Online Course Syllabus:
U.S. History from 1870
Course Links: 
Lectures & Readings

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VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE
Summer 2008
US HISTORY 118
Section 20248
Instructor: Dr. Eric Mayer,
Office No. ScL26
Office Email mayere@vvc.edu
EMAIL: history118@gmail.com
Website: www.emayzine.com
All lecture notes, can be downloaded for free from the site. Please do not bring lecture notes to a lecture class…they are for home study and Online Student use only. 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.
*Note: Syllabus subject to possible revision
Requirements: Stay up with all assignments and readings. 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….you will need to be up on current events in order to be effective.
Course Description: A survey of US history from the 1870's to the present. In the course we will be particularly concerned not with names and dates, but rather with historical processes that made the US the way it is. The course will focus on political history, but more importantly on the history of the struggles between labor and capital, women and minorities versus the dominant patriarchal state, and the plight and status of the working poor and the way in which they either made, influenced, or were exploited by the American system. In essence, political, economic, and most importantly social history will be covered in this course in order to understand just what the "American Experience" represents for the majority of Americans, not just the elite. Note: This is not a “lollipop” history course where everything turns out for the best. US history is an epic drama full of victories as well as atrocities. For this reason you will not be fed disconnected facts so common in courses that focus on what can only be described as American mythstory. This is course emphasizes critical thinking and understanding processes of causality that forged the saga of US historical development between 1870 and 1988.

Required Texts:

(1) A Pocket History of the United States by Nevins
or, America: A Narrative History Vol. 2, by Tindall and Shi
(2) A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
(3) The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck


NOTE...The books are available at the VVC Book store, or they can be ordered online Finally…there are lecture notes and links on the site that proceed in order. And you will click to them when you get to the course readings. Text books bought through the VVC Bookstore will help fund the UN Club's trip to Washington DC
Attendance: Students must use the site regularly, if not daily. . It is the students’ responsibility to make sure that they have been dropped, reinstated, or are 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 ACCEPT LATE WORK UNTIL THE LAST DAY OF CLASS, BUT THE HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE FOR LATE WORK IS A "C". I DO NOT GIVE INCOMPLETES FOR ANY REASON
Grading: Students may turn in extra-credit film reviews, if they so desire as long as they clear the title or topic with the instructor first. The grade break down is as follows: Essay Exam 1 = 20% of final grade; Book Analysis = 20% of final grade; Essay Exam 2 = 20% of final grade; Final Essay Exam = 20% of final grade; Book Review = 20% of final grade. In order to pass the course all outstanding assignments or essay exams must be turned in via email by the day of the final essay examination. GRADE SCALE: 90%-100% A; 80% -89% B; 70% -79% C; 60% -69% D; 0% -59% F. I do not round up grades. Late work is accepted up until the last day of class , but the highest grade possible for late work is a C. All assignments must be received by the last day of class to count towards your grade.
Course Mechanics: The course is lnternet driven. Therefore it is essential to surf the net regularly and check your email daily. My ultimate goal in the course besides teaching US history is to create students who will be able to argue logically, and back up their assertions with evidence. Another 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.