Syllabus

H105 Section C358

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00pm – 2:15pm

Room CA 215

 

Professor:         Melissa Bingmann

Office:              CA 504N

Office Hours:  Tues. & Thurs., 2:30-4:00, Wed., 3:00-5:30, and by appointment

Office Telephone:  278-9024

E-mail:              mbingman@iupui.edu

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The intent of this course is to provide history majors and non-majors with an overview of American history from the Colonial period through the Civil War in order to facilitate a lifelong interest in the study of the past. This course will benefit students who intend to pursue advanced history courses and will hopefully inspire others to participate in some form of history-making throughout their adult lives.  In order to accomplish this, it is essential that students gain basic information about the time period to be covered and the major themes and events that have shaped American history. The class will also examine historic documents and websites to discover how historians construct narratives from primary sources.

 

IUPUI PRINCIPLES OF UNDERGRADUATE LEARNING:

Critical thinking and analytical skills are essential to the study of history.  Students will develop these skills by analyzing and synthesizing historical perspectives presented in lectures, websites, and text.  Students will develop oral communication skills by analyzing and discussing assigned text in small groups.  Each student will also complete a written assignment that analyzes historical evidence used by an author, identifies the thesis of the work, and evaluates the supporting arguments. 

Detailed information on IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning is available on-line at www.iupui.edu/~history/principlesundergradlearning.htm. 

 

POLICIES:

 

Attendance

Attendance is required and will be taken at class meetings.  It is in your best interest to attend class because the lectures will help you focus on the specific material to be covered on the exams.  If you miss one of your group discussions, you will automatically lose 4 points out of a possible 100.  Consistent attendance will be used to determine borderline grades.  For these reasons, attendance at every class meeting will result in a better grade.

 

Cheating and plagiarism

Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive a zero for the work in question and will be reported to the Dean.  According to the Academic Handbook, Indiana University, August 2001, pp. 172-173,  “Any student who fails to give credit for ideas or materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism.”  When you are writing your group paper, take extra caution to properly cite the work at the beginning of your paper, put quotation marks around any direct quotes extracted from the book, and include the page number (because you are dealing with the work of one author, you do not need to use footnotes).  The exception is the group paper for Valley of the Shadow.  You will need to use footnotes or endnotes to cite each primary source and any background reading that you consult (see Chicago Manual of Style).

 

For comprehensive information on IUPUI’s policy on cheating and plagiarism consult Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct available on-line at http://hoosiers.iupui.edu/studcode/studcode.htm.

 

Deadlines

Group papers are due one week after the in-class group discussion. 

 

Youngs, American Realities chapters 1-7                    due 9/11

http://dohistory.org  (Martha Ballard’s diary)     due 9/25

Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride                                         due 10/2

Youngs, American Realities chapters 8-15                  due 10/28

Northup, Twelve Years a Slave                                   due 11/6

Holliday, The World Rushed In                                    due 11/20

http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow/  (Valley of the Shadow)      due 12/2

 

Incompletes and make-up exams

Neither are options with the exception of a dire emergency.  What constitutes a dire emergency is solely up to the professor’s discretion and in the rare case that such a request is granted, you will need to provide written documentation in the form of a note from a doctor if it is medical emergency or a note from a mortician or coroner in the case of family death or related tragedy. 

           

Classroom Courtesy

Please arrive on time and turn off cell phones and pagers prior to the beginning of class. 

 

Taking Notes

The lectures will help you prioritize the material that you should study for exams so it is important for you to take notes.  No tape recorders are allowed.  If you cannot take notes without a tape recorder because of a disability, please see me and we will make arrangements to accommodate your needs. 

 

READINGS:

Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, Armitage, Out of Many:  A History of the American People, vol. 2, 4th edition, Prentice Hall. Use this textbook as a supplement to lectures as you prepare for the exams and analyze the assigned readings and websites.

 

J. William T. Youngs, American Realities, vol. 1, 5th edition.

 

David H. Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride

 

J.S. Holliday, The World Rushed In:  The California Gold Rush Experience

 

 Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

 

Readings assignments/web site exploration

You will be divided into small groups of seven at the beginning of the semester.  Each student will lead the group discussion of one of the following:

 

Youngs, American Realities chapters 1-7

http://dohistory.org  (Martha Ballard’s diary)

Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride

Youngs, American Realities chapters 8-15

Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

Holliday, The World Rushed In

http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow/  (Valley of the Shadow)

 

Completion of the readings/web site exploration is essential to students’ success in this course.  In addition to receiving a grade for participation in group discussion, 20-30% of the exam questions will be directly related to these readings. 

 

The designated group leader will be responsible for grading the other members of the group on participation.  I will attend one discussion session for each group and evaluate each students’ participation.  Points should be assigned by the following guidelines:

 

            4          it was clearly apparent that the group member thoroughly read the book;

                        was an active participant during the discussion; provided exceptional

                        analysis that will assist the group leader in creating the group paper.

 

            3          group member read the book; contributed to the discussion; made helpful

                        points toward the development of the group paper but did not demonstrate

                        significant analysis during the discussion.

 

            2          group member read portions of the book but was clearly unable to

                        participate in some of the discussion because of a lack of familiarity with

                        the book’s content.  Contribution to the construction of the group paper

                        was minimal.

 

            1          group member did not read the book and/or was unable to make any

                        substantial contribution to the discussion. 

 

            0          group member did not attend the group discussion.

 

Group paper

Each student will serve as the group leader for one of the seven group discussions.  The group leader is responsible for developing discussion questions (there will be a slightly different format for the Valley of the Shadow website), evaluating the other members’ participation in the discussion, and completing the group paper.  Only the group leader will be graded on the group paper.  Grammar, spelling, and the quality of writing skills will be graded in addition to the quality of your study questions, reading comprehension, and historical analysis.  Avoid writing in the passive voice and as you revise your paper prior to submission, try to cut out unnecessary words.          

 

The final version of the group paper will consist of the following:

  • A one-page list of discussion questions (five to six).
  • A list of group members and the participation grade you assigned.
  • A five to eight page double-spaced paper that addresses the discussion questions, states the thesis of the book, and analyzes the historical sources. 

 

Variations:       

  • For the essays assigned from Youngs, American Realities, create a one-page summary for each essay and include the thesis statement for each essay.  
  • Instead of including a thesis statement for http://dohistory.org, be certain to state what the website tries to accomplish and why Martha Ballard is important. 
  • Each member needs to read the Author’s Note and Prologue for Holliday, The World Rushed In, but beyond this, your group may decide to assign specific chapters to individual members.  It is not necessary to know minute the details of Swain’s experience.  Work as a team to discover the most significant events from his diary and what we learn about this important historical event from this personal account. 
  • For the group paper for http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow/  (Valley of the Shadow), select one topic to explore under “Teaching Materials,” then “Paper Topics for High School and College US History Classes” (there are a total of seven to choose from).  Use the primary sources from this site to develop a “traditional essay.”  Be certain to use the appropriate bibliographic citations for each primary source (see Chicago Manual of Style).  Include an additional one-page description of the on-line research contributions of each group member to the final paper.

 

Midterm and Final examinations will contain essay questions, identifications, and short answer questions.  Questions will be derived from the material covered in the lectures and 20 to 30 percent of the examination questions will come from the required readings and websites.  Please bring a blue book to the exams. 

 

There will be an optional informal review session prior to each exam in order to answer questions.  Students who plan to attend need to come prepared with questions.

 

 

 

GRADING:

 

Midterm examination                            25%

Final examination                                  25%

Participation in group discussion            25%     (approx. 4 points for each of six sessions)

Group paper                                         25%

 

SCHEDULE:

 

Aug. 21:  Introduction to the Class

Aug. 26:  Old World, New World

Aug. 28:  Early Colonial Settlements

Sept. 2:  Impact of Colonization on Native Americans

Sept. 4:  Group discussion of chapters 1-7 from Youngs, American Realities

Sept. 9:  The Puritans   

Sept. 11:  Slavery and the Slave trade

Sept. 16:  Everyday Life in Colonial America

Sept. 18:  Group discussion of Martha Ballard, http://dohistory.org

Sept. 23:  Road to Revolution

Sept. 25:  Group discussion of Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride

Sept. 30:  Revolutionary War

Oct. 2:  Constitutional Convention and Ratification Debates

Oct. 7:  The Federalists 

Oct. 9:  Midterm Examination

Oct. 14:  Jeffersonian Era

Oct. 16: Jacksonian Era

Oct. 21:  Group discussion of chapters 8-15 of Youngs, American Realities

Oct. 23:  Industrial Revolution

Oct. 28:  Transportation and other technological innovations

Oct. 30: Group discussion of Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

Nov. 4:  Southern Society and Slave Culture

Nov. 6:  Reform and antebellum social movements

Nov. 11:  Underground Railroad and Abolitionist movement

Nov. 13:  Group discussion of Holliday, The World Rushed In

Nov. 18:  Manifest Destiny & Western expansion

Nov. 20:  Events leading up to the Civil War    

Nov. 25:  Group discussion of Valley of the Shadow,

Nov. 27:  Thanksgiving—Class will not meet

Dec. 2:   Civil War:  politics, leadership and military strategies

Dec. 4:   Civil War:  homefront and civilian contribution

 

FINAL EXAMINATION:     Tuesday, December 9th, 3:30pm-5:30pm

 

SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE