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African American History 2381
Spring Semester 2014
CRN: 76575 Northforest
Northforest- Tuesday 5:30-7:00
3 Hours, Lecture 24 Contact Hours
Course Continuing Education Units (CEU): 0
16 weeks
Type of Instruction: Hybrid
Instructor Name: Linda S. Denkins, M.Ed.
Phone Number (Office): 713-718-8395
Email Address: linda.denkins@hccs.edu
Office: HCC- Northeast- Northline Campus-8001 Fulton Room
Course Description: This course is a survey of the role of African-Americans in United
States history. Emphasis will be placed on economic, social, and cultural development
with particular focus on contributions to American society. Core Curriculum course.
Course Prerequisites: Must be placed into college level reading and college level writing.
Must have complete English 1301 or Co-enroll in English 1301.
Course Goal: Students will be able to evaluate historical developments in an essay.
Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLO):
1. Students will read primary source documents.
2. Students will analyze historical evidence.
3. Students will evaluate historical developments.
4. Students will identify proper academic, history database
Learning Objectives: The student will:
1.
Compare and contrast the 18th century slavery in the Chesapeake region, the
northern colonies, and the southern colonies with the lives of free Africans in those
same regions.
2.
Examine the events that led to the Civil War, African (Free and Slave) experiences
during the War, and the Contemporary meanings of the Emancipation Proclamation.
3.
Identify the legal and ethical arguments used by white Americans to justify racial
segregation between Reconstruction and World War II.
4.
Describe and explain the emergence of the literary, artistic, and musical
movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.
5.
Describe the Civil Rights movement from the Plessy decision to the Voting Rights
Act of 19
COURSE CALENDAR- SPRING 2014
WEEK
DATE
CHAPTERS
1
1/14
1
COURSE INTRODUCTIONS
REVIEW OF SYLLABUS/ CLASS EXPECTATIONS
2
1/21
2,3
3
1/28
4,5
4
2/4
6,7
5
2/11
8,9
6
2/18
10,11
7
2/25
12.13
Extra Credit- Ensemble Theatre Report
8
2
3 /4
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
11,12,13
Chapters
SPRING BREAK- NO CLASS MARCH 10-14
9
3/18
14,15
LAST DAY TO DROP WITH A “W”
10
3/25
16,17
Museum Report Due
11
4/1
18,19
12
4/8
20
13
4/15
Coming of Age in Mississippi Report Due
14
4/22
21,22
GROUP REPORTS- Chapters 1,2,3
23,24
GROUP REPORTS-Chapters 4,5,6
15
4/28
16
5/6
FINAL EXAMINATION-In Class bring your scrantron
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SEMESTER ENDS
GRADES AVAILABLE VIA HCC WEB
** No classes, 1/20, 2/17 college holiday
Login to Eagle Online for additional course materials and assignments
Instructional Methods: Lecture Notes, PowerPoint Presentations, online Midterm Exam,
in class Final Exam, and Semester Writing Assignments.
Student Assignments: Read a variety of historical material, complet exams, a major
paper, group participation in class and other assigned projects.
Student Assessments: Midterm Exam, Final Exam, Writing Assignments.
Instructor Requirements:
Midterm Exam, Final Exam, Semester Writing Assignments, Group Report
Program/Discipline Requirements:
A minimum of 50% of the student’s semester average must come from writing
assignments and 50% from examinations.
HCC Grading Scale:
A = 100 – 90;
B = 89 – 80:
C = 79 – 70: …
4 points per semester hour
3 points per semester hour
2 points per semester hour
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D = 69 – 60: ……… 1 point per semester hour
59 and below = F……0 points per semester hour
IP (In Progress) …… 0 points per semester hour
W(Withdrawn)……… 0 points per semester hour
I (Incomplete)……… 0 points per semester hour
COM (Completed) is given in non-credit and continuing education courses.
Final Grade of FX:
Students who stop attending class and do not withdraw themselves prior to the
withdrawal deadline may either be dropped by their professor for excessive absences or
be assigned the final grade of "FX" at the end of the semester. Students who stop
attending classes will receive a grade of "FX", compared to an earned grade of "F" which
is due to poor performance. Please note that HCC will not disperse financial aid funding
for students who have never attended class.
Students who receive financial aid but fail to attend class will be reported to the
Department of Education and may have to pay back their aid. A grade of "FX" is treated
exactly the same as a grade of "F" in terms of GPA, probation, suspension, and
satisfactory academic progress.
To compute grade point average (GPA), divide the total grade points by the total number
of semester hours attempted. The grades "IP," "COM" and "I" do not affect GPA.
Instructor Grading Criteria :
The semester grade will be calculated by: Midterm, Final, Quizzes, Group Reports, and
Essay on Monograph.
A
90-100
B
80-90
C
70-79
D
60-69
F
59 and below
Extra credit is offered by the due dates indicated on the syllabus and only if all other
assignments have been submitted. The lowest grade is not dropped. Exams will not be
rescored on the “curve”.
Access to the course is the student's responsibility, and course deadlines cannot be
altered due to access interruption or equipment failure on the student's side.
To avoid confusion, all work for this class must be submitted within Eagle Online unless
otherwise instructed. Do not send any completed assignments to any non-Eagle Online
email address. Do not print work out to mail or drop off at a campus. All written
communication must be conducted within Eagle Online email.
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Please note that for deadline purposes, the Eagle Online clock is the "official" clock,
even if you are certain that your watch keeps perfect time.
To prepare for the unexpected, it is your responsibility to electronically back up your
assignment files.
Instructional Materials:
1) Textbook: Hines, Hines, African American Odyssey, ISBN: 978025728787, 5th edition,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall
This text will provide a detailed summary of the major historical concepts of African
American History and will be required when preparing for some of the exams, and in
finding supplementary material for the writing assignment. We will not be able to cover
every aspect of the text. You will be responsible for knowing this material. You must
keep up with the reading assignments.
2) Reader: Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness. New York: New Press. Assignment schedule above on semester
calendar.
This book will be the basis of a powerpoint presentation done in groups. The rubric for
this assignment is on EOL. Due April 16 and April 17 in class.
3) Monograph: Moody, A. (1976). Coming of age in Mississippi. New York: Dell. This book
will provide the basis for the semester writing assignment. The grading rubric will be on
EOL. This written report is due April 15.
It will be a challenge to cover every detail in your textbook. However, you are responsible
for all the materials in each chapter of these books as well as additional assignments.
Textbooks are available for purchase from any HCC college bookstores. All reading
materials will be a part of the course exams. It is imperative that you purchase all reading
materials and complete them by the required. You should purchase and not borrow or
lend your hard copy materials.
Course Components:
Exams: There will be 2 major exams this semester. They will be based on the African
American Odyssey textbook. The Midterm exam will be taken on line during week 8 and
the final will be administered on campus in class during week 16. The Midterm and Final
exams are each 50 objective questions. The Midterm exam is 90 minutes, timed. After 90
minutes, the exam will not accept any more answers. Students may use their books and
notes, but the 90 minutes time limit does not permit looking up enough answers to pass.
Students will have to largely know the material, but are permitted to use their resources
as an aid. You Are allowed two attempts for the midterm taken on line through Eagle On
Line. It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer is working properly when
taking the test. The test will not be reopened once it closes or once your two attempts
have been made.
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The Midterm, the Final Exam, and the essays are to be completed independently, without
collaboration from either another student or an outsider. Students will also be required to
read numerous pages of additional resources.
Semester Writing Assignment:
Instructions will be further explained during the
semester. There will be three writing assignments: 1) The New Jim Crow- This will be a
group report in which you will prepare a power point presentation and present in class.2)
Essay on the Coming of Age in Mississippi. Grading Rubrics will be provided. A title
page (example provided) is required and must be submitted with this assignment. 3) The
Museum Assignment- Instructions will be within EOL.
Extra Credit: The extra credit assignment is a review of an Ensemble Theatre play, “The
Meeting”. The instructions for this assignment are on EOL. This is due February 25.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Percentage of grade
Your points
Written Assignment -50% of grade
Class Group Report- The New Jim Crow
Monograph “Coming of Age in Mississippi”
Museum **
Extra Credit – “ The Meeting” Ensemble Theatre
TOTAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
20%
20%
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Up to 10 points
50%
Examinations -50% of grade
Midterm
Final
25%
25%
TOTAL EXAMINATIONS
TOTAL FOR THE SEMESTER
100%
AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT (ADA):
Any student with a documented disability who needs to arrange reasonable
accommodations must first contact the appropriate Disability Support Service Counselor
for assistance. If you wish to use accommodations, you may contact Tamara Petty, 713718-8322, to schedule an appointment. All accommodation letters must be submitted
within the first two weeks of the semester if you wish to have accommodations. Faculty
are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the disability services
office. Students who require testing accommodations need to schedule an appointment
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for testing to ensure the staff will be proctoring and to arrange for any adaptive
equipment that may be required. Students should contact their disability counselor for
these services.
Note on Academic Honesty
Academic irregularities cannot be tolerated. Attempts to compromise the integrity of this
course will result in a grade of zero for the assignment or dismissal from the class.
Students must not collaborate on the exams in any way (including the use of materials
from former students) and must not copy material from any source to use as their essay
answers or discussion contributions. See the HCCS Student Handbook for details.
Cheating is not that hard to define and as college students, you should have a firm idea
about what cheating is. Just to be clear, here are a few simple definitions:
Cheating is: Copying from another student's exam.
Cheating is: During a exam, using materials not authorized by the person giving the
exam.
Cheating is: Collaborating with another student during a exam without proper authority.
Cheating is: Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in
whole or part the contents of an exam or paper.
Cheating is: Bribing another person to obtain a copy of an exam.
Cheating is: Plagiarism which means using someone's work or someone's ideas and
representing them to be your own. That "someone" may be another student, a friend, a
relative, a book author, an author of material on a web site, etc. Do not take material from
anywhere without giving proper credit or reference. In other words, do not copy from an
Internet source and paste it into your essay answer space.
Cheating is: Collusion, which means the unauthorized collaboration with another person
in preparing written work offered for credit when you represent that work to be your own.
In this class, the standard penalty for academic dishonesty is a grade of zero on the
assignment. The penalty for repeated plagiarism and cheating on exams is failure in the
course. Depending on severity and frequency, academic dishonesty can lead to a
recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System.
If you ever have any question about what is cheating, what is plagiarism or what is
unauthorized collusion, please contact your instructor before you do anything or submit
anything. It is much better to ask first than to get caught later.
Attendance:
In order to learn the materials and complete this class, you must attend. Children and
visitors are not allowed as it is a distraction from the learning environment. Leaving
class early does not benefit you as you will miss valuable information. Please review the
attendance policy published in the HCC catalog and HCC class schedule. A student may
be dropped from this course after accumulating absences in excess of 12.5% of the
hours of instruction 6 hours or 4 class meetings. Although I do not wish to drop anyone
who is making a good faith effort to succeed in the course, you may need to withdraw if
you are excessively absent from this class as defined by HCC’s attendance policy.
It is your responsibility to officially withdraw from the class by the published date if you
choose not to continue in the class. If you withdraw before the Official Date of Record, no
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grade is given and your transcript reflects no record. A “W” appears on your transcript if
you drop this course after the Official Date of Record and before the final deadline to
drop. Students who remain after the published drop date will be given a regular letter
grade of A, B, C, D, or F.
The last day that either you or I can drop you for the Spring 2014 semester with a grade
of “w” is ,March 24, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. Faculty are no longer allowed to give ”w’s” on the
final grade sheet.
If you exceed the allowable number of absences (4), you should officially withdraw from
the course as you may receive your earned grade after the withdrawal date.
If you wish to withdraw from the class for other reasons, you may do so on line without
having to see me. You must do so by the published withdrawal deadline, March 24, 2014.
Do not assume that I will understand that you want to be dropped. You do not have to
give me an excuse if you miss class. I understand that absences are sometimes
unavoidable. When you miss class, you miss quizzes, lectures, discussions, test
information, etc., and generally defeat your purpose.
Repeating Courses:
Students who repeat a course for a third time or more may soon face significant
tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask
your instructor/counselor about opportunities for tutoring or other assistance prior to
considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades.
International Students:
Receiving a “W” in a course may affect the status of your student Visa. Once a “W” is
given for the course, it will not be changed to an “F” because of the visa consideration.
General Grade Rubric:
The grade of A (100-90) reflects excellence. The A work offers a well-focused and
organized discussion to the instructor’s assignment.
It reflects critical use of all relevant materials, and demonstrates effective and formal
writing requirements. The A work must demonstrate outstanding efforts to identify and
use varied and pertinent evidence from all available sources, to employ those materials
critically in the text of the papers, and to provide error-free citations of those resources.
A work is submitted prior to or on the posted due date.
The grade of B (89-80) reflects work beyond satisfactory, and indicates the work was
completed in an appropriate competent manner.
It demonstrates a strong attempt at original and critical analysis, writing, and research. B
work exceeds satisfactory efforts to identify varied and pertinent evidence from all
available sources. The B paper may contain a number of minor errors of grammar or
citations, and its thesis or its conclusions may be underdeveloped or too weakly
supported.
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B work is submitted prior to or on the posted due date.
The Grade of C (79-70) reflects work that is done in a satisfactory or appropriate manner.
It represents the average work expected for a university course. In order to obtain a C
grade, the student’s work must adhere to all of the assignment’s minimum requirements
but limited to page/ word requirements, number of sources, types of sources, and proper
documentation and citation method. The C work is organized around a central theme
with arguments supported by relevant examples from the available sources. The work is
structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences. Although fulfilling the
assignments, the C work may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not limited
to errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or
uncritical use of materials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and
lack direct relevance of the selected research materials to the topic.
C work is submitted prior to or on the posted due date.
The Grade of D (69-60) reflects work that may have a poorly defined topic or thesis. It
lacks clear focus and organization, and contains unsupported generalizations and/or
conclusions. Research support (citations) is inadequate, not clearly relevant, or
improperly documented. A less-than-minimal research effort is evident. D work fails to
obtain the required page or word minimum requirement. The D work may also suffer from
numerous or major formal writing errors. The D paper fails to adhere to any of the
assignment’s minimum requirements.
D work is submitted prior to or on the posted due date.
The Grade of F (59-1) indicates that the work is not relevant to the assignment and the
topic and thesis are poorly defined.
The work may display inadequate organization or development, unsupported
generalization, and nonstandard formal features (including language usage, sentence
structure, and paragraphing). Research support (citations) is absent, or irrelevant to the
assignment.
EGLS3 -- Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is
necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated time, you will be asked
to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to instruction. The
anonymous results of the survey will be made available to your professors and division
chairs for continual improvement of instruction. Look for the survey as part of the
Houston Community College Student System online near the end of the term.
This syllabus is meant as a guide and is subject to change at the discretion of the
instructor. If there are any changes made, the student will be notified in a timely manner.
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Houston, TX 77002
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