VICTOR VALLEY
COLLEGE
Spring 2012 US HISTORY 117 Section
39817
Professor: Dr. Eric Mayer,
Online Office
hours…Monday-Sat
EMAIL: history117@gmail.com
Website: www.emayzine.com
Skype:dr.eric.mayer
All lecture notes
can be downloaded for free from
the site. Prerequisite: None—But
there is an intensive amount of
analytical writing in this course
as well as critical thinking.
However, it is assumed that most
of you do not have college level
or academic writing skills and
there will be online help
available.
Course Objectives: The
student will be able to:
Understand historical causality
Analyze historical events Explain
historical events and processes
Think critically about historical
events Write analytically to
explain the course of history *Note:
Syllabus subject to possible
revision
Requirements: Stay up
with all assignments. I do accept
late assignments up until the last
day of class, but the highest grade
possible on late assignments is a C.
The key for doing well in this
course and understanding the history
that we cover is that you be
informed as to what is happening
about you. History is not "dead", it
is constantly affecting your
reality, and if it is dead, then we
all are affected by the ghosts of
the past. History is the analysis
and understanding of processes that
have created our present reality.
Course
Description: A survey of United States
history from pre-Columbian period to
1869.The course will stress
social, political and economic
history in order to understand the
defining events in this time period.
Instructional
Objectives
Upon completion
of the
course the student should be able
to:
The student
will be
able to summarize the
Pre-Columbian cultures
and
civilizations and
the factors that led to
exploration and European
colonization of
the
'New World'. The student can then:
A. Identify key
events in the
exploration of the 'New World'.
Name the
leading
players in
exploration and colonization.
1.
The student
will be
able to summarize the major
features of social
and economic
life in
the American colonies and be able
to
differentiate
between
conditions in New England and The
Chesapeake. The
student can then: A. Describe the
demographic
and ecological
changes
involved in the settlement of the
'New World'
in terms of the
English
colonies. B. Identify the leading
people
and
institutions
instrumental in the development
colonial America
and their
role in
shaping the direction of the
English colonies.
2.
The student
will be
able to assess the varying
viewpoints and
perspectives
regarding
causes and results of the American
Revolution and
the
formation of a new nation. The
student can then:
A. Identify the
gradual and immediate elements
that lead to the
American
Revolution B. Evaluate the
Revolution as part of the
larger world
picture.
C. The student will be able to
differentiate
between the
rival
political ideologies which emerged
just prior to and
after 1800 and
the
impact on future political
development in the
United
States
3.
The student
will be
able to account for economic
growth, political
development,
geographical
expansion, the emergence of
‘American
intellectual
and
social identity in the first half
of the 19th century, and
how these
factors led
to secession and the Civil War.
The student
can then: A.
Explain
the development and growth of new
economic
systems and its
impact
on both the North and the
South B. The
student will be
able
to identify the various historical
and geographical
viewpoints
leading to
secession and the Civil War.
The student
will be
able to analyze and explain the
key events and
people involved
on
both sides of the Civil War and
Reconstruction.
The
student will
then be able to: A. Identify the
leaders and
strategies used
by the
North and South during the
war B.
Identify the
issues
resolved by the war and
Reconstruction, as well
as those not
resolved.
Student
Learning
Outcomes
Upon completion
of the
course the student can:
Develop
analytical
skills in relation to historical
time period, cause
and
effect
Identify and
discuss
transformational people,
institutions and events
that have been
the
basis for the political,
economic, social,
intellectual
and
diplomatic development of the
United States from
Pre-colonization
to
1876.
Analyze how
issues of
race and gender impacted the
political, social
and economic
development of the United
States.
Required Course
Textbooks (2)
1. Visions of America: A
History of the United States, Volume
1, Books a la Carte Edition [Loose
Leaf ]
by Jennifer Keene et al
Loose Leaf: 532 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition
(November 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0205744370
ISBN-13: 978-0205744374
Attendance:
Students must visit the web site
regularly, if not daily. Weekly It
is the students’ responsibility to
make sure that they have been
dropped, reinstated, or is currently
enrolled in the course. I will not
do any grade changes that are
related to attendance policy. IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE YOU
HAVE BEEN DROPPED. DO NOT ASSUME
THAT I WILL DROP YOU AS A MATTER
OF COURSE DUE TO YOUR LACK OF
ATTENDANCE...I DO NOT DROP
STUDENTS, I DO NOT GIVE
INCOMPLETES OR ACCEPT LATE WORK
AFTER THE LAST DAY OF CLASS....I
DO ACCEPT LATE WORK UP UNTIL THE
LAST DAY OF CLASS, BUT THE HIGHEST
GRADE POSSIBLE ON LATE WORK IS A
"C".
Grading: The
grade breakdown is as follows: Exam
1 = 25% of final grade; Exam 2 = 25%
of final grade; Final Exam = 25% of
final grade; Book Review = 25% of
final grade.In order to pass the course
all outstanding assignments or exams
must be turned in by the day of the
final examination. Grade Splits are
as follows: 90%-100% A 80% -89% B
70% -79% C 60% -69% D 0% -59% F. I
do not round up grade percentages. I
do not give incompletes.
Course Mechanics: The
course is internet driven. Therefore
it is essential to surf the net
regularly. I encourage on line class
participation in the forms of
comments, questions, and drafts of
your exams. I will help you on one
draft per assignment. so be sure to
send me your best effort. A ultimate
goal in the course besides teaching
history is to create students who
will be able to argue logically, and
back up their assertions with
evidence. An objective of this
course is to teach students the
skills that they need to educate
themselves. This course will not be
a passive learning experience, it
will be highly interactive in terms
of how you explain historical
causality and outcome. The
hours/week arranged listed for
online classes must be fulfilled
through an arrangement established
between the instructor and the
student. They do not represent an
increase in the total number of
hours for an online course.
Hours/week arranged do not have to
be fulfilled by in-person class
attendance, you do the readings,write
essay drafts and finished essays and
email me drafts, questions, etc.…