Syllabus for HIS-356-OL

COURSE DESCRIPTION

War and American Society focuses on the various ways in which America has dealt with war and the changes that have taken place in American society as a result of war. The course considers the following wars: the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A major emphasis is placed on the humanities approach, addressing war and American society from historical, literary, artistic, and philosophical perspectives.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

After studying War and American Society you should be able to:

• Explain how the American experience of war has changed over time.
  
• Describe how war at once affects and reflects the social attitudes and values of American society.
  
• Identify and analyze wartime political, social, economic, and intellectual trends in America.
  
• Evaluate primary sources and appreciate their importance to the study of the humanities.
  
• Analyze the philosophical and moral issues raised by the American experience with war.
  

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COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to complete the work of the course. These materials are available from the textbook supplier, MBS Direct. The book by Snow and Drew is the basic survey text for the course; the others cover specific wars. (Note that some of these titles are available from more than one publisher.)

Survey Text

Donald M. Snow and Dennis M. Drew, From Lexington to Baghdad and Beyond: War and Politics in the American Experience, 3d ed. (Armonk, NY: M.E.Sharpe, 2009).
ISBN-13: 978-0-7656-2403-1

Other Texts

• Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 3d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
  ISBN-10: 0-226-53757-9


• Thomas Paine, Common Sense.
  ISBN-10: 0-14-039016-2


• Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience.
  ISBN-10:1-57392-202-1


• James M. McPherson, Drawn with the Sword, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
  ISBN-10: 0-19-511796-4


• David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society, (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
  ISBN-10: 0-19-517399-6


• R. A. C. Parker, The Second World War, rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
  ISBN-10: 0-19-280207-0


• James Brady, The Coldest War, (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000).
  ISBN-10: 0-671-72525-4

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COURSE STRUCTURE

War and American Society is a 6-credit online course. The course consists of 6 modules of study, with accompanying textbook reading. Course requirements include five [5] online class discussions, four (4) written assignments, a proctored midterm exam, and an online final exam.

For the course's assignment modules (including study assignments, online class discussions, and written assignments), go to the Assignment Modules area of the course Web site. (See also the Calendar area of the course Web site.)

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ONLINE PARTICIPATION

In addition to posting an introduction to the class in Module 1, you are required to participate in five (5) graded online discussions.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

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WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

War and American Society has four (4) written assignments. When you have done all of the assigned reading for each assignment, prepare your answers to the assignment question. (All assignment questions can be found in the Assignment Modules section of the course site.)

Responses to written assignment questions are expected to be well developed and reasonably detailed (between 500 and 1000 words for each assignment question). They should clearly demonstrate your understanding of the course materials. An adequate response may well require a review of the relevant course materials.

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor by means of the

>>View/Complete Assignment

link provided at the bottom of the respective assignment page. Use the Browse button within this link to locate and submit your assignment file.

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EXAMINATIONS

This course requires you to take two examinations: a proctored midterm examination and an unproctored, online final examination.

Midterm Examination
The midterm is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material in Modules 1 through 3, through the Civil War. It consists of true-false questions, questions that ask you to identify which key term fits into a sentence, and essay questions. If you have concerns about the format and/or content of the examination, please contact your mentor at least a week in advance of the scheduled test.

When you are taking the examination, keep the following tips in mind.

1. Concentrate more of your time on the essay questions than on the true/false and identification quesitons. Essays are worth more and deserve more of your effort. In fact, avoid spending too much time initially on the true/false and identifications. Complete those you know and move on to the essays. Time permitting, go back to the identifications.
2. Complete essay questions in whatever order makes you feel most comfortable.
3. Plan your time so that you can give all the essays relatively equal treatment. If this is not possible, spend the most time on those you feel you know the most about.
4. Be sure to include your opinion, analysis, and evaluation in addition to straight factual material. Your ideas are important.

You may take the examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation no later than the end of the first week of the semester (see Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site).

If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.

For more information on scheduling a proctored examination, see the section Examinations and Proctors in the Online Student Handbook.

Final Examination
The final is a closed-book, unproctored exam. It is two hours long and covers material in Modules 4 through 6--from the Spanish-American War onward. Like the midterm, it consists of true-false questions, questions that ask you to identify which key term fits into a sentence, and essay questions.

The final exam is taken online in Blackboard. An exam link will be activated and made available to you in the Tests & Quizzes area of the course site at the beginning of the last week of the semester. You may take the exam at any time during that week, but no later than midnight Saturday (eastern time). If you are on a course extension, you will need to arrange with your mentor a time to reschedule the final exam.

Sample Examination
You will find a sample online examination in the Tests & Quizzes area of this course site. Use this sample exam to familiarize yourself with the online testing setting and format before you take your online exam. Keep in mind the following potential differences between the sample exam and your online exam:

• The content of your exam will match the content of your course; the sample exam has some generic questions on art history, world history, and environmental science.
• Your exam is will include three types of questions (true/false, identification, and essays). The sample exam includes all the types that you might encounter in an online assessment at Thomas Edison State College.
• You will be able to enter and take your exam just once—once you have entered the exam you must complete it. The sample exam may be taken as often as you like.
• There will be a penalty for exceeding the time limit in your actual midterm and final exams (see the "Statement about Cheating" below), whereas there is no corresponding penalty with this sample exam.

Statement about Cheating
The final examination in this course is an unproctored exam. That means you will not be supervised while taking the test. You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

• Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find the answer.
• Copying and pasting or in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your online test. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
• Plagiarizing answers.
• Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take the exam.
• Copying any part of the exam to share with other students.
• Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at the exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Please also note that the exam is time-limited. That means you only have the allotted time in which to complete the exam. If you exceed the time limit on the exam, you will be penalized by having two points deducted for every minute that you exceed the time limit. This may also result in your failing the course.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Letter grades for online participation, written assignments, and the final examination are based on the following numerical grades:

Note: To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, projects, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted.

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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.
   
   
2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule your midterm exam and arrange for a proctor, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.
   
   
3. Arrange to take your examination by following the instructions in the Online Student Handbook. Then complete the "Proctor Request Form" and submit it to the Office of Test Administration (OTA). You must make arrangements to take your midterm examination and send in your "Proctor Request Form" to OTA before the end of the first week of the current semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)
   
   
4. Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.
   
   
5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning, or specifically with the Blackboard platform, be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.