Herkimer County Community College

American History I

SS 121-VA

Summer 2017

 

 

Professor: Eric M. Vernold, Ed. D

 

Office: N/A

 

Phone: 315-866-0300

 

Email: vernoldem@herkimer.edu

 

Office Hours: N/A

 

 

Course Description:  This course is designed to develop the student’s understanding of the political, economic, social and intellectual history of the United States.  Emphasis is placed on the European background, the founding of the American Colonies, the establishment of a new nation and the testing of the Union.

 

Textbook: There is no textbook for you to purchase for this course.  The textbook that we will be using is available free of charge through SUNY Open Resources.  The link for this textbook is:

 

Cover

 

Course Materials:  Computer and Internet Access

 

Course Subject Information:

 

            Course Objectives:

                       

1. To introduce students to a basic narrative of American History: political, economic, social and cultural including knowledge of unity and diversity in American Society.
2. To introduce students to common institutions in American Society and how they have affected different groups.
3. Provide students with opportunities to develop an understanding of America’s evolving relationship with the rest of the world.
4. Provide students with opportunities to demonstrate an understanding of current academic research methods to synthesize, evaluate and think critically about ideas, concepts and evidence used by historians as well as develop well-reasoned arguments of their own.

 

 

 

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

           

The student who successfully completes this course will be able to…

1. Display knowledge of the basic narrative of American History, its different components as well as unity and diversity in American society.
2. Integrate knowledge of common American institutions such as government, economics, religion, etc. with how those institutions have affected different social, economic, ethnic, racial, gender, political and other groups.
3. Show an understanding of how America’s relationship with other parts of the world has changed over time.
4. Identify, analyze and evaluate arguments as they occur in their own or other’s work and will develop well-reasoned arguments of their own.

 

 

Major Divisions of Subject Matter:

 

1. Colonial America: Contact and Development

 

1. The American Revolution: Causes and Outcomes

 

• Early Development of Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

 

1. The Early Republic: Washington, Jefferson and the Era of Good Feeling

 

1. Jacksonianism, Reform and the Rise of the Common Man

 

1. Slavery and Westward Expansion

 

• The Testing of the Union: The Road to the Civil War and Beyond

 

 

 

 

Grade Determinants:

 

There are five components to the final grade.

1. Writing Assignments: 20%
2. Research Paper: 20%
3. Exams: 20%
4. Final Exam: 20%
5. Class Discussions: 20%

 

**COMPUTER PROBLEMS ARE NOT AN ACCEPTABLE EXCUSE FOR MISSED WORK.**

 

 

*Late work will receive a 0%*

 

 

Grade Scale:

 

A   100-90

B   89-80

C   79-70

D   69-60

F   59-0

 

 

Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes:

 

Assessment is the process by which faculty evaluate their course before, during, and after the course runs. As part of that process, information (including but not limited to, performance on objective tests, quizzes, essays, presentations, portfolios, research papers, and exams) from this class will be used to assess how well the course meets the objectives.  Changes may then be made in the structure and/or content of the course that will enhance student learning.  For this course you will be assessed in a combination of a traditional multiple choice test and short essays in addition to writing assignments.

 

 

Attendance Withdrawal:

 

Faculty may withdraw a student for excessive absence. The attendance policy should

be presented to the students at the beginning of the semester in the Course Syllabus.

This policy does not preclude faculty members from instituting individual attendance

requirements and/or penalties for absences.

 

After students miss 20% or more of the scheduled sessions for a class, instructors may

withdraw them from the class by completing an Attendance Withdrawal Form for the

Registrar’s Office. (In online classes, faculty members may withdraw students who miss

20% of the required participation in the class.)

 

Prior to the deadline for dropping full-semester classes, faculty members who wish to

withdraw students from classes must report a grade of AW. This grade will compute as a W in students’ grade point average.

 

Procedure for Instructors:

 

Faculty members who wish to withdraw students from classes may do so prior to the

deadline for dropping full-semester classes. The faculty member should report the grade of AW (attendance withdrawal) on the Attendance Withdrawal Form.

 

The Registrar’s Office will process the Attendance Withdrawal Forms, post the AW grade on students’ transcripts, and distribute copies of the forms to the student and instructor.

 

Academic Honesty:

 

“Plagiarism and cheating are violations of the Student Code of Conduct.

The maintenance of academic honesty is the responsibility of both instructors and students. Any written assignment submitted by a student must be of original authorship. Representation of another’s work as his/her own shall constitute plagiarism. Any charge of plagiarism shall be substantiated either by a direct correlation between the original and the alleged plagiarized copy or ‘clear and convincing evidence.’ Cheating shall be considered a violation and subject to the same penalties.” (HCCC Student Handbook, pg. 125). If it is evident the student has cheated or plagiarized, they will receive zero for their grade on that assignment.

 

APPEAL PROCESS:

 

Students who wish to contest any action taken by the instructor should appeal to the

Associate/Assistant Dean. If a case is adjudicated by the Dean of Students, and the decision is to remove the student from the course, to suspend the student for a period of time, or to expel the student, the appeal is to the College President.

 

Class Conduct:

 

–NO inappropriate language or disrespect to one another

 

–NO behavior that will prohibit the teaching/learning environment

 

Any student who fails to follow these polices will be reported in writing to the Assistant Dean at the College.

 

 

 

Students with Disabilities:

 

Students with disabilities who are seeking academic accommodations should contact Leslie Cornish in the Services for Students with Disabilities office at 866-0300 Ext. 8331. The SSD office is located in the Academic Support Center in room LB 115.