Jeffrey Pilcher
652 SST
612-625-6418
pilcherj@umn.edu

Office Hours:
Wed. 1:00-3:00 p.m.
or by appointment

History Dept.
Univ. of Minnesota
Onestop
Libraries

Click here to download an MS Word version of this syllabus.

History 1012W: World History – The Age of Global Contact, Discussion Section 002
Fall 2006
Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00-8:50am/Blegen Hall 335

Teaching Assistant: Michelle Los
Email: losxx001@umn.edu
Office: Social Sciences Tower, 122
Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00-10:30am and by appointment. Please feel free to drop by.

Objectives

This discussion section is intended to complement the lectures by providing you an opportunity to debate issues and ask questions raised by the readings and lectures. We will focus on basic writing and analytical skills that will help you in all of your classes at the University. We will give particular attention to historical methods, discovering not only what happened in the past, but how we make sense of this legacy through primary sources, context, and chronology.

Required Textbooks

• Lizzie Collingham. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerers.
• James C. McCann. Maize and Grace: Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000.
• Jeffrey M. Pilcher. ¡Qué vivan los tamales!

Grading

Discussion counts for 10% of your course grade and will be based on the following:

Reaction Papers (5%): Several times during the semester you will be asked to write one-page, type-written, double-spaced papers that develop and support a clear thesis answering a question posed in class. I will collect these papers during the following discussion section.

Participation (5%): Attending class and contributing to the discussion are critical not only for your own understanding of the material, but also for your classmates. You will often work together in small groups, answering a historical question, and then report back to the rest of the class. I will note your participation on a daily basis using the following scale:

4: Good contributions demonstrating that you read and understood the material.
3: Present in class and attentive, but less active participation.
2: Present in class, but only minimally.
1: Present in class, but behaving inappropriately and disruptive.
0: Absent.

Note the bi-modal distribution of grades. Trying hard will get you an A or B for participation, even if you have trouble understanding the material. Behave inappropriately, read the newspaper, listen to music, play video games, sleep, or do work for other classes and you can expect an F. The class absence policy, noted on the main syllabus, applies to discussion sections as well as lectures. Any unexcused absence in excess of three will cause your course grade to be marked down by a full letter.

Important Dates to Remember:

September 29th: First essay due—Conflicting Interpretations
October 6th: First exam
October 20th: Second essay due—Primary Source Analysis
November 3rd: Second exam
November 22nd: Term paper due
December 18th: Final exam, 1:30-3:30pm

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about assignments or the course. I am also willing to read thesis statements, outlines, and/or drafts of papers as long as they are submitted to me at least 72 hours before the paper is due. I also highly recommend that you utilize the Center for Writing (http://writing.umn.edu). The History Department Writing Tutors this year are Liz Swedo and Polly Meyers. Appointments can be made on the Writing Center web page or at http://writing.umn.edu/sws/appointments.htm.

University Policies

University-wide grading standards are as follows:

• A – Achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
• B – Achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
• C – Achievement that meets course requirements in every respect.
• D – Achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet the course requirements.
• S – Achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better.
• F (or N) – Represents a failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level that was not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I.
• I – (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g. hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between the instructor and the student.

Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.

Disabilities

If anyone has need for note-taking, reading, or writing accommodations, please feel free to discuss this matter with me early in the semester. The University will provide accommodation for students with special needs. Please inform me if this may apply to you. For further information, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, 16 Johnston Hall (612.624.4037).

Classroom Conduct

Classroom incivilities will not be permitted. Students who create a hostile environment for others through discourteous, threatening, harassing, or aggressive behavior will be asked to leave and counted absent. Nor will students be permitted to sleep in class, read non-class materials, dispute grades, talk on cell phones, listen to iPods, or use other unauthorized forms of technology. You may use a laptop computer to take notes. However, if you abuse this privilege by surfing the internet, checking your email, or engaging in any non-class related activities, all computer privileges will withdrawn for the rest of the semester.

Academic Misconduct

Academic integrity is essential to positive teaching and learning environment. All students enrolled in University courses are expected to complete coursework with fairness and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own can result in disciplinary action. The University Student Conduct Code defines scholastic dishonesty as follows:

Scholastic Dishonesty: Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; taking, acquiring, or using test materials without faculty permission; submitting false or incomplete records of academic achievement; acting alone or in cooperation with another to falsify records or to obtain dishonestly grades, honors, awards, or professional endorsement; altering, forging, or misusing a University academic record; or fabricating or falsifying data, research procedures, or data analysis.

Within this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an F or N for the course. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, please ask.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined as “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic advancement, (2) submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions or academic decisions affecting the individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment.” All faculty, supervisors, and administrators are legally and ethically obligated to take appropriate action to prevent sexual harassment. For further information, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in 419 Morrill Hall (612.624.9547).