U.S. Overview Overview
(hahaha, I crack myself up)
Soo…what’s this class about, anyway?
As you could probably tell from the title, this is your one-stop-shopping Overview of United States History. This class, which is 2 Mods long, will serve as your touchstone for the U.S. History knowledge you’ll need to succeed in your future history classes at CSW. However, history is more than just “what happened when”. In this class, we’re going practice the skills of a historian (in a nutshell: find sources, making meaning from them and telling the story yourself). We will frame our study with three important questions:
- How have different people told the story of American history throughout time? Has our telling of our history changed? Is one version more correct than the others?
- How have race, gender and economic class impacted the lives of people in the United States throughout time?
- What does the culture (literature, film, art, fashion, food, etc.) of a certain time period tell us about the values and experiences of the people who lived then?
What’s expected of me on a daily basis?
So glad you asked! I expect that you will come to class on time with your homework completed, ready to participate. Class is super boring if its just me talking (plus, I get sick of the sound of my own voice) and you can’t contribute meaningfully unless you do the homework
On time? Like, really?
Seriously, you guys. Tardiness is one of my big huge pet peeves. Coming in late is distracting to me and your classmates and is disrespectful to the work that we have to do together in the classroom. Set your watches, your cellphones, your best friend to this classroom clock and come on time. Also, remember, three lates is an absence.
How are we going to be graded in this class?
Your grade will be a composite of 4 major things:
- Class participation
- Blog participation (omg, a blog? we’ll get to that.)
- Nightly homework
- Projects and Papers (including at least one of each: research paper, seminar discussion, debate)
Do I have to actively read?
Do you even have to ask? Yes. You have to actively read. To me that means your reading should involve some writing (not just highlighting). Write in your margins, write notes somewhere else, write a blog post about it (seriously)
What’s your late work policy?
Excellent question! Nightly homework is due when its due. If you don’t have your reading or other homework done at the beginning of the class when its due, it’s a zero and that’s that. That’s okay every once in a while, too. Everyone will have two get-out-of-jail-free cards to use per mod, which won’t count against your homework grade. I understand that sometimes
In terms of big papers and projects, I will try to give you a week’s notice before any upcoming deadlines. In return, I ask that you give me notice if you need an extension – you have until 6pm the night before a due date to arrange a new deadline with me. (So, um emailing me at midnight saying “I can’t finish the paper!!!!” doesn’t count.)
Will this be any fun?
SO MUCH FUN YOU WILL FALL DOWN FROM EXCITEMENT.
Promise.
I love U.S. History. I get all giddy about it. At least it will be fun to see that, right?
