History H106: United States
History From 1865 to the Present (Sect. C349)
Dr.
Grace Mary Gouveia Location:
CA 217
Office: Cavanaugh 243B Time: TR
4:00-5:15 p.m.
Phone:
278-2651
Office
Hours: TR 11:30-12:30, TR 2:30-3:30, & by appointment
Course Description: History 106 covers the
period after the Civil War to the present.
It examines the economic, political, and social transformation of the
United States into an industrial nation and world superpower. The special
focus, however, will be to examine the social and cultural changes within the
United States during this time frame.
Course Requirements: This is a survey course in
U.S. History, which means that we will cover a lot of material in a very short
time. Thus, it is important that
students do the reading before coming to class and students should be in class
at the required time. I often do not
lecture from the book, and, since exams will encompass lectures as well as
readings, you need to be in class.
There will be a total of four exams; two written assignments based on
the books, The Bread Givers and Coming of Age in Mississippi; and four
two-page take-home exam questions (only the two best will be averaged). You are responsible for all the reading,
whether or not I lecture about during the course.
Course Texts:
Mary
Beth Norton, et. al., A People and A
Nation, Vol. II.
Anzia
Yezierska, Bread Givers
Anne
Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
Grade Determination: Course grades will be based
on the following:
Each
exam will be worth 15% of the final grade (total 60%), the book essays will
comprise 20%, and the take-home essays will be worth the final 20%. Each examination will be consist of multiple
choice questions and will be taken on the dates indicated. Material will be drawn from all readings,
lectures, and videos. Make-up exams
will be scheduled only in cases of documented illness or other
extenuating emergency.
Written
assignments should be typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins around page,
11cpi, Times New Roman (or similar font--no italics or fancy fonts). Students
should utilize proper grammar and spelling; I usually mark spelling and grammar
mistakes, BUT only excessive
mistakes will reduce the final grade.
Remember, what I can not read, I can not grade.
The
question for each book is attached and can be completed and turned in at any
time during the semester, but must be submitted by the assigned day. Those submitted after the due date will be
penalized by a full grade reduction for each week or portion of a week that it
is late. No late papers will be
accepted after two weeks.
Although
you will also be required to write four take-home essays, only the best two
will be counted. These will be due on
the date indicated--no late essays will be accepted.
Improvement
does count. At the end of the semester,
I will average all exam grades and substitute that average for your lowest
grade. In addition, at the end of the
semester, if a grade is borderline, regular class attendance, class
participation, and improvement will be taken into account.
The
grading scale will be a straight 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, etc. Pluses and minuses
are 3 points above/below the grade cutoff.
Miscellaneous: As a college student, the
ability to take good notes is necessary and improves with practice. Thus, I do not make notes available to
students and tape recorders are not allowed in class. Cell phones and pagers should be turned off during class. Please do not eat or sleep in the class--do
this before or after class. In
addition, discussions that are not related to this class should not take place
during class time and work from other classes should not be brought into H106.
Attendance: Students are expected to attend all class meetings. According to university policy, attendance
will be taken. Being in class is particularly
important because my lectures do not always follow the text. Information from lectures will be necessary
to do well on examinations.
Students
will be allowed three (3) absences. I
do not need to know the reason for these.
After three absences, however, you will lose 5 points per missed class. If there is an extenuating circumstance
(such as a death in the family, hospitalization, etc.) you will need
documentation. It will still be your
responsibility to get notes and do the work required of the rest of the class.
Academic Honesty: The University has
guidelines for proper academic behavior.
Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of intellectual dishonesty will
not be tolerated.
Essays
For
help with writing essays, visit the instructors in the Writing Center CA-427.
In
writing essays you will be required to use standard English grammar and
usage. This includes using complete
sentences, but not run-on sentences.
Spell-check AND proof-reading should be employed. Most students seem to rely on spell-check,
BUT this will not check homonyms (sound-alike words), such as they're, there, and their; omitted words (words you leave out); many proper nouns; or
words that you misspell, but are actual words, no when you meant now. Most spell-checks will not check usage, such
as such as accept/except, a while/awhile, effect/affect. That is why
you need to proof-read your paper and/or have someone else proof-read.
When
quoting, always identify the speaker; do not simply drop in quotes without
identification. Use long quotations
only when absolutely necessary.
You also need to use quotation marks and proper citation. You may use MLA or APA styles of
citation. Any quotation over three
lines should be centered, indented, and no quotation marks are used.
Use
proper paragraph formation. A paragraph
is a group of sentences that work together to develop one idea or topic. Paragraphs should be at least three
sentences in length. Paragraphs should
have focus, unity, and coherence.
An
essay should have an introduction and conclusion. The body of your essay contains the information that answers your
research question or thesis statement.
Tentative
Course Outline and Assignments
Part 1. Reconstruction
READ: Norton, et. al.,
A People and A Nation- Chapter 16
Part 2. The Gilded Age,
1877-1900
The West and the
"New" South
Industrialization
and Consolidation
The Growth of the
City
READ: Norton, et. al A People and A Nation -
Chapters 17-20
Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers
Part 3. The Progressive Era
and Social Reform, 1900-1920
READ: Norton, et. al., A People and A Nation
- Chapter 21
EXAM I- September 18
Part 4. Policy of
Expansionism: Gilded Age to 1917
READ: Norton, et. al.,
A People and A Nation - Chapter 22
Part 5. World War I
READ: Norton, et. al.,
A People and A Nation - Chapter 23
Part 6. The Roaring Twenties
and the Great Depression
READ: Norton, et. al., A People and A Nation -
Chapters 24-25
EXAM II- October 16
Part 7. The New Deal
READ: Norton, et. al., A People and A Nation -
Chapter 25
Part 8. Isolationism to War
READ: Norton, et. al., A People and A Nation -
Chapter 26
Part 9. World War II, The
Start of the Cold War, 1950s
READ: Norton, et. al.,
A People and A Nation - Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29 (pp.
549-562)
EXAM III - November 13
Part 10. Civil Rights
Movement and the Turbulent Sixties
READ: Norton, et. al., A People and A Nation - Chapter 28 and Chapter 31 (pp.
604-617)
Anne
Moody, Coming of Age In Mississippi
Part 11. Vietnam and
Aftermath
READ: Norton, et. al.,
A People and A Nation - Chapters 30-31
Part 12. 1970s - 1980s
READ: Norton, A People and A Nation - Chapters
31-33
FINAL EXAM December
14 3:30 - 5:30PM
Bread Givers Essay Due: October 4
Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay Due: November 27
Short Essay #1 Due: September 11
Short Essay #2 Due: October 11
Short Essay #3 Due: November 9
Short Essay #4 Due: December 6