Course
Information
History 1302,
Section 002, Spring 2009
Survey of U.S.
History, Civil War to Present
JO 4.614, M/W/F 11:30-12:20
Professor
Contact Information
Dr. Monica Rankin
JO 5.408
(972) 883-2005
Mobile: (972) 822-5375
Office Hours: M/W 12:30-2:30 or
by appointment
Teaching Assistant Contact Information
Megan Malone
JO 5.410C
972-883-4295
Office
Hours: Monday 12:30-2:30
or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This
course will cover the history of the United States from the post-Civil War era
(roughly the 1860s) to the present day.
The course will introduce major social, political, economic, and
cultural events and it will address how those events affected the development
of American society. Particular
attention will be devoted to the role of popular cultural and to the emergence
of the United States as a world power.
Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes
Required Textbooks and Materials
Textbook: Nelson Lichtenstein, Who Built America? Working People and the Nation’s History, 3rd ed,
Thompson Wadsworth, 2008. ISBN: 9780312446925
Essay Reader: Binder, Frederick, et. al. The Way We Lived Vol
2, 6th ed., 2008. ISBN: 0618305866.
Students are responsible
for all of the readings for quizzes, discussions, and exams. Due to the lack of time in lecture to cover
all of the main aspects of the course material, students are responsible for
material from the readings that will not be covered in lectures. Students should feel free to ask for
clarifications about the readings during class time or see the instructor or TA
during office hours.
Assignments
Class
Participation:
All students are expected to attend class and participate in class discussions
by incorporating information from assigned readings and class lectures. Students’ participation should be
constructive and contribute to the overall discussion. Please consider quality as well as quantity
in class discussions. Students MUST be
respectful and considerate of each other AT ALL TIMES. Generally, Fridays will be reserved for
formal class discussions, led by the instructor and the TA. Discussions will clarify information
presented in lectures and the textbook, but will focus more specifically on
weekly outside readings from the Binder volume.
Analysis and discussion questions will be posted on the course link on
my website. Students are encouraged to
meet with the TA at least once after the first 4 to 6 weeks of class to discuss
their performance in class participation.
A
note on classroom behavior: No
electronic equipment will be allowed in the classroom, including cell phones
and computers, without permission of the instructor. Students caught with cell
phones or any other inappropriate device on their desk will be asked to leave
immediately. Students may not have any
electronic equipment visible on their desks during exams and quizzes. This is a college classroom, disruptive or
disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. It is not acceptable to be late,
sleep, talk, whisper, or do homework for another class. Any student engaged in inappropriate behavior
at any time during the class period will be asked to leave. Disrespectful, disruptive, or any other
inappropriate behavior will result in a lowering of a student’s participation
grade.
Weekly
Quizzes: Every discussion day (usually
Fridays) there will be an open note quiz during the first ten minutes of
class. Quizzes will be made up of
questions from that week’s lectures plus assigned readings from the Binder volume. Suggested questions for analysis for the
Binder assignments will be posted on the course website available at www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin. I highly suggest students use the questions
on the website and write out answers/notes to the Binder readings. There will be absolutely no make ups allowed
for weekly quizzes. Students who miss
class or who arrive late will not be allowed to take that week’s quiz. Since this is an open-note quiz, students may
use any notes from lectures or from the Binder readings to complete the
quiz. Notes must be either hand-written
or typed and printed out. Absolutely no electronic
equipment or books will be allowed on the desk during the weekly quizzes or
exams.
Exams:
There will be three exams in this class.
Each exam will comprise various ID terms that must be defined and tied
to specific examples from the assigned readings. Each ID will be a term that has been covered
both in lecture and in the discussion day readings. There will be no study guide, but there will
be a formal in-class review before each exam.
Exam dates are listed on the course schedule. Please note that you must bring a blue book
and your comet card to each exam.
Students without a blue book or comet card will not be allowed to take
the exam. The final exam for this course
will not be cumulative.
Grading
Policy
The
grading in this course is based on three exams, weekly quizzes, and class
participation. The breakdown of the
grading is as follows:
Exam 1 100
points
Exam 2 100
points
Final Exam 100
points
Weekly Quizzes 50 points
Class Participation
50 points
Course & Instructor Policies
A
sign-in sheet will be distributed each day to help track attendance and class
participation. Please keep in mind that
it is not possible to “make-up” class participation. If you are not physically (and mentally)
present in the classroom, it will affect your participation grade. Furthermore, past experience has proven that
students who attend class regularly tend to earn higher grades. I frequently include information in my lectures
that is not necessarily covered in your reading. It behooves you to be present to listen to
lectures and participate in class.
Finally, please refrain from disruptive behavior such as arriving late,
departing early, talking, sleeping, reading the newspaper, etc. (I reserve the
right to add to this list as needed).
No
late assignments will be accepted and there is no make-up policy for in-class
work. I will drop the lowest quiz score
at the end of the semester in lieu of offering make-up opportunities. If you have missed a quiz, that is the score that
will be dropped. There will be no
exceptions to this rule.
All
assignments for this class are mandatory.
Materials used in this course have been carefully selected for their
scholarly value, but some audiences may take offense at topics of a sensitive
nature. There will be NO substitutions
of readings, films, documents, presentations, and/or other course requirements
to suit personal preferences and/or sensitivities. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule.
Field
Trip Policies
There
are no field trips scheduled for this course.
Academic Calendar:
The
following schedule outlines the topics and reading assignments for each
class. This schedule is subject to
change. Any changes made to the schedule
and/or any other course requirements will be announced in class and will be
posted on the course website: www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin
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COURSE
SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
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Week 1 |
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Jan.
12 |
Introduction
and Syllabus |
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Jan.
14 |
Lecture
1: Civil War and Reconstruction |
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Jan.
16 |
Friday
Discussion Intro |
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Week 2 |
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Jan.
19 |
Campus
Holiday – NO CLASS |
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Jan.
21 |
Lecture
2: Westward Expansion |
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Jan.
23 |
Quiz
#1 Discussion:
Binder Chapters 1-2 |
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Week 3 |
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Jan.
26 |
Lecture
3: Industrial Expansion |
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Jan.
28 |
Lecture
4: Urban Expansion |
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Jan.
30 |
Quiz
#2 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 5 |
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Week 4 |
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Feb.
2 |
Lecture
5: Indian Policy |
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Feb.
4 |
Lecture
6: We’re Off to See the Wizard (In the Gilded Age) |
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Feb.
6 |
Quiz
#3 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 3 |
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Week 5 |
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Feb.
9 |
Lecture
7: Imperial Expansion |
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Feb.
11 |
Exam Review Textbook Chapters 1-3 |
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Feb.
13 |
Exam #1 – Bring
blue book and Comet Card to class |
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Week 6 |
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Feb.
16 |
Lecture
8: Progressive Era |
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Feb.
18 |
Progressive
Era Video: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire |
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Feb.
20 |
Quiz
#4 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 4 |
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Week 7 |
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Feb.
23 |
Lecture
9: Progressive Reform |
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Feb.
25 |
Lecture
10: Progressive Era Diplomacy |
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Feb.
27 |
Quiz
#5 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 6 |
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Week 8 |
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March
2 |
Lecture
11: World War I |
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March
4 |
Lecture 12: The Roaring 20s |
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March
6 |
Quiz Discussion:
Binder, Chapters 7&9 |
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Week 9 |
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March
9 |
Lecture
13: The United States in the Great Depression |
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March
11 |
Lecture
14: Roosevelt’s New Deal |
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March
13 |
Quiz
#6 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 10 |
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March
16-20 |
Spring Break – No
Class |
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Week 10 |
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March
23 |
Lecture
15: World War II |
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March
25 |
Lecture
16: The United States Homefront |
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March
27 |
World
War II Video: The Homefront |
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Week 11 |
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March
30 |
Quiz #7 Discussion Binder, Chapter 11 |
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April
1 |
Exam
Review Textbook
Chapters 4-10 |
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April
3 |
Exam #2 – Bring
blue book and Comet Card to class |
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Week 12 |
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April
6 |
Lecture
17: The United States and the Cold War |
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April
8 |
Lecture
18: The Rise of Suburbia |
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April
10 |
Quiz
#8 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 12 |
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Week 13 |
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April
13 |
Lecture
19: Space and Race in the Post-war |
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April
15 |
Lecture 20: New Hope and Great Society |
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April
17 |
Quiz
#9 Discussion:
Binder, Chapter 13 |
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Week 14 |
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April
20 |
Lecture
21: The War in Vietnam |
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April
22 |
Lecture
22: The Nixonian Paradox |
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April
23 |
Quiz
#10 Discussion:
Binder, Chapters 14 |
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Week 15 |
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April 27 |
Lecture
23: That ‘70s Show |
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April 29 |
Lecture
24: USA Today |
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May
1 |
Quiz
#11 Binder,
Chapter 15 |
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Week 16 |
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May
4 |
Exam
Review Textbook
Chapters 11-15 |
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May 11 11:00 am |
Final Exam BRING BLUE BOOK AND COMET CARD TO CLASS |
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Student
Conduct & Discipline
The University of Texas System and The
University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and
efficient conduct of their business. It
is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and
activities. General information on
student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z
Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic year.
The University of Texas at Dallas
administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and
established due process. Procedures are
defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The
University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V,
Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of
these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean
of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
A student at the university neither
loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state,
and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and
administrative rules. Students are
subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such
conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties
are also imposed for such conduct.
Academic
Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a
high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree
depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that
degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of
individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is
not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for
enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a
general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or
falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
Plagiarism, especially from the web,
from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is
unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism
(see general catalog for details). This
course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for
possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email
Use
The University of Texas at
Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email
raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in
an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a
student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email
from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This
allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity
of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted
information. UTD furnishes each student
with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas
provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to
other accounts.
Withdrawal from
Class
The
administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other
words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course
if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student
Grievance Procedures
Procedures for student
grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of
the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.
In attempting to resolve any
student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of
academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a
serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor,
administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter
called “the respondent”). Individual
faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be
resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the
respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written
response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to
the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal
to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint
and convene an Academic Appeals Panel.
The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process
will be distributed to all involved parties.
Copies of these rules and
regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students,
where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules
and regulations.
Incomplete Grade Policy
As per university policy,
incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the
semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within
eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course
and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline,
the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.
Disability Services
The goal of Disability
Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30
a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The contact information for
the Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at
Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or
TTY)
Essentially, the law
requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove
classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog
guides) for students who are blind.
Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing
impaired). Classes enrolled students
with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible
facilities. The college or university
may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.
It is the student’s
responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services
provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the
student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation
should contact the professor after class or during office hours.
Religious Holy Days
The University of Texas at
Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the
travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of
worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code
Annotated.
The student is
encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible
regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the
absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one
week. A student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or
assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to
complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If a student or an
instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about
whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed
assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a
ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her
designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the
legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide
by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities
Off-campus, out-of-state,
and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University
policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and
regulations may be found at the website address given below. Additional information is available from the
office of the school dean.
(http://www.utdallas.edu/Business Affairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm)
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the
discretion of the Professor.