISTORY WEBLINKS        

 

REQUIRED READINGS

The Text:

Roark, James, and others.   The American Promise   Volume 2.  4TH ED Bedford/St Martin (2009)   ISBN: 0312-45293-4

 

Additional Readings:

Neihardt & Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks U of Nebraska 2004

Langston Hughes, The Big Sea  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Mildred Armstrong Kalish, Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression, Bantam, 2007

There will be additional readings on folk music.

 

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~njp/black-elk.jpeg

http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC063369/hughes.bmp

Black Elk

Langston Hughes

Little Heathens

Folk Music

 

 

 

 

COURSE GRADE

Your course grade consists of the following:

Exams - 30% of total grade     (Four exams at the end of each unit. These exams are online.)

Projects - 30% of total grade  (Four projects, one in each unit. These are short papers.)

Web Activities - 25% of total grade (20 essay activities, approximately one for each unit)

Quizzes and Discussion  - 15% of total grade    (One quiz per chapter, at least one discussion topic per chapter)

GRADING SCALE

90-100%      A

80-89.99%   B

70-79.99%   C

60-69.99%   D

 

  

STUDENT HELP FOR THIS CLASS (and others)

1.  LINK TO TEXTBOOK    

2. SQ3R STUDY METHOD                      

3. STUDENT DEVELOPMENT     (Available in Bremer 116, tutors and help)

4. A HELP PAGE FOR EXAM TAKING, WRITING PAPERS, STUDYING http://www.studygs.net/index.htm

 

 

COURSE CALENDAR 

 

C O U R S E  C A L E N D A R

US HISTORY SINCE 1877

WEEK

TOPIC

ASSIGNMENT

1

UNIT  ONE

Introduction

The Old West

Read Text CH 16

Read Black Elk Speaks

There is a project on this book.

2

Industrialization

Read Text CH 17

3

The Age of the City

Read Text CH 18

 

4

Money and Politics

Read Text CH 19

UNIT EXAM Chapters 16-19 September 17

5

UNIT TWO

Empire Building

Read Text CH 20

6

Progressivism & National Reform

Read Text CH 21

Read The Big Sea. There is a project on this book.

7

First World War

Read Text CH 22

8

The Wild 1920s

Read Text CH 23

UNIT EXAM 2 Chapters 20-23 October 15

9

UNIT THREE

The Great Depression

Read Text CH 23

Read Little Heathens. There is a project on this book.

10

The New Deal

Read Text CH 24

11

Global Crisis and the Second World War

Read Text CH 25

12

The Cold War

Read Text CH 26

UNIT EXAM 3 Chapters 23-26 November 12th

13

UNIT FOUR

Wealthy Conformity - 1950s

Read Text CH 27

Read Folk article

There is a project on folk music.

14

Rise of the Left - 1960s

Read Text CH 28

15

Crisis of Authority

Read Text CH 29

16

Rise of the Rich and Globalization

Read Text CH 30

17

 

UNIT EXAM 4 Chapters 27-30 December 15th

Disclaimer: All information on calendar except exam dates is tentative

EXPLANATION OF ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS COURSE

Your course grade is based on the following assignment categories. 

 

Be sure to watch for any changes in assignments and their dates.  Occasionally there needs to be adjustments.  

 

The following are rationale for class assignments. 
 

PROJECTS 

Thirty percent of your total grade will be based on your four projects, (7.5% each).  The projects are the longest written assignments for this class.  They are generally 3-4 pages.  The projects encourage you to dig deep into each of the four readings for this course.   You will be concentrating on significant figures and events in US history.  Be sure to make back up copies of all your projects. A "1" will be entered when I print your project.  That is not your grade.  It usually takes a couple of days to grade all of the papers.

WEB ACTIVITIES

Twenty-five percent of your total grade will be based on web activities.  There is typically 1 or sometimes 2 web activities per chapter.  The purpose of these activities is to give you more depth and application on topics covered in the textbook.  They are worth about 1% each.  They are important assignments to help you learn the chapter content. Consider them snapshots of historical events to give you a feel for the era. Their length will vary. These assignments typically need a short paragraph for each answer. You should use sentences, proper grammar and spelling. Be sure to make back up copies of all your activities.   

EXAMS

Thirty percent of your total grade will be based on four unit exams, (7.5% each).  These online multiple choice exams have 50 questions each. Each unit has 4-5 chapters. The purpose of the exams is to check your knowledge of the material in the textbook.  You will have one hour to complete each exam.  One hour is not enough to look up the answers.  You need to read each chapter and study each one carefully. I encourage you to look at the glossary for each chapter, take the quizzes, and use the flashcards.  These links provide you with the SQ3R method for studying your text. 

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/TextbookReading.htm       http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

This link gives you help with taking multiple choice exams.  http://www.studygs.net/tsttak3.htm

 

DISCUSSION

Ten percent of your total grade will be based on many class discussions.  Each chapter has 1-2 discussion topics.  You have a 2-3 day window to address the topic. You should read what I ask and then react to my question and the comments of other students.  Ideally you should make several comments.  You need to return to the discussion forum multiple times during the time window to answer any comments or questions other students ask you.  I discourage you from throwing in your first comment in the last hours the forum is open (that will get you a C or less).  Comments added outside the time window will not count. 

A typical discussion will be graded this way.

Posting one decent comment will get you a C.

If you also reply to one person, you will get a B.

If you also reply to two persons or more, you will get an A. 

If all your discussion activity is within the same time period and day (1-2 hours), you will get a B or less regardless of the number of postings.

QUIZZES

Five percent of your total grade will be based on chapter quizzes. The main purpose of these quizzes is to prepare you for the unit exams.  You can take them as many times as you want.  Your scores will be averaged to encourage you to read the chapters before you take a quiz.  The quizzes are not worth a great deal but you will find them useful.  The multiple choice questions are very similar to the questions in the unit exams. 

 

Go to Patrick Ashwood Homepage

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