U.S. History I
HIST 2211
Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Mondays, 1:00-4:30
Fall 2007

Course Description:
Survey of U.S. History to about 1876, including such topics as indigenous peoples, exploration, colonial times, the American Revolution and Constitution, the young republic, growth of democracy, territorial expansion, slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction.

Course Goals:
To increase students’ knowledge of how historians and social scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.

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

• Employ the methods and data that historians use to investigate the human condition.
• Examine social institutions and processes during the early history of the United States.
• Demonstrate an understanding of Native American life and how it changed after European settlement on the North American continent
• Explain the causes and results of the American Revolution and the development of the Early Republic
• Understand American slavery and its role in the Civil War
• Explain changes in American social life and gender roles before the Civil War
• Demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the Civil War
• Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues based on our early American history.

 In addition to these content-related objectives, students will also be expected to develop basic academic and critical-thinking skills in this course, including:

• Learn how to frame questions for discussion, as well as how to participate respectfully in discussions and debates with fellow classmates
• Organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly in written form
• Practice how to select and present information and arguments within a restricted environment, particularly the limitations of time in exams
• Learn how to answer questions by thinking critically about each issue -- not just memorize data
•  Develop an ability to compare and contrast different viewpoints, while understanding the merits of both points of view

 Readings/Texts: (books available for purchase in the ARCC bookstore):

*Please bring the book or printed-out reading that is assigned for a particular day.  It is very useful to have these materials during discussion.  You may leave all other books at home.*

1.      Who Built America, Volume I, by The American Social History Project 

2.      Discovering the American Past, Volume I, by William Wheeler and Susan Becker

3.      Classic Slave Narratives, Henry Louis Gates, ed.

4.     Selected readings on e-reserve on the ARCC library's webpage.  Instructions for accessing these materials electronically will be linked from the class schedule webpage.  Don’t wait until the last minute to access these items electronically, in case you have computer problems.    Computer problems are not an excuse for incomplete work.

5.      Selected readings on the internet.  Follow links from the on-line course schedule.  I strongly recommend that you print out these readings before class -- you can take notes on the reading, and you will be able to consult the reading during our class discussion.  Again, computer problems are not an excuse for incomplete work.

Assignments and Grading: 

Grades in this course will be based upon the following work:

1. Attendance and Participation: 20% of final grade
   Students are required to attend each class.  If you must miss class, you must inform me beforehand to have your absence “excused,” and arrange to make up missed work.  It is your responsibility to get the lecture and discussion notes from a classmate.  Since we have such a small number of class meetings, attendance each week is important.  "Excused" absences are documented, and are for reasons such as severe illness, military service, required school activities, etc.  Please check with me if you are unsure about your absence. (i.e. being scheduled to work during our class time is not an excused absence, so please plan ahead to ensure you can attend each class.)    If you are asked to leave class, your attendance for that day will not be counted. If you leave class early (at the break) you will be credited for the portion of class you did attend.
   
   Each week will include time for student discussion of the assigned readings.  You are required to do the reading assignments before class and come prepared to discuss the reading.  Your participation grade may also include periodic quizzes or in-class writing assignments.  We will also establish an on-line forum for course discussion through D2L, where you must contribute a "post" at least TWICE per week, with a deadline of Noon on Mondays.  Your grade will be based upon in-class discussion AND your contributions to the on-line discussion.  Your contributions to the D2L discussions will be evaluated on both the quantity and quality of your posts. (i.e. are you reading what other students are writing?  do you respond?  are your posts thoughtful and informed by the readings? etc.) 
   
   Part of being an engaged and respectful participant in class discussion is being an engaged and respectful listener.  Students who engage in disruptive behavior (whispering, chatting or laughing, passing notes, sending text messages, etc.) during lecture or discussion may be asked to leave class AND/OR may be required to write a paper about the day's lecture topic.  This paper will be a required part of your attendance/participation grade and will be due the next class period.  If you do not submit this required paper at the next class period, I will count one extra absence against your attendance grade for each day the paper is late.
   
   In the event that class is canceled, I will make every effort to inform students ahead of time.  Use of your metnet e-mail account will be very helpful in this situation.  In the event of a cancellation, it is likely that the Schedule of Readings and Assignments will be changed to reflect the cancelled class.  It is YOUR responsibility to check the class website and familiarize yourself with the changes before our next class meeting so that you are prepared for class discussion and potential reading quizzes.
   
   
2. Midterm Exam: 25% of final grade
   The midterm exam will be given in class.  Consult the course schedule for the date of the midterm.  If you must be absent for the midterm due to a documented, excused absence, you must make arrangements IN ADVANCE to take a make-up exam.
   
   
3. Final Exam: 25% of final grade
   The final exam will be given during the final exam period.  Again, if you must miss the final exam due to a documented, excused absence, you must make arrangements IN ADVANCE to take the exam at another time.
   
   
4. Short writing assignments and reading quizzes, 30% of final grade
   I will give 9 surprise reading quizzes throughout the course.  These will be short quizzes composed of short answer questions, and will test your comprehension of the reading materials that are assigned for discussion on that particular day.  Having "computer problems" with internet or reserve readings is not an acceptable excuse for being unprepared.  Plan ahead to make sure you have the necessary readings.  
   
   At the end of the course, I will take your best 8 grades -- which means that the 9^th grade will not count.  This means that your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.  No make up quizzes will be offered, so be sure to attend class!  (If you miss class the day we take a quiz, you will receive a zero for that quiz.) The 8 quizzes which will count towards your grade will therefore be worth approximately 4% each.  Committing academic dishonesty (see statement below) on any single quiz will result in failure for the quiz portion of your course grade.

Academic Integrity Statement: 

Each student is required to uphold standards of academic honesty.  What will be considered academic dishonesty (and may result in a student failing the assignment or the course) is “cheating:” turning in someone else’s work as your own, or “plagiarism:” turning in work without proper acknowledgment of the sources of the content contained within the work.  In other words, all writing must be in your own words and reflect your own thoughts -- not copied from another person’s work, or a published source, or taken from the internet.  We will discuss plagiarism in class so there is no confusion.