Course Syllabus

Lincoln University

HIS 203 01 – African American History
Spring 2016
Professor: Dr. Debra Greene Office: 426 Martin Luther King Hall
Phone: 573-681-5231 E-mail: greened@lincolnu.edu
Office hours: 9:00 – 11:00 TTH: 9-10:00 F

In this 16-week, 3 credit hour web-enhanced course, you will complete assignments and activities that will help you develop an introductory knowledge and understanding of the history of Americans of African descent’s cultural, political, and economic life in the United States; and their impact on the wider world.

Course Goals
• Provide a basis for student understanding of the cultural and political development of people of African descent in the United States.
• Give the opportunity for students to examine the ways in which African Americans have shaped and been shaped by the philosophies, religions and technologies of the developing United States.
• Encourage students to explore history from a racial perspective.
• Build a foundation upon which students can assess and explain the conduct and outcomes of African American historical and contemporary life in the United States.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, the student will be able to:
• place in chronological order and describe how major movements in United States history positively or negatively impacted Africans and their American descendants (Unit Exams) 
•demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subject using critical analysis on objective test (Chapter Quizzes)
• provide a creative and critical analysis of three major time periods in United States history by writing three book reports of the course readings (Book Reports)
• compare and contrast historical facts by discussing historical biography and contemporary fiction (Class Discussion)
Required texts
• Carson, Lapsansky-Werner, and Nash, The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans, combined volume, second edition, New York: Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, 2011.
• Brown, Williams Wells, Narrative of Williams Wells Brown, An American Slave (1847) (http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brown47/brown47.html)
• Dunbar, Paul Laurence, Sport of the Gods (1902)
• Naylor, Gloria, Linden Hills (1985)
The course textbook is available in the bookstore and a copy is available on reserve in Page Library. Please get the 3 novels through any little or no-pay option: borrow from a library, Google books, Amazon.com, free online options such as www.readanybook.com, Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/, Overdrive. Several of these can be found on your mobile devices as apps.

Class Discussion – (120 points)
Each student is expected to have finished their reading assignments and to contribute to the discussion the three (3) book discussions ( 40 points each). Comments made specifically about the material under consideration are considered “discussion” not random conversation.
Book Reports – (180 points)
The class will write 3 book reports (60 points each) of the readings. Guidelines and scoring rubric for the book report are available in Canvas. Please deliver your writing assignments electronically via the assignment link in Canvas before the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted. Please be mindful of the deadlines.
Chapter Quizzes – (200 points)
You will be responsible for 10 objective quizzes (20 points each) administered online in Canvas. Read the textbook chapters before attempting the quiz. The chapter quizzes will close and will no longer be available. Please be mindful of the deadlines. Chapter quizzes cannot be made-up. An additional chapter quiz will be available for 20 bonus points at the end of the course.
Exams – (300 points)
You will be responsible for three (3) take-home essay exams (100 points each) delivered into the assignment dropbox in Canvas. This includes the final exam.
Course Grade Scale:
A – 800-720
B – 719-640
C – 639-560
D – 559-480
F – 479-400

Readings and Lecture Topics

Unit 1 From Africa to Antebellum America
• From Africa to the New World, Chapter 1-2
• Colonial and Revolutionary War African Americans, Chapter 3
• Africans and the Struggle for Independence, Chapter 4-5
• Race, Republicanism and the Limits of Democracy, Chapter 6
• Life in Antebellum America (1820-1861), Chapter 7
Book report: William Wells Brown due February 11
Book discussion: in class on February 11
Exam 1: February 23

Unit 2 Opposition to Slavery to the Harlem Renaissance
• African Americans in Antebellum America, Chapter 8
• Opposition to Slavery, Chapters 9
• Civil War and Reconstruction, Chapters 10-11
• African Americans in the late 19th , Chapters 12-13
• The New Negro, Chapter 14
Book report: Paul Laurence Dunbar due March 31
Book discussion: in class on March 31
Exam 2: April 5

Unit 3 The 1930’s thru Conservative 21st Century America
• African Americans in the Great Depression, Chapter 15
• World War II and the Freedom Movement, Chapters 16-18
• Conservative Backlash and the Promise of Change, Chapters 19-22
Book report: Gloria Naylor due April 28
Book discussion: in class on April 28
Exam 3: May 12

POLICIES:

Attendance is mandatory.
Students are expected to attend all lectures, seminars, laboratories, and field work for each registered class. Attendance will be taken either at the beginning or the end of each class period. Students who arrive after or leave before the attendance is recorded will be considered absent. The total number of acceptable absences should not exceed twice (2x) the number of times a class meets per week (e.g., courses meeting three times/week: maximum of six absences acceptable; courses meeting 2 times per week: maximum of 4 absences acceptable; and courses meeting one time/week: maximum of two absences acceptable). Students’ course grade will be dropped one letter after 5 absences. Students who have missed more than 8 class sessions should drop the course.

Absences will only be excused through an official communication by the Athletic Department, Military Science Department, Provost, or President and shall not be counted within this total.

Cell Phone and other Electronic Devices: Silence all cell phones and other electronic devices that can potentially create a distraction before lecture starts. Quietly leave the classroom before attempting to answer an incoming emergency call. If using an electronic device to take notes or record lecture, make sure the sounds are muted.
Students with Disabilities: It is the policy of Lincoln University to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law. Lincoln University is committed to providing equal opportunities to disabled persons in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Individuals are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission or access to or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. Any student with a disability who needs an accommodation, for example in arrangements for seating, examinations, note taking, or access to events should inform the instructor and provide documentation from the University ADA at the beginning of the semester.

Services for disabled students, including the visually and hearing impaired, are coordinated through CCS. Students requiring these services, should contact the University ADA Coordinator for further information at 304 Founders Hall, tel. # 681-5162.

Plagiarism: Any student found to have committed any acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to attempting to use or closely imitate the language or thoughts of another author without permission or by not crediting the original author, or other forms of academic dishonesty is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in the Lincoln University Undergraduate Bulletin, 2015-2017, Academic Dishonesty/Cheating, p. 68.
Communication: Course-related communication should occur by way of personal contact with the instructor. Alternatively, students may call and leave messages on the instructor’s voicemail or by sending the instructor an email, this however does not constitute personal contact. The instructor checks her email regularly during office hours.
MoSPE Standards
This course is designed to help meet Missouri Teacher Standards which “convey the expectations of performance for professional teachers in Missouri.” In particular, students in this course will have the opportunity to gain competencies specified in the following MoSPE Standard and Quality Indicators:
Standard #1: Content knowledge and perspectives aligned with appropriate instruction – The teacher understands the central concepts, structures, and tools of inquiry of the discipline . . .
Quality Indicator 1: Content knowledge and academic language
Quality Indicator 3: Disciplinary research and inquiry methodologies
Quality Indicator 4: Interdisciplinary instruction
Quality Indicator 5: Diverse social and cultural perspectives