HIST 4603/ Gilded Age & Progressive Era/ Sp 2015
CRN 26589 / 9:30-10:45 a.m. TR/ LAR 224
OFFICE HRS:
Dr. Kenny L. Brown/ LA204F/ 974-5356 kebrown@ucok.edu
Department of History & Geography/ College of Liberal Arts
M-F By appointment
MWF 10:00 -10:50 a.m. (in my office)
TR 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (in government documents area of the UCO Library—2nd floor)
Course Description: This course is a detailed study of American History from the Hayes-Tilden Election to the end of World War I (Prereqs.: HIST 1483 or 1493)
TEXTBOOKS: Cashman, Sean Dennis. America in the Gilded Age: From the Death of Lincoln to the Rise of Theodore
Roosevelt. New York: New York University Press, 1993.
Cooper, John Milton. Pivotal Decades: The United States, 1900-1920. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1990.
Edwards, Rebecca. New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, 1865-1905. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2006.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be expected to learn and analyze a large amount of factual information concerning the history of the United
States from 1877 to 1919 (Gilded Age and Progressive Era). Upon successful completion of this course students should:
o demonstrate a wide knowledge of the key events and people of the period.
o exhibit an ability to understand the importance of chronology in determining causation.
o structure large amounts of information efficiently and accurately and communicate that information through writing
on exams and in a research project.
o have formed habits of preparing for class each class meeting, thus avoiding procrastination.
NOTE: The rule of thumb for college study is as follows: You should study three hours outside of class for every hour you
are in class. Because you are in the equivalent of 3 class periods a week, you should be studying 9 hours outside of class
each week. Reading the textbook and reviewing your notes should become a frequent habit.
TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING:
The University of Central Oklahoma is committed to transformative learning by emphasizing SIX areas: Discipline
Knowledge, Leadership, Research, Civic Engagement, Global and Cultural Competencies, and Health and Wellness. This
course provides you the opportunity to add to Discipline Knowledge, by acquiring content knowledge and by practicing the
techniques of a historian. Because you will be giving oral answers among your classmates and will learn to communicate in
writing, you will be developing key skills of Leadership , and you will analyze both good and bad historical examples of
leaders throughout the history of the United States (1877-1919). The two research projects will introduce you to various
Research techniques and train you in locating and evaluating both primary and secondary sources. The readings, lectures, and
discussions will give you the opportunity to achieve Global and Cultural Competencies because you will learn about the
United States in a global perspective and will become acquainted with the various cultures that are part of the state’s story.
Likewise, the content of this course can help create the basis for Civic Engagement, in that you will be better informed about
key political and social issues of America’s past and how they apply to today.
EXAMS:
o There will be 4 exams during this semester.
o The first three exams will consist of the following:
o multiple choice, completions, and map items worth 30 to 40 points (1 to 2 points each)
o 3 to 5 identifications worth 5 or 10 points each
o 1 essay worth 30 or 40 points
o Both the 3rd exam and a 4th exam will be given on the final exam date (Tuesday, May 5, 9:00 to 10:50 a.m.).
o The 3rd exam will include material covered in class after March 31.
o The 4th exam will be comprehensive exam and will include material covered prior to March 31.
o This 4th exam will consist of multiple choice and possibly some identifications.
o Each of the 4 exams will be worth 100 points.
o Exam Schedule:
1st exam = February 10
2nd exam = March 31
rd
3 and 4th exams = Tuesday, May 5, 9:00 to 10:50 a.m.
MAKE UPS FOR EXAMS:
o If you are absent on a exam date, you may take a make-up within a week after the regular exam.
o If you do not take a make-up exam within the week after the regular exam, your make-up will automatically be
rescheduled for the afternoons of April 28 and 29.
o It will be up to you to approach the instructor and get permission to take a make-up for an exam. You should contact
the instructor as soon as possible and no later than two days after the regular exam.
o All make-ups will consist of essays, identifications, and, perhaps, some map items.
QUIZZES:
o In addition to the 4 exams, you will have daily quizzes, worth a total of 100 possible points.
o At twenty-five of the class meetings, the instructor will submit a quiz to the students over readings in the textbook
and other readings assigned for that day.
o Each quiz will be worth 5 points.
o The cumulative score on the quizzes will be worth the same value as one exam (100 points).
o The instructor will drop the lowest five grades of the twenty-five quizzes administered during the semester.
o If you miss a quiz because of tardiness or absence, you will not be allowed to make up the quiz. That quiz will be
recorded as a zero and will be one of the five dropped. If you miss more than five quizzes, each additional quiz
missed will be recorded as a zero.
o At many of the class sessions immediately following the written quiz, the instructor will call on a student (chosen
at random) to give an oral answer to a question based on readings or other assignments. If the student
successfully answers the question, then all class members present will receive one bonus point.
ATTENDANCE:
Roll will be called at each day. Except for quizzes you miss or exams you do not make up, no points will be
deducted from your final grade if you miss classes. No points will be added to your course grade if you do attend. To do
well in this class you must attend regularly, listen, and take notes. Also, you will avoid much anguish over makeup exams
if you simply attend each time.
DISHONESTY:
Acts of dishonesty will result in a zero grade for the exam or quiz involved or an "F" grade for the semester, depending on
the offense. Plagiarism on the research project will result in an “F” for the semester.
RESEARCH PROJECT:
Each student will submit a research project, which will have two parts worth 50 points each (100 points total). The guidelines
for this project will be provided later as a separate handout. If you do not complete both components of the research project,
you will receive a failing grade for the course even if you take all of the tests and quizzes.
GRADING SCALE:
Total points for the entire course
540-600 = A
(90-100%)
480-539 = B (80-89.9%)
420-479 = C
(70-79.9%)
360-419 = D (60-69.9%)
0-359 = F
(0-59.9%)
NOTE: Total points include four exam grades (100 points each), the combined grades of all quizzes (100 points total),
and the grade for the research project (100 points).
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS INFORMATION:
Please read the information for this term provided from the Office of Academic Affairs:
http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/files/aa-forms/StudentInfoSheet.pdf