Synonym/Section: 49112/008 Tu&Th 10:30-11:50 a.m.
45806/094 Tues. & Thurs. 12:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m
Office Hours: (Appointments outside of posted hours are provided as necessary.)
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
9:45 – 10:15 a.m. |
9:45 – 10:15 a.m. |
9:45 – 10:15 a.m. |
9:45 – 10:15 a.m. |
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
Office Location: SAC 1313.13 (third floor, southwest corner)
Web: www.austincc.edu/vansandt
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization,
it expects what never was and never will be."
--Thomas Jefferson
COURSE DESCRIPTION: History 1301 surveys United States history from ancient beginnings through the Civil War & Reconstruction. For a full catalogue description, go to: http://www.austincc.edu/history.
COURSE RATIONALE: For complete information, go to: http://www.austincc.edu/history.
TEXT: Oakes, James, et al. Of the People, volume 1. CONCISE EDITION. London: Oxford University Press, 2011. A student companion website is available at www.oup.com/us/ofthepeople .
A regular edition (not concise) is available on reserve at the library for in-library use. In addition to the textbook, some additional reading may be assigned.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY: This is a lecture-based course. Student questions and class discussion of pertinent topics are always welcome. Lecture outlines are available on my web page.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM: Respectful exchange of ideas promotes learning. Respect for the opinions of others is expected during any class discussion.
COURSE SCHEDULE: The course is divided into four units. The attached outline details your reading assignment schedule, dates of exams, and dates pertinent to the book review. Use this outline to plan your semester so that you do not fall behind.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: . Learning objectives for this class in particular are included in this syllabus. Department-wide course objectives can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/history.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance will be taken each class. Regular attendance is expected and may influence your final grade. If your final grade is borderline between two letter grades, the higher grade will be assigned if you have no more than two absences. For example, if your final numerical average is 88.0-89.9 and you have no more than two absences, a grade of A rather than B will be recorded.
WITHDRAWING FROM THE COURSE: It is your responsibility to withdraw from the class if you cannot meet the requirements. I retain the right to initiate withdrawal in the event of excessive absences, lack of progress, or as a disciplinary measure. The last day to withdraw is April 23, 2012.
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY: “Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their own thought, research or self-expression. For purposes of these regulations, academic work is defined as, but not limited to exams and quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; papers; classroom presentations; and homework. When students borrow ideas, wording, or organization from another source, they shall reference that information in an appropriate manner.” (ACC Student Handbook)
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY: “Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented disabilities. Students with disabilities should apply for services with the Office for Students with Disabilities at the primary campus they expect to attend. Each semester students need to meet with the OSD coordinator at all campuses they are attending in order to discuss accommodation needs. Sample accommodations include, but are not limited to, interpreters, note takers, registration assistance, and testing with accommodations. Students with disabilities are urged to apply for accommodations well ahead of, but no less than three weeks before, the start of a term for the accommodations to be prepared for the first day of classes. ACC works with the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and community service organizations to provide support services to students.” (ACC Student Handbook)
PRIVACY POLICY: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects confidentiality of your educational records. Grades cannot be given over the phone, posted, e-mailed, or given to a fellow student. For full information about FERPA, visit http://www.austincc.edu/visitors/ferpa.php.
BLACKBOARD: I use BB to post grades and make announcements.
ACC STUDENT EMAIL: All students have a g-mail account through the college. Even if it is not your primary email account, students should check their ACC email on a regular basis. This is the address instructors and administrators use to contact students.
DETERMINATION OF GRADE:
Initial tests: an in-class exam will be administered after each of the four units. The test will have three parts: map, multiple choice, and an essay.
Make-up tests: if you must miss class on the date of an exam, it is your responsibility to get with me to make arrangements for a make-up. This is an option for the first three units only. The make-up is the same format as the initial test, but the questions, including the essay question, will be different. Only ONE test may be made up during the semester.
Retests: you have the option to retest on any or all of the first three unit exams, provided the in-class test was taken at the scheduled time. You may not retest after a make-up test. The retest is ten out of twelve short answer questions. When a retest is taken, the higher grade is recorded.
WARNING: students rarely do as well on make-ups and retests as on the in-class exam. It is to your advantage to take the in-class exam and do your best at that time.
NOTICE: On test days the following rules are in place: 1) You may work for the entire period;
2) you may leave when finished; 3) you may not leave and re-enter the classroom while testing;
4) cell phones and other electronics are turned off and put away.
MAKE-UPS AND RETESTS MUST BE TAKEN BEFORE THE NEXT SCHEDULED TEST. They are taken in the SAC Testing Center. The Testing Center requires students to show their ACC ID. For complete Testing Center rules and regulations, go to http://www.austincc.edu/testctr.
2) BOOK REVIEW: This assignment allows you to read a book of your choosing (with instructor approval) and write an analysis of the book. The book must be a scholarly, secondary source by a single author about a topic relevant to the content of the course. HOWEVER, NO BOOKS ABOUT THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS WILL BE APPROVED. Do not refer to the book as a novel, because a novel is a work of fiction. A book review is not a book report. Your focus should be on evaluating the author, not the subject of the work. The review should be typewritten, double-spaced. If you quote directly from the book, follow the direct quote with the page number in parenthesis. The review should be written in essay form, incorporating answers to ALL the following questions:
**DEADLINES TO KEEP IN MIND**
Book Approval: February 7 Book Review Due: March 22; no review accepted after March 29.
THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DO AN EXCELLENT JOB ON THIS PAPER AND TURN IT IN ON MARCH 22. IF YOU CHOOSE TO REVISE AFTER SEEING YOUR GRADE, BE AWARE THAT THE REVISION GRADE WILL BE CAPPED AT 80.
Revised Review Due: April 19; absolutely no reviews accepted after this date.
A sample book review can be found on my web page.
Your Name
HIST 1301
Current Semester
Catherine Clinton. Fanny Kemble’s Civil Wars. New York: Simon
& Schuster, 2000. 268 pages with notes and index.
3) COURSE GRADING CRITERIA: Each test and the book review counts 20% of the final grade. The numerical grade is then translated into a letter grade for recording.
A = 90-100 C = 70-79 F = below 60
B = 80-89 D = 60-69
GRANTING OF INCOMPLETES: An “I” will be given if you have: 1) persuaded me it is absolutely the last course of action available; 2) and you have completed at least 50% of the course work; 3) and your grade average is a C or higher. Once an “I” is recorded, it is your responsibility to finish the work within a given amount of time; otherwise, the “I” automatically changes to an “F” on your transcript. Do not assume an “I” will be recorded if you just stop coming to class.
CELL PHONES AND OTHER POTENTIALLY DISTRACTING GIZMOS ARE TO BE TURNED OFF AND PUT AWAY DURING CLASS TIME.
Disciplinary action will be taken if class/instructor is disturbed.
Disciplinary action may include deducting points from test grades or withdrawal from the course at the discretion of the instructor.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS TAKING ANY HISTORY COURSE AT ACC
The History Department welcomes you to our courses. We have an outstanding faculty and you will find that many of your classmates are also outstanding students. With a collaborative effort on the part of BOTH faculty member and student, your experience with us should be most productive and rewarding.
Students registering for History courses at Austin Community College need to be cognizant of the fact that the requirements and expectations for those courses may be higher than those for some other courses in the College. Our courses are intellectually challenging and require that the student is both academically and socially prepared for college-level work. Successful completion of our courses requires a student commit a significant amount of time, effort, and personal responsibility.
The following is a summary of some of the requirements that are typical for a History course at Austin Community College. By providing you with this information, we hope you will be better able to assess your readiness to enroll in these courses.
All ACC college-level History courses presume that the student has successfully completed the basic high school U.S. History, Economics and American Government courses. All HIST 1301 and 1302 sections are taught moving forward from that base of knowledge. Thus, students are expected to already have a prior knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. History, the Constitution, function and structure of the U.S. and state governments, and basic economic concepts including tariffs, the Federal Reserve, inflation, depression, and supply and demand. Students who do not have this prior knowledge and experience may find the courses more difficult.
Each History course includes a substantial reading component of approximately 500 to 700 pages of material. Students will be expected to be familiar with the material covered in each daily assignment and to have read the appropriate sections of the text PRIOR to attending class. The textbooks used in the classes are written at the 14+ grade reading level. Therefore, unless you have reading skills equivalent to these requirements, you may find the courses most demanding.
In all classes, some type of writing assignment is a requirement for successfully completing the course. Many classes include essay questions on each exam. In addition, many classes require research papers, analytical book reviews, a family history, film reviews, and/or thought piece assignments as a substantial portion of the final grade. These assignments will be graded for form (grammar, spelling, and punctuation) as well as content. If you do not possess these necessary writing skills, we recommend you postpone taking History courses until after you have completed ENGL 1301.
The normal mode of instruction is by the lecture method, supplemented in many cases by PowerPoint, video, and internet clips. The student has a responsibility to come to class prepared and able to take notes based on the reading assignment, class presentation, or lecture.
All History courses use behavioral learning objectives to assist the student in identifying the most important aspects of the material. These learning objectives are usually contained in the course syllabus or in a separate “Study Guide.” They are not word-for-word identical to the test questions nor do they by themselves give the answers to test questions in advance. Rather, they highlight the salient topics and point the student to the relevant material that may appear on the test from both the lecture and the textbook.
Each instructor has attendance policies and class behavior policies to which the student must adhere. These include attending class regularly, arriving on time and staying for the entire class, regardless of other school activities and responsibilities, preparing for class by doing the required reading and assignments, and being respectful of fellow classmates and the faculty member. Any computers or electronic devices used during class time are to be used for class purposes in accordance with the instructor’s directions. All cell phones are to be turned off prior to class beginning and are not to be used during class time.
Since most college courses usually meet only two times per week (in some cases only once each week), the pace of each class may be more intense than what students experienced in high school where classes met five times a week. Students should be especially careful not to overload themselves by enrolling in more classes than they have the time in which to adequately study for the courses.
These are college courses and all students enrolled in such courses will be treated as college students regardless of the location at which the class meets.
All students are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. In compliance with this Act, instructors will not discuss student grades, academic progress, or class attendance and participation with a student’s parents, spouse, or significant other, unless the student is present.
Students enrolling in Distance Learning courses will need maturity, ability, and self-discipline to successfully complete the requirements. The student will be required to do the same amount of work and the same quality of work as students enrolling in the in-class sections. Distance Learning courses are designed for mature and capable students endowed with a great degree of self-discipline and responsibility. There are many very fine students who find that their preferred learning style is classroom lecture and participation and that pedagogy better prepares them for exams. If you learn better via visual and audio means, then a classroom section will better fit your needs. Also, Distance Learning courses rely very heavily on multiple-choice tests. If you feel you are more skilled at taking essay exams, you might well consider enrolling in an in-class section.
In conclusion, we hope that sharing these expectations will result in a very successful and satisfying experience in your ACC History courses. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
HIST 1301
Spring 2012
PROPOSED COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to minor tweaking)
DATE CHAPTER TOPIC (these are general topics and do not represent the full amount
of material covered in lecture)
____________________________________________________________________________
January 17 --- Introduction to course
January 19 1 Pre-Columbian America; Iberian Peninsula nations prepare for exploration
January 24 2 Political and religious shifts in Europe; Dutch exploration; Tudor England
January 26 3 Stuart England; Chesapeake settlement
January 31 3 Development of New England colonies
February 2 4 Effects of Restoration Monarchy; Development of
Mid-Atlantic colonies
February 7 4 Development of Far Southern colonies;
BOOK APPROVAL Spanish borderlands
February 9 --- UNIT ONE EXAM
February 14 5 Enlightenment political philosophy
February 16 5, 6 Great Awakening; French & Indian War
February 21 6 Pre-Revolutionary events, 1763-1775
February 23 7 Revolutionary War
February 28 7 State constitutions; economic instability;
Constitutional Convention
March 1 8 George Washington’s administration
March 6 8 John Adams’ administration; Quasi-War with France
March 8 --- UNIT TWO EXAM
March 12 – 18 SPRING BREAK
March 20 9 Election of 1800; Jefferson’s administration
March 22 9 James Madison & the War of 1812; Nationalism
BOOK REVIEW DUE
March 27 10 Slave south; the North’s relationship with the South
March 29 10, 11 Missouri Compromise of 1820; Monroe’s administration; LAST DAY TO SUBMIT J. Q. Adams’ admin
BOOK REVIEW
April 3 11 Politics in Jacksonian America
April 5 12 Reform movements in the 19th century
April 10 12 Abolition; Women’s Rights
April 12 --- UNIT THREE EXAM
April 17 13 Manifest Destiny and westward expansion
April 19 13, 14 War with Mexico; Compromise of 1850
REVISED BOOK REVIEW DUE
April 24 14 Turbulent 1850s
April 26 15 Civil War
May 1 15 Civil War
May 3 16 Reconstruction
May 8 16 Reconstruction
May 10 --- UNIT FOUR EXAM
(reading and lecture)
UNIT ONE. CHAPTERS 1-4. In this unit, we will consider pre-Columbian America and then turn our attention to Europe to understand what led the European nations to explore and colonize the Western Hemisphere. We will also study the establishment of the original English colonies that came to be the United States.
UNIT TWO. CHAPTERS 5-8. This unit covers colonial America during the 18th century, the Revolutionary War Era and Founding Era, and early administrations under the new government of the United States.
UNIT THREE. CHAPTERS 9-12. Our attention now turns to the young United States in the 19th century. We will study early the physical expansion of the nation, as well the expansion of democracy in terms of political change and social reform.
19th century.
UNIT FOUR. CHAPTERS 13-16. In this unit we focus on issues that led to the Civil War, the War itself, and a consideration of the Reconstruction Era.