BOOKS REQUIRED

Boris and Lichtenstein, editors, Major Problems in the History of American Workers, 2^nd edition

Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

Watson, Bread & Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream.

Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America

INTRODUCTION 

This course examines the evolution of work and its impact on people in the North American/U.S. economy from the colonial period, through industrialization, into the post-industrial service economy.  We will examine workers as they shaped and were shaped by: family roles; political conflicts; gender, racial and ethnic relations; and cultural movements and transformations.  Course content will range over wide geographical bounds and focus on a variety of different workers and work situations.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, the student will:

1. Have an increased understanding of the historical role of working people in the United States. 

2. Engage in analytical thought about working people in the United States over four centuries.

3. Understand the context of working people’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 25                                           100 points

         Exam # 2                         November 6                                             100 points

         Final exam                       TBA                                                         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 Midwife’s Tale                        (due September 9)          75 points

   Assignment 2 Bread and Roses                     (due October 21)         100 points

   Assignment 3 Nickel and Dimed                   (due November 25)      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 October 14                                                  25 points

                        Draft due November 18                                                        50 points

                        Final paper due December 9                                               100 points

The grades for the prospectus and draft will be replaced with the grade for the final paper, but you must do them. 

         TOTAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT GRADES                                                     450 points

Reading Quizzes

           Eleven short reading quizzes will test your daily preparation for class.  Each will be worth ten points, and you will drop the lowest one.  Quizzes CANNOT be made up.  If you miss more than one, the grade thereafter for each one missed will be 0.        100 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, depending on your attendance and

         your class participation                                                                                            100 points

TOTAL                                                                                                                       1,000 points

GRADING SCALE:

                              895 - 1,000   = A

                              795 -    894   = B

                              695 -    794   = C

                              595 -    694   = D

                              595 or below = F

Attendance

         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.  Repeated absences will adversely affect your class participation grade. 

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.

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