Instructor: Bill Nixon
Cavanaugh Hall Room 217
Tuesday and Thursday 1-2:15 pm
Email: wnixon@indiana.edu
Telephone: leave messages at 274-3811
Office: Cavanaugh Hall Room 313-U
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 11-12:30 pm, and by appointment

This three-credit hour course surveys American history from the aftermath of the Civil War through the present. You will be able to identify the important social and political developments during this period and understand how these developments affected the daily lives of Americans. A basic guide to the topics that we will be covering can be found in the class headings listed below in the weekly schedule. There are no prerequisites for H106.

The objective of H106 is for you to gain an understanding of specific historical questions and to further the broader learning process. Consistent with IUPUI's Principles of Undergraduate Learning, we will pursue this objective in several ways. First, this class places great emphasis on the development of writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills within the framework of learning American history. You will be encouraged to analyze carefully and logically historical issues from multiple perspectives, and apply your insights to your community. We will also spend time exploring how historians approach questions about the past. Finally, by gaining a better understanding of the historical basis of contemporary America, you will be better able to recognize the diversity of the American experience, and be better informed to make judgments with respect to citizenship.

Irwin Unger, These United States, Volume II: Since 1865, Concise Edition

John Kasson, Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century

J. William T. Youngs, Eleanor Roosevelt: A Personal and Public Life, Second Edition

Harvard Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality: 1954-1992, Revised Edition

In addition, you are required to bring one index card to each class.

Grading will be based on four elements: attendance and participation (worth 10 percent of total grade), in-class assignments (10 percent), one writing assignment (20 percent), and three exams (worth 20 percent each for a total of 60 percent).

Your final course grade will be calculated using the 4.0 GPA scale based on your grades from each of these four elements weighed according the above stated percentages. Students whose work demonstrates excellence will receive a grade of A or A- (4.0 or 3.7); students whose work is above average will receive a grade of B+ (3.3), B (3.0), or B- (2.7); students whose work is satisfactory will receive a grade of C+ (2.3), C (2.0), or C- (1.7); students whose work is below average will receive a grade of D+ (1.3), D (1.0), or D- (0.7); students whose work is unsatisfactory will receive a grade of F (0.0).

A grade of Incomplete (I) will be given only in unusual circumstances in accordance with the established Guidelines of the School of Liberal Arts, and only for students who have successfully completed at least 75 percent of the required course. It is the responsibility of students who expect to be unable to finish the required work to contact me before the end of the semester and make arrangements to complete the work.

Because attending class and participating in class discussion facilitates learning, and because departmental policy requires that I take attendance, this element is worth 10 percent of your final course grade. To encourage you to accept responsibility for your attendance and participation, you will grade yourself at the end of each class session using a four-point scale. In order to do this you must bring one index card to each class. After each class session you will grade yourself as follows:

0 = Absent
1 = Present
2 = Present and participated
3 = Participated more than once
4 = Contributed fair share to the class in terms of both quality and quantity

To be clear, you will be grading yourself. I will not lower your attendance and participation grade from each session, though I reserve the right to raise it when I believe it is justified by your participation. I will, however, communicate privately in those cases where I believe the self-reported grades do not accurately reflect performance. Your final course grade for attendance and participation will be calculated based on the total from every class session grade.

Absences will be excused only in documented cases of an illness, valid emergency, or outside obligation recognized by IUPUI. It is your responsibility to provide me with documentation for your absence. In the case of excused absences, the attendance and participation grade will be calculated based on a smaller number of classes.

Because successful learning occurs best when students are actively engaged in the class, we will have a graded in-class assignment every week. These may require you to respond to the assigned readings, to other materials such as primary sources, to lectures, and/or to completed exams (after each exam you will complete an in-class assignment about the exam you just took). These assignments will be graded by me using the 4.0 GPA scale, and your final course grade for in-class assignments will be calculated based on the total from every in-class assignment grade. In the case of excused absences, the in-class assignment grade will be calculated based on a smaller number of classes.

Because the ability to express ideas and facts to others effectively in a written format is an invaluable communication skill, you will complete one take-home paper during the semester. The paper will be on an assigned topic that will be distributed in class and is due as indicated on the course schedule. The assignment will be graded by me using the 4.0 GPA scale. Late papers will be graded down one whole letter grade per week late (for example, a week-late B quality paper will receive a grade of C).

Your paper must be submitted typed in 12-point font (no 10-point font), double spaced, proofread, and stapled. Papers not in compliance with these basic requirements will be returned by me without a grade.

In compliance with IUPUI's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III.A.3, turning in work that adopts or reproduces ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in a grade of F for the assignment, and will be dealt with by me in accordance with IUPUI's Academic Misconduct Procedures for Academic Misconduct Related to a Course. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, consult the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct and speak with me.

Because examinations focus critical thinking and foster core communicative skills, you will take three exams over the course of the semester. Each exam will consist of two essays and several short-answer identifications. The exams are in-class and closed book. They are not cumulative. Make-up exams will be given only to students with a valid, documented, excused absence. The exams will be graded by me using the 4.0 GPA scale, and your final course grade for exams will be calculated based on the total from the three exam grades.

In compliance with IUPUI's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III.A.1, using unauthorized assistance, materials, information, or study aids constitutes cheating. Cheating will result in a grade of F for the assignment, and will be dealt with by me in accordance with IUPUI's Academic Misconduct Procedures for Academic Misconduct Related to a Course. If you are uncertain about what constitutes cheating, consult the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct and speak with me.

More than anything else, my goal in this course is to ensure that we have a class room that promotes academic excellence in an atmosphere of freedom that protects our collective commitment to mutual respect. To enhance the learning process for all students in this course, there are a few basic policies that will govern class room etiquette. Naturally, all students are expected to be in compliance with IUPUI's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct. By listing these policies I am not adjusting the Code, but simply setting out some bright lines for conduct. Please note that in accordance with IUPUI's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III.A.5, you are bound to comply with these policies.

We must all be civil and respectful of each other. We do not have to agree, but we agree that if we do disagree, we will disagree without being disagreeable.

Because it disrupts the learning environment, there is no sleeping, no eating (drinking of non-alcoholic beverages is ok), no bubble-gum chewing (non-bubble gum is acceptable), no reading of non-course related materials, and no discussion that is not directly related to what we are doing in class.

All cell phones, pagers, and beepers will be turned off during class. If there is a reason you cannot comply with this policy, it is your responsibility to explain this reason to me prior to class.

We will start and end each class on time. All breaks will end at the time indicated. If you must leave class early or arrive late, you will do so with a minimal amount of disruption.

You will bring your syllabus and text book with you to each class, and whatever other book we are currently reading.

The following is a weekly schedule indicating class topic and the assigned reading for that week, and the dates for exams and the paper. You can read the required readings for each week either before or after class, however you must complete the reading prior to the next week. Please note that this schedule is a general overview for our class. As such, it is tentative and subject to change as necessary.