WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
VIRTUAL CAMPUS
SCHOOL OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically
challenging, learning focused, and distinctively Christian environment for
professional success and service to God and humankind.
COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE:
TERM:
HIST 5333 VC01:
Regional History:
Texas
Summer 2012 (May 21-August 4)
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE HOURS:
Dr. Estelle Owens
owensest@wbu.edu; 806-291-1171 (office)
806-296-7820 (home)
806-729-7921 (cell)
Mondays: 10:00-12:30
Tuesdays: 1:30-4:00
Wednesdays: 10:00-12:30
Thursdays: 1:30-4:00
Fridays: by appointment
Anytime via email
OFFICE:
Gates Hall 314 on the Plainview campus
CLASS MEETING TIME/LOCATION:
online/asynchronous via Blackboard
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Selected topics and issues in regional history; may be
repeated for credit when topic changes.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: in-depth study of Texas as an entity and as a microcosm
of the entire American experience.
PREREQUISITES: Graduate standing, undergraduate level understanding of U.S.
history, proficiency in writing and researching primary sources
TEXTBOOKS AND RESOURCE MATERIALS: Randolph B. Campbell, Gone to Texas: A
History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press AND Haynes, Sam W.
and Cary D. Wintz, eds., Major Problems in Texas History: Documents and
Essays. Houghton Mifflin.
Excerpts from other scholarly books, journal articles, and primary source
readings, graphics and documentary videos will occasionally be posted online.
COURSE OUTCOME COMPETENCIES: Successful completion of a regional history
course will enable the students to understand and be able to explain
*the political, social, economic, religious and intellectual history of
the region,
*the impact of geographical factors in shaping it,
*significant persons and events,
*the relationship of the region to the rest of the world.
After successfully completing this specific course on Texas, the student will
understand, and be able to explain the following events and the scholarship
associated with them:
--the native Texans’ cultures
--Spain’s and France’s roles in and contributions to the settlement of Texas
--Mexico’s role and contributions to the development of Texas
--causes and course of the Texas Revolution
--growth and development of the Republic of Texas
--ante-bellum Texas’ development, including the impact of slavery
--Texas’ role in the Civil War and Reconstruction periods
--ending of the frontier in Texas, especially the impact of the Indian
experience and of cattlemen and farmers
--Texas in the Gilded Age and Progressive periods
--impact of oil on the state’s development
--prosperity of the 1920s, Depression and New Deal
--Texas’ role in World War II and the Cold War
--recent developments in the state’s people, economy, and politics
ATTENDANCE: Attendance and participation in this course are essential to
students’ success. Any student who cannot “attend” class and participate
regularly should drop the course.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: In compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the policy of Wayland Baptist
University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded
from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to
discrimination under any educational program or activity in the
university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the coordinator
of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning
accommodation requests at (806) 291-3765. Documentation of a disability must
accompany any request for accommodations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to have the necessary background
work and appropriate skills needed for success in a graduate class. The
quality of work on all written assignments should be substantially higher
than at the undergraduate level. Specific requirements are listed below.
Readings: In addition to the textbooks, additional scholarly articles,
excerpts from major historical works, and primary source materials will be
available through Blackboard.
Discussions: Graduate students are expected to participate enthusiastically
and thoughtfully in online discussions of the material, posting analytical
responses to the questions posed each week and responding to their
classmates’ posts in the same way. Students will lead the discussions on
their papers.
Tests: There will be midterm and final essay exams. Both will be
administered through our Blackboard course site. See the course outline for
the due dates of these exams.
Research paper: By midnight Central time on Sunday, July 22, students will
submit their research paper through the Safe Assign feature in Blackboard and
post a précis of the paper in “Assignments” for their classmates to have.
Precis are succinct summaries of papers, no more than 10% of the length of
the original. The précis for a 20-page paper, for example, would be no
longer than two pages.
The paper will discuss a particular aspect of 20th century Texas, relying
heavily on the primary sources available on that topic, and including the
writer’s own interpretation of it. The topics must be approved in advance
and must be limited to the 20th century—no Alamo, no founding of Texas, no
Texas Revolution, no Indian Wars. Those topics have all been done to death
and, therefore, eliminate the possibility of a student making a real
contribution to the knowledge we already have. Students will consult with
the instructor for any assistance needed in shaping the thesis statement
and/or for finding scholarly sources. Students will cite their sources in
accordance with the Turabian (Chicago) style manual. Sources must be
scholarly in nature and can include books, journal articles, primary
materials, and a cautious use of online materials produced by such entities
as the Library of Congress and the National Archives. Wayland’s Learning
Resources Center has abundant searchable newspaper sources available online,
including the Dallas Morning News, and numerous others as part of
newspaperarchive. Anyone who uses Wikipedia, Encarta, or a high school
student’s term paper found online will be shot and buried in an unmarked
grave. Graduate students are expected to do graduate level research.
Only one student will be allowed to work on a particular topic, so students
should consult their instructor early and often when selecting and
researching a topic. Local topics are absolutely acceptable as long as
scholarly sources exist to support them. Consider ethnic/gender issues,
diplomatic and interstate relations, elections, Texans and national or
international events, and so on. Avoid biographies or simple “this is what
happened” narratives. Graduate papers should focus on, not only what
happened, but why and the “so what?” of what happened.
GRADE:
The final course grade will be computed as follows:
Term paper
Presentation of paper
Midterm exam
Final exam
Class discussion
25%
10%
20%
20%
25%
The University has a standard grading scale as follows: A = 90-100 (an
excellent performance for the graduate level); B = 80-89 (good performance);
C = 70-79 (barely acceptable performance); D = 60-69 (unacceptable at the
graduate level; results in academic probation); F = below 60 (unacceptable;
results in suspension from the graduate program); W = the student withdrew
from the course before the deadline; WP = the student withdrew passing before
the deadline; WF = the student withdrew failing before the deadline); and I =
incomplete. A grade of “incomplete” is given only if circumstances beyond
the student’s control prevented completion of work during the semester
enrolled and any attendance requirements have been met. A grade of
“incomplete” is changed if the deficiency is made up by midterm of the next
regular semester; otherwise, it becomes F.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Date
May 21-27
May 28-June 3
June 4-10
June 11-17
June 18-24
June 25-July 1
July 2-8
July 9-15
July 16-22
July 23-29
July 30-Aug. 4
Important dates:
Reading assignment
Campbell, chapters 1-2
Haynes, chapters 1-2
Campbell, chapters 3-4
Haynes, chapter 3
Campbell, chapters 5-6
Haynes, chapters 4-5
Campbell, chapter 7
Haynes, chapter 6
Campbell, chapters 8-9
Haynes, chapter 7
None
Topic
Natives and
explorations
Spanish Texas
Course assignment
Discussion board
Mexican Texas
and Revolution
The Republic
Discussion board
Statehood
Discussion board
None
Campbell, chapters 10-11
Haynes, chapter 8-9
Campbell, chapters 12-13
Haynes, chapters 10-11
Campbell, chapter 14
Haynes, chapter 12
Campbell, chapters 15-16
Haynes, chapters 13-15
None
Civil War and
Reconstruction
Frontier and
reform
1920-1941
Midterm exam
available over all
reading
assignments and
discussions
Discussion board
Discussion board
Discussion board
Discussion board
Discussion board
Modern Texas
Discussion board
None
Final exam
available;
Campbell chapters
10-16 & Haynes
chapters 8-15
July 13—last day to withdraw with a W
July 20—last day to withdraw with a WP/WF
July 22—post paper and précis to course site by midnight
August 4—course ends at midnight
INSTRUCTOR’S POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Academic dishonesty will result
in a grade of zero for that exam or assignment. No make-up work will be
allowed to replace this score. The message here is DON’T DO IT. I may not
catch every instance of dishonesty or be able to prove it, but that doesn’t
make a cheater any less a cheater, a liar, and a thief. Plagiarizing all or
any part of the term paper and failing to give proper credit for the words or
thoughts of someone else will result in a zero. At 25% of the course grade,
that guarantees that a student will fail the course and thereby be suspended
from graduate school. Specifically, this means that anytime you use someone
else’s words exactly, you MUST enclose them in quotation marks, give a
footnote/endnote number right after the quoted material (or at the end of the
sentence) in a correctly formatted source citation for where you found that
material. APA style internal notes are not acceptable; historians use
Turabian (Chicago) Manual of Style. The penalties for plagiarism are far too
stiff to risk it. Any questions about how to cite sources and the material
taken from them should be addressed in a question on the discussion board so
that all can benefit from the answers.
INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY: I am available to help with any questions about the
material, or finding sources, or how to cite them properly using Turabian.
Email questions to me at owensest@wbu.edu if the question applies only to
you. If the question is one to which you believe your classmates would also
benefit from hearing the answer, please post it on the discussion board.
The Writing Center staff is also available and anxious to be of assistance.
All students may access the Writing Center via a link on Wayland’s webpage at
www.wbu.edu. The Writing Center is available to assist online students, and
no face-to-face visit is required to receive this assistance.