Course Syllabus

Course Information

History 1302, Section 005, Spring 2013

Survey of U.S. History, Civil War to Present

JO 4.614, T/TH 4:00-5:15

 

Professor Contact Information

Dr. Monica Rankin

JO 4.916

Office: (972) 883-2005

Mobile: (972) 822-5375

mrankin@utdallas.edu

www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin

Office Hours: T/TH 1:00-00 or by appointment

 

Teaching Assistant Contact Information

Toni Loftin

toni.loftin@utdallas.edu

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

This course will cover the history of the United States from the post-Civil War era (roughly the 1860s) to the present day.  The course will introduce major social, political, economic, and cultural events and it will address how those events affected the development of American society.  Particular attention will be devoted to the role of popular cultural and to the emergence of the United States as a world power.

 

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

 

Required Textbooks and Materials

Textbook:  Michael Schaller, et. al. American Horizons: U.S. History in a Global Context (volume II since 1865) Oxford University Press, 2013 ISBN: 9780199739912

 

Essay Reader:  Binder, Frederick, et. al. The Way We Lived Vol 2, 7th ed., 2013. ISBN: 9780840029515.

 

Students are responsible for all of the readings for quizzes, in-class activities, and exams.  Due to the lack of time in lecture to cover all of the main aspects of the course material, students are responsible for material from the readings that will not be covered in lectures.  Students should feel free to ask for clarifications about the readings during class time or see the instructor or TA during office hours.

 

Assignments

 

Class Participation: All students are expected to attend class and be engaged with the classroom materials.  Class participation will be assessed partially on attendance as well as student engagement in classroom activities.  Please feel free to ask questions and offer contributions during lectures.  When time permits, we will discuss any questions and/or make necessary points of clarification after lectures.  All students should make a point of visiting with the TA outside of class.  Note: the TA will pass around a sign-in sheet to track attendance.  Students who arrive late to class may not be allowed to sign the attendance sheet.

**A note on classroom behavior:  This is a large lecture hall setting and in order to provide the most learning-conducive environment, we will require the cooperation of all students.  Please refrain from disruptive behavior such as arriving late, sleeping, talking, whispering, doing homework for another class, reading the newspaper, browsing the web, updating Facebook, and/or engaging in any other hobbies while in class.  I will allow electronic equipment in the classroom, but I reserve the right to revoke computer, cell phone, iPad, etc. privileges if they are abused. Students may not have any electronic equipment visible on their desks during exams and quizzes. Disrespectful, disruptive, or any other inappropriate behavior will result in a lowering of a studentÕs participation grade.

** Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class.  Please review the following UT-Dallas policy on academic integrity.  Any suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be immediately reported to the Judicial Affairs Office.

 

ÒThe faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty.  Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

 

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as oneÕs own work or material that is not oneÕs own.  As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts:  cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records.  Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

 

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the universityÕs policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details).  This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.Ó

 

Weekly Quizzes:  Every week (usually Tuesdays) there will be a short open note quiz during the first ten minutes of class.  Quizzes will be made up of questions from the previous weekÕs lectures plus assigned readings from the Binder volume.  Suggested questions for analysis for the Binder assignments will be posted on the course website available at www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin.  I highly suggest students use the questions on the website and write out answers/notes to the Binder readings.  There will be absolutely no make-ups allowed for weekly quizzes.  Students who miss class or who arrive late will not be allowed to take that weekÕs quiz.  Since this is an open-note quiz, students may use any notes from lectures or from the Binder readings to complete the quiz.  Notes must be either hand-written or typed and printed out.  Absolutely no electronic equipment or books will be allowed on the desk during the weekly quizzes or exams. 

 

Exams:  There will be three exams in this class.  Each exam will comprise various ID terms and/or short answer questions.  Each exam question will be a term and/or issue that has been covered in lecture and/or in the assigned readings from the Binder book. Exam dates are listed on the course schedule.  Please note that you must bring a blue book and your comet card to each exam.  Students without a blue book or comet card will not be allowed to take the exam.  The final exam for this course will not be cumulative.

 

Grading Policy

The grading in this course is based on three exams, weekly quizzes, and class participation.  The breakdown of the grading is as follows:

 

                        Exam 1                                                                        100 points

                        Exam 2                                                                        100 points

                        Final Exam                                                      100 points

                        Weekly Quizzes                                            100 points

                        Participation                                                   100 points

                        Total                                                               500 points

 

Course & Instructor Policies

A sign-in sheet will be distributed each day to help track attendance and class participation.  Please keep in mind that it is not possible to Òmake-upÓ class participation.  If you are not physically (and mentally) present in the classroom, it will affect your participation grade.  Furthermore, past experience has proven that students who attend class regularly tend to earn higher grades.  I frequently include information in my lectures that is not necessarily covered in your reading.  It behooves you to be present to listen to lectures and participate in class. 

 

No late assignments will be accepted and there is no make-up policy for in-class work.  I will drop the lowest quiz score at the end of the semester in lieu of offering make-up opportunities.  If you have missed a quiz, that is the score that will be dropped.  There will be no exceptions to this rule. 

 

All assignments for this class are mandatory.  Materials used in this course have been carefully selected for their scholarly value, but some audiences may take offense at topics of a sensitive nature.  There will be NO substitutions of readings, films, documents, presentations, and/or other course requirements to suit personal preferences and/or sensitivities.  There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule.

 

Academic Calendar:

The following schedule outlines the topics and reading assignments for each class.  This schedule is subject to change.  Any changes made to the schedule and/or any other course requirements will be announced in class and will be posted on the course website: www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin

 

Week 1

Jan. 13                         Introduction and Syllabus

Lecture 1: Civil War and Reconstruction

 

Jan. 15                         Lecture 2: Westward Expansion

 

Week 2

Jan. 20                         Quiz #1: Binder, Chapters 1-2

 

Jan. 22                         Lecture 3: Industrial Expansion

 

Week 3

Jan. 27                         Lecture 4: Urban Expansion

 

Jan. 29                         Quiz #2: Binder, Chapter 4

Lecture 5: Indian Policy

 

Week 4

Feb. 3                          Lecture 6: WeÕre Off to See the Wizard (In the Gilded Age)

 

Feb. 5                          Quiz #3: Binder, Chapter 3

Lecture 7: Imperial Expansion

 

Week 5

Feb. 10                                    Exam #1 – Bring blue book and Comet Card to class

 

Feb. 12                                    Lecture 8: Progressive Era

 

Week 6

Feb. 17                                    Progressive Era Video: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

 

Feb. 19                                    Quiz #4: Binder, Chapter 5

Lecture 9: Progressive Reform

 

Week 7

Feb. 24                                    Lecture 10: Progressive Era Diplomacy

 

Feb. 26                                    Quiz #5: Binder, Chapter 6

Lecture 11: World War I

 

Week 8

March 3                      Lecture 12: The Roaring 20s

 

March 5                      Quiz #6: Binder, Chapters 7&9

Lecture 13: The United States in the Great Depression

 

Week 9

March 10                    Lecture 14: RooseveltÕs New Deal

 

March 12                    Quiz #7: Binder, Chapter 10

Lecture 15: World War II

 

March 16-20               No Class – Spring Break

 

Week 10

March 24                    Lecture 16:  The United States Homefront

                                    Textbook Chapters 4-10

 

March 26                    Quiz #8: Binder, Chapter 11

World War II Video: The Homefront

 

Week 11

March 31                    CUSLAI Presentation – Zoot Suits & Diplomacy

 

April 2                                    Exam #2 – Bring blue book and Comet Card to class

 

Week 12

April 7                                    Lecture 17: The United States and the Cold War

 

April 9                                    Lecture 18: The Rise of Suburbia

 

Week 13

April 14                      Quiz #9: Binder, Chapter 12

Lecture 19: Space and Race in the Post-war

 

April 16                      Lecture 20: New Hope and Great Society

 

Week 14

April 21                      Quiz #10, Binder, Chapter 13

Lecture 21: The War in Vietnam

 

April 23                      Lecture 22: The Nixonian Paradox

 

Week 15

April 28                      Quiz #11: Binder, Chapter 14

Lecture 23: That Ô70s Show

 

April 30                      Lecture 24: USA Today

 

Date/Time                 Final Exam

TBA                            BRING BLUE BOOK AND COMET CARD TO CLASS

 

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

General policies and procedures for the University of Texas at Dallas can be found at:  http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies