Civil War, Reconstruction, and Reunion, 1848-1896

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Analyze historical continuity and change in the Civil War and Reconstruction eras in terms of human agency and larger systems or structures.
• Use historical thinking to contextualize and analyze primary and secondary sources representing different points of view.
• Create and revise written texts for particular audiences, purposes, and contexts. Through reflection, demonstrate awareness of one's writing choices as well as how one's own writing contributes to ongoing conversations in the relevant discipline.
• Use evidence-based reasoning to interpret the past coherently while developing and presenting an original argument in writing.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Weekly Assignments	25%
Reading Journal	10%
Essay Project 1	25%
Essay Project 2 + Civil War era Interview	30%
Communication Competency	10%

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
93+	A (4.0)
90-92	A- (3.7)
87-89	B+ (3.3)
83-86	B (3.0)
80-82	B- (2.7)
77-79	C+ (2.3)
73-76	C (2.0)
70-72	C- (1.7)
67-69	D+ (1.3)
63-66	D (1.0)
60-62	D- (0.7)
60-	F/WF (0.0)

Attendance/Participation:

Active lines of communication are key aspects to a successful online learning experience. To incentivize and reward prompt and clear communication, a communication competency grade consists of 10% of the course grade. Here are the norms that I expect when it comes to communicating throughout the semester– and you all can expect me to meet these expectations when it comes to corresponding and meeting virtually with you!

Timely responses email inquiries: Generally speaking, this looks like responding within ~24 hours to emails or Canvas messages during the work week (Monday morning through Friday evening). By-and-large, I stay off UNCG email during the weekends; expect replies to emails sent later in the day on Friday or on Saturday and Sunday to be addressed the following Monday.

Alerting the instructor as far in advance as possible if sickness, family event, or emergency prevent you from meeting a deadline.

Be on time for virtual office hours meetings. If something comes up that causes a delay or necessitates rescheduling, let me know! I understand that the unexpected does happen; it’s no problem as long as no-shows to meetings or non-responses to emails become a habit.

Communicating honestly and collegially about struggles in the course. I am here to support your learning and empower you as a student of history and I will work with you to improve your understandings and skills through this course by meeting its standards. It is imperative to keep open communication, especially if you are experiencing difficulties in the course or life beyond school that affects your progress in History 212. Please reply to emails or Canvas messages that contain any concerns I may have as your instructor!

If you do your part to maintain effective lines of communication and consistently meet these norms, expect full marks for this course “assignment.” I will convey any concerns and post feedback at the the midpoint of the semester.

While missing assignments take away from the learning and submitting work late is not ideal, I understand that life’s demands and unexpected events can challenge students. Please know that if you do fall behind or miss a deadline, there will be two cut off points for submitting late work for passing credit: the Friday before Fall break and on Reading Day. As noted above, communication regarding deadlines and extension is crucial if you are missing or behind on assignments; I am willing to work with you but there are certain standards that must be met. With this policy, do not expect to be exempted from assignments nor receive impromptu extra credit opportunities. Plan accordingly!

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

No course materials are required.