Home Page






Lecture Outlines


Reading, Writing, and Exam Resources


Outside Links

ASSIGNMENTS AND 
EXAM SCHEDULE


This page is divided into the following sections:
Schedule
Assignments
Exams

 

Schedule
NOTE: The readings for each week must be completed before your discussion section meets. It is a good idea to do the readings well ahead of schedule.  This listing does not include all the document readings; you will find out about these from your discussion leader. Also, topics and readings are subject to modification; check with your discussion leader
 
Date Topics Readings
Sep 13-17 Introduction.  The Old World. Nash Chapter 1
Wheeler Chapter 1
Sep20-24 Invasion of the "New" World. Nash Chapter 2
Cronon Chapters 1-3
Sep 27-
Oct 1
Virginia and New England in the 17th Century.
First short essay due Sep 27
Nash Chapter 3
Cronon Chapters 4-6
Wheeler Chapter 2
Oct 4-8 Seventeenth-century society and 
Colonial population.
Nash Chapter 4
Cronon Chapters 7-8
Wheeler Chapter 3
Oct 11-15 The colonies in the 18th century.
Slavery.
Second short essay due Oct 15
Nash, Chapter 5, 11
Oct 18-22 Revolution. Nash, Chapter 6-7
Wheeler Chapter 4
Jacobs, pp. 1-79
Oct 25-29 The Constitution.
Mid-term exam October 29
Nash, Chapter 8
Wheeler Chapter 5
Jacobs, pp. 80-147
Nov 1-5 The Early Republic Nash Chapter 9
Wheeler Chapter 8
Jacobs, pp. 148-206
Nov 8-12 Industrial Revolution
Thanksgiving break
Nash Chapter 10
Wheeler Chapter 7
All of Douglass
Nov 15-19 Reform
Outline of final paper due Nov 15
Nash Chapter 12
Nov 22-24 Nineteenth-century politics
Draft of final paper due Nov 24
Nash Chapter 13
Wheeler Chapter 6
Nov 29-
Dec 3
Furniture, Sex, and Politics. Nash Chapter 14
Dec 6-10 War. Nash Chapter 15-16 Wheeler Chapters 9-10
Dec 13-15 Reconstruction-Conclusion.
Final paper due Dec 15.
Alternate final exam date: Dec 15.
Wheeler Chapter 11
Dec 21 Official final exam date: Dec 21.
Time: 4-6 pm, same room as lecture.

Assignments

    There will be two short essays (500 words) and a longer paper (1500 words). The short papers will be due on September 27 and October 13. A draft of the longer paper will be due on November 24, and the final version will be due December 15. Hand them in to your discussion leader at the lecture on the day they are due. In addition, there will be a mid-quarter exam on October 29, and a final exam on December 21. The exams will consist of short answers and identifications. Grades will be based on both written work and weekly participation in discussions; faithful attendance of discussion sections is necessary to pass the course. The Teaching Assistants will explain the weighting of grade components in their sections.
     

    Assignment 1.
    In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, various European powers arrived on the shores of North America. Professor Ruggles has described this encounter as a "brutal invasion." Other scholars have called it a "discovery." What do you think? How would you describe the encounter between Native Americans and Europeans? Support your argument with evidence from the primary documents on the American People website, the textbook, and Professor Ruggles’s lectures.  Limit your discussion to 500 words.
    DUE IN LECTURE ON SEP 27.

    Assignment 2.
    Due in lecture on  October 13, 1999  500 words
         
    Historical interpretations of ecological change accompanying the European settlement of North America have varied widely.  Rush saw  the impact of humans on the environment as a positive, civilizing force.  Thoreau saw European settlement as the beginning of the misuse and depletion of a natural paradise.  More recently, Cronon has called for a new historical analysis which looks simultaneously at social and ecological change.  What do you think?

    Each of the following scenarios includes two human groups in a specified environment.  Select one scenario (a, b or c) and write an essay describing cultural and ecological change during the English settlement of North America. 
    a) Residents of England and English settlers in New England.
    b) English settlers and Native Americans in New England. 
    c) English settlers in New England and Virginia.

    The following questions should help you organize the essay: 
    1. What was the relationship of each group with the land and environment at the beginning of English settlement?  Consider how the land/climate shaped the choices presented to each group.  How did the culture of each group shape their perception/expectations of the land?  Use examples from the economic, social or political structures of the human societies.

    2. How did the environment change as a result of English settlement?  Give as many specific examples as you can from the available evidence.

    3. In what ways did the environmental change described in #2 result in social or cultural change for your groups?  Use examples here, too.

    Cronon will provide information for New England.    Reading assignments in Nash and Wheeler along with notes from lecture and recitation will provide the information you need for the other areas.  You may find other useful material on internet links at the textbook website (http://longman.awl.com/nash).
     
     

Exams
     
    Oct 29 MIDTERM EXAM
    Dec 21 FINAL EXAM