Office hours
Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.-noon
Wednesdays, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
By appointment

Graduate assistant
José Carlos de la Puente
Email: j.c.delapuente@tcu.edu
Phone: (682)583-9191
Office: 304 Reed Hall
Office hour: Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

University mission statement: To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.

College mission statement: The AddRan mission is to foster an intellectual community that explores the human condition in its varied expressions and educates students for a meaningful life.

Department mission statement: To educate students in the development of world cultures and to understand historical and geographical inquiry so they can think and act as informed and ethical leaders and responsible citizens in a global community.

Instructor mission statement: To enjoy life responsibly.

Course objectives: History 10613 addresses the basic social, political, and economic issues behind the United States' growth into a global economic and military power since Reconstruction. Students will learn basic information about U.S. history since 1877 and how historians create interpretations of the past. Students will hone their critical thinking and writing skills by analyzing primary source documents and secondary sources in quizzes and writing assignments.

More generally, History 10613 seeks to enhance students' reading, analytical, and writing skills. Students will:
· master a broad body of historical knowledge;
· demonstrate an understanding of historical chronology;
· use historical data to support an argument or position; and,
· interpret and apply information from primary documents and secondary sources.

Textbooks and supplies:
* Paul Johnson, A History of the American People;
* Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present; and,
* James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, 5th ed., vol. 2

Assessment:
After the Fact quizzes.......................10%
Johnson & Zinn quizzes......................20%
Final paper.........................................20%
Course portfolio ................................50% **Checklist added 4/20/09**

Course portfolio: At the end of the semester, you will submit a course portfolio that will count for half of your course grade. Your portfolio will include the workshop assignments (see below), analyses of films we view in class, and any other in-class written work. Your portfolio grade will be determined by the quality of your work, the completion of all film analyses and other work, and the overall professionalism of the work submitted. Missing essays or assignments will lower the portfolio's grade by one level. For example, a B+ portfolio missing an assignment will be reduced to a B. For more information about portfolio evaluation, please read these guidelines.

Course policies:
Grading
A+: 98-100%
A : 93-97%
A-: 90-92%
B+: 88-89%
B : 83-87%
B-: 80-82%
C+: 78-79%
C : 73-77%
C-: 70-72%
D+: 68-69%
D : 63-67%
D-: 60-62%
F : 0-59%

Attendance
Come to class. Come to class on time. Students with two unexcused absences will have their semester grade reduced by one letter. Students who accumulate three unexcused absences will be asked to drop the course.

Make-up exams and quizzes
Quizzes missed during excused absences will be administered during the instructor's scheduled office hours. The student bears responsibility for making up quizzes. Quizzes not made up within one week of the original quiz date will receive a score of zero. Quizzes missed for an unexcused absence receive a score of zero.

Late assignments
Late assignments incur a 10-percent penalty for every 24-hour period or portion thereof that passes from the deadline until the instructor receives the assignment.

Conduct
Please do not talk out of turn. Disable or mute electronic devices before class starts. Read newspapers, work crossword puzzles, or engage in other distracting activities at your own risk.

Students with disabilities
Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. If you require accommodations for a disability, please contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services, located in Sadler Hall 11. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at 817-257-7486.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.HTM.

Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.

Academic dishonesty
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following:
* plagiarism (stealing and using another's ideas or writings as one's own);
* copying from another person during an examination;
* assisting another person to cheat by providing information; and,
* changing a grade, notations, or answer on a paper or exam that has already been submitted, graded, and returned.
Students found guilty of academic dishonesty will be penalized to the fullest extent possible, which may include failing the course. Each student has the responsibility to know and understand University and College rules and regulations. See TCU Student Handbook, 2008-2009, section 3.4, for a complete discussion.

Studying suggestions:
I recommend devoting at least two hours of study time for every hour spent in class. Since this is a three-hour class, you should spend at least six hours studying each week. Please know that time and effort do not necessarily produce results. Many students, especially freshmen and sophomores, with unpolished study skills need to spend more than the recommended time to achieve acceptable results.

Helpful links
TCU History Department Undergraduate Web Page

What are primary sources and why are they important? See what the National Archives and Records Administration says.

These National Archives and Records Administration document analysis worksheets offer helpful suggestions for studying primary (and other) sources.

Tentative schedule:
Abbreviations
AF: After the Fact
Johnson: A History of the American People
Zinn: A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present