Class sections will be divided between lectures and seminar discussions. The seminar discussion sessions will serve as a forum for the analysis and discussion of scholarly literature and as a testing ground for student hypotheses. The instructor will encourage students to elaborate, refine and revise ideas. Discussion sessions will also include tutorials in conducting historical research, the exploration of primary source documents, and practice in oral presentations. Participation in both lectures and seminar discussions is required for the successful completion of the course.
A sample course outline would include the following topics.
Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.
- Review of Historical Methods. Amerindians, Explorers, Colonists and the construction of American History.
- Beginning Colonies. Captivity Narratives.
- Colonial Society and Politics. The Road to Revolution.
- The Revolution. Document Study: The Declaration of Independence.
- Founding a New Republic. Document Study: The Constitution.
- The Jeffersonian Republic.
- The Age of Jackson. Continental Expansion.
- Industry and American Culture.
- Immigration, Migration and American Culture.
- The Plantation South
- North and South at Midcentury. Reform and Conflict.
- The Civil War.
- Reconstruction
- Concluding Themes
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Examine historical sources critically and analytically (reading history). These sources include not only survey texts and scholarly articles, but also short monographs and extended primary sources.
- Create and communicate personal interpretations of historical problems (writing history). Forms for communication of personal interpretations include medium-length essays (from 1500-3000 words), comparative book reviews, short interpretive essays, primary source studies, and final examinations.
- Independently analyze the ideas of other students and the instructor in class in both tutorials and seminars (discussing history).
Assessment will be in accord with the Douglas College student evaluation policy. Specific components of evaluation will include some of the following: mid-term and final exams consisting of short answer questions and essay questions; in-class written work, quizzes, research paper; seminar presentations; short debate/position papers; participation in class discussions.
Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester and will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
Any combination of the following totalling 100%:
| Document analysis essay | 15% |
| Research proposal | 10% |
| Research essay | 25% |
| Class/seminar participation | 15% |
| Midterm exam | 15% |
| Final exam | 20% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
Texts will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
Boyer, P. et al. Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Vol. 1, 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Douglass, Frederick, My Freedom and My Bondage, 1855 ed., with an introduction by P.S. Foner. New York: Dover, 1969. (or New York: Random House, 2003).
Foner, Eric. Voices of History: A Documentary History. Vol. 1, 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2008.
Gillon, S.M. and Matson, C.D. The American Experiment: A History of the United States. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
Hoffman, E.C. and Gjerde, J., eds., Major Problems in American History, Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
ONE 1000-LEVEL HISTORY COURSE