HST202 - History of the United States 1840-1900
Course Syllabus - Fall Term 2004

PLEASE NOTE	The course syllabus is a contract between instructor and student.  It is the student's responsibility to read, understand, and comply with every academic requirement listed herein. Contact the instructor directly if you have any questions regarding the information in this syllabus or the course in general.
Times/Locations	Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-11:20am CEN402 Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00pm-2:20pm CEN416
Instructor/Email Class Web Site	Joe Escobar (student evaluations) escobarj@lanecc.edu http://teach.lanecc.edu/escobarj
Office/Phone/ Office Hours	CEN419J, 463-5581 TT 11:30a-12p, 2:30p-3p, and by appointment
Required Textbook	Faragher, Out of Many Brief 4rd Edition - Chapters 11-20 Primary Source Documents (each week, see Document section of the calendar below.)
Special Code "H"	NOTE "H" in the LCC Class Schedule - Students must be willing to use (not necessarily own) a computer to participate in this course.  If you did not see this code in the schedule of classes and are unwilling to use a computer, please drop the class before the end of the first week of classes to receive a full refund of your tuition money. Students will use an internet-capable computer to: Send email to the instructor and post messages to the class bulletin board Complete exams in the Social Science Computer Testing Lab CEN456
Course Objectives	Develop knowledge and understanding of people and events that shaped this nation's history from 1840 - 1900. Develop the ability to analyze and interpret historical data from multiple sources and develop multiple perspectives. Develop meaningful connections and insights into the links between "history" and contemporary times.
Procedures	Course format is a blend of lecture and discussion, prompted by student questions, readings, primary source document analysis and video clips. It is imperative to GPA and self esteem that students attend class and keep to the class schedule of readings, assignments, and exams.
Instructor Contact	I am accessible via phone, fax, email, voicemail, or in person at scheduled appointments. Although not required for the course, you will find that using email will be extremely helpful, since I check my email multiple times each day, weekends included. I encourage you to utilize this technology. My job is to help make this a successful experience for you. You will find that I enjoy helping my students. All students MUST join the class listserv during the first week of the term.  I will use the listserv to send email to remind you of paper deadlines, pending exams, and the posting of your grades. You must have an email address to participate. Go the class homepage at http://teach.lanecc.edu/escobarj Click the Join Class Email List link (near the bottom) Add appropriate information in required fields Click the Join The List button (at the bottom) There is also a class bulletinboard which students may use to post questions and/or comments about the material.  See the Post to or Read Class Bulletin Board link on the class homepage.
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION	Deadlines are sacred in this course.   No late work is accepted. You have one written assignment to complete during the term. It is due, for all students,  by the due date and time.  Since all assignments are turned in via the internet, students will have to plan accordingly.  The same holds true for the computer quizzes, which must be taken by the deadlines listed in the calendar below. No make up exams are given. Students will have a 3-4 day period of time during which they must complete the midterm and final exams.  These dates and times are listed on the class calendar below.
Evaluation Attendance & Participation	Attendance and Participation in class discussions/activities will constitute 10% of your final grade. Since we will meet for a total of 20 days, each day you attend class will be 0.5% of your grade. Unexcused absences will result in a 0.5% loss to your final grade in the class.
Evaluation Computer Quizzes	Computer Quizzes consisting of 10 multiple choice/true false questions are available on the class website. They must be taken by 3pm on the day scheduled on the calendar below. There is one quiz for each chapter, each week. Taking them on time will constitute 10% of your grade in this class. Since there are 10 weeks in the term and 10 chapters total, each weekly quiz will count for 1% of your final grade in the class. Note: These quizzes are for practice. They are a check of your reading comprehension and something to keep the material fresh for you outside of class, during the long weekly breaks from Thursday to Tuesday. Whether you've taken the quiz on time or not... NOT your score on that quiz... will determine whether you get credit (1%) for that quiz. Note 2: Quizzes are a random 10 questions from a pool of between 30-40 questions. Although you need to take each quiz on time only once (to earn your 1%), you should take them 3-4 times in order to "see" most of the questions in the pool. These quizzes will be a good source of review for your exams. Most importantly, 20-30% of the actual questions on your graded midterm and final exams will include these computer quiz questions.
Evaluation Primary Source Document Response I've been assigned a PSD: (circle one) first 5 chapters or last 5 chapters ************ MY due date is: (circle one) Thursday, Feb 5 OR Thursday, Mar 4	The Primary Source Document Response is a typed, double-spaced, 1" margins, 12 point regular font, homework assignment that all students will complete during the course of the term. Although subjective in nature, these papers should be based on factual information and must not be written in first person (eg. "I think", "I feel", "My opinion", "We are told".). Each paper is to be typed, source-noted, spell-checked, grammatically correct, and proofread, and be the equivalent of 2 to 3 double-spaced pages in length. Students will complete only one (1) written assignment during the term. Footnote your sources within the text of your papers by following the direct quote or referenced sentence(s)/paragraph with an open parenthesis, author/source, page number, close parenthesis.   Examples.   "After the Supreme Court decision in favor of the Cherokees, President Jackson had them removed anyway." (Farragher, 124) "Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin had an effect far beyond that of technological innovation" (Video on slavery, historian) You must incorporate document, textbook, and video/class information into your responses and answer ALL questions and sub-questions (in an integrated manner) to receive a decent grade. The most difficult task required of any instructor is that of grading papers. Although the purpose of this assignment is not to grade papers on spelling and grammar, problems in these areas can only detract from the readability and enjoyment of the paper, not to mention the lack of care or proofreading they illustrate. You do not want me to be proofreading your papers. You want me to be reading your best work and best effort. Therefore, I urge you to seek assistance if writing is not one of your strengths. For more help, other than your instructor, you should contact the Counseling/Advising Center, the Study Skills Learning Center, The Writing Center, the English Department, and/or the Library staff. Students will randomly be assigned to complete the assignment from one of the first 5 OR one of the last 5 chapters. Students will choose any one of the assigned PSD Documents and answer the question(s) that follow it in an integrated manner. There will be two due dates. See the calendar below. IMPORTANT - The papers are due by 3:00 pm on the deadline day. It will be worth 10% of your final grade. Students will have nearly five weeks to complete each paper; therefore, no late papers will be accepted. See the calendar below.
Evaluation Exams	Students will take two non-comprehensive Exams, each constituting 35% of your final grade in the class. You may choose to take either the objective or essay exam. Objective exams consist of multiple choice questions, true/false,  atching, maps, etc. Essay exams consist of answering 2-3 short essay questions. Students choosing to take the essay exam must contact the instructor at least one week prior to the exam date. All exams are computerized and will be taken online. (Since exams will not be given during regularly scheduled class times, be sure to plan your schedules accordingly.) Students will have a several day window of time in which to take their exam. Exams must be completed by 5:00 pm on the deadline day. See the calendar below. After 5:00 pm on the deadline day, students will be able to return to the testing center(s) to review their exams. Most students will be taking their exams in the Social Science Computer Lab CEN456. Students may also take an exam at any LCC Outreach or Community Learning Center (excluding the Downtown Center). The Main Campus lab hours are: Mon-Thur 9am-7:30pm, Fri 8:30am-5:00pm, and Sat TBA. For your final exam, final exam week hours are: Mon-Wed 9am-7:30pm, Thurs 8:30am-5:00pm, Fri CLOSED.
Evaluation Summary	There are no makeup exams. Grades of incomplete will not be given. Late work is not accepted. Grades are weighted as follows: Summary: Attendance/Participation 10% Computer Quizzes 10% PSD Response 10% Midterm Exam 35% Final Exam 35% TOTAL 100%   Letter Grades will be as follows: A+= 100% A=93%-99% A-=90%-92% B+=87%-89% B=83%-86% B-=80%-82% C+=77%-79% C=73%-76% C-=70%-72% D+=67%-69% D=63%-66% D-=60%-62% F=<60%
Students with Disabilities	If you are having difficulty and are in need of academic support because of a documented disability, whether it be psychiatric, learning, physical, hard of hearing, or sensory, you may be eligible for academic accommodations through Disability Services. Contact the Disability Services' office Building #1, Room 218 or at (541) 463-5150 voice, (541) 463-3079 TTY.

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