Dr. D.A. Sandoval

Office: PSYCH 108; Phone: 549-2188

Office Hours: 9-10 MWF 11-12 MW; Other times by appointment

David.A.Sandoval@colostate-Pueblo.edu  work address

DiabloVerde@Hotmail.com  home address

 

 

                                          HT 201 SYLLABUS—Fall 2003

 

Section 1, Call # 3450, 8:00--9:00 MWF, Psych 223

Section 2, Call # 3455, 1:00—2:00 MWF, Psych 202G

 

Text:  Alan Brinkley, American History, A Survey, Volume I:  To 1877 Eleventh Edition (Boston:  McGraw-Hill, 2003).

 

                                 GENERAL CLASS POLICIES

 

Plagiarism or cheating in ANY fashion will result in immediate failure or withdrawal from the class.

 

This University abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.”  If you have a documented disability that may impact your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see the instructor as soon as possible to arrange accommodations.  In order to receive accommodations, you must be registered with and provide documentation of your disability to, the Disability Services Office, which is located in the Psychology Building, room 232.

 

 

Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustment or accommodations because of disability must make this known to the professor no later than the first week of classes.  Verification of the disability and accommodations must be made through the appropriate office.

 

Tardies: It is extremely important that we begin on time, with a minimum of disruption--please be considerate and be on time. Roll will be taken every class period.  Notify the instructor of your presence immediately after class if you miss roll--I will not change my class records in this regard at any other time.

 

Absences: Excused absences fall in the realm of late registration, illness, death in the family, a significant appointment which cannot be rescheduled, or a verifiable emergency situation.  Simple timely notification of an absence should not be considered as an excused absence--if in doubt, come in and we will talk about it.  If you have an excused absence you will be allowed to make up any work missed due to the absence.  It is due on the date of your return.  If you have an unexcused absence, you will not be allowed to make up any work.

 

A person with twelve total excused or unexcused session absences will not receive a passing grade; I will withdraw a student from class when this number of classes is missed during the allowable period.  W or F will be recorded as the final grade, depending upon university regulations.

 

Extra Credit: The purpose of extra credit is to encourage a more complete experience, NOT to ensure better or passing grades.  I will present, as an option, an opportunity to submit a single paragraph report of a video for a possible maximum value of five points.

 

A paragraph should be viewed as a fundamental building block in writing.  This is an opportunity to develop that skill.  If you commit a literacy error, I will deduct one point from a possible five.  If you commit ten literacy errors, I will still deduct a single point.  Of course, I will note those errors so that you can work on your skills.  A paragraph usually has a theme, a topic, a point.  In a classic paragraph this is the first sentence.  It is followed by supporting sentences related to the theme, and it ends with a summary sentence designed to ensure that the reader has gotten the point.  There are other kinds of paragraphs as well such as the Salesman paragraph where the first sentences are designed to lead the reader to the topic sentence.  This is your opportunity to develop skills that will serve you in any endeavor you undertake.

 

No individual extra credit will be available.  Videos are available through the Audio-Visual Department in the Library, but if you have a special need to see the video at a time when the Department is closed but the library is open, they will accommodate you.  Just ask.

 

 I have structured the five extra credit videos into the design of the class, however, I do this (in part) to build in flexibility.  If a particular topic takes longer than anticipated to cover, that day allows me to catch up prior to the exam.  If school gets closed because of a snow storm, or a power outage, or for any other reason a class has to be cancelled, that video day gives me the flexibility needed.  On those occasions, I will encourage persons to view the videos on the sixth floor of the library in the Audio-Visual Department.  Otherwise, I will show them in class for the assigned length of time, so if the video runs fifty-five [55] minutes, you will see only the first fifty [50] minutes.

 

Exams: Students are expected to take exams at the regularly scheduled times.  Exams will not be allowed to be made up for an unexcused absence and exams will not be scheduled to accommodate vacation plans or personal preferences.  If an assignment is missed due to an excused absence, the assignment is due upon the first day of the student’s return and an exam must be made up before the next regularly scheduled exam.  As I will have to develop a different exam, I will require at least two days notice.  Exams are based on reading assignments and lecture presentations.

 

Assignments/grades: Assignments will not be accepted after the due date and should be submitted in double spaced typed form.  An assignment is due on a specific date and will be accepted if submitted before 4:45 p.m. that day--placed in my mail slot in the Reception area [P-100].  Assigned readings will be more valuable if you finish before the class lecture on the topic.

 

Scale:

Percentages               600 pt. base

93-100 = A;               600-558

92-90=A-;                  557-540

89-87=B+;                 539-522

86-83=B;                   521-498

82-80=B-;                  497-480

79-77=C+;                 479-462

76-73=C;                   461-438

72-70=C-;                  437-420

69-67=D+;                 419-402

66-63=D;                   401-378

62-60=D-;                 377-360

59-0 = F                    0-359

 

                                                             HISTORY

 

The discipline of history has several different types of goals, objectives, and skills.  History is a literary art--therefore, it is requisite that a person who examines history be a literate person.  History also requires that an individual develop skills that enable the person to synthesize tremendous amounts of material through a methodology.

 

History provides for the acquisition of self-knowledge through the study of a historical consciousness.  As George Santayana, the Harvard philosopher admonished, forget the past--be condemned to repeat it.  The point was to transcend the past through knowledge.  Given that history is not an exact science, the process of studying history allows for divergent conceptions of truth as the significance of history changes for each generation.

 

While the focus of an American History survey class is on the logical inquiry of historical events, key to discipline goals is the ability for a student to intelligently solve problems through analysis.  The student displays creativity when they begin to examine the various reasons for generational history and when they address the various issues posed by American society. For example, a student who examines the Reagan Revolution determines the focus on issues brought to the national agenda by Reagan and applies the creative tools of an historian, including judgment and ethical values, to the significance of the era.  The student will have to understand the grass-roots nature of populist presidents and the nature of reform social Darwinism as applied at the turn of the century in order to understand the impact of the Reagan legacy.

 

History enables a society to chart the course of human affairs, to satisfy its psychological curiosity, to measure order and predictability, to examine cause and effect, to study and create the identity of a people, to calculate the anticipated consequences of our own acts, to understand what and why, and most important, to understand the significance of society.  History can liberate or it can oppress.

 

                                                    OBJECTIVES

 

Affective objectives: The student should be able to appreciate and understand the complex societal forces that shaped American society to Reconstruction.  The student will be able to understand various personalities and public policies that shape contemporary American society.  Emphasis includes a culturally pluralistic approach.  The student will develop a national memory that enables the student to intelligently realize citizenship responsibilities.

 

Cognitive objectives: Generally, the student will demonstrate knowledge of, and the ability to discuss as well as write about American history.

 

                                          MEASUREMENT

 

Five exams valued at 100 points each; one comprehensive final valued at 100 points.

 

The semester exams will combine multi-choice with short answer essay questions.  The primary method of measurement for cognitive objectives includes national tests devised for university students.  The short answer essay questions are designed to develop the skill of covering a great amount of material and getting to the significance of it all.

 

             Exam I will cover Brinkley, Chapters 1-3

                   Exam II will cover Brinkley, Chapters 4-6

                   Exam III will cover Brinkley, Chapters 7-9

                   Exam IV will cover Brinkley, Chapters 10-12

                   Exam V will cover Brinkley, Chapters 13-15

 

Students are expected to stay abreast of assigned readings and to be able to discuss issues addressed within the topic areas in class.  Because of requisite participation by students, the attendance policy specifies tolerance to absences.  The instructor calls on students to discuss the items under discussion, so be prepared.  I presume participation if the student attends class and a person cannot participate if they are not there.

 

                                 Tentative Topical Schedule

 

 

Week One:

Monday August 25                        Orientation

Weds August 27                            Chapter 1 First peoples

Friday August 29                           Chapter 1 Spain

 [August 29, End of Add Period]

 

Week Two:

Monday September 1                     Chapter 1 England

Weds September 3                        Chapter 2 English colonials

Friday September 5                       Chapter 2 Restoration

 

Week Three:

Monday September 8           Chapter 3 Family life        End of Drop Period

Weds September 10                       Chapter 3 Colonial Mind

Friday September 12                      Review/Discussion/Video  VC 364 822 Native Americans, part 3, “Nations of the Northeast.”

 

Week Four:

Monday September 15                   Exam I—EC #1 due

Weds September 17                       Chapter 4 Under Strain

Friday September 19                      Chapter 4 Stirrings of Revolt

 

Week Five:

Monday September 22                   Chapter 5 War

Weds September 24                       Chapter 5 Search for a new Government

Friday September 26                      Chapter 6 Constitution

 

Week Six:

Monday September 29                   Chapter 6 Partisanship

Weds October 1                            Review/Discussion/Video VC 362 608 “Liberty! The American Revolution, part 6 Are we to be a Nation?”

Friday October 3                           Exam II—EC #2 due

 

Week Seven:

Monday October 6                        Chapter 7 Cultural nationalism

Weds October 8                            Chapter 7 Expansion

Friday October 10                         Chapter 8 Era of Good Feelings

 

Week Eight:

Monday October 13                       Chapter 8 Revival of opposition

Weds October 15                          Chapter 9 King Mob

Friday October 17                         Chapter 9 New Politics

 

Week Nine

Monday October 20                       Review/Discussion/Video  VC 354 188 “The Oregon Trail”

Weds October 22                          Exam III—EC #3 due

Friday October 24                         Chapter 10 A new people         

October 24th, Last Day for a W

 

Week Ten:

Monday October 27                       Chapter 10 Yankees

Weds October 29                          Chapter 11 White South

Friday, October 31                        Chapter 11 Black South

 

Week Eleven

Monday November 3                     Chapter 12 I know what is good for you

Weds November 5                         Chapter 12 Let my people go

Friday November 7                        Review/Discussion/Video VC 349 667 “Roots of Resistance”

 

Week Twelve

Monday November 10                   Exam IV—EC #4 due

Weds November 12                       Chapter 13 Manifest Destiny

Friday November 14                     Chapter 13 Mexico has poisoned us

 

Week Thirteen: 

Monday November 17                   Chapter 14 Secession

Weds November 19                       Chapter 14 Indivisible

Friday November 21                      Chapter 15 Who won?

 

Week Fourteen—Thanksgiving Vacation

Monday November 24         no class

Weds November 26             no class

Friday November 28            no class

 

Week Fifteen:

Monday December 1                     Chapter 15 Jim Crow

Weds December 3                         Review/Discussion/Video  VC 348 284 “Civil War, part 1 The Cause, 1861”

Friday December 5                        Exam V—EC #5 due

 

 

 

Week Sixteen:  Final Exams Week

Comprehensive Final—Section 1, Tuesday Dec. 9 from 8:00 to 10:20

Section 2, Tuesday, December 9 from 1:00 to 3:20

 

If you wish to know your grade early leave a self-addressed stamped envelope in my mail slot.