United States History I Syllabus for 2018-2019
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Course

HIST-1301-012 United States History I

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: RDNG 0331-minimum grade of C or a score on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading skills

Course Description

A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/Reconstruction period. United States History I includes the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and the Civil War/Reconstruction eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History I include: American settlement and diversity, American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, and creation of the federal government.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Hybrid

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, second edition, by Bill Offutt. It is required, but not needed until later in the semester. Do not purchase the first edition because it is significantly different from the required edition.

You will also be using a free online textbook, The American YAWP, accessible on the web. The bookstore will also have low-cost paper copies available sometime after the start of the semester for students who wish to have a physical copy.

Supplies

You are required to have regular access to a personal computer with reliable internet access.

Students with a laptop or tablet are encouraged to bring it to class.

Student Performance

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Create an argument through the use of historical evidence.
2. Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.
3. Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period in United States history.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

You are expected to follow all Amarillo College policies and procedures, particularly those relating to academic integrity and personal conduct. The following are of particular importance:

• Be respectful: to provide an environment that encourages free expression we must treat each other with dignity and respect. Students who behave inappropriately will receive no participation credit for the day and in more extreme circumstances may face disciplinary action from the college.
• Don't use electronic devices in class, including phones, computers, etc unless specifically directed to; there will be times when technology use is appropriate, and others when it is not. Devices should be put away and silenced when not in use; students who are expecting a phone call may step out of class if they need to take it. Requests to use a computer to take notes are not automatically granted: students must present a compelling case as to why this is necessary.
• Don't commit plagiarism: you must properly cite sources used in your work. Failing to provide citations will result in significant grading penalties. If willful plagiarism is involved the assignment will receive a failing grade and at the instructor's discretion you may fail the course and/or face disciplinary action from the college.
• Do your own work: while it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged to study together, you may not collaborate with others on any work that receives a grade unless specifically authorized. It is never acceptable to pass off others' work as your own, including having others take exams for you, buying papers, etc. Cheating will result in harsh penalties imposed at the instructor's discretion including failure of the assessment, failure of the course, and disciplinary action from the college.

Course materials created by your professor, including assignments, handouts, lectures, and similar materials and derivative works such as course notes are protected by copyright and for personal educational use only, and may not be reproduced, distributed, sold, bartered, or publicly posted to the Internet without your professor’s express written permission.

Do not record the class without your instructor's permission.

You are responsible for taking the proper steps to solve technical problems with technology used in the class: a list of support resources has been provided for you under the “help” section of the course’s Blackboard site. It it particularly important to give yourself enough time to work through technical issues before due dates: because you will be given ample time to complete your work, technical problems will not be an acceptable excuse for failing to meet deadlines. Your professor is not a technical support person and will simply refer you to the “help” section if you come to him with technical problems, but you are encouraged to speak with him if you are unable to reach a resolution after consulting the appropriate resources.

The best way to get in touch with your professor is through email. Please email your professor using the "Send Email" tool in the Blackboard course menu. Please observe the proper etiquette for business emails when contacting your professor: provide a descriptive yet concise subject in addition to a professional salutation and closing; additionally, you should write in complete sentences and avoid net- or text-speak. Most workplaces use email, so this should be good practice for you.

You should check your school email each weekday, particularly before leaving for school: Dr. Fauss will occasionally send out reminders and other important information via email. If class is cancelled, an email will be sent out as early in the day as possible.

Email is not an instantaneous form of communication: Dr. Fauss checks his email at least once a day Monday through Friday, which means that usually, but not always, you will get a response within 24 hours. Emails received over the weekend may not be replied to until the following Monday.

Grading Criteria

Graded components

Exams

You will be taking four timed multiple-choice online exams. These will count 50% of your course grade. The lowest exam score will be dropped. This will begin factoring into your grade after the second exam.

You must complete the exam during the availability period. Rescheduling when an exam is taken is acceptable if and only if the student makes this request well in advance of the exam becoming available. 

Because the lowest exam is dropped, students who miss exams will generally not be allowed to retake them.

Module quizzes

Each module will have a timed quiz that is to be completed two hours prior to the class that goes over it. These quizzes will be taken in Blackboard. No late quizzes may be made up, but the lowest quiz score will be dropped (this will be factored in after the third quiz). The average of the chapter quizzes will be 10% of your course grade.

Documents paper

You will be completing a paper analyzing historical documents. The paper will be 15% of your course grade. The assignment will be handed out in hard copy in class and will also be found attached to the dropbox in Blackboard (this will be located in the "content" folder). You will be able to see the rubric used to grade the paper in "My Grades" in Blackboard.

Late papers will receive a 2-point penalty for each day late, with the remainder of the day the paper is due counting as the first day. After five days, the late penalty will increase to 15 points per day late (the original 5 days will still have only have 2 points deducted).

Attendance/participation

Attending class is vital to your success. Random days will be picked in order to calculate this component of your grade (which counts 10%): one absence among these days will not count against you. Because the class is based upon the flipped model, you must be prepared for class and contribute to the activities we will be doing. Being unprepared (the instructor will check that students have completed the online videos, and it is usually apparent whether or not a student failed to complete the reading) or inattentive will result in days being counted as absences.

RTTP participation

During Reacting to the Past game sessions, you will be expected to be working towards your character's objectives, contributing to discussions, et cetera. Simply listening will not earn you a high grade. You will also be doing online work. This will be worth 10% of your course grade. If you are absent from class, you will be unable to participate.

RTTP speech

You will be expected to deliver a short speech during one of the Reacting to the Past sessions. The speech will be 5% of your course grade. Requests to move your speech to a different date may not be granted and will only be considered if you make the request well before class and have a legitimate reason to do so.

Electronic submission policies

You must submit your documents paper to Blackboard in Microsoft Word format. Google Docs, which every Amarillo College student has access to, has the ability to export files to this format, so there is no reason why you will be unable to meet this requirement.

It is also your responsibility to verify that your paper was submitted correctly. After submission, you will be able to see your paper in the Box viewer (in the middle of the web page). If something is amiss, you will be able to resubmit your work once, but you must do so within an hour. Attempts submitted after an hour will not be assessed (the first attempt will be used instead).

Extra credit

There will be no extra credit awarded in the class.

Display and calculation of grades by Blackboard

Your current grade will be available in Blackboard under "My Grades" in the course menu. Your grade is calculated as a running total, meaning that the grade is only based upon the material submitted as of the time you check. Your running total will be calculated based upon the weighting of the different categories of grades, so for example, exams will always calculate as 60% of the total, even if only one exam is in; as more grades come in within the category, the grade will change, but it will still be calculated with the category weighting.

Final grade calculation

Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria:

90-100 = A

80-89 = B

70-79 = C

60-69 = D

Below 60 = F

Your final grade will be rounded to the next highest integer.

Withdrawal policy

You must get your instructor's permission before you may withdraw from the class. You must initiate the withdrawal process on or before February 25: after obtaining permission, you must complete a withdrawal form (your instructor will provide this to you) and submit it to the registrar with his and your advisor's signatures. The withdrawal process can be handled in person or via email.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. If you come in late after attendance is taken, it is your responsibility to inform your instructor that you were present.

Students who are more than 15 minutes late will be counted as absent.

Students who leave early without speaking with the instructor first will be counted as absent unless the student faced a true emergency.

No absences will be excused.

Calendar

Additional Information

This class is a hybrid class, meaning that half of the content will be delivered in an online format. Even though we are meeting half as much, you will generally be putting in at least as much time as you would for an in-person class through watching videos, taking quizzes, engaging in discussions, etc.

This class is based upon the flipped model, which assumes that students will be prepared for in-class activities that build off of work done outside of class. Students who are unprepared may be asked to complete preparatory work separate from the class before being allowed to join in.

This class features a Reacting to the Past game where you will step into the shoes of people in history and engaging in structured roleplaying. Most students find Reacting to the Past to be fun and engaging, but because it requires public speaking, some students may be anxious about this particular format. If this is you, please speak with your instructor as soon as possible. Nearly every student who has come to Dr. Fauss with these concerns in advance has been able to develop strategies to successfully participate in class and complete the requirements for the game(s).

The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus and calendar if needed.