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Online Course Syllabus:
U.S. History to 1870
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VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE
Summer Session 2010
US HISTORY 117 Section 30600
Professor: Dr. Eric Mayer,
Online Office hours…Monday-Sat
EMAIL: history117@gmail.com
Website: www.emayzine.com
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All
lecture notes can be downloaded for free from the site. Prerequisite:
None—But there is an intensive amount of analytical writing in this
course as well as critical thinking. However, it is assumed that most of
you do not have college level or academic writing skills and there will
be online help available.
Course Objectives: The student will be able to: Understand
historical causality Analyze historical events Explain historical events
and processes Think critically about historical events Write analytically
to explain the course of history *Note: Syllabus
subject to possible revision
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Requirements:
Stay
up with all assignments. I do accept late assignments up until the last
day of class, but the highest grade possible on late assignments is a C.
The key for doing well in this course and understanding the history that
we cover is that you be informed as to what is happening about you.
History is not "dead", it is constantly affecting your reality,
and if it is dead, then we all are affected by the ghosts of the past.
History is the analysis and understanding of processes that have created
our present reality.
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Course
Description:
A survey course of US history from 1500 to 1870. The course will focus on
the “encounter” of Europeans to the New World. Native American society
and culture will be examined in the face of European colonialism and what
can only be described as the greatest land theft in human history: The
taking of North America for European settlement and profit. The course
will then proceed to analyze settlement patterns and colonial economies.
The struggle for independence will be covered as will the beginnings of
nation building. As settlers move west and illegally seize Native
American lands, Native American resistance will be examined. By the
1800’s the US was transformed into a free-market economy which
facilitated even more growth, settlement and development. The status of
African Americans and women will also be analyzed as will the persecution
of other ethnic and religious minorities such as Germans and Mormons. The
growing sectional split between North and South will be examined as will
the outbreak and course of the Civil War. Note: this is not a “lollipop”
history course of nationalist propaganda where everything turns out for
the best. US history is an epic drama full of victories as well as
atrocities. For this reason you will not be fed disconnected facts so
common in courses that focus on what can only be described as American
myth-story. This is course emphasizes critical thinking and understanding
processes of causality that forged the saga of US historical development
between 1500 and 1870.
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Required Texts:
(1) “Visions of America, Vol 1” by Keene. Prentice Hall/Pearson 2010
ISBN-13: 9780321053091
(2) "Uncle Tom's Cabin” by Stowe.
Signet Classics, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-451-53080-6
The VVC bookstore will also have the books and online at
www.vvcrams.com Or, you can order both books online at College Books and
Resources www.cbar.bkstr.com
If you buy from the VVC Bookstore proceeds from the books will go to fund
the UN Club's trip to Washington DC. Finally…there are lecture notes and
links on the site that proceed in order. And you will click to them when
you get to the course readings.
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Attendance: Students must visit
the web site regularly, if not daily. Weekly It is the students’
responsibility to make sure that they have been dropped, reinstated, or
is currently enrolled in the course. I will not do any grade changes that
are related to attendance policy. IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BEEN DROPPED. DO NOT ASSUME THAT I
WILL DROP YOU AS A MATTER OF COURSE DUE TO YOUR LACK OF ATTENDANCE...I DO
NOT DROP STUDENTS, I DO NOT GIVE INCOMPLETES OR ACCEPT LATE WORK AFTER
THE LAST DAY OF CLASS....I DO ACCEPT LATE WORK UP UNTIL THE LAST DAY OF
CLASS, BUT THE HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE ON LATE WORK IS A "C".
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Grading: The grade breakdown
is as follows: Exam 1 = 25% of final grade; Exam 2 = 25% of final grade;
Final Exam = 25% of final grade; Book Review = 25% of final grade. In order to pass the course all
outstanding assignments or exams must be turned in by the day of the
final examination. Grade Splits are as follows: 90%-100% A 80% -89% B 70%
-79% C 60% -69% D 0% -59% F. I do not round up grade percentages. I do
not give incompletes.
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Course
Mechanics:
The course is internet driven. Therefore it is essential to surf the net
regularly. I encourage on line class participation in the forms of
comments, questions, and drafts of your exams. I will help you on one
draft per assignment. so be sure to send me your best effort. A ultimate
goal in the course besides teaching history is to create students who
will be able to argue logically, and back up their assertions with
evidence. An objective of this course is to teach students the skills
that they need to educate themselves. While the course is
"text" driven I will suggest films and movies, that students
can analyze as on line individuals. This course will not be a passive
learning experience, it will be highly interactive in terms of how you
explain historical causality and outcome. The hours/week arranged listed
for online classes must be fulfilled through an arrangement established
between the instructor and the student. They do not represent an increase
in the total number of hours for an online course. Hours/week arranged do
not have to be fulfilled by in-person class attendance.…
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