WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Phoenix Campus
School of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning-focused and
distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind.
HIST 3310 – PH06 - United States Diplomatic History
(POLS 3310)
Term: Winter Micro-term 2 (Jan. 12- Feb. 11)
Instructor: Roger Wiersum
Contact Information: 602-704-3754. Email: roger.wiersum@wayland.wbu.edu
Office Hours: MW 5:00-5:30
Class Time and Location: Phoenix Campus- Downtown
MW 5:30-9:40
Catalog Description: American foreign relations and diplomacy from the colonial period to the present.
Prerequisites: HIST 2301 and 2302, POLS 2301, or consent of instructor.
Textbook: From Colony to Superpower : U. S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 George C. Herring / ISBN:
0199765537
Optional Materials: PowerPoint Notes
Course outcome competencies:
After successfully completing this course the student will understand and be able to describe:
 The persons and events involved in the diplomacy of the American Revolutionary era, 1763-1815
 The issues and events in American territorial expansion, 1800-1848
 The diplomacy of the Civil War era
 America’s rise as a world power, 1865-1900
 Causes, courses and consequences of World War I and World War II
 The origins, development and end of the Cold War, 1945-1991
 Post Cold War developments in American foreign policy
Attendance: Students enrolled at one of the University’s external campuses should make every effort to attend
all class meetings. All absences must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the
omitted work may be made up. When a student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to
be excessive, the instructor will so advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the campus
dean. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings may receive a
grade of F in the course. Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the
course syllabus, are considered a part of the University’s attendance policy.
Additional attendance policies: Please call, text or email the instructor if you are going to miss a class or be
very late to class
Service for the Disabled: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the
policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or
activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the coordinator of students with a
disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation requests at (806) 291- 3765. Documentation of a
disability must accompany any request for accommodations.
Course requirements:
Reading assignments: Reading the assigned chapters is important understanding the material. Failing to stay
up with the reading assignments may impact your ability to understand the lectures and videos.
Power points: Each class will have lectures given by power point. Students are encouraged to take notes and
ask questions throughout the lecture to check their understanding.
Video: Each class will have a video to reinforce the material from the lecture and textbook. Students do not
have to take notes during the video. However, there may be questions on exams pertaining to videos that are
shown in class.
Writing Assignments: Each class (except the midterm and final exams) there will be a short writing
assignment that can be done during class or at home. (30 points each)
Power Point Assignment: Students complete a power point presentation about any American diplomat and
treaty/agreement. Each person must choose a different diplomat and treaty/agreement. The power points will
be presented in the last week of class and will be worth the same as an exam (100 points.) Students will be
given time near the end of class to work on their assignments and ask questions.
Exams: There will be a midterm and final exam consisting of multiple choices, true/false questions, fill in the
blank questions, and a short essay. The exams will be worth 100 points each.
Method of determining course grade:
Tests and quizzes-- 45%
Power point presentation –35%
Writing Assignments – 20%
The University has a standard grade scale:
A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F= below 60, W = Withdrawal, WP = withdrew passing, WF =
withdrew failing, I = incomplete. An incomplete may be given within the last two weeks of a long term or
within the last two days of a microterm to a student who is passing, but has not completed a term paper,
examination, or other required work for reasons beyond the student’s control. A grade of “incomplete” is
changed if the work required is completed prior to the last day of the next long (10 to 15 weeks) term, unless the
instructor designates an earlier date for completion. If the work is not completed by the appropriate date, the I
is converted to an F.
Instructor’s policy on Academic Dishonesty: Cheating on an assignment and/or using another writer’s ideas
or words as your own (plagiarism) will not be allowed and will result in a grade of zero for all involved. “It is
far better to try than to cheat!”
Tentative Schedule:
Week 1-- (Jan 12) Please read chapters 1-3 and complete assignment one prior to class (assignment one is due). HW:
Read chapters 4-5 and complete assignment 2. (Jan 14) Assignment 2 is due. HW: Read chapters 6-7 and complete
assignment 3.
Week 2 – (Jan 19) Assignment 3 is due. HW: Read chapters 8-9 and complete assignment 4.
(Jan 21) Assignment 4 is due. HW: Read chapter 10 and complete assignment 5. Study Midterm Review Sheet
Week 3 – (Jan 26) Assignment 5 is due. Midterm Exam HW: Read chapters 11-13 and complete assignment 6
(Jan 28) Assignment 6 is due. HW: Read chapters 14-15 and complete assignment 7.
Week 4 -- (Feb. 2) Assignment 7 is due. HW: Read chapters 16-17 and complete assignment 8.
(Feb. 4) Assignment 8 is due. HW: Read chapters 18-20 and compete assignment 9.
Week 5 – (Feb. 9) Assignment 9 is due. Present PowerPoints. HR: Study review sheet for final
(Feb. 11) Finish PowerPoints. Final Exam
Additional Information: Power Point Presentation Rubric
The requirements for this assignment are as follows: 20 slides, at least seven graphics to support your
research, bibliography, and a title slide. You may use different fonts, backgrounds, transitions and colors in
creating your slides, so be creative. You need to use at least three different source types, like internet, book,
journal and etc. DO NOT have more than seven lines of text per slide. This assignment will be worth 100
points. The title slide and bibliography slide count as part of the twenty slides needed.
Length
Content/Research
Graphics
Conventions
20 slides
3
18 slides
2
Many facts and useful
information
3
More than seven
3
Some facts and not
authentic
2
Few mistakes
3
Some mistakes
2
At least five
2
Bibliography slide and
title slide
Both there and done
correctly
A few mistakes
2
Presentation
engaging presentation
3
Fair presentation
2
16 slides
1
Vague and general
1
three
1
Several mistakes
1
One is missing or several
mistakes
1
Poor presentation
1
Multiply the total score by 6.7 to get a percentage grade out of 100.
Diplomat/Agreement: ______________________________________________________________________