Themes in American History

Location and Instructor:
Baruch College, CUNY
Summer, 2011
HIS 1000, S1A, MTTh, 8:00-10:05am, Vertical Campus 10-160
HIS 1000, S1B, MTTh, 11:00am-1:05pm, Vertical Campus 10-175
Instructor: Thomas Harbison
E-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: Tu, 1:30-2:30pm or by appt.
Office location: 137 E. 25th St., Room 320

Course Description:
This introductory course, “Themes in American History,” focuses on one specific aspect of U.S. History: the urban experience.  Some of the major themes to be explored include immigration/migration, socioeconomic mobility, and ethnic/race relations.  The readings and lectures concentrate primarily on New York City, since its history provides excellent examples of all of these themes, and because this is a city with which we all have personal experience.  As you compare, analyze, and debate competing interpretations of the American city, I encourage you to formulate and seek answers to your own questions about how cities have changed over time.  This process will involve differentiating between primary and secondary sources, assessing the validity of various forms of historical evidence, and imagining events of the past in new ways.

Textbook
Howard P. Chudacoff and Judith E. Smith, The Evolution of American Urban Society, 7th edition (ISBN: 0-13-189824-8).  This is available from the Baruch College Bookstore.  The 5th and 6th editions are also acceptable.

Attendance:
Attendance at all class sessions is important. There will be material covered in lectures and class activities not covered by the reading assignments. More than two unexcused absences will affect your overall grade. You are allowed four absences before being dropped from the course. If you arrive to class after I have taken attendance, it is required that you speak to me after class. Repeated lateness will affect your grade.

Classroom Etiquette:
Out of respect for others in the classroom, silence electronic devices and refrain from chatting when class is in progress.

Academic Dishonesty:
The university’s policy on plagiarism can be found online at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html. The minimum penalty for cheating or plagiarism is an F on the exam or assignment. I am required to bring all cases of cheating and plagiarism to the attention of the Dean of Student Affairs.

Course Blog:
The blog is located at https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his1000summer2011/
You have all been registered as authors on the blog.  You should have received an email with your username and password sent to your Baruch email address.  If you have any trouble accessing the blog, please notify me at [email protected].  It is required that you participate in blog assignments.  Please see below for more information.

Exams, Quizzes, and other Assignments:

Exams: There will be two exams for this course: a midterm and a final.  The dates of both are listed on the syllabus schedule. The exams will cover material from the readings, lectures, and blog and will consist of identifications, short-answer and essay questions.

Blog assignments: For most classes, you will be given an assignment to complete on our course blog.  I will post the question, and you will respond according to the assignment.  In most cases, this will involve raising and/or answering questions reflecting on the reading.  In some cases, it will include posting images or video that demonstrate a historical argument that you have constructed.  In other cases, it will require that you respond to your classmates’ posts in the comments area.

In class: You will be asked to participate in written or spoken activities during our class time.  In addition to the blog, this is an opportunity for you to raise historical questions and answer those of your classmates.

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

Attendance/Participation: 20%
Blog/Homework: 30%
Midterm: 25%
Final Exam: 25%

Schedule of Readings, Assignments, and Exams:

See the Schedule page.

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