BOOKS REQUIRED

DuBois and Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents

LaPlante, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson

Jacobson, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi

INTRODUCTION 

Females make up slightly more than half of the population of the United States.  But because their activities have usually taken place outside of the public sphere, women do not often appear in the standard historical record.  This course will examine the history of women in America primarily as they have intersected with the public realm—employment, politics, reform, war—but it will also consider women at home in their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, the student will:

1. Demonstrate an increased understanding of the historical role of women in the United States. 

2. Be able to analyze texts about women in the United States over four centuries.

3. Demonstrate an increased understanding of the context of women’s roles in the United States in 2008.

4. Be able to research and write a documented paper of at least fifteen pages. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Exams

         Three examinations cover approximately one-third of the course material each, with a comprehensive section on the final exam.  Make-up exams are given only to students absent for official university business, serious illness, or family emergency.  In all such instances, students must provide official verification to the instructor.

         Exam # 1                        September 23                                           100 points

         Exam # 2                        November 4                                             100 points

         Final exam                      December 18, 8:00 a.m.                           150 points

         TOTAL EXAM GRADES                                                                                   350 points

Writing Assignments

         Four writing assignments are required in the course.  Three focus on close reading and interpreting the readings.  Details about each assignment will be provided approximately two weeks before it is due.  Any paper turned in late will automatically go down one letter grade for each day past the due date.

            Assignment 1 American Jezebel

                         (due September 4)                                                              75 points

            Assignment 2 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

                        (due October 7)                                                                 100 points

            Assignment 3 Coming of Age in Mississippi                                                                                       (due December 2)    100 points

            Each student will complete a fifteen-page research paper on a topic of her or his choosing.  The student must turn in a prospectus, a draft, and a final paper. 

            Research paper                                                                             

                        Prospectus due September 30                                             25 points

                        Draft due November 18                                                      50 points,

                        Final paper due December 11                                           100 points

The grades for the prospectus and draft will be replaced with the grade for the final paper, but you must do them, or you will receive a 0 for that part of the assignment. 

         TOTAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT GRADES                                                  450 points

Discussion

         Informed participation is expected throughout the course.  This is a real grade and not automatic.  You start with a 75 and go up or down from there.                                                                      100 points

Quizzes

         We’ll have ten unannounced five-point quizzes throughout the semester, although if you demonstrate careful reading through excellent discussion, I reserve the right to discontinue the quizzes and add the points to the class discussion total.                      50 points

Attendance                                                                                                                      50 points

         We are a community of learners together, and each person’s attendance is vital for the experience of others as well as for that person.

         Two or fewer unexcused absences 50 points

         Three or four unexcused absences 40 points

         Five or six unexcused absences      30 points

SEVEN OR MORE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE ENTIRE COURSE. 

TOTAL                                                                                                                      1,000 points

GRADING SCALE:

Honoring Due Dates

        Late work will be penalized ten points per calendar day (weekends included) unless extenuating circumstances have been discussed with me before the due date.

Rewrite Policy

         Because two of the goals of this class are to improve your writing skills and your confidence as a writer, you may rewrite any of your papers except the final exam. 

         You must submit a rewrite no later than one month from its original due date. 

         You must turn in the original graded paper along with the rewrite so that I can see how you have improved it. 

         The last day to turn in a rewrite is December 4. 

THE BEST BOOKS ON WRITING:NOT REQUIRED BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. 7^th edition, 2007.

Richard Marius and Melvin Page, A Short Guide to Writing About History. 6^th edition, 2006.

William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 4^th edition.  2000.

William K. Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 2006.

Anne LaMott, Bird by Bird: Some Observations on Writing and Life, 1995.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 15^th edition, 2003.

Communication with the Outside World during Class Time

         Please keep your attention focused inside the classroom during class time.  Use of cell phones (including text messages), BlackBerries, wireless Internet, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, including devices of which the professor has not yet heard, is expressly and vehemently forbidden. 

Statement on Disability Services at TCU

Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities.  Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 11.  Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.

Academic Misconduct (Sec. 3.4 from the Student Handbook)

            Any act that violates the academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the offices of Academic Deans and the Office of Campus Life.  Specific examples include, but are not limited to:

Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings; using, during any academic exercise, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test; collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test or laboratory without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release; substituting for another student or permitting another student to substitute for oneself;

Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit therefore.       

Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit.

Class Schedule and List of Readings