Syllabus for History M07A:
Social and Political
History of the United States: Prehistory through 1877
Spring 2007, W
7:00-9:50, Moorpark College, Room HSS-203
Instructor: Krister Swanson, e-mail kswanson@vcccd.edu
webpage: www.angelfire.com/retro/clu89/m07a.htm
Course
Description and Objectives:
This course focuses on the creation and development of
American society to 1865, analyzing the impact of both individuals and groups.
It will explore the colonial foundation of American cultural heritage; the
growth of US political party system; women and social reform; the institution
of and movement to abolish slavery; and the Civil War, including its causes and
repercussions. This course partially satisfies the Title V United States
History, Constitution, and American Ideals requirement.
Plagiarism:
You are responsible for understanding the Moorpark College
code of academic practice (available online at http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/catalog/policies.html
). Any student who plagiarizes in
this class will receive an �F� grade and be referred to the Dean of Student
Learning.
Grading:
Your course grade will be determined by your performance on
the following assignments:
1)
Your Choice of:
Primary Source Discussion Leadership (30 points, or
10%): We will discuss one set of primary source documents in each class
session, and each of you will be responsible for leading a 15-20 minute
discussion of one set of documents during the course of the semester.
Or�
PowerPoint Presentation (30 points, or 10%):
This is intended to be a fun and informative activity for you and the whole
class. Pick a topic of interest
related to one of the lecture topics and develop a PowerPoint presentation,
complete with well-organized text and helpful images, for presentation to the
class. The goal is an interesting
and informative 10-15 minute presentation that strengthens our understanding of
your topic.
You need to sign up for your discussion or
PowerPoint topic with me no later than January 24th.
2) Midterm Exam (60 points, or 20%): A traditional in class exam
scheduled for March 7th.
Please make sure you bring a 50 question scantron form and a bluebook
(both available in the Moorpark College bookstore) with you.
3) Final Exam (60 points, or 20%): A
traditional in class exam scheduled for May 16th. Please make sure you bring a 50
question scantron form and a bluebook (both available in the Moorpark College
bookstore) with you.
4) Short Research Paper (60 points, or 20%): This 5-7 page paper based
entirely on primary source documents related to a particular topic. We will discuss the specific
requirements of this paper in class on January 31st, in the meantime
you need to begin developing a paper proposal that outlines your proposed topic
and the documents you plan to use, this proposal is due February 14th. The final paper is due on May 2nd.
5) Attendance and Class Participation (90 points,
or 30%): This category
is fairly self-explanatory, you need to be here and your active participation
is vital to a successful academic experience. You will lose 10 points for each
missed class session. I will break
this grade down into three 30-point assignments. These grades will be recorded
on 2/7, 3/21, and 5/9.
On each assignment you will receive a certain number of
points out of the points possible.
At the end of the course I will divide the total points you have earned
by 300 to determine your percentage.
From that point the standard grading scale (90-100%=A, 80-89.9=B,
70-79.9=C, 60-69.9=D, 0-59.9=F) will be used to determine your final grade for
the course.
Course
Schedule:
Date |
Assigned Reading/Assignments Due |
1/10 |
Introduction |
1/17 |
Chapter 4 |
1/24 |
Chapter 5 Sign Ups for Discussion/PowerPoint Topics |
1/31 |
Chapter 6 Discussion of Research paper Requirements |
2/7 |
Chapter 7 First Attendance and Participation Grade |
2/14 |
Chapter 8 Paper Topics Due |
2/21 |
Chapter 9 |
2/28 |
No Reading - Midterm Review |
3/7 |
Midterm Exam |
3/14 |
Chapter 10 |
3/21 |
Chapter 11 Second Attendance and Participation Grade |
3/28 |
Chapter 12 |
4/4 |
No Class – Spring Break |
4/11 |
Chapter 13 |
4/18 |
Chapter 14 |
4/25 |
Chapter 15 |
5/2 |
Chapter 16 Research Paper Due |
5/9 |
No Reading – Final Exam Review Third Attendance and Participation Grade |
5/16 |
Final Exam |
The course schedule is subject to change; in the event of a
schedule change notice will be given via e-mail.