History 203: Survey of American History Since 1865

DESCRIPTION

This course surveys United States history from the end of the Civil War to the present. Our focus will be economic and social development, political conflict, and the cultural responses of Americans to the enormous changes over the past 145 years.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

You will be presented with a variety of different sources and mediums.  In the course of your work you will be evaluating how accurate that conception is or if America is, as one historian has called it, an “Unfinished Journey.”  You will be expected to complete the required reading and then critically evaluated and interrogate those sources.  This course is not about rote repetition or memorization.  There are no multiple-choice exams to test specific facts.  The assignments are designed rather to test your understanding of the larger picture and foster engagement of the materials.

REQUIRED TEXTS

• Upton Sinclair, The Jungle. ISBN 9780553212457
  Note: The Jungle is also available online at [link]
• Riordon, William L. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics. ISBN 9780451526205
  Note: Plunkitt of Tammany Hall is also available online at [link]
• John F. Kasson, Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. ISBN 9780809001330

Each week there will be an array of required text readings, document readings and sometimes videos to view. Readings should be read before your section meets. You will need to download a copy of Real Player to view some course mateirals. Visit www.real.com to download a free player.

REQUIREMENTS

Participation will count for 25 points towards your course grade. Your section meetings with your teaching assisstant will be primary oportunity to participate in the course. In addition to your performance on any assignments your teaching assistant may assign, this also means mental attendance; simply showing up is not enough. You are expected to present your informed ideas as well as listen to and show respect for the others in the classroom. You will be graded on how much you contribute to the learning environment of the class. This means that if you do not add anything to the class during the discussions, then you will not receive a good participation grade. Also, any behavior that disrespects or hinders the learning process in the class will be penalized. For further description of disruptive behavior see the University Ombudsman’s website [link]. Repeated tardiness or absence will negatively affect your participation grade. You cannot fully participate in the class if you are not present during class sessions.

The remaining 75 points of your grade consists of three essay assignments. The first essay assignment [link] and second essay assignment [link] are worth 20 points each and the final assignment [link] is worth 35 points.

Together all the points add up to 100. Your grade in this course will be based on how many points you earn over the course of the semester.

GRADING

Each sucessfully completed assignment will receive a grade based on the total number of points available. Your overall grade for the course will be detmined by the sum of all points received in the course. At any time you may check ANGEL to see all recorded scores and your current aggregate total.

• 95 to 100 points earned translates to a 4.0 in the class.
• 89 to 94 points earned translates to a 3.5 in the class.
• 83 to 88 points earned translates to a 3.0 in the class.
• 77 to 82 points earned translates to a 2.5 in the class.
• 71 to 76 points earned translates to a 2.0 in the class.
• 65 to 70 points earned translates to a 1.5 in the class.
• 59 to 64 points earned translates to a 1.0 in the class.
• 0 to 58 points earned translates to a 0.0 in the class.

Note: All work must be turned in to receive a grade above zero in this class. Additionally, all work is due at the time specified in the assignment. Lateness will be penalized at the rate of 5% per 24 hour period. This means that being late by 1 hour carries the same penalty as being late 23 hours. For example, if a 10 point assignment is turned in 40 hours late, the maximum grade possible for that assignment would then be 9 points.

STYLE GUIDE

Proper formatting and style are important compentents of strong course work. Sloppy writing and poor presentaiton deminish the quality of student work. For further information click here to link to a guide to formatting and style.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

In accordance with Michigan State University’s policies on “Protection of Scholarship and Grades” and “Integrity of Scholarship and Grades,” students are expected to honor principles of truth and honesty in their academic work. Academic integrity means, amongst other things, not plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes submitting someone else’s work (words, ideas, etc.) as their own now will the knowingly permit another student to copy and submit their work. Additional discussion of academic integrity is available on the Ombudsman´s website.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

In addition lecture three times a week you are also required to attend a section discussion class once a week. Different sections meet at different times with different teaching assisstants (see chart below). The two teaching assistants are:

Rebecca Koerselman  rkoersel@msu.edu

Gabriel Henderson  hende270@msu.edu

Section	Time	Location	Teaching Assistant
001	TH 10:20 AM - 11:10 AM	218B Berkey Hall	Gabriel Henderson
002	TH 9:10 AM - 10:00 AM	218B Berkey Hall	Gabriel Henderson
003	W 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM	115 Berkey Hall	Gabriel Henderson
004	W 12:40 PM - 1:30 PM	107 Berkey Hall	Rebecca Koerselman
005	W 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM	319 Berkey Hall	Rebecca Koerselman
007	Th 12:40 PM - 1:30 PM	105A Berkey Hall	Rebecca Koerselman