W.R. Miller MWF
9:15-9:35 am Spring, 2012 Reguired Books
Edmund S. Morgan,
The Puritan Dilemma Recommended Book Robert Divine, The American Story (Vol. 1) Internet The syllabus, lecture outlines, maps, and other images used in this course may be found at http://history.missouristate.edu/wrmiller. Grades There will be three hourly exams. Each hourly exam will consist of an essay over a biography (25%), an essay over the lecture materials (25%), and objective questions (50% -- multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions). Faculty have the choice of using either the standard grading option (A, B, C, etc.) or the plus/minus grading option (A, A-, B+, etc.). This instructor will use the standard grading format. The grading scale will be: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F = <60. Bluebooks Students will use bluebooks for essays. Each student will deliver three blue books to the instructor at the next class. Put your name on the back, not on the front. You will not get the same bluebook on exam day. Attendance Attendance for this class is mandatory. The instructor will hand out a roll sheet at the beginning of each class. It is the student's responsibility to sign the roll sheet. If a student fails to sign the roll sheet, the student will be counted absent (no exceptions). Students will be allowed only five unexcused absences for the semester. A student's course grade will be reduced by a letter grade on the sixth unexcused absence, and by another letter grade for every subsequent unexcused absence. An absence will be counted as excused only if the student has an acceptable documented excuse (letter from a doctor, towing bill, bail ticket, etc.). Tardiness The instructor hates tardiness. Tardiness disrupts class and is a sign of disrespect for classmates and the instructor. Get to class early. Get to your seat early. Be prepared when class begins. Leaving class early (unless deathly ill) will count as three unexcused absences. Even the most senile professors have a good memory for those who aggravate them. English as a Second Language If English is not your native language, please see the instructor immediately after class. Cheating Anyone caught cheating will receive an F on the work involved. Makeup Exams A students who misses an exam must bring an acceptable, documented excuse (letter from a doctor, towing bill, bail ticket, etc.) to the instructor's office immediately upon returning to class in order to be authorized to receive a makeup. No student who has an "F" average because of the attendance policy will be allowed to take a makeup. Makeups will be taken at 9:40 am, Wednesday, May 9 in STRO 419 (no exceptions). Do not arrive late to makeups. If another student sees the exam you are scheduled to take, and leaves the room before you arrive, you lose the opportunity to take the makeup. Makeups will be all essay.
Dropping a Class Lecture Subjects and Exam / Quiz Dates
Reading Assignments
General Education Goals U.S. History to 1877 is a freshman course which partially satisfies requirements of the Public Affairs section of the General Education Program. The History department’s goal in offering American history is to teach: 1. Students to think critically about diverse interpretations of historical developments; 2. The diversity and appreciation of native and immigrant cultural values, gender, race and class differences as the foundation for advancing the University’s Public Affairs mission; 3.How present-day situations have grown out of past events, such as the American Revolution, which is essential for participation in America’s democratic experiment; 4. The evolution of political, constitutional, and social systems in the United States and in the State of Missouri as required by Missouri Senate Bill No. 262;How past events shape current possibilities for the individual in American society. Public Affairs This course addresses the public affairs mission of MSU by examining the political, intellectual, economic, and social development of the United States to 1877. Each exam will have materials that address public affairs. Course Objectives
By the end of this course, each student will: 2. Have demonstrated the ability to think critically and to analyze historical developments and interpretations. This will be assessed on essays questions over the required readings. 3. Have demonstrated the ability to take historical facts and make a general conclusion from those facts. This will be assessed on the essay portions to exams. 4. Have demonstrated an understanding of how present-day situations have grown out of past events, which is essential to popular participation in America's democratic experiment. This will be assessed on the essay and objective portions of exams, and attendance in class.
5. Have demonstrated a comprehensive content knowledge of the general
development of United States history before 1877. This will be
assessed on the essay and objective portions of exams, and by the student's
attendance in class.
This
syllabus demonstrates History competencies across all objectives,
including: MOSTEP 1.2.1.1, CF 2, SA 1.1, SA 1.2 b. University Policies The instructor adopts all of the university's "suggested" wording. go to http://www.missouristate.edu/provost/syllabi.htm for University policies |