Course Description:

In this course we cover the period from the origin(s) of the early man in the Americas through the Independence. This course meets the American Institutions and History Requirement (taken with History 117) as explained in the Mira Costa College Catalog.

Required Readings: John c. Chasten, Born in Blood and Fire, and Eccles, French Canadian Frontier

System Requirements:

To take this course online you will need: Internet Access (the ability to send and receive email); A Browser, such as NetScape or Internet Explorer (the ability to access the worldwide Web) Students registered for the online classes will need a minimum of Netscape 7 or Internet Explorer 5. To Download a new version go to www.netscape.com  or www.microsoft.com ; The required readings which you may obtain through the Mira Costa College bookstore or through Amazon online and if in stock any local bookstore; Approximately 10 hours per week for reading, writing and studying; The desire to learn history using the world wide web. For additional course information and technical requirements go to the cybercosta home page.

Course Requirements:

As soon as you have registered for this class, e-mail hist116@miracosta.edu with your name and e-mail address you will be using for this class.

In addition to reading weekly online lectures and assignments from the textbook, there will be two mid-terms and a final. Students will be replying to study and discussion questions from the online lectures on BlackBoard; (note: Login with your SURF ID and SURF Password) reading and responding to replies of other students; writing a short research paper to e-mail to the instructor; visiting websites that apply to the topics under discussion for example a web site entitled The West by Ken Burns and Stephen Ives and PBS at http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest.

Evaluation:

A final grade for this course is derived from three lecture exams (each 20 points); online list-server discussions with instructor and enrolled students (45 points); net searching web sites (35 points); Eccles book discussion/report (30 points); American Institution requirement assignment (25 points) and bonus points for completing the course (15 points) for a total of 210 points. The point value will be 200-180=A, 179-160=B, 159-140=C, 139-120=D.

You have the option to choose Pass/No Pass grading for this class. If you select this option, you must submit a Petition for Pass/No Pass to Admissions and Records. Once selected it is nonreversible. Check with your conselor before opting for a Pass/No Pass.

All Students: Upon receiving your score for each of the assignments you are allowed to communicate with the instructor and challenge the points earned. However, you are to first read over your material and then provide historical evidence indicating that points earned were not recorded.

Student Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. construct a historical thesis that could be supported by selected primary sources from the era covered by the course
2. estimate the correct era from which a primary source derives
3. interpret the thesis of a secondary source
4. articulate the causal and/or consequential elements of an event from the era covered by the course

Incomplete Grade: Students seeking an "Incomplete" grade must consult with me no later than the week prior to finals. Incompletes will only be considered for unforseeable, emergency and justifiable reasons at the end of the term, and only upon agreement of conditions for completing coursework.

Disability Accommodations: Students with disabilities, whether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Disable Student Programs & Services as soon as possible to ensure that such accomodations are implemented in a timel manner. Their phone number is 795-6658 and they are located in Building 3000-Student Services, Room 3009, adjacent to Parking lot 3C.

Internet Access and Harassment: This class is conductedd in a computer classroom/home, where where computers are connected to the Internet. Mira Costa College supports academic freedom, and consequently, there are no filters or other controls placed upon access to electronic content, either on the Internet or otherwise. While every effort is made to keep students on task, it is impossible to monitor every computer at MCC or at your home/office at all times. If you should find yourself subjected to offensive content, either sexual or otherwise, you should inform your instructor of this situation at first opportunity. Students have the responsibility to conduct themselves professionally at all times when interacting or commenting in a public forum.

Tentative Weekly lectures and assignments-Each lecture topic will be an historical interpretation(s) or description which hopefully will create strong student responses. The idea is not to create conflicting views on controversial issues in American history, but rather to understand how these interpretations are made or examined. We will also determine if these interpretations hold up to scrutiny. Students will be asked to respond to questions asked after each topic and to provide a personal assessment/analysis for each topic.

Course Outline: Tentative

Week 1-August 25-31 Introduction to class and Tech. Problems Resolved

Week 2-Sept. 1-7   Indian Heritage - Diversities, Indianness

 Week 3-Sept. 8-14 Inca Society

Week 4-Sept.15-21  N.E. Woodland Tribes

Week 5-Sept. 22-28  European Expansion - Spain in America, Portugal in America

Week 6-Sept. 29-October 5   Conquest of the Americas

Week 7-October 6-12   Dutch Expansion
First Lecture/Textbook Exam

Week 8-October 13-19 "Spanish Institutions" - Royal Administration, Encomienda, Christianity

Week 9-October 20-26   "Spanish Frontiers"

Week 10-October 27-November 2   English & French Expansion

Week 11-Nov. 3-9   English in America con't.

Week 12-November 10-16   French Frontier in Canada
Second Lecture/Textbook Exam

Week 13-November 17-23  French Frontier in Canada

Week 14- November 24-30   Race Mixture in the Americas"
Thanksgiving break Nov. 24th-30th

Week 15- December 1-7 Latin American Family and Puritanism

Week 16-Dec. 8-14 American Economic Growth/ Colonial Instability and
Liberation in the Americas
American Institutions questions due date no later than Dec.10th

Week 17-December 15-18   Final Week(State and Local Governemnt )and the Last Lecture/Textbook Exam Due December 18th)

        Your Final is due no later than December 18th. I shall e-mail you the exam. Please reply
                       that you are in reciept of the exam no later than Monday 15th.
 

                                                 Revised 08/22/08