Fall 2011
History Department, College of Arts and Sciences
American History II
AMH 2020-016
3 Credit Hours
Course Description: A history of the United States with attention given to relevant
developments in the Western Hemisphere from 1877 to the present.
Janet M. Hall
Office: SOC 269
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, 1:45 – 2:45; Tuesday, Thursday, 11:00 – 12:00
Direct Line: 974-2688 History Department: 974-2807
jmhall3@usf.edu
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Courses in American History once concentrated only on the achievements of “important”
individuals and institutions. Although instructors might mention a few colorful
characters, these personalities served primarily to awaken a bored class tired of
memorizing dates and facts. More recently historians have focused on events from the
bottom up – discovering the significance of issues such as race, class, gender, and
ethnicity within American society. Insightful studies of women, workers, African and
Native Americans and other groups once considered “unimportant” have transformed our
view of our nations past. However, many of these projects have been criticized for
concentrating only on specifics and ignoring national forces. This course strives to
present a synthesis of the more traditional “political” history and the newer “social”
history. The goal is to illustrate how these concerns interacted to shape the American
experience. Furthermore, the course challenges the students themselves to act as
historians by reading original source material and drawing their own conclusions. This,
along with other course requirements, will encourage both critical and analytical thinking
skills. The course is designed to help students appreciate the nature and importance of an
historical prospective, understand the development of specific peoples and societies, and
become aware of conflicting interpretations of the past.
This course is part of the University of South Florida’s Foundations of Knowledge and
Learning (FKL) Core Curriculum. It is certified for the following Core Area of
Knowledge and Inquiry: Humanities. It is also certified for the following Dimensions:
Critical Thinking: Inquiry Based Learning, Global Context, and Human Historical
Context and Process. Students enrolled in this course will be asked to participate in the
USF General Education assessment effort. This might involve submitting copies of
writing assignments for review, responding to surveys, or participating in other
measurements designed to assess the FKL Core Curriculum learning outcomes.
REQUIRED BOOKS:
Text: Alan Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, Volume II, Sixth Edition (2010)
Document Readings: Elliot Gorn, et.al., Constructing the American Past, Volume 2,
Seventh Edition (2011) You must have this book by the date of the first quiz. Not
having the book is not an acceptable excuse for missing the quiz!
EXAMS AND GRADES:
Four exams will be given during the semester on the dates indicated in the course outline.
These exams will combine multiple choice, short-answer identification, and a choice of
essay questions. Each will count for 20% of the grade. The final 20% of the grade will
be determined by the performance on quizzes on the readings in Gorn’s Constructing the
American Past. The dates for these quizzes are listed in the course outline.
Grading Scale: The plus/minus system will be in effect:
A+ 97 – 100; A 93 – 96; A- 90 – 92; B+ 87 – 89; B 83 -86; B- 80 -82; C+ 77 – 79; C 73 –
76; C- 70 – 72; D+ 67 – 69; D 63 – 66; D- 60 – 62; F 59 and below.
The exam format does include the possibility of extra points being awarded within the
short-answer identification section. These points do not affect the grade of that single
exam. However, these points can impact your final grade in the course. These extra
points will be recorded by the instructor after each exam. If the student has a total of
sixteen or more points at the end of the semester, the final grade will be raised to the next
highest level within the plus/minus system.
Make-up Policy: Make-up exams for the first three exam dates will be given only in
cases of extreme emergency. If you are forced to miss an exam, a doctor’s excuse or
some other written proof that an emergency situation existed must be presented in order
to be eligible to take a make-up exam. Make-up exams will be all essay with no choice
of questions.
You must attend the last exam given on the date listed in the course outline. This is
a university-wide policy. Be sure to make your departure arrangements at the end
of the semester accordingly.
No quizzes may be made-up, but the lowest grade will be dropped. It is important
to get off to a good start on the quizzes. If class cancellations do occur, the number
of quizzes may be reduced.
The only exceptions to the make-up policy described above will be with regard to
missing class because of a university function or because of the observance of a religious
holiday. Students missing exams or quizzes because of their participation in a USF
sponsored activity that requires them to be absent on the designated class date will be
allowed to make up the missed work without penalty. This will also apply to students
missing class work due to religious holidays listed as such by the university. Advanced
notice of the days to be missed must be given to the instructor in writing, prior to the date
in question.
Grade information will be posted on Blackboard. Exams and quizzes will also be
returned during class in a timely fashion. All exams and quizzes will be returned to the
instructor. Failure to return a quiz or exam, as required, will be considered a violation of
the cheating policy and will be treated as such.
POLICY REGARDING CHEATING:
Any student believed to be cheating by the instructor during an exam or quiz will have
his or her paper taken immediately from them at the time of the infraction or be notified
via email to see the instructor in her office. Unusually similar papers turned in by
students will be closely examined for the possibility of cheating. Any material taken by
the instructor or determined to be cheating at a later date will receive a “0” grade. A
second infraction will result in the awarding of an FF grade as the final grade in the class
and the student(s) will be reported to the appropriate university official. However, the
instructor does reserve the right to award an FF grade when just one infraction has
occurred, if that infraction is considered especially egregious.
S-U AND INCOMPLETE GRADE POLICIES:
The S-U and incomplete grade policies in this class are in accordance with the university
policies as stated in the Catalog. S-U contracts must be negotiated in writing within the
first three weeks of the term. An “I” grade can be awarded to a student only when a
small portion of the work is incomplete and only when the student is otherwise earning a
passing grade.
ACCOMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students with disabilities are responsible for registering with Students with Disabilities
Services in order to receive academic accommodations. SDS encourages students to
notify instructors of accommodation needs at least five business days prior to needing the
accommodation. A letter from SDS must accompany this request.
CLASS POLICIES:
Students should be prepared to arrive in class on time. Late students are a diversion
and habitually late students will be asked to leave. Quizzes and exams are given at the
beginning of class. If you are late on a quiz day, you may not be allowed to take the quiz.
If you are late on an exam day, the amount of time you have to complete the exam will be
reduced. If any student has already completed his or her exam and left the classroom, a
student arriving after that time will not be allowed to take the exam.
Once in class, it will be expected that you will stay for the entire class period.
Because the material presented in lecture is of vital importance to the successful
completion of the course, it will be expected that students will remain quiet (no talking
once class starts) and will remain seated for the duration (no leaving to get a drink, take a
walk, leave early, etc.)
TURN OFF YOUR PHONES BEFORE CLASS BEGINS!
NO TEXTING, TWITTERING, ETC. !
You may use a laptop to take notes or follow the study guide. Students thought to be
using laptops for other purposes will be asked to put them away.
You may tape the class for your personal use. However, selling tape recordings or
written notes, or purchasing tape recordings or written notes, will be considered a
violation of the cheating policy and will be treated as such.
Attendance will not be taken and there is not a percentage of your grade directly linked to
your presence in class. However, the successful completion of this course is almost
impossible unless you attend class on a regular basis. It is your responsibility to come to
class.
In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations.
During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that
include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging
and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor the
Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF,
College, and department websites, emails and MoBull messages for important general
information.