Santa Ana College

History 120H: History of the United States to 1865

Course #53428

M/W 10:15-11:40AM

Dunlap Hall, D-201

 

Instructor: Moises Medina

Contact: medina_moises@sac.edu (714) 564-6512

Office: Dunlap Hall, D-404 Hours: TBD

 

Course Description/Overview:

History 120 analyzes major social, political, and cultural developments in the United States from the pre-colonial era to the Civil War. Through a chronological and topical telling this course aims to acquaint students with the broad historical trends and continuing controversies in US history. It will help students realize that there are many ways to look at and respond to events. In so doing the hope is that students will be better able to understand the present and thus better capable to shape the future. To accomplish these goals, the class will cover a variety of topics as listed below on the syllabus. In order for students to fully understand and appreciate the course information, students should stay current with the news, regularly attend class, complete all assigned work, and complete all reading assignments.

 

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):

1.Students will critically analyze and interpret primary documents and secondary sources, and will be able to interpret qualitative and quantitative data in order to evaluate historical events.

2.Students will develop communication skills through oral and written exercises, and develop analytical skills by critically interpreting historical topics.

3.Students will analyze how local, national, and international policies and practices developed in the past continue to impact their contemporary lives.

 

Course Policy and Guidelines:

The following are steps that will help students successfully complete the course.

 

Students are required to attend class.

-2 unexcused absences will result in docking of points and/or lowering of letter grade.

Students are expected to arrive in class on time.

-Excessive tardiness will result in the docking of points and/or lowering of letter grade.

Students are required to come prepared to class

-Showing up everyday is not enough. Each student is expected to come to class prepared, having done the required reading for the week and the assigned course work.

Students are required to participate in class discussions.

-This course will involve in class discussion of the material that is covered (lectures, readings, films, etc). Students will therefore be expected to ask questions and actively participate in class discussions. Your grade depends on it.

Students are required to turn assignments in on time.

-Assignments will be docked a whole letter grade for each day late (max 2 days). Absence is not an excuse for late work; it is the student’s responsibility to turn in assignment in on time. (Note: unless otherwise agreed upon, emailing assignments is not allowed.)

If students adhere to all the aforementioned guidelines, successful completion of course is not difficult. However, even if all steps are completed, an unsatisfactory grade may still be issued based on quality of work.

 

Mobile devices/ cellular phones:

Mobile devices (i.e. Laptop) are allowed for classroom use. However Internet browsing is strictly prohibited and will lead to banning of mobile devices and/or dismissal of the student.

Cell phone use is strictly prohibited. Classroom use of a cell phone will result in dismissal of student from class and lowering of letter grade.

 

Academic dishonesty/Plagiarism

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any student(s) found cheating will automatically fail any related assignment and be subject to administrative review by the Dean of Students. It is the student’s responsibility to completely understand what qualifies as plagiarism.

“Plagiarism is a direct violation of intellectual and academic dishonesty. Although it exist in many forms, all plagiarism refers to the same act: representing somebody else’s words or ideas as one’s own. The most extreme forms of plagiarism are the use of material authored by another person or obtained from a commercial source, or the use of a passage copied word for word without acknowledgement. Paraphrasing an author’s idea or quoting even limited portions of his or her text without proper citation is also an act of plagiarism. Even putting someone else’s ideas into one’s own words without acknowledgement may be plagiarism. In none of it’s forms can plagiarism be tolerated in an academic community. It may constitute grounds for a failing grade, probation, suspension, or expulsion.”

 

Students with disabilities

Your success in the course is important to me. Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to speak with me as soon as possible.  Also please contact Disabled Student Programs & Services so that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner. DSP&S is located in U-103 and their phone number is 714-564-6264. The DSP&S office requires documentation of your disability in order to receive reasonable accommodations. If you do not have documentation they will work with you to acquire it. I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals.

 

Required Text:

Foner, Eric. ed. Give Me Liberty: Seagull 3rd Edition Vol. 1. ISBN: 9780393911909

Give Me Liberty! (GML) is the primary text for this course. It will fill gaps left in the lectures and will add substance to what students learn in class. It will additionally provide students with maps, photos, graphs, historiography, and other information to complement the lectures. Students are expected to have assigned readings read before each class meeting

 

Course Website:

Unless otherwise noted, all course material (syllabus, primary source readings, assignment prompts, media, e-links, etc) will be posted on the course Canvas Page.

            https://rsccd.instructure.com/

It is the student’s responsibility to access and check the Canvas page throughout the course, as material relevant to assignments, prompts and information that will be on exams will be posted there. The course website message/email system is also the best way to contact me outside of classroom hours.

 

Course Grading

            Quizzes- 20%

            Essays- 20%

            Identifications- 3%

            Participation- 2%

            Midterm- 25%

            Final- 30%

 

Assignments

 

Written Assignments:

-20% 2 Reading Response Essay’s (10% each)

Students will write an essay that actively engages with one of the primary source handouts assigned for reading (also located on the Canvas website

            Response #1: Due Wednesday Oct 10th

            Response #2: Due Wednesday Nov 28th

*Please see the Using the Guide to Reading and Interpreting Documents (posted on the Canvas website) as a guide to understanding what primary sources are.

 

Test:

-20% 2 Quizzes (10% each)

There will be 4 quizzes given throughout the course based on material presented in the course. Quizzes will be administered at the beginning of class, if you are late or absent you will receive 0 points for the assignment as make up quizzes will not be administered.

Quiz 1: Wednesday Sept 19th

Quiz 2: Wednesday Oct 10th

Quiz 3: Wednesday Nov 7th

Quiz 4: Wednesday Nov 28^th

*Note that quizzes will not only be factual knowledge based but also test your conceptual understanding material and thus may require more than one word answers.

-25% Midterm Exam Wednesday Oct 17th

-30% Final Wednesday Dec 12^th

 

Other:

-2% Participation

-3% 2 ID Assignments (see course Canvas page for more information)

ID #1: Due on Wednesday Oct 17th

ID #2: Due on Wednesday Dec 12^th

 

*This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the professor. It is the student’s responsibility to stay informed about these changes as they may adversely affect the student’s grade.