Stevens Institute of Technology
College of Arts & Letters
Program in History

FALL 2010
Section 125B: Tuesday, 3.00-4.50 pm and Thursday, 3.00-3.50 pm
Classroom: Pierce 216

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments

Course Description and Goals:  

This course is a survey of important themes, people, and events in American history from the colonial era to 1865. During the semester we will approach American history from several different vantage points, including the history of racism, political history, biographical history, the history of technology, and the history of American Empire.

This course seeks to advance the mission of the College of Arts & Letters in the following ways:

• Increase awareness of cultures and societies other than one’s own.
• Improve writing and/or public speaking skills.
• Increase one’s love of learning for its own sake.

HHS 125 has the following course goals:

• To deepen your understanding of the core themes and tensions in American history.
• To appreciate differences in historical methods used to interpret the past.
• To understand the foundations of America's eventual growth into a world power.

Textbooks to purchase (available in the campus store):

Pauline Maier, Merritt Roe Smith, Alexander Keyssar, and Daniel J. Kevles
Inventing America: A History of the United States, Vol. 1
WW Norton & Co., 2nd edition, paperback (2006)
ISBN-10: 0393926753

Gordon Wood
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different
Penguin Press (2007)
ISBN: 0143112082

Eric Foner
The Story of American Freedom
W.W Norton & Co. (1999)
ISBN-10: 0393319628

Winthrop Jordan
The White Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States
Oxford University Press (1974)
ISBN-10: 0195017439

Humanities Resource Center:

If you want assistance writing your papers, you should ask for help well ahead of the paper's due date. For more information, get in touch with me and/or visit the Writing & Communications Center at Stevens in Morton 210 (Office Hours M-F 1-5 pm).

Honor Board Policies:

You should by now be familiar with The Honor System at the Stevens Institute of Technology. It is your responsibility to uphold the ideals set forth in the Honor System Constitution. Specific student responsibilities include:

• Maintaining honesty and fair play in all aspects of academic life at Stevens;
• Writing and signing the pledge, in full, on all submitted academic work;
• Reporting any suspected violations to an Honor Board member or to the Dean of Student Development;
• Cooperating with the Honor Board during investigations and hearings.

If you ever have questions about how to interpret the Honor System in relation to your work in this class, please get in touch with me.

Students with disabilities:

If you require special accommodations due to a disability, or if you need individual arrangements should the building be evacuated, you must inform the office of Student Counseling and Psychological Services, Dr. Terence Hannigan, Director, in the Howe Center, 7th floor (x5177), and complete the Faculty Contact Form. Once you have done so, you should ask to meet with me so that we can work out any special arrangements that may be necessary.

Grades and Course Policies:  

Attendance is mandatory. Any absences must be accounted for by notifying me before the start of class. Otherwise I will need verification from an outside authority (i.e., doctor, coach, another professor) explaining why it was necessary for you to miss class. Cell phones should either be turned off or silenced. Computer use should be related to what we are doing in class. Any students in violation of these simple rules will be marked as absent for that particular class.

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

• class participation, including attendance, activity in discussions, and one in-class oral report (30%)
• essay assignments (30%)
• mid-term exam (20%)
• final exam (20%)

Percentages are approximate. I will determine final weights at the end of the course. I reserve the right to give pop quizzes.

Link to Schedule, Reading List, and Assignments