Requirements

Class Participation (20%)
Class participation consists of regular, prompt attendance; reading and other preparation for class; and, most importantly and primarily, significant contributions to daily class discussions. On book discussion days, if you do not come to class prepared and ready to talk, DO NOT come to class at all.

Godey’s Lady’s Book Short Paper (10%; due Jan. 20)
We have online access to one of the most popular magazines of the nineteenth century and you will write a short paper of at least 1,000 words based on your readings of three issues in the magazine. Further details will be provided in class.

Discussion Leader (10%)
Three or four of you will lead discussion for each one of the assigned books. You will have some choice in which book you want to discuss. Your group will meet before the discussion to go over questions and main points. Further details will be provided in class.

Midterm Exam (15%; on Feb. 8)
The midterm exam tests for comprehension of assigned reading and lecture material to date. The exam will include both short-answer (usually identification) and essay questions.

Primary Source Research Paper (20%; due March 10; I will be happy to accept early papers)
This paper will examine some aspect of Victorian American history and will be based on primary source web sites and printed materials. The paper should be at least 9-10 typed, double-spaced pages. Further details will be provided in class. Your research topic statement and a short annotated bibliography will be due Feb. 17.

Final Exam (25%; March 14, 7:30-9:00 PM )
The final exam tests for comprehension of assigned reading and lecture material over the entire semester. It will consist of a second midterm and a cumulative section. The cumulative part will be a take-home exam and will be 10% of your final grade. The second midterm section of the final will be done in class and will include both short-answer (usually identification) and essay questions; it is 15% of your total grade. The cumulative will be strictly essay and will be due at the final exam time.

Course Policies

You are expected to take the exams, participate in discussion, and turn in the papers on the scheduled days. Make-up exams will be given ONLY for officially excused reasons. Unexcused late papers are penalized a full letter grade (10%) for the first day and half a letter grade (5%) for each subsequent day. For example, a B paper handed in a day late would be recorded as a C; two days late recorded as a C-. There is no way for you to make up a missed discussion. If you do not turn in all of the required papers and exams, you will receive a failing grade (a F) in this course.

I expect you to attend class every day. I reserve the right to lower grades due to more than three missed classes or frequent tardiness. Of course if you are ill or have an emergency, we will work out a plan. Obviously, whether you are in class or not (even in cases with valid excuses), you are responsible for all of the material presented. This means both procedural material–the unlikely, but not unprecedented, changing of an exam date, for example–and substantive material–the ideas, events, and themes covered in each lecture.

If the campus is closed because of inclement weather, we will have our class on Teams at our usual time (yep–no more snow days!).

I am committed to everyone having what they need to do well in this course. If you have any learning accommodation, I’m happy to make it. I will need a note from the College to do so.

There will be no coming and going during class. Take care of your needs before class begins.

Turn off (don’t leave on vibrate) ALL cell phones, your fancy fitbits/watches that get texts, and other electronic devices during class AND PUT THEM AWAY. I do not want ever to see you checking your phone or texting; I will lower your grade substantially for paying more attention to your electronics than to class. I strongly discourage the use of laptops. If you believe you must use one, you will need to discuss this with me. If you need to use a laptop, you must sit in the front of class. Think seriously about whether you want to use a laptop–study after study has shown that you do not learn as well as taking notes by hand and students who use laptops regularly receive poorer grades.

Students must practice academic honesty. Remember that all of you signed the College’s Honor Code when you started here. Plagiarism (whether from the Internet, a published source, or someone else’s work) or cheating of any kind will result in a failing grade in the course. I will also turn over every suspected case to the Student Development Office and will use any resources for finding plagiarism. Ignorance is no excuse for plagiarism. Make sure you fully understand how to cite and quote sources BEFORE you turn in your papers.

A good history paper–or any paper–should be a well-conceived and well-developed work. Use primary and secondary sources to create an argument of YOUR OWN. Do not claim the ideas or words of someone else as your own (that’s plagiarism). Do use the ideas and words of others to help you develop your own arguments. Feel free to have friends read and comment on your drafts of your papers–but not write them. ALWAYS give explicit credit (footnotes or endnotes) when you use anyone’s exact thoughts or language, whether paraphrasing or quoting them. A good rule of thumb: three or more words or an unusual phrase MUST be in quotes. Intellectual work is about developing and sharing your ideas, and it’s about taking note of and praising other people who have shared good ones with you.

When you cite sources, you are to use Chicago Style for Notes and Bibliography for your citation style, as all historians do. Check out the Library’s web site about citing sources in this style if you need more information. The reference librarians are also happy to help you. Make sure you know the difference between endnote/footnote citations and bibliographic citations. NEVER use in-text citations.

General Schedule

(subject to later revisions)