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Syllabus for History 101 Fall 2018

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Instructor Information

  • Ramón Cornejo Veloso, Ph.D.
  • rveloso@palomar.edu
  • Office Hours:
    • Tuesdays & Thursdays
      • 9:25-9:45am in ESC-105 (Escondido Campus)
      • 3:45-4:05pm in MD-306 (San Marcos Campus)
    • If you cannot make it during these times, feel free to make an appointment for a time that will work for both of us.

Course Description

This course will survey some of the significant issues in the history of the United States from the Pre-Columbian period to approximately 1865, with emphasis on the years between 1640 and 1860. The plethora of historical events, circumstances, and developments during this constantly changing epoch make it impossible to offer a general survey that encompasses all this history; as a result, this class will concentrate on the histoire des mentalités of early Americans. Histoire des mentalités, as defined by historians, is the study of people’s values; the study of how they imagined, understood, and constructed their world; and how this in turn influenced their actions and decisions. All lectures will explore early America through this analytical lens.

As students become familiar with the histoire des mentalités of early Americans, they will appreciate that throughout the course of the seventeenth through middle of the nineteenth centuries, Americans increasingly valued—as well as continually debated, defined, and redefined—the ideals of freedom and republicanism, and utilized them to understand their world. Students will grasp how these ideals shaped early Americans’ constructions of gender, class, and race; as well as how these constructions of gender, class, and race shaped the concepts of freedom and republicanism; and how these cultural interactions influenced political, social, religious, and economic developments.

This course is also an introduction to the study of history: the ways historians look at the past, construct and develop interpretations about the past, and think about how to marshal evidence in order to support these interpretations. Class discussions, exercises, and writing assignments are specifically designed to introduce students to the craft of history. I hope that as this semester progresses you will begin thinking like historians and enjoy being historians.

Student Learning Objectives & Assessment

  • Accurately interpret American history through the use of primary and secondary sources
    • Assessed through class discussions, papers, and exams
  • Accurately recall knowledge of major events and figures in American history through Reconstruction
    • Assessed through class discussions and exams
  • Demonstrate college level writing in assessing and interpreting American history
    • Assessed through papers and exams
  • Identify the historical and theoretical foundations of the U.S. Constitution, the structure and function of the three Branches of government, the Checks and Balances system, and the nature as well as the continuing impact of the Bill of Rights
    • Assessed through class discussions, papers, and exams
  • Identify, use, and cite reliable primary and secondary sources in American history
    • Assessed through class discussions and papers

Required Textbook

  • Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson, Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey with Sources, Volume 1 to 1877 (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2013).
    • You may purchase the bound, loose leaf, or digital versions of this text.
      • Bound Version ISBN: 9780312410001
      • Loose-Leaf Version ISBN: 9781457641954
      • Digital Version ISBN: 9781457635533
    • These are the options and prices available to you at the Palomar College Bookstore: https://www.bkstr.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/booklookServlet

Class Policies

The assigned readings are indispensable for you to understand the course. You should be active rather than passive readers. Do not merely accept the claims of Hewitt, Lawson, myself, and your classmates; instead, interact with the readings by bringing something to the readings, such as questions to be answered, and tentative viewpoints to be confirmed, modified, or discarded. Class discussions will give you the opportunity to raise questions regarding the readings, discuss the readings with the class, and refine your points of view based on the discussions. It is essential that you read all the readings by the due dates assigned.

Attendance is mandatory in this class; you must attend the lectures in order to pass the course. You will be given three free absences during the semester; these are excusable absences when you can just skip class for whatever reason you desire—day at the beach, study for another class, etc.—with no penalty to your grade. Missing four or more classes is grounds for failure in the course unless you have compelling reasons for your absences. I will determine on a case by case basis whether your reasons are excusable.

Active participation in discussions and during lectures will benefit your overall course grade.

********No late papers will be accepted in this course. **********

********There will be no makeup for any of the exams. ********

********If you miss any exam, you will receive a zero for that exam. ********

There are four exceptions to the no makeup and no late paper policies:

  1. If you are a Palomar student athlete, and you have a game scheduled on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
  2. If you are a member of a recognized Palomar College club or organization, and you are required to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
  3. If you are in the military, active duty or the reserves, and you have orders that require you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
  4. If you are ill and your physician requires you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.

If you fall under any of the above four categories, you are excused from the scheduled due dates for papers, exams, and tests if you provide written documentation from your head coach, club/organization’s faculty moderator, military “commander,” or physician.

Students are responsible to avoid both dishonest practices and the appearance of dishonesty. Plagiarism and cheating are grounds for failure in the course. Students should make the necessary effort to ensure that other students do not use their work.  For more information on what constitutes plagiarism, see the Palomar College Library’s definition of plagiarism http://www.palomar.edu/library/infocomp/handouts/plagiarism.pdf, and watch the video titled “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” located on the top right of your monitor’s screen at http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/.

Taking Notes

All the Power Point slides are up on Canvas, so it is unnecessary to copy what is on the slides during the lecture; in fact, focusing on copying the information on the slides is probably counterproductive. Instead, you should take notes on what I’m saying in class, and use the PowerPoint slides as mnemonic visual aids that will help you understand and remember what I’m asserting during the lecture.  Check Canvas under the Note-Taking Module for other note-taking and study aides.

Assignments & Exams

Remember to go to Canvas and read the prompts for each paper assignment and the directions for each exam. This is only a cursory summary of the paper assignments and exams, so be sure to read the paper prompts and individual assignment directions up on Canvas.

  • Two Papers: This assignment will require you to do what professional academic historians do: assert, support, and develop an original interpretation based on a textual analysis of primary sources. These papers should be two to three double-spaced typed pages. See Canvas for the assignment prompts, and the Schedule of Assignments below for the due dates.
  • Take-Home Midterm Exam: This will be an essay approximately two to three double-spaced typed pages in length. You will choose one of the essay questions from the list of Midterm Exam essay questions that are on Canvas. These essay questions will be accessible on Canvas on the very first day of class.
  • Take-Home Final Exam: This will be a take-home essay on material covered after the Midterm; it is not cumulative. The essay should be approximately two to three double-spaced typed pages. You will choose one of the essay questions from the list of essay questions for the Final Exam on Canvas.
  • Canvas Lecture Quizzes: These are short questions on Canvas that will test your comprehension of the lectures. They are non-cumulative. These should take approximately ten to twenty minutes to complete.
  • Canvas Primary Source Exercises: These are exercises on canvas to hone your causality and primary source analysis skills. Each should take about ten to twenty minutes.
  • Participation: You are required to actively participate in class; this includes asking as well as answering questions. If you are shy, or just do not like speaking in class, you have another option. You may keep a short journal composed of five entries on five lecture topics that interest you. Each journal entry must be at least one paragraph long, and should address how the subject matter of a lecture, or a component topic of a lecture, is relevant to the contemporary United States. The journal entries may be typed or handwritten, whichever works for you. See Canvas for more information on the journal option.
  • Extra Credit for Overall Course Grade (12 points total): There will be two optional extra-credit opportunities—two essays, each worth six points. See Canvas for the assignment prompts, and the Schedule of Assignments below for the due dates.

Grading

Below is the grade distribution for participation, exams, papers, and assignments. There will be a total of 100 points available, excluding the optional extra-credit opportunities. 90 points will earn an A, 80 points a B, 70 points a C, 60 points a D, and 59 points and below an F.

  • Attendance & Participation, 10 points
  • Take-Home Midterm Exam, 10 points
  • Take-Home Final Exam, 10 points
  • Paper 1, 12 points
  • Paper 2, 15 points
  • Canvas Lecture Quizzes (4 total at 7 points each), 28 points
  • Canvas Primary Source Exercises (3 total at 5 points each), 15 points

When course grades are assigned at the end of the semester, the grade point range above may be curved to your advantage. For example, the low end of an A grade may go down to 88 points, B grade to 78 points, etc. This all depends on the overall class average.

Palomar College Services Offered to Students

  • Writing Services, H-102, X2778
  • Reading Services, H-114, X2568
  • Tutoring/STAR Center, LL-105 (first floor of San Marcos Campus Library), X2448
  • ESL, H-202L, X2273
  • Other services linked on https://www.palomar.edu/studentresources/

Schedule of Assignments

The schedule below is subject to changes as the course progresses. If changes take place, assignments, readings, and lectures will be postponed to a later date. You will never be given more work than what is listed below, and you will never be told to submit any assignment, take any exam, or read any chapter earlier than the dates noted below.

August 21

  • Class Introductions

August 23

  • Lecture: “What is History?”

August 28

  • Reading
    • Ramon Veloso, “Historical Causality” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “The Age of Exploration”

August 30

  • Reading
    • Richard Laws, “Analyzing Primary Sources” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “The Age of Exploration”

September 4

  • Reading
    • Ava Arndt, “What is Analysis?” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “Ceremonies of Possession”

September 6

  • Canvas Primary Source Exercise #1 due
  • Reading
    • Elizabeth Losh, “Thesis Statements” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “Ceremonies of Possession”

September 11

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 2: Colonization and Conflict, 1550-1680
    • Elizabeth Losh, “Topic Sentences” in HCC Module in Canvas (Optional but highly recommended)
  • Lecture: “The British Colonization of North America & the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake”

September 13

  • Watch on your own time this short video on what constitutes plagiarism: “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
  • Reading
    • Patricia Hartz, “Paragraphing” in HCC Module in Canvas (Optional but highly recommended)
  • Lecture: “The British Colonization of North America & the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake”

September 18

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 3: Global Changes Reshape Colonial America, 1680-1750
  • Lecture: “The Puritan Mentalité”

September 20

  • Watch on your own time this short video on instructions on how to avoid plagiarizing: “Lesson 2: Use Information” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
  • Reading
    • Elizabeth Losh, “Integrating Quotes Logically” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “The Puritan Mentalité”

September 21

  • Canvas Lecture Quiz #1 due

September 25

  • Canvas Primary Source Exercise #2 due
  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 4: Religious Strife & Social Upheavals, 1680-1750
  • Lecture: “The Anglicization of America”

September 27

  • Watch on your own this video on citing using MLA format style: “Lesson 3: Cite Right with MLA” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
  • Reading
    • Eva Wessel, “Stylistically Integrating Quotes” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Lecture: “The Anglicization of America”

October 2

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 5: War & Empires, 1750-1774
  • Lecture: “The Colonial Crisis”

October 4

October 9

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 6: Revolutions, 1775-1883
  • Lecture: “The American War for Independence”

October 11

  • Lecture: “The American War for Independence”

October 12

  • Canvas Lecture Quiz #2 due

October 16

  • Midterm Exam Essay due

October 18

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 7: Political Culture, 1783-1800
  • Lecture: “Constitution to Confederation”

October 23

  • Extra Credit Essay #1 due (optional)
  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 8: New Frontiers, 1790-1820
  • Lecture: “Constitution to Confederation”

October 25

  • Lecture: “The New Nation Takes Form”

October 30

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 9: Defending & Redefining the Nation, 1809-1832
  • Lecture: “The New Nation Takes Form”

November 1

  • Lecture: “Republicans in Power”

November 6

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 10: Slavery Expands South & West
  • Lecture: “Republicans in Power”

November 8

  • Lecture: “The Market Revolution”

November 9

  • Canvas Lecture Quiz #3 due

November 13

  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 11: Social & Cultural Ferment in the North
  • Lecture: “The Market Revolution”

November 15

  • Canvas Primary Source Exercise #3 due
  • Lecture: “Anxiety & Social Reform”

 

Thanksgiving Recess November 19-23

  • Have a Great Thanksgiving!!!

 

November 27

  • Lecture: “Anxiety & Social Reform”

November 29

  • Paper #2 Due
  • Lecture: “The Peculiar Institution”

December 4

  • Extra Credit Essay #2 due (optional)
  • Reading
    • Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 12: Imperial Ambitions & Sectional Crisis, 1848-1861
  • Lecture: “The Peculiar Institution”

December 6

  • Lecture: “The House Divided”

December 11

  • Lecture: “The House Divided”

December 12

  • Canvas Lecture Quiz #4 due

December 13

  • Final Exam Essay due
  • Optional Journal on Lectures for Class Participation Extra Credit due

 

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