History 1302
American History, 1877-Present
Fall, 2014
Instructor: Alisha Denton Loftin
Campus: West Loop Room C252
Phone: 918-809-8661
Email: alisha.loftin@hccs.edu
; alishadenton@sbcglobal.net
Section: 65222 (Wed) & 65248 (Fri)
Class Time: 7:00pm-10:00pm (Wed)
Office Hours: By Appointment
Turnitin Drop Box Information:
Course Name:
HIST 1302: Fa 14 HIST 1302 Sec 31087
Course ID#: 8297071
Password: hithere
Texts:
Roark, James, et al.
Bell, Thomas.
O’Brien, Tim.
The American Promise: A History of the United States,
Out of this Furnace. Pittsburg: Little, Brown, Inc 1941.
The Things They Carried.
5 th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2012.
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Course Theme:
Course Description and Goals: History 1302 is a survey of American History from 1877 to the present. The study includes social, economic, and political aspects of American life and follows the development of the United States as a world power. The course is based on lectures, readings, films and class participation. This course is designed to improve the student’s skills in the following areas: critical thinking and reading about history, clear and concise writing and articulation about history, comprehension of primary and secondary sources, knowledge of important events, movements, people and ideas in American history.
HIST 1301 is a 16-Week, 48-contact hour lecture course, which fulfills three hours of the state-mandated six-hour history requirement.
Core Requirements :
Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
Social Responsibility: to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
Personal Responsibility - to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making Guidelines
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO):
Students will be able to:
1.
create an argument through the use of historical evidence
2.
analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources
3.
analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural and global forces on this period of United States history
4.
explain the importance of chronology and how earlier ideas and events shaped later events.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO)
1.
2.
Explain the features of the Gilded Age and the issues on society, culture, and politics
Summarize Industrialism and Urbanization
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Analyze the New South and Jim Crow
Explain Populism and Progressivism
Identify the causes and effects of WWI and the US
Discuss America between the wars
Identify the causes of WW2 and the Cold War
Discuss Post-war America at home
Discuss Post-modern America
Course Grades:
The final course grade is based on completion of the following:
Midterm Exam – 100 points
Final Exam – 100 points
Book Test – 100 points each
Daily Quiz Points – 5 points per day
In-Class Essays/Homework Assignments – 20-50 points each

Exams: There will be two exams during the semester, the Midterm Exam will cover chapters 1 - 8, and the Final Exam will cover chapters 9 - 16. The Final Exam will not be comprehensive. Exams will be worth 100 points each. These exams will be multiple choice. Students must provide a green scantron for each exam. Information covered in the exams may come from any lecture, video, reading, discussion, or activity assigned or completed in class. If students do not complete Exam I or the Book Tests on the day it is scheduled, it must be made up during the period set aside for the Final Exam.
Book Tests: Book tests will be administered over the two assigned monographs. Book Tests will be essay in nature, and students must provide a blue book in which to complete each exam.
In-Class Assignments Variable: During class time, students will be sent to complete research on assigned topics and share the information with the class. Your electronic devices may be used for this portion of the class. Homework assignments may be assigned at the instructor’s discretion.
Daily Quizzes: Daily quizzes will occur each day in class and will vary in nature from matching to essay to multiple choice. Five points are possible for each day there is a quiz. Students are expected to come to class prepared.
Grades on written work (Exam Essays, Homework Assignments and In-class Essays, Extra Credit) will be based upon the following standards: Clear and concise presentation of thesis, evidence and analysis (content); organization; appropriate voice, tone and diction, correct grammar, writing structure and spelling, and Turabian-style format. Written work, excluding Book Tests will be turned in on Turnitin.com
Assignment and Exam Evaluation Techniques:
Grades for the class as well as on exams will be assigned on a 10-point curve of total points possible, as follows.
90% - over =A
80%-89%=B
70%-79%=C
60%-69%=D
Under 59%-F
Attendance Policy:
Regular class attendance is not only important from the standpoint of learning, but also is required in order to be successful in this course. Students are held responsible for all materials covered during their absence and any changes made in the agenda.
The student is responsible for withdrawal from the class; the instructor will not complete withdrawals. Class Participation and in-class essay points cannot be made up for any reason.
To withdraw from the class, the student should initiate an official withdrawal through the counseling office; non-attendance
DOES NOT constitute official withdrawal. Failure to withdraw may result in the student receiving a regular grade of “F” at the end of the semester.
To request a change to Audit (A) or Incomplete (I), the student must be maintaining a passing grade. The student must initiate the change with the instructor and sign the audit or incomplete agreement. If the Incomplete is due to a circumstance that prevents the student from being able to sign the form him/herself, the instructor may make other arrangements. See the agenda for the last day to change to A or I or withdraw.
Electronic Devices Policy
Use of electronic devices in the classroom is not permitted without the instructor’s permission.
Please take notes with pen and paper.
If you must leave your mobile phone turned on, please utilize the vibrate setting. Texting, social media and web surfing during class are prohibited.
Plagiarism, Academic Dishonesty, or Misconduct:
Plagiarism is claiming, indicating, or implying that the ideas, sentences, or words of another writer are your own; it includes having another writer do work claimed to be your own, copying the work of another and presenting it as your own, or following the work of another as a guide to ideas and expression that are then presented as your own. The student should review the relevant sections of the
Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook . A student guilty of plagiarism may receive a zero for the assignment and an “F” in the course.
Academic dishonesty or misconduct is not condoned nor tolerated. Academic dishonesty is behavior in which a deliberately fraudulent misrepresentation is employed in an attempt to gain undeserved intellectual credit, either for oneself or for another. Academic misconduct is behavior that results in intellectual advantage obtained by violating specific standard, but without deliberate intent or use of fraudulent means. The student should review the relevant sections of the Student Code of Conduct Policy Handbook .
EGLS
3
-- 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.
Rate my Professor is not sanctioned by HCC, and is never a part of the instructor’s permanent record. It is also often unfair, and inaccurate.

Tentative Schedule of Activities, Agenda and Course Outline:
The instructor may change the assignment schedule AT ANY TIME by verbal or written notification in class or on Eagle Online.
1
2
3
4
14
15
Aug 25-29
Sep 1-5
Sept 8*-12
Sept 15-19
5 Sept 22-26
6 Sept 29-Oct 3
7
8
9
10
11
12
Oct 6-10
Oct 13-17
Oct 20-24
Oct 27-31**
Nov 3-7
13 Nov 17-21
16
*
**
Nov 10-14
Nov 24-28
Dec 1-5
Dec 8-12
Syllabus/ The West
The Gilded Age
No Class Labor Day Monday
The Spanish American War,
American Expansion
Consumerism and Progressivism
Book Test, Out of This Furnace;
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
(movie)
World War 1
Exam I – The West - WWI;
Drama of the 1920s
The Crash of '29
The Depression & The New Deal
World War II
The GI’s Come Home;
Civil Rights of the '50s & '60s
Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll
The Cold War and Viet Nam
No Class W-F (Thanksgiving)
Nixon and Watergate
Book Test, The Things They
Carried
Make Up Day
Exam II – The Crash of ’29 -
Watergate
*Date of Record
**Last Day to Drop
17
18&19
20
21
21
22
23
23&24
25
27
27&28
26&29
29&30
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Course Contract
Please review the syllabus. Then sign and return this contract to your instructor by the 3 rd class meeting via TURNITIN.COM
I ____________________________________ have read and understand the syllabus for HIST 1302. I agree that this is a binding contract and that I will abide by the policies, instructions and guidelines as communicated by it and by my instructor for the duration of my time in the class.
__________________________________
Signed
______________________________
Date