COURSE SYLLABUS...

History 231—TuTh 5:20PM - 7:25PM

Winter 2012

Section 003  CRN 10254
Science II Room 179

Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Brett Schmoll

Office Hours: Tues and Thu 1:30-3

                                  …OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!

Email: bschmoll@csub.edu

Office Phone: 654-6549

Course Description:
The colonial foundations; political, economic, social and cultural developments in the emerging United States; the early agrarian republic; the Civil War.
Required Reading:
1. Paul Johnson, A History of the American People
2. Malcolm Mclaurin, Celia, A Slave
3. Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

4. Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”

5. Weekly blog readings: Each week you will have both primary and secondary sources to read on the blog. These will be announced in class.

Grading Scale:

        

Participation: 10%

Colony Project: 5%
         Indian Removal Debate: 5%
         The Slavery Essay: 20%
         Midterm Exam: 30%
         Final Exam: 30%

The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you

want to see the course readings or the syllabus online, just go to

http://history231winter2012.blogspot.com/

You need to sign in to this blog this week.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.

Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing too much of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass.

Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader (that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. If you are late a few (that means three) times, you will lose the entire 10% participation grade. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent.

The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully focus and be there! Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for a short while.

Participation: You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive a good grade for participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! If you want to receive a participation grade in the 90% or above range, then you should be in every class and ask some good questions and really get into it…or at least fake it really well!

Academic Honesty
You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean.

History 231—TuTh 5:20PM - 7:25PM http://history231winter2012.blogspot.com/

Section 003  CRN 10254
Science II Room 179

Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Brett Schmoll

Office Hours: Tues and Thu 1:30-3…OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!

Course Schedule:

1/10   Intro/Pre-Columbian Americas/Assign Colony Project

1/12  “Discovery” and Exploration/Early Colonies

HOMEWORK DUE TODAY: SIGNED STATEMENT…  “I read the syllabus.”

1/17   Early Colonies/“Colony Project” Due

1/19   Great Awakening/American Enlightenment

1/24   Mid-Century Challenges/The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Due

1/26   Benjamin Franklin

1/31   Library Project Day

2/2    Revolutionary War/“Common Sense” Reading Due/The Constitution

2/7  Early National Period

2/9  MIDTERM EXAM: Bring a Blue Book

2/14   Jefferson’s America

2/16   War of 1812 to 1820/Early Industrialism

2/21   The World of Andrew Jackson/Cherokee Removal Debate Prep

2/23   Cherokee Removal Debate/Celia Reading Due

2/28  “Secret Life of a Developing Country”

3/1    “Cycles of Distrust”—Sectionalism/Celia Essay Due

3/6   War with Mexico and other Western Issues

3/8    Sectionalism

3/13   Civil War/Gettysburg Address

3/15   Last Day of Class

FINAL EXAM: Thursday, March 22, 8-10:30pm