I. Required Readings (all paperbacks)

Diane Ravitch, The American Reader [rev. 2nd edition] and Byron Hollinshead, I Wish I Had Been There: . These should be available from the WSU bookstore, and from the off-campus bookstore [Beat The Bookstore] located near Smith's on Harrison. Both may be available as well from on-line discounters like www.half.com or www.Amazon.com. Shop around.

II. Examinations

There will be three exams during the course, two during the semester and one final exam. None of the exams will be cumulative. You may take, each time, either an exam consisting of 25 multiple-choice questions and one essay question, or an exam consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions. Your choice. Each multiple-choice question will be worth two points and each essay question will be worth 50 points [so each exam is worth a total of 100 points]. At least one week before each exam, you will receive two advance essay questions, one of which will be the essay question on the essay version of the exam if you choose to do that one. The exam essays will be graded as follows: for an A, you will receive 50 points. For a B essay, you will receive 43 points. For a C essay, you will receive 38 points. For a D essay, you will receive 33 points. For an E essay, you will receive 28 points unless in my judgment you have not made a serious attempt to answer the question. In that case, you will receive no points for the essay.

III. Exam Dates:

All course exams will be administered through the Testing Centers on campus [there is one in the basement of the Social Sciences Building, another in the Student Services Building, and one on the Davis Campus as well]. You will have a two-day period to take each exam at one of the testing centers. Here are the exam dates for this term:

First Exam: 30 September and 1 October. Second Exam: 2 and 3 November. Final exam: TBA.



IV. Required Paper:

You will have to write one brief paper [no more than three double-spaced typed pages long]. The assignment is this: interview someone who is at least 60 years old, about what life was like for them in their early years, and about historical events they remember from their youth. Then write a brief [three page] paper on the interview. Please note: I want you to write an essay about the person you interview, not merely to transcribe the interview. To conduct a good interview [and write a good paper], you might want to do a little leg work before hand. For example, scan the text for significant or dramatic events that occurred during your subject's teenage years [the Great Depression, perhaps, or World War II, or the Korean War etc.] so you will be ready to ask good questions. The papers must be submitted no later than Monday, 16 November. There will be a penalty for late submission. Please don't leave this until the last minute. The paper is worth 50 points.

V: Course Grades

Your grade in the course will depend entirely on the number of points you accumulate during the course. There are 350 possible points you may earn in the course. To get an A, you must earn 85% of the points available [297 points]. To get a B, you must earn 262 points. To get a C, you must earn 227 points and to get a D you must earn at least 192 points. Any student earning fewer than 192 points will receive an E in the course. Please note: I do not drop the lowest exam grade you make during the term, and I do not curve grades. Please note: failure to complete all the course requirements [three exams plus the paper] will result in an E grade for the course.

VI. Make-Up Exams.

Since you will have two full days during which to take each of the scheduled exams in the course, make-up exams will be given only under extraordinary circumstances [illness or a family crisis], or for University-authorized absences over the exam period [e.g. being on a University sports team that is traveling during the exam period.] PLEASE NOTE: alarm clocks that don't ring, flat tires, troubled boyfriends, girlfriends or roommates, surprise visits by out of town friends, a big test in organic chemistry the same week, having made non-refundable airline reservations for a trip to Cancun for the exam period, or "I didn't have time to study" are not acceptable reasons for missing a test. You are responsible for taking the exams at the scheduled times baring illness, family crises or a university-excused trip. If you have an excused absence for an exam, I will arrange for a make-up exam with no penalty. You can take a make-up exam if you miss a test without an acceptable excuse, but I will reduce your grade on the exam one full letter grade [ten points].

VII. Extra Credit Opportunities

You may, if you wish, earn extra credit during the course by attending talks and programs on American history [approved in advance by me], and by writing a brief two page paper on each --- one page summarizing the presentation, and one page reacting two it. Each one you do will be worth up to ten bonus points. You may do this up to three times during the course. I will list extra credit opportunities [speakers, programs, etc.] as I learn of them on the course website and I will announce them in class.

VIII. Attendance.

You are expected to attend classes. Yes, all of them. Every one. Really. Even when you don't feel like it. Even if we're talking about Puritans or tariffs or the Wilmot Proviso that day. Even if it's raining. Honest.

IX. Now with all that grim stuff out of the way....

Now, with all that grim stuff about exams and grades and papers out of the way.... American History is filled with stories of triumph and defeat, of inspiring courage and of mind-numbing brutality, of people --- great and lowly, heroes and villains, statesmen and scoundrels --- whose tales are sometimes inspiring, occasionally appalling and always [ok, ok, not always, but very often] interesting. We are going to take a trip through that history, at flank speed, from Columbus to modern America. Enjoy the ride. It can be fun. Really.

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