HISTORY 170 FALL 2008
COURSE POLICIES
Course: History 170, the national experience in the United States before 1877. The basic thrust of this course is to assist you in developing a workable memory of things said and done during this period.
Instructor: Douglas A. Mason. BA, MA in History-UC Santa Barbara
Office: Forum 8. Telephone: 714-432-5038. Office Hours: M:5:30-6:30; Tu 10:10-11:10 am;Wed:11:05am-12:05 Th: 10:10-11:10; or by appointment. Web Site: http://occonline.occ.cccd.edu/online/dmason/ Do NOT use e-mail.
Textbooks: This text is for sale in the OCC bookstore: Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, 5th ed. v.1 You ought to have a dictionary.
Attendance: See separate page.
Tests: Four multiple-choice tests including the final examination. Miss a test? Makeup tests will be held the last week of the semester. For classes meeting twice a week, the makeup will be the first class meeting of that week. For classes meeting once a week, students will take makeup tests immediately following the final exam. You MUST take the Final Exam. Missing more than one midterm tests gets you a zero on all the missed tests except one.
Written Work: See separate page.
Grades: Based on total points. Assigned according to the following scale: 90%=A, 75%=B, 60%=C, 50%=D, and less than 50%=F.
You may elect to choose a CR/NC option. You must fill out the appropriate form in the Records Office by Friday, September 19, 2008 in order to select this option. A CR grade is equivalent to C or higher-level performance.
Classroom Procedures: You are expected to be on time and ready to begin class at the start of every session. No disruptive behavior. No side talk, rudeness, discourtesy to myself or other students. You must take class seriously.
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Deadlines
General Deadlines
Last day to select CR/NC: Friday, September 19, 2008
Drop Date: Friday, November 14, 2008
Test and Other Important Dates By Class Section
MW Class / Friday ClassTest 1 / September 24 / September 26
Test 2 / October 22 / October 21
Test 3 / November 12 / November 14
Final Exam / December 8 / December 12
Makeup Exam / December 10 / December 12
Holidays / September 1 / November 28
Mandatory Report Due / October 29 / October 31
Text Book Readings
Test 1 Chapters 1-3 and Chapter 4 to page 103
Test 2 Chapters 4 (rest), 5, 6, 7
Test 3 Chapters 8, 9, 10, 12
Test 4 Chapters 11, 13, 14, 15
End of course grade: Leave me a self-addressed stamped envelope during the Final Exam to get an unofficial grade.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
OCC Attendance Policy: “Students who miss the first meeting of a class or who have too many absences MAY be dropped by the instructor at any time during the semester until the final deadline for withdrawal. However, it is the responsibility of the student to meet all fee, “’W’”, and grade deadlines, NOT the faculty.”
This instructor will enforce this policy as follows. Any person enrolled in this class may be dropped for failure to attend the first meeting of this class. Any person enrolled in this class, after attending the first meeting, will be dropped following a third absence (for the class meeting weekly) or a fifth absence (for the class meeting twice weekly). The reason for this action is that the individual has too many absences. This policy will not apply to absences accumulated after the drop deadline that is Friday, November 14, 2008. All persons still enrolled in this class at the close of the OCC Student Records Office on this date shall receive an appropriate grade.
Attendance will be taken at least one at each class meeting. During the class session, a photocopy of the class roster will be circulated through the classroom for persons enrolled to initial. Those persons who fail to initial shall be counted as absent. Persons initialing for other absent individuals have violated college policy. Once the class ends, no persons enrolled in this class may have attendance records corrected. If the roster does not circulate to you during class, see the instructor at the end of the class to initial. NO EXCEPTIONS!
WRITTEN REPORT
Basic Assignment. 1 ½ to 2 pages long. You will be identifying the main theme, and identifying and briefly describing two or three persons discussed in an article from the magazine American History. Note: This is the name of a specific magazine. The article on which you write your report must deal with a subject in United States history before 1877. In addition, you must choose an article from the Feature Section of the magazine rather than the “Department” section.
Structure of Report.
I. Identification of Main Theme
II. Identification and description of the two to three persons. One paragraph for each individual personality. In each paragraph, start the paragraph with one sentence identifying the person, then in 3-4 sentences describe that person in some depth.
III. Bibliographic Identification of the article. Each report must conclude with a bibliographic identification including:
· Author of the article
· Title of the Article
· Date of the article (Note: if you use the HistoryNet web site, the date of the article will be found at the bottom of the last page of the print out).
Where Do You Find American History magazine and what do you need to do when you find it?
Repositories for the “hard copy” of the magazine: OCC Library, Public Libraries, Newsstands and Bookstores (Current Issues)
Internet: HistoryNet.com at: http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_history
You will also need to make a photocopy or a print out of the article which you choose to submit with your report.
Submitting Your Article.
· Report must be printed out or typed double-spaced.
· You must submit a complete copy (not the original) of the article, stapled to your report. This is to prevent defacing the library copies of the magazine.
· Put your name, class title (History 170), and date and time of class on the upper right corner of your report.
· Make as the title of your report the title of the magazine article.
Evaluation Criteria.
· Following Instructions
· Quality of your identification of the main theme
· Quality and descriptions of personalities
· Completeness and accuracy of bibliographic description
Absolute Prohibitions
1. TEARING ARTICLES OUT OF THE MAGAZINES. You MUST NOT do this!!!
2. STEALING THE MAGAZINES FROM THE LIBRARIES (or, for that matter, any other place).
3. PLAIGIRIZING. That is, trying to pass off as your own work, the work of another person.
Submission Details. The report is due on the date specified on the syllabus. No late reports are accepted. You may turn the reports in prior to the deadline. The report is worth 25 points toward final grade.
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