HISTORY 1301 SYLLABUSU.S. HISTORY TO 1865

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATIONInstructor Name: Jason Scheller (photo at right)

Office Hours: 5pm-9pm, Monday-Thursday at the

Century City Library, and in the

Web-CT Chat room of the same

name.

Email: jscheller@vernoncollege.edu

Phone Number: (940) 733-5808

I will not take calls past 10 pm, but other than that feel free to call if you have a problem.

I work in the Vernon College, Century City campus library from 5pm to 9pm, Monday thru Thursday evenings if you require face-to-face help.

Required Text:Alan Brinkley. American History: A Survey, 13th Edition. (See photo at right)

Course Objectives:To obtain a better understanding of the events, diverse people, and ideas that helped shape the birth and development of the United States from colonial times through the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Additionally, you should also gain a greater understanding of the importance of studying history, how it relates to the events of today, and the impact of social, technological and economic change in American society. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS (WHAT I EXPECT FROM YOU)

Course Requirements:

You, the student, are responsible for all materials presented in this class. These materials include, but are not limited to: class lectures, notes, assigned reading, handouts, materials posted to Web CT. In short, if it is presented in this class, or on Web CT, you are responsible for it.

Your grade is based solely on your work in this class. There is no opportunity for extra credit. Your status (Dean’s list, Who’s Who, Prom King/Queen, Visiting Royalty, etc.) has no bearing on your grade for this class. If you do not perform as well as you expected on an exam, the time to see me is as soon as possible after the exams are returned.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS (CONT.)

If you miss an exam, your grade is “0”. If an exam falls on a day that is inconvenient for you because of a prior academic commitment, please see me ASAP to reschedule your exam! Failure to do so will result in you receiving a “0” for that exam. If you miss the final without an excuse you fail.

Forgetting the final or oversleeping is not an excuse. With an excuse you will receive an incomplete until the final is made up. You cannot receive a grade of incomplete if you are failing.

(See Grading Chart at Right)

Course Grading and Examinations:

 Blog 100 points

Historical Facebook Pages: 200 points

Discussion: 100 points

Book Review: 100 points

Midterm Exam: 200 points

Final Exam: 200 points

Participation Points: 100 points ________

Total: 1000 points

LATE WORK ACCEPTANCE POLICY

Late work will be accepted up to one week after the due date of the assignment.

In an effort to get it turned in as quickly as possible, a penalty of 10 points off per day it is late will be assessed by the instructor.

In addition, any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise, will be taken into account before issuing a final grade on the project.

In short, don’t turn in work late! It will cost you!

Semester Grading Scale:

A= 900-1000 points

B= 800-899 points

C=700-799 points

D= 600-699 points

F= Anything below 600 points

BLOG POINTS EXPLAINED

During the course of this class you will be asked to complete a blog on a particular subject, issue, historical event, or historical person of your choosing.

You will be assigned a series of competencies throughout the semester to complete in order to create your blog.

Your grade on this assignment will be based on your timely completion of the competencies and how well you complete the competencies.

A separate sheet explaining the creation of the blog and listing the competencies will be provided to you in Blackboard.

HISTORICAL FACEBOOK PAGE EXPLAINED

During the course of this class you will be expected to complete a historical facebook page on a person in the historical date range from the beginning of time to 1877. It has to be a person. The page must be set up just like a facebook page.

A template and instructions will be provided to you You must have all these things on your page in order to get full credit:

A profile picture

Information section with Relationship status, Birthday, and Current city.

Historically accurate Friends section with pictures and names of at least 6 friends he or she would have.

Your current status on top in the center.

Any recent activity, perhaps a historical event the person was a part of in the center, along with any newly added friends, photos, likes, or comments to other friends pages.

There should be at least 3 historically accurate ads on the right side that he or she might like. They can be ads for anything, as long as they are historically accurate.

(See example at right)

HISTORICAL FACEBOOK INFORMATION PAGE EXPLAINEDDuring this course you will be expected to complete a Historical Facebook Information page on a particular event or topic from the beginning of the class to 1865.

Instructions and a template for how to complete the page, as well as a rubric for how it will be graded are provided to you in Web CT/Blackboard under the FACEBOOK INSTRUCTIONS AND TEMPLATE icon. Read the section entitled FACEBOOK INSTRUCTIONS for a clear understanding of what is expected of you.

It is a group project, so to get the max amount of points available (100), you will need to work effectively in a group to complete the assignment in a timely and efficient manner.

Instructions for how groups will be assigned can also be found in the FACEBOOK INSTRUCTIONS tab inside the FACEBOOK TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS folder of Web CT/Blackboard.

DISCUSSION POINTS EXPLAINED

Throughout the semester there will be assigned discussions either in class, or on Web CT. Participation in the discussions is crucial to getting the points assigned to that discussion.

Your responses will be evaluated on the quality, not the quantity of response that you give. This is your opportunity to state your opinion based on the information read in the book, presented in class or viewed concerning the topic of discussion. Simply restating what someone else wrote, or agreeing with a previous post will not get you points.

You must think critically, and come up with a well-formed, unique response to the discussion at hand. To get full credit for a discussion you must write an original post, and reply to at least one other student’s post.

BOOK REVIEW EXPLAINEDYou will be required to pick a book on a historical topic, person, place or event from the beginning of time to 1865, read the book and then write a review of it.

You must get instructor approval on your book choice. Tips for writing the review and a rubric for how it will be graded will be provided to you in Blackboard.

You must use either the Vernon College Library or Midwestern State University Library to obtain your book.

MIDTERM EXAM EXPLAINED It is important to point out that the midterm exam is

worth 200 points of your overall semester grade. Therefore, it is crucial that each student attend and complete the midterm.

The midterm will cover the first seven chapters of the book as well as all assigned readings and lectures from that time period. Students will not be allowed to utilize their textbook on this midterm exam. The midterm exam will consist of the following:

10 Identifications: 100 points (10 points each) 1 Essay: 100 points

It is important to note that there will be 3-4 essays on the test. You will pick the one you feel most comfortable writing about, and write on it.

MIDTERM EXAM (Cont.)IDENTIFICATIONS (ID’s):

On ID’s I am looking for enough information that I know that you know exactly who/what you are talking about.

Example of a bad ID:

George Washington- A great old guy with bad teeth.

Example of a good ID:

George Washington- First president of the United States. Commander and chief of the continental army during the Revolutionary War. Served under the British in the French and Indian war.

There will be 15 ID’s on the test. You will pick 10 and write on them.

ESSAYS:

On the essays, pick the one you feel most comfortable writing about.

The essays need to be 1.5 to 2 pages in length, but they can be longer if they need to be.

Make sure you understand what the question is asking and make sure that you answer each

question fully. Partially answered questions get partial points.

FINAL EXAM EXPLAINED

The final exam is identical to the midterm, except for a few small changes. The final will be given on a date to be determined. It will consist of all the material covered since the Midterm Exam. The format will be identical to the midterm.

 

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAM FOR ONLINE STUDENTS EXPLAINED Anyone taking this class online is required to take

their midterm and final exam at a college or university testing center near them.

If you are living in the Wichita Falls area, you may make arrangements to take it at the Century City testing center by emailing itctesting@vernoncollege.edu.

If you are living somewhere else, you must make arrangements with a college or university testing center near you to take the test.

I will need the phone number of the place you are taking the test, and the name of the person who runs that testing center. You must provide me with that, or you cannot take the test.

MIDTERM AND FINAL FOR ONLINE STUDENTS (CONT.)I will provide you with the test, and the

proctor will provide you with the guidelines I have set for you to take the test.

Arrangements need to be made no later than one week before the test is to be taken.

Remember, you have one week to complete the midterm and one week to complete the final. They can be taken any time within those respective weeks.

USE OF ACCEPTABLE WEBSITES

Obviously, there are thousands of different websites that you could use to complete the many assignments in this class.

However, the use of websites such as Wikipedia, word press, 123 Help Me, and other less than reputable websites is forbidden in this class.

Here are a list of some, but certainly not all, reputable websites that you may use when conducting research for this class. (See list at right)

http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/

This handy site from Duke University shows how to document books, journal articles, and other kinds of sources in FOUR of the most commonly used style formats. 

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/

This is a great website for learning how to cite papers correctly. Pay special attention to the section that says Chicago, History. That is Chicago Manual of Style.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

This is the History Channel website, and a great one if you enjoy history.

http://www.hnn.us/

This site is a good one if you want to get news on how history affects the world around you.

http://www.vernoncollege.edu/library/indexnew.html

This is the Vernon College library website, and can be accessed on or off campus. There are links to databases as well as the online catalog. This is a very good resource for you to use when researching a topic.

Other reputable sites include Regional and National Historical Association websites, as well as college and university websites.

Above all, DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA!!!!! Or any of the other sites listed on the left side of this page.

ATTENDANCE EXPLAINED This class is taught in an online (for those of you taking online

courses), and a face-to face (for those of you in face to face courses) learning environment. If this does not match your inclinations, habits, or schedule you should make adjustments accordingly.

Attendance and class participation are essential, expected and required. I expect you to be in class, on time and have completed the assigned readings before each class session.

For anyone taking the class online, your attendance and participation are measured by your appearance in weekly discussion forums, and your timely completion of assignments. Anyone who does not complete discussions and assignments in a timely manner will not receive full points for those assignments.

If you are absent 6 times during the semester, your final grade will be automatically lowered by one letter grade. If you are absent 10 or more times, you will automatically fail this class. A student arriving late or leaving early is subject to being counted absent.

CIVILITY IN THE CLASSROOM

Troublesome behavior in the classroom may be classified as anything that disturbs the instructor or other students during the class period. Listed below are a few (but certainly not all) examples of such behavior:

Cellular phones or IPods (See video at right)

Challenges to the instructor’s authority

The “I paid for this” mentality

Leaving the lecture early or arriving late to class

Sleeping

Reading newspapers, magazines, and the like during class

Overt inattentiveness

If you are in an online class the above does not apply except to say that civility will be maintained in the weekly discussion forums and assignments that you turn in.

CHALLENGES TO THE INSTRUCTOR’S AUTHORITYWill not be tolerated in this class. You will be asked to leave.

THE “I PAID FOR THIS” MENTALITY

If you do not receive the grade you wanted on the test, it is no one’s fault but your own.

Do not assume that because you paid “good money” for this class, you are automatically entitled to make an A.

Hard work pays off. Do the work, and you will get the grade.

ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT

CHEATING: Dishonesty on examinations and quizzes or on written assignments, illegal possessions of examinations, the use of unauthorized notes during an examination or quiz, obtaining information during an examination from the examination paper or otherwise from another student, assisting others to cheat, alteration of grade records, illegal entry to or unauthorized presence in an office are instances of cheating.

PLAGIARISM:

Offering the work of another as one’s own, without proper acknowledgement, is plagiarism; therefore any student who fails to give credit for quotations or an essentially identical expression of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines, and other reference works, or from themes, reports, or other writings of a fellow student, is guilty of plagiarism.

Plagiarism (representing someone else’s work as your own), cheating on tests, and other examples of dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class.

 

SANCTIONS RELATED TO VIOLATIONS OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITYThe following text concerning these matters is taken straight from the Vernon College Student Handbook:

“Sanctions Related to Violations of Academic Integrity. The sanctions for academic dishonesty include but are not limited to:  1. A grade of zero on an exam or assignment  2. An “F” in a course 3. Administrative withdrawal from a class with a possible recommendation of disciplinary sanctions”. (Vernon College Student Handbook 2007-2008, p.7-9)

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact me as soon as possible so that necessary accommodations can be made.

USING VERNON COLLEGE’S LIBRARY RESOURCES

The Vernon College, Century City campus library is open practically all week, and is eager to help with your learning needs. Their schedule is:

Monday-Thursday: 8am to 9pm

Friday: 8am to 12 noon

Saturday: 8am to 2pm

The library allows free use of its computer lab, as well as free printing. Copies only cost $10 cents.

Your instructor works there and will be happy to help you M-TH from 5pm to 9pm. (See video at right)

SOME QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD NOT ASK…

Will this be on the test? If it is mentioned in class, in the text, given out to you or posted on Web CT, it is important and you are responsible for knowing it.  I was absent Monday, did I miss anything? On a good day your teacher will say: “No, I just babbled nonsense for fifty minutes.”  Do you count off for English? Your class is taught in English, not Hindi or Finnish. My primary concern is your mastery of the material, but abysmal English can hurt your grade. All college students should own a good dictionary. Sadly, you cannot bring it to exams. When is the test? This is on the syllabus or will be revealed to you in plenty of time. 

FINAL THOUGHTSDon’t Plagiarize!

Don’t Cheat!

Above all, do the work, and the grades will come. If you are having problems, contact me. I am more than happy to help you with anything that helps you do better in my class.

Don’t end up like the grad student in this film clip! (See clip at right)