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HIST  1301  United States History to 1877

Dr.  Dean T. Ferguson                                                        

Office:  Rhode                 263/4                                           

Email:  kfdtf00@tamuk.edu

Course Web Page:  http://users.tamuk.edu/kfdtf00 

Office Phone:                  593-4106                                                          

Office hours:    MWF  12:00--1:00;  2:00--3:00;  T-Th  1:00--2:00

Course Description

                This course combines two objectives.  The first is to provide an overview of the history of the United States from the colonization of North America to the Civil War and its aftermath.   The second objective is the development of the critical analytical skills necessary to mature reflection on the past. Together in this course then we will embark on a study of men and women struggling to work out their individual lives within larger processes of political, social, religious, and economic change.  The organization of this course reflects the narrative of these over-arching processes.  Throughout the course, however, we will endeavor to keep the lives of individuals from becoming lost in the impersonal morass of change as an abstraction.  History didn’t just happen; people—and not just Dead White Men—made it happen.   Furthermore, history, as it is taught and learned, is being constructed now.  The meaning of the past is contested in the present. You make your own past, telling and retelling stories about the past which explain your world.  In this course, then, we will pay close attention  not only to the “stuff” of American history but to the uses that history serves in our present.   

Required Texts  (available at the University Bookstore)

James West Davidson, et al. Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic Vol. 1 To 1877 

James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me (1995)

Course Requirements:    

      Exams

Students will take two Mid-terms and a Final Exam.  Each exam will combine multiple choice questions, short answer identifications questions, and a longer essay.  Each exam will be worth 100 points.  Each exam covers only the lectures, discussions, and readings assigned before the exam.  The final is not cumulative.  See Course Schedule for Exam Dates.

 Analytical Review of Lies My Teacher Told Me

As part of your reading materials I have assigned James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me.  We will periodically discuss and frequently refer to the questions about American history raised by James Loewen.  Each of you will write a 4-5 page review of this thought-provoking critique of the way in which textbooks influence the teaching of history.   This review will be due Friday November 17, 2001.

Attendance and participation

Attendance is expected.  Each class period will be critical to the overall narrative of the course and to each student's success.  Examinations will require the successful student to incorporate information from lectures and both texts so absences will undermine one's chances for success.  Attendance will be taken periodically and will contribute to the overall grade.  

Grading Criteria

  Final grades will be based on the papers and exams, calculated as  follows:  

Semester Grades will be calculated as follows.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, who wish to request accommodations in this class, should notify the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (S.S.D.) early in the semester so that the appropriate arrangements may be made.  In accordance with federal law, a student requesting accommodations must provide documentation of his/her disability to the S.S.D. assistant coordinator.  For more information, call (361) 593-3024 or visit Life Services and Wellness, Room 125.

COURSE SCHEDULE

FALL 2001

November 2, 2001  Last Day to Drop the Course with automatic grade of Q