SYLLABUS
HIS 949 A: The Making of Modern America
Meredith College: Fall 2011, MWF 1-1:50
Instructor: Molly Varley Office: Joyner 218, x 8825, [email protected]
Office Hours: M-TH 10-11 or by appointment
Course Description
This course will explore how industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and technological changes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to a strong and diverse wave of reform in the roughly two decades preceding U.S. entry into World War One. The reform impulse of the Progressive Era permeated almost every area of American social, political, economic, and cultural life. By examining these reform efforts and the fears that sparked them, we will understand better not only how the nation responded to the dramatic and rapid changes associated with modernity, but also how these reformers laid the foundations for American society in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course students will be able to:
Understand and be able to describe the problems identified by the many Progressives and the solutions proposed and attempted. Define the Progressives and the Progressive era.
Identify major figures who shaped the Progressive era and describe the debates they had.
Understand and use primary sources to draw conclusions and support arguments.
Express their knowledge of an important U.S. cultural issue through written work, presentation, and website production.
In addition, as a General Education designated U. S. Perspectives Course:
Students will examine how diverse cultures have shaped significant ideas, ideals, and values of U.S. society.
Students will analyze the complexities of U.S. cultural experience(s) through relevant disciplinary methods of interpretation.
Students will express their knowledge of an important U.S. cultural issue through written work, presentation, or artistic production.
Requirements
Required Books:
1. Participation:
You may have up to THREE absences in the course of the semester, excused or unexcused. I suggest that you save your allotted absences for when you really are unable to come to class.
a. Any absences beyond those three will cause your participation grade to drop by one letter grade. If, for any reason, you need to miss more than three classes, you must discuss it with me in advance. If you face a genuine emergency, you have 3 days after the missed class to communicate with me regarding the missed class. Failure to do so within 3 days will mean that the class is marked as unexcused regardless of the reason.
b. In the case of school events, you must inform me in advance for that missed class not to be counted as an absence.
c. NO CELL PHONES WHATSOEVER and NO INTERNET USE. Do not use your laptops in class unless I give you permission on that day. Bring a notebook and take notes by hand. Any use of cell phones or internet will result in you being counted as absent.
d. Sleeping, talking to your neighbor, texting coming to class late or leaving early, or otherwise being disruptive will cause you to be marked absent for that day.
e. Inclement Weather: We will hold class regardless of weather conditions unless the college itself is closed. If in doubt, contact the Meredith College inclement weather line at (919) 832-8878.
f. Participation, however, is more than just showing up. Some of our class meetings will take lecture form, especially during the first several weeks of class, but more often, we will be discussing readings and research and the creation of a class website.
i. For this to function, participation is required on the highest level. I expect you to have done the reading and be ready and willing to discuss, ask questions, argue your opinions, and potentially have your mind changed. Participation means actively listening and responding to each other. You should be able to demonstrate that you have done the reading each day.
g. Participation will make up 20% of your total grade.
2. Class Website
We will develop a class website that will be made up of your research materials. Your work on the website will be divided into several categories as outlined below and will make up 60% of your final grade.
1) Timeline Elements: at least 5 elements to place on the “timeline” for that topic.
a. Annotations: Timeline topics must be “annotated” with a 1-2 paragraph statement of what the element is, when it occurred, and why it is important.
i. Note: If students overlap on timeline elements, one of them will be required to find another topic. Timeline elements will be brought to class and listed before annotations are turned in.
ii. Timeline elements and annotations are worth 40 % of that category’s website grade.
2) Primary Material: At least 1 of each of the following to accompany each of the 3 timeline elements:
1. a photographic, artistic (painting, sculpture, drawing) or moving picture source
2. a written source
a. You will turn these in to me, accompanied by an annotation of the source, running not less than 1 and no more than 2 double-spaced pages. Because we want the material on our website to be consistent and aesthetically pleasing, you must follow the guidelines attached to this syllabus for formatting and presentation of your written work.
b. You must also include the full citation of the work in complete Chicago Manual of Style format. Annotations that do not meet formatting and citation requirements will be returned ungraded.
c. After I have graded and approved the primary sources and the annotation, you will place them in our class website. If I do not approve it for placement on the website, you will need to revise it. If I reject it a second time, you will receive a 0 for that assignment.
3. Each time you have material ready to place on the website, you will give a short (5 minute) presentation of it to the class telling what you found, where, and why it is important. After your presentation to the class, you may find that you have revisions you would like to make. You may take up to a week to add or revise ideas/information based on class discussion before placing it on the website.
a. Primary materials and annotations are worth 60% of that category’s website grade. 3. Final Essay
You will write a final essay from the prompt below. The first version of this essay is due by Nov 5, and the grade you receive for that will count for 2/3 of your final essay grade. You will then revise your essay and post it on the class website by noon on Thursday, December 6. This final version will make up the remaining 1/3 of your final essay grade. I will not accept late final essays. Final essays are worth 20% of your total grade.
Final essay prompt: In no less than 5 pages, define the Progressive Era. What sparked it, what were its main elements, what made someone a Progressive, and what is the lasting impact of this period?
· PLEASE NOTE:
o Grading Scale: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59 and below=F
o Wednesday 19 October 2011 is the last date to withdraw from this course.
o Late work will be docked one letter grade for each class day it is late. If you are participating in an official extracurricular activity on exam or presentation days, please see me PRIOR to the day you will miss class.
o Plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Remember to cite all material completely, and, if in doubt, discuss the work with me before turning it in. Ignorance of plagiarism will not excuse you. You may also want to educate yourself on plagiarism through these websites: http://www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/plagiarism/
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
o I will not change grades after the semester has ended under any circumstances and I will not give extra credit assignments.
o Meredith Code of Honor:
We, the Meredith Community, are committed to developing and affirming in each student a sense of personal honor and responsibility. Uncompromising honesty and forthrightness are essential elements of this commitment. The Honor System is a method by which individual honors are protected and maintained. Any dishonorable action will be regarded as a violation of this commitment, and corrective action will be taken.
If I am in violation of the Honor Code, to prevent jeopardizing the Honor System or weakening our system of self-government, I have an obligation to report myself to the proper authorities. If I am aware of a violation of the Honor System by another student, I shall call this matter to the attention of that student as a violation of responsibility to the community.
In choosing Meredith College, I am accepting the Honor System as a way of life.
As a Meredith student, I am responsible for insuring that the Honor System is at all times carried out.
· Special Accommodations and Circumstances:
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. In order to receive accommodations, students must go through the Counseling Center/Disability Services office. Disability Services is located in 201-A Carroll Hall and can be reached at 760-8427 or [email protected]. For additional information see the website at www.meredith.edu/students/counsel/disability.
WEBSITE GUIDELINES
Follow these guidelines exactly to properly format your work BEFORE turning it into me or posting it on the website.
· Black, 12 point font
· Arial font
· Although in all papers and written work that you turn into professors, you should always remove the extra space between paragraphs and indent the first line of each paragraph, in this case, you will format your work to make it more readable on the website. To do this, you should keep the extra space between paragraphs and not indent the first line of new paragraphs.
Therefore, your paragraphs will look like this.
If you need to adjust line spacing between paragraphs, go to the “line spacing” tab on Microsoft Word (it is under the main “home” tab), and open “line spacing options.” Under “indents and spacing,” look for “spacing” and change the “before” and “after” options to “auto.”
· CITATIONS
o All citations will be in Chicago Manual of Style format
o To insert a footnote:
§ place your cursor at the end of the sentence with the element to be cited. Do not put citations mid-sentence.
§ Go to the main “References” tab
§ Click on “Insert a footnote”[1]
o Put ALL footnote citations in Chicago Manual of Style format
§ We will discuss this in detail in class, however, if you need help with it during your work, look here http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
o You will include a separate “Works Cited” page, also in Chicago Manual of Style, that will list all primary and secondary sources cited in your work.
[1] Which will create a footnote. Type your footnote information. If your computer changes the font for your footnotes, select it all and change it to Arial so that your entire document, footnotes included, is in Arial. Do not change the font size of your footnotes from 10 pt.
Meredith College: Fall 2011, MWF 1-1:50
Instructor: Molly Varley Office: Joyner 218, x 8825, [email protected]
Office Hours: M-TH 10-11 or by appointment
Course Description
This course will explore how industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and technological changes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to a strong and diverse wave of reform in the roughly two decades preceding U.S. entry into World War One. The reform impulse of the Progressive Era permeated almost every area of American social, political, economic, and cultural life. By examining these reform efforts and the fears that sparked them, we will understand better not only how the nation responded to the dramatic and rapid changes associated with modernity, but also how these reformers laid the foundations for American society in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course students will be able to:
Understand and be able to describe the problems identified by the many Progressives and the solutions proposed and attempted. Define the Progressives and the Progressive era.
Identify major figures who shaped the Progressive era and describe the debates they had.
Understand and use primary sources to draw conclusions and support arguments.
Express their knowledge of an important U.S. cultural issue through written work, presentation, and website production.
In addition, as a General Education designated U. S. Perspectives Course:
Students will examine how diverse cultures have shaped significant ideas, ideals, and values of U.S. society.
Students will analyze the complexities of U.S. cultural experience(s) through relevant disciplinary methods of interpretation.
Students will express their knowledge of an important U.S. cultural issue through written work, presentation, or artistic production.
Requirements
Required Books:
- Brook Thomas, ed. Plessy v. Ferguson: A Brief History with Documents, isbn: 0-312-13743-5
- Jo Ann E. Argersinger, The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents, isbn: 0-312-46452-5
- Brett Flehinger, The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism, isbn: 0-312-2602906
- James Marten, Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era, isbn: 0-312-40421-2
- Frederick Hoxie, Talking Back to Civilization: Indian Voices from the Progressive Era, isbn: 0-312-10385-9
- Required articles will be placed on Blackboard
1. Participation:
You may have up to THREE absences in the course of the semester, excused or unexcused. I suggest that you save your allotted absences for when you really are unable to come to class.
a. Any absences beyond those three will cause your participation grade to drop by one letter grade. If, for any reason, you need to miss more than three classes, you must discuss it with me in advance. If you face a genuine emergency, you have 3 days after the missed class to communicate with me regarding the missed class. Failure to do so within 3 days will mean that the class is marked as unexcused regardless of the reason.
b. In the case of school events, you must inform me in advance for that missed class not to be counted as an absence.
c. NO CELL PHONES WHATSOEVER and NO INTERNET USE. Do not use your laptops in class unless I give you permission on that day. Bring a notebook and take notes by hand. Any use of cell phones or internet will result in you being counted as absent.
d. Sleeping, talking to your neighbor, texting coming to class late or leaving early, or otherwise being disruptive will cause you to be marked absent for that day.
e. Inclement Weather: We will hold class regardless of weather conditions unless the college itself is closed. If in doubt, contact the Meredith College inclement weather line at (919) 832-8878.
f. Participation, however, is more than just showing up. Some of our class meetings will take lecture form, especially during the first several weeks of class, but more often, we will be discussing readings and research and the creation of a class website.
i. For this to function, participation is required on the highest level. I expect you to have done the reading and be ready and willing to discuss, ask questions, argue your opinions, and potentially have your mind changed. Participation means actively listening and responding to each other. You should be able to demonstrate that you have done the reading each day.
g. Participation will make up 20% of your total grade.
2. Class Website
We will develop a class website that will be made up of your research materials. Your work on the website will be divided into several categories as outlined below and will make up 60% of your final grade.
- Politics (20% of website grade)
- Business (20% of website grade)
- Race (20% of website grade)
- Culture (20% of website grade)
- Gender (20% of website grade)
1) Timeline Elements: at least 5 elements to place on the “timeline” for that topic.
a. Annotations: Timeline topics must be “annotated” with a 1-2 paragraph statement of what the element is, when it occurred, and why it is important.
i. Note: If students overlap on timeline elements, one of them will be required to find another topic. Timeline elements will be brought to class and listed before annotations are turned in.
ii. Timeline elements and annotations are worth 40 % of that category’s website grade.
2) Primary Material: At least 1 of each of the following to accompany each of the 3 timeline elements:
1. a photographic, artistic (painting, sculpture, drawing) or moving picture source
2. a written source
a. You will turn these in to me, accompanied by an annotation of the source, running not less than 1 and no more than 2 double-spaced pages. Because we want the material on our website to be consistent and aesthetically pleasing, you must follow the guidelines attached to this syllabus for formatting and presentation of your written work.
b. You must also include the full citation of the work in complete Chicago Manual of Style format. Annotations that do not meet formatting and citation requirements will be returned ungraded.
c. After I have graded and approved the primary sources and the annotation, you will place them in our class website. If I do not approve it for placement on the website, you will need to revise it. If I reject it a second time, you will receive a 0 for that assignment.
3. Each time you have material ready to place on the website, you will give a short (5 minute) presentation of it to the class telling what you found, where, and why it is important. After your presentation to the class, you may find that you have revisions you would like to make. You may take up to a week to add or revise ideas/information based on class discussion before placing it on the website.
a. Primary materials and annotations are worth 60% of that category’s website grade. 3. Final Essay
You will write a final essay from the prompt below. The first version of this essay is due by Nov 5, and the grade you receive for that will count for 2/3 of your final essay grade. You will then revise your essay and post it on the class website by noon on Thursday, December 6. This final version will make up the remaining 1/3 of your final essay grade. I will not accept late final essays. Final essays are worth 20% of your total grade.
Final essay prompt: In no less than 5 pages, define the Progressive Era. What sparked it, what were its main elements, what made someone a Progressive, and what is the lasting impact of this period?
· PLEASE NOTE:
o Grading Scale: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59 and below=F
o Wednesday 19 October 2011 is the last date to withdraw from this course.
o Late work will be docked one letter grade for each class day it is late. If you are participating in an official extracurricular activity on exam or presentation days, please see me PRIOR to the day you will miss class.
o Plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Remember to cite all material completely, and, if in doubt, discuss the work with me before turning it in. Ignorance of plagiarism will not excuse you. You may also want to educate yourself on plagiarism through these websites: http://www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/plagiarism/
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
o I will not change grades after the semester has ended under any circumstances and I will not give extra credit assignments.
o Meredith Code of Honor:
We, the Meredith Community, are committed to developing and affirming in each student a sense of personal honor and responsibility. Uncompromising honesty and forthrightness are essential elements of this commitment. The Honor System is a method by which individual honors are protected and maintained. Any dishonorable action will be regarded as a violation of this commitment, and corrective action will be taken.
If I am in violation of the Honor Code, to prevent jeopardizing the Honor System or weakening our system of self-government, I have an obligation to report myself to the proper authorities. If I am aware of a violation of the Honor System by another student, I shall call this matter to the attention of that student as a violation of responsibility to the community.
In choosing Meredith College, I am accepting the Honor System as a way of life.
As a Meredith student, I am responsible for insuring that the Honor System is at all times carried out.
· Special Accommodations and Circumstances:
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with disabilities. In order to receive accommodations, students must go through the Counseling Center/Disability Services office. Disability Services is located in 201-A Carroll Hall and can be reached at 760-8427 or [email protected]. For additional information see the website at www.meredith.edu/students/counsel/disability.
WEBSITE GUIDELINES
Follow these guidelines exactly to properly format your work BEFORE turning it into me or posting it on the website.
· Black, 12 point font
· Arial font
· Although in all papers and written work that you turn into professors, you should always remove the extra space between paragraphs and indent the first line of each paragraph, in this case, you will format your work to make it more readable on the website. To do this, you should keep the extra space between paragraphs and not indent the first line of new paragraphs.
Therefore, your paragraphs will look like this.
If you need to adjust line spacing between paragraphs, go to the “line spacing” tab on Microsoft Word (it is under the main “home” tab), and open “line spacing options.” Under “indents and spacing,” look for “spacing” and change the “before” and “after” options to “auto.”
· CITATIONS
o All citations will be in Chicago Manual of Style format
o To insert a footnote:
§ place your cursor at the end of the sentence with the element to be cited. Do not put citations mid-sentence.
§ Go to the main “References” tab
§ Click on “Insert a footnote”[1]
o Put ALL footnote citations in Chicago Manual of Style format
§ We will discuss this in detail in class, however, if you need help with it during your work, look here http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
o You will include a separate “Works Cited” page, also in Chicago Manual of Style, that will list all primary and secondary sources cited in your work.
[1] Which will create a footnote. Type your footnote information. If your computer changes the font for your footnotes, select it all and change it to Arial so that your entire document, footnotes included, is in Arial. Do not change the font size of your footnotes from 10 pt.