Master Syllabus – HST 1200 and 1201
COURSE TITLE:
Topics in History
COURSE NUMBER: HST 1200 and 1201
NUMBER OF CREDIT HOURS: Three
PREREQUISITES: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is offered when the community or students indicate
sufficient interest in a specific historical subject that no other history course adequately covers.
Such topics in history of particular cultural groups or of specific historical eras are possible areas
of study. Students should consult semester course offerings for specific listings.
OBJECTIVES
The HST 1200 and 1201 courses have the potential to study specific cultural, economic,
political, or social topics from United States history, Western Civilization or other historical
areas. Faculty assigned to teach the Topics courses are confronted with what material can
reasonably be covered during the semester and what material will need to be discarded. There
are also the issues of interpretation and what themes that may also be studied. With the caveats
in mind, the list given below is not intended to serve as the absolute statement of performance
objectives to be achieved, but it should serve as a general guide.
Performance Objectives
The following list of performance objectives is a general guide to what may be expected of
students enrolled in HST 1200 and/or 1201
 Describe cause and effect for historical events and/or movements.
 Describe major cultures, religions, and historic and ethnic groups.
 Describe how technology and human activity have shaped societies and environments.
 Describe the influence of philosophies and religion on civilization.
 Identify and describe major persons in history and their influence.
 Demonstrate a basic knowledge of world geography.
 Demonstrate a basic understanding of the organization and functions of government.
 Describe basic economic principles.
 Describe the historical, philosophical and ideological foundations of systems of
government and social organizations.
 Write unified, coherent academic essays, correct in structure and mechanics, which
support a clear thesis.
 Respond to writing assignments with reasoned papers that are the result of research,
careful note taking, and writing drafts and are characterized by correct sentence structure,
punctuation, and mechanics, and proper documentation.
 Locate and use resources outside the classroom.
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Master Syllabus – HST 1200 and 1201
Course Objectives
Five to seven specific course objectives will be identified. The specific topic studied will
determine what the specific objectives will be, as the topics studied will change from semester to
semester.
Expectations
The following is a list of some of the behaviors that faculty member teaching the course will
expect of students.
 Bring pens and/or pencils and notebook paper and have bluebooks when required.
 Be prepared to take lecture notes.
 Observe proper classroom and/or online etiquette.
 Complete assignments according to schedule.
 Adhere to the demands of academic integrity by avoiding plagiarism and cheating.
 Read college level reading material.
 Write essays or assignments with clarity and a minimum of writing errors.
 Document sources properly in written assignments.
OUTLINE OF TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN THE COURSE
The specific sub-topics or content will be determined by the topic being studied.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
A variety of learning activities can be used in teaching the HST 1200 and 1201 courses. The
learning activities may include the following: lectures, graphics based presentations, group work
(voluntary and required), multimedia presentations, college-level reading assignments (reader,
textbook, ancillary materials, primary documents, outside sources, etc.), course assignments
(book reviews, written assignments, research assignments, written and objective examinations,
etc.), films/tapes, recorded music, oral presentations, and discussions.
Evaluation is based principally on examinations and written assignments, but that does not
preclude other assessment methods.
INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY
The HST 1200 and 1201 courses may be offered as lecture, hybrid or online courses.
Faculty will need to provide the students with a syllabus detailing the following: course
description; office hours; faculty contact information; schedule of topics, assignments,
examinations and or activities; required course materials; grade scale; course objectives;
descriptions of course assignments; and appropriate course and college wide policies.
In the lecture course the instructional delivery is typically in a classroom. There faculty may
take advantage of a wide range of instructional approaches to capture as many different learning
styles of students as possible. What occurs in the classroom, lecture, discussions, group work,
multimedia, should be supplemented by required reading consisting of a college level textbook
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Master Syllabus – HST 1200 and 1201
and a supplementary reading assignment. Give students the opportunity to show their reading,
writing, and evaluation skills in any variety of written assignments. Faculty may also wish to
provide students the opportunity to develop their speaking skills by assigning oral presentations.
Additionally, faculty members are required to make themselves available to the students through
scheduled office hours.
The online course is delivered outside the classroom. The course may be arranged into learning
modules that will correspond to the chapters in the textbook or segments of other reading
assignments. The modules will be completed sequentially. Faculty members are required to
check e-mail within the course at least once every twenty-four hours. Student skills and historical
knowledge are evaluated through examinations, written assignments, journals, chats, blogs, etc.
The hybrid course combines in one week a classroom meeting and work online.
GENERAL EDUCATION VALUES
Reading
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Read college-level material
2.
Evaluate written material to reach conclusions
3.
Synthesize information and concepts gained from reading
Learning
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Locate and use resources outside the classroom
2.
Ask pertinent questions
Speaking
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Ask and answer questions effectively.
Interpersonal Communication
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Recognize cultural diversity in others.
Reasoning
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Compare, contrast, and classify information and concepts
2.
Recognize cause and effect.
Political/Historical
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Be aware of historical, philosophical, and ideological foundations of major systems of
government and of social organization.
Cultural/Social
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Master Syllabus – HST 1200 and 1201
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Have a basic understanding of how individuals and groups behave, develop, and function.
2.
Know about major cultures, religions, and ethnic groups
3.
Have an awareness of philosophies and religions and their influence on culture.
4.
Understand that cultures are influenced by myths, rituals, and shared beliefs.
5.
Be familiar with the visual, literary, and musical arts and other forms of artistic and
cultural expressions.
Economic
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Be aware of the role played by business, consumers, and government in influencing our
economy.
Technological
Graduates should be able to:
1.
Have a basic knowledge of local, national, and world geography.
2.
Be familiar with how technology and human activities shape society and the
environment.
VALIDATION MECHANISM
General education skills may be validated in the following ways: assign college-level reading
(reader, textbook, ancillary materials, primary documents, outside sources, etc.), require course
assignments (book reviews, various kinds of written assignments, research assignments, oral
presentations, etc.), and essay and/or objective examinations), grade class participation, and/or
require group work assignments.
ATTENDANCE
Individual faculty members are free to establish their own particular attendance policy. Do not
assume that the attendance policy of one faculty member will be the same as another.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All faculty members require students to conduct themselves according to the standards of
academic integrity in all of their courses. Article V of the Student Handbook describes the
importance of academic integrity, what constitutes the violation of academic integrity, and
college discipline for breach of academic integrity. Faculty members will discuss the issue of
academic integrity and enforce the Student Handbook in their courses.
.
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