HIST 1302 CRN 62174 American History to 1877
Spring 2011 TR 12:30 to 2:00 pm
Houston Community College Southwest-West Loop Campus, Room C252
Instructor: Dr. Rogan Ellen Brunet
Email: rogan.brunet@hccs.edu
Website: http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/rogan.brunet
Office: F17 in the Student Success Center, Phone: 7137188195
Course Description: History 1302 is a survey of United States history from 1877 to the presidency of
Richard Nixon. It will focus on the evolution of the economic, social/cultural and political institutions
which define the development of the modern United States and its people. Although this course is built
around historical events and processes, it is much more than a simple recitation of facts. Students will
learn and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills and will work with historical documents,
maps and economic and demographic models.
History 1302 is a 16 week, 48 contact hour course which fulfills three hours of the state-mandated
six-hour history requirement. Completion of this class will also improve performance in reading,
writing, critical thinking, communication, and computer skills.
Prerequisites: Must be placed into college-level reading and college-level writing.
Learning Objectives: This course will enable the student to gain a clearer understanding of American
History after 1877 by examining major topic, such as industrialism, Imperialism, the two World Wars,
the Great Depression and the creation of modern American politics, the Cold War, Civil Rights and
Vietnam. Students will gain a clear perspective on how these issues form an interconnected and
continuous web of history. Furthermore, students will increase their critical thinking skills and their
writing ability through the use of essay exams. In addition, students will read/assess primary source
documents on the internet, expanding their computer skills, and their knowledge of the historical era
studied.
Texts:
American Passages, v.2, 3rd ed., Edward Ayers, et. al. (recommended)
www.digitalhistory.uh.edu, Stephen Mintz (recommended)
Native Son, Richard Wright (required)
Purchasing a textbook is optional. If you want a textbook for this class, my recommendation is American
Passages, v2. There is also an online textbook available at www.digitalhistory.uh.edu. This course is lecture
intensive however and reading a textbook will not replace lecture notes. Any textbook should be used as a
supplement to the information presented each day in class. In addition, lecture outlines are available on my
Learning Web site. Please have them in class on the day of the appropriate lecture.
Exams: There will be three exams in this course, each covering a third of the material presented. Each exam
will consist of three short answer excercises and one essay question. A study guide to the exam will be given
prior to the exam date. Each exam is worth 100 pts. No student will be admitted to the classroom fifteen
minutes after the exam has begun. It is assumed that all students will take all exams at the assigned times,
unless you make arrangements to the contrary ahead of the scheduled exam time.
Reading Assignments: There will be one web-based reading assignment and one monograph (book)
that will be given in addition to your regular exams. These readings will not be available for purchase
in the book store but you can find them online or at bookstores in town. The exams for these reading
will be essay in content and will be given in class. On the day of the exam, please bring the readings or
book to class.
Make-up Exams: Make-up exams are given at the discretion of the instructor, and only if the student
has a university approved reason for missing an exam. You must have the approval of the instructor to
schedule a make-up exam. Students will take all make-up exams at the Testing Center on campus. No
papers will be handed back to students until ALL make-ups are completed so please schedule makeups in a timely manner.
Extra Credit: I do not give extra credit assignments so do not ask for special consideration. If you have
time for extra credit assignments, then you have time to do the work to pass the class.
Free Online Tutoring: HCC has implemented a free online tutoring program for all HCC students. The
web address is www.hccs.askonline.net. You will need to enter your email address, choose a
username and password and to know your HCC student ID number (the one that starts with a W).
Please take advantage of this new resource.
Grades: Your grades in this class are a reflection of your critical thinking skills, how well you analyze the data
presented to you and how you organize this data into educated opinions. You will do this by writing an essay on
each exam. The purpose of an essay is to present your point of view about a given topic. In this class, an essay
is the vehicle to demonstrate your mastery of the subject and your organization of these facts into a logical
conclusion that states your opinion of the given subject. You will be graded on content and grammar.
Houston Community College now charges higher tuition rates for students who repeat a class for the
third time (or more).
Your final grade will be derived from the sum of your three exams (300 pts) and reading exams (200
pts), divided by the total number of points possible (500 pts). The grading scale is as follows:
A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59-0
Final Grades will be available to students by May 20. Please note that there will be no curving of
grades in this class.
Incompletes: If you experience an unexpected hardship or personal matter during the course of the
semester, you may be able to take an incomplete for the class. The requirements for an incomplete
are as follows: you must have a passing grade for the class and you must have completed at least
75% of the classwork. Remember that any incomplete work must be finished within a semester or the
“I” will change to an “F”.
Open Computer Lab: There are several open computer labs available on the West Loop Campus that
will provide students with access to the internet and email. You can also purchase a printing card to
use the printers in these labs. Please see the instructor for more information if needed.
Computers and Tape Recorders: If you wish, you may use tape recorders and computers to facilitate
note taking in class. Note that if you use a computer to play games or surf the web in this class, it is a
distraction to others in the class and I will have you dropped from the class.
Cell Phones: Cell phones are highly disruptive in class. All students are required to either turn their cell
phones to vibrate or power them off. In the case of a student expecting an important phone call,
please inform me of the situation before class. If your cell phones rings during class, I reserve the right
to deduct one point from your final class average. In addition, students will be required to put away
their cell phones during exams.
Attendance Requirements: Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. I cannot stress enough the
importance of attending classes. Excessive absences will negatively affect your grade.
Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. If, in the course of the semester, any student misses
more than six classes, then that student WILL BE ADMINISTRATIVELY DROPPED. If you wish to drop
this class, please inform me that you intend to do so. It is your responsibility to drop this class if you so
desire. The final date for withdrawal is April 21. If you do not feel you will pass the class, you must take
the responsibility to withdraw on yourself. International students, students receiving financial aid and
veterans must be enrolled full time (12 hours) in order to maintain their status. Please keep this in
mind if you decide to drop this class. The HCCS History Department has mandated that NO ‘”W” will be
changed to an “F”. Also, make an effort to arrive in class on time. If you are not in class when roll is
called you will not be counted present for that day.
The last day for add/drop/swap is January 19th. The final date to drop this class is April 21.
Please be aware of the fact that you are limited to six withdrawals over your college career when you are
considering dropping the class.
Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited by
HCC policy and by the rules of this class.
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Plagiarism is the use of the ideas or words of another person (either whole or in part) without
crediting the source and constitutes the theft of another person’s intellectual property. It is
the most common form of academic dishonesty. If you are unclear as to what constitutes
plagiarism, you should seek clarification before beginning an assignment.
Cheating involves fraud and deception for the purpose of violating legitimate testing rules.
Cheating includes, but is not limited to: copying from another student’s test paper, using
during an exam materials or resources not authorized by the instructor; collaborating with
another student during a test; knowingly using, buying, selling whole or part of an
unadministered test.
Academic dishonesty constitutes a severe violation of HCC policy and rules and is subject to
stringent penalties. Violations of these policies will result, at a minimum, in the automatic
failure of this course. Severe violations could result in suspension or expulsion from HCC.
Students with Disabilities: I will make every effort to accommodate those students with disabilities.
Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who
needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Support Service Counselor,
Dr. Becky Hauri (713 718-7909) at the beginning of the semester. Faculty members are authorized to
provide only the accommodations requested by the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS).
Students who are requesting special testing accommodations must first contact the office.
Caveat: The College purges students who have not paid their tuition or have some other glitch with
their registration every weekend. However, it does not inform those students who have been dropped
from their classes. It would be in your best interests to pay your tuition on time and ensure that you
are still enrolled in classes by the 12th class day, by midterm and before finals. I cannot re-enroll
students who have been dropped by administration, no matter what their class standing might be.
Please take care of any registration problems promptly.
This is a working syllabus and remains flexible. Please feel free to ask questions and remember that
participation is highly encouraged (and welcome) in class. The instructor reserves the right to modify
the syllabus at any time, with notification to the students.
Course Calendar:
Week One
Jan 18
Jan 20
Introduction to the course, start reading the web assignment and Native Son
Topic One: The Not So Wild, Wild West
Week Two
Jan 25
Jan 27
Topic Two: The Industrial Revolution: 1865-1900
continue Topic Two
Week Three
Feb 1
Feb 3
Topic Three: Living in An Industrial Age: 1870-1900
continue Topic Three
Week Four
Feb 8
Feb 10
Topic Four: The Politics of the “Gilded Age”: 1880-1900
continue Topic Four
Week Five
Feb 15
Feb 17
Topic Five: The United States becomes a World Power: Imperialism: 1865-1900
EXAM ONE, Topic 1-4
Week Six
Feb 22
Feb 24
continue Topic Five
Topic Six: A New Century and A New Spirit: Progressivism: 1900-1920
Week Seven
Mar 8
Mar 10
continue Topic Six
Reading Exam on the Washington/du Bois
Week Eight
Mar 14-18
SPRING BREAK
Week Nine
Mar 22
Mar 24
Topic Seven: The Great War: 1900-1920
continue Topic Seven
Week Ten
Mar 29
Mar 31
Topic Eight: The Age of Jazz: 1920’s
Topic Nine: The Great Depression: 1929-1940
Week Eleven
Apr 5
Apr 7
continue Topic Nine
EXAM TWO, Topic 5-7
Week Twelve
Apr 12
Apr 14
Topic Ten: The New Deal creates Modern America: 1933-1940
continue Topic Ten
Week Thirteen
Apr 19
Apr 21
Topic Eleven: The World at War…Again: 1930-1945
Reading Exam on Native Son
Week Fourteen
Apr 26
Apr 28
continue Topic Eleven
Topic Twelve: Prosperity and Paranoia: Happy Days and the Cold War: 1945-1960
Week Fifteen
May 3
May 5
Topic Thirteen: Prosperity turns to Protest, Civil Rights and Vietnam: 1955-1975
Topic Fourteen: The Conservative Revolution and Watergate: 1968-1975
May 12
FINAL 12:00 p.m., Thursday