Course Syllabus

“A class is a process, an independent organism with its own goals and dynamics. It is always something more than even the most imaginative lesson plan can predict.” —Ohio State professor, Thomas Kasulis.

Course Description

The historical approach to American Studies seeks to identify and assess specific themes, patterns, behaviors and traditions that have shaped the American past. Inherently interdisciplinary, it draws extensively on narrative and print culture, as well as a vast array of other areas of study, in order to seek an understanding of America. Students of American Studies-History will gain a vast, deep knowledge of American History, and in doing so glean a greater understanding of the role of America in the world, and the role of the world in America. While it's primary intention lay elsewhere, HSS450/A will prepare committed students well to sit for the AP US History examination in May of 2017, if they so choose. 

 Course work

While we will use a wide array of source material in this course our central text will be The American Yawp (shortened to AY in the syllabus and on assignments---we will also use their Primary Source Reader), a free online collaboratively built American History textbook. This experience will likely be a departure for you due to the purely online delivery of content. The decision to adopt The American Yawp reflects both the turn towards digital pedagogy in the Humanities, as well as the desire to circumvent the rising cost of textbooks for students. Most importantly, The American Yawp provides students with academic rigor through outstanding readability, via a multi-layered, interdisciplinary approach to the past.  

To this end, we will also utilize an online annotation software, Hypothes.is. This will allow students to annotate and to take notes on top of their text, as well as blogs, websites, journal articles, and other web-based content. Your work with hypothes.is will represent a significant portion of your grade this year--more importantly however, it will aid in your learning as a student of history--so please take this experience seriously. To access the #SGAmStuds group membership page, please go here: Hypothesis AmStuds Page.

Honor Code

You will be expected to read and follow St. George's honor code. You may collaborate in your preparation for tests but all written work must be your own unless explicitly stated otherwise.  Also, all sources used in the preparation of assignments must be properly cited. We will spend ample time determining what constitutes proper citation techniques. All cases of academic dishonesty, including cheating, lying, and plagiarism, will be immediately reported to the Dean of Academics. Read the Shield and ask questions if in doubt; ignorance is not an excuse.  

Daily Preparation

This class will largely be in seminar format which depends on active and thoughtful participation by all involved.  As such, students are expected to be prepared and be ready to add to the discussion both in class and via Hypothes.is. In addition, there will frequent reading quizzes on which you will be allowed to use your homework notes. In short--be prepared for class. Notebook organization and detail, preparation on a daily basis, enthusiasm for class discussion, and general excitement about history (or lack thereof) are all factors that count in your effort grade.  

Technology

Students should bring their laptop to class each day, as this is where your textbook and many primary texts exist. While we won't utilize technology every day, we will integrate it into the learning experience on a fairly regular basis. 

Course Grade

Your grade in this class will be based approximately upon the components listed in the righthand column.  If you have any questions regarding these sections, please ask. Per department policy, late written assignments will be deducted one complete letter grade for each 24-hour period the assignment is late (the period begins at the start of class on the day the assignment is due):

A Note on Essays and Written Work: Essays and written material are due at the beginning of the period for which an assignment is given. If a hardcopy will be collected, it should be stapled prior to class. I tend to grade written work anonymously and electronically, in which case you should submit a file through Canvas without a name or obvious indicator that it's your work. Simply uploading it via Canvas will allow me to both grade anonymously, but to have that grade assigned to your work.