01b: How The Course Works

What's on the CD-ROMs?

This course is divided into 6 units: America 1500-1865, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Russian Empire, Soviet Union, America 1865-Present.

Each unit contains 5 lectures, for a grand total of 30 lectures. Each of these 30 lectures - this lecture included - has the following:

• a formal introduction outlining the lecture's themes and establishing the objectives for each lecture
  
• three segments, each of which addresses one or more of the lecture's themes themes
  
• a formal conclusion which sums up the lecture and highlights major points
  

There will be three Hour Examinations over the course of the semester, each worth 30% of your final grade.

• Hour Exam I: Unit 1 (America 1500-1865),  Unit 2 (The Roman Republic)
  
• Hour Exam II: Unit 3 (The Roman Empire), Unit 4 (The Russian Empire)
  
• Hour Exam III: Unit 5 (The Soviet Union), Unit 6 (America 1865-Present)

Each of the three Hour Examinations will be worth 100 points. 70% of the score will be based on objective questions (identification, short-answer, matching), and 30% will be based on the essay question. Each examination will focus primarily on the two units indicated, but you can expect material from previous units to reappear. For example, the term imperium is introduced in Unit 1 and fully discussed in Unit 2, but will be used constantly for the remainder of the course.

The last 10% of  your final grade will come from your Written Project, a "position piece" in which you express your view of the United States's future in light of the materials covered in this course.

Your grades on the examinations and the written project will be posted on Blackboard, so it is essential that you register. If you have any questions about a grade you recieved or about the grading of your work in general, please bring it to the instructor's attention as soon as possible.

For each of the 6 units, you are required to master the materials covered in the lectures, along with any reading and/or other assignments indicated on the syllabus. Although lecture transcripts are included to help you master the material, you are strongly advised against relying only on the transcripts. The lectures themselves contain maps, pictures, and other graphics which play an important part in the learning experience.

This course is not an exercise in trying to read the instructor's mind. My hope is that you will master the material well enough to perform well on the exams and the writing project to get a good grade in this course.  Important terms and important concepts are stressed and repeated ad nauseam.  Each of the three Hour Examinations will offer you a choice between two essay questions: the essay questions for each Hour Examination will be apparent in the lectures leading up to that exam.

This course is not an exercise in parroting the instructor's opinions. Like any responsible citizen, I have developed a set of strong political beliefs which I re-examine constantly. I hide my strong political beliefs. Neither should you. On the other hand, I pride myself on not forcing my personal viewpoints down my students' throats. If you emerge from this class determined to cancel out my vote in every election for the rest of my life, my take on it is at least you're going to vote. The important thing in this class is forming rational beliefs, examining these beliefs critically, and expressing them firmly but politely. If you have differences with any of the materials or interpretations made in this class, you are encouraged to address these differences in your essay exams and/or your Written Project. You are also welcome to contact me personally; if you can not make it to one of my office hours, we can make an appointment. Regardless of whether the instructor is inclined to agree with your position, your work will receive a fair reading.  If your work is also based on critically assessed facts, strongly argued, and politely expressed, it will receive a good grade.