History 4330-01 The American Frontier

Cooke 204

6:00 p.m. T/R (8 week mini-term)

 

Dr. Donald S. Frazier (dfrazier@mcm.edu)

Office 203 Old Main

793-3862

Office Hours By appointment, TUESDAY/THURSDAY 10-11:59 a.m., 1:30-2:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY 10-11:59 am; 1:30-5 pm, or by Appointment

 

Course Purpose and Goals:  Students should gain an understanding of the course of Frontier History including Native, Spanish, Mexican, French, British, and U.S. influence in shaping the history of this nation. Emphasis will be placed on an understanding of Geography, cultures, and the history of the American frontier from 1492 through 1890.

 

Students should be prepared to show:

1.      Competence in Reading Required Assignments

2.      Competence in Researching Discussion Topics and Analyzing Information

3.      Competence in a Collaborative Learning Project

 

Texts:

Four books:

The Frontiersmen

Born Fighting

Frontier Texas

From Yorktown to Santiago

 

Class Format: Lecture, discussion, analysis, and online-discussion.

 

Course Content:

 

Grading: Your final grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Book Exam I (20%)

Book Exam II (20%)

Book Exam III (20%)

Book Exam IV (20%)

On-line movie discussions (20%)

 

The following grading scale will be observed: 

A:  93-100; A-: 90-92;

B+: 88-89; B=83-87; B-=80-82;

C+: 78-79; C: 73-77; C-:70-72;

D+: 68-69; D: 63-67; D-: 60-62;

F: less than 60.

 

Attendance Policy:

Attendance is Mandatory. Only official University absences are recognized as excused. Unexcused students missing tests can not take a make-up. IT IS THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL DOCUMENTATION OF EXCUSED ABSENCES AND TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THEM FOR THE INSTRUCTOR UPON REQUEST.  The Instructor reserves the option of dropping students with excessive absences (3+).

 

A reminder:

• If you are sick, a doctor's note is required

• If there is a death in the family, an obit is required

• If there are other circumstances, a note in writing is required

• Makeup exams will not be administered except under the above conditions

 

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty:

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. Students must turn in their own work and if ANY evidence of plagiarism exists, the student will receive a "0" on the assignment, and may be asked to withdraw from the class (at the instructor's discretion). Plagiarism is defined as either writing the words on another author (whether a fellow student or a published author) as one's own, OR using the ideas of another author without giving the proper credit (citing your source). If you have any doubts or questions, come see me.

 

SPRING 2003 CALENDAR

 

WEEK	LECTURE TOPICS	READINGS	NOTES
1.  13-18 January	Introduction Indians European rivalries The Spanish Borderlands The French Fur Empire	The Frontiersmen
2.  20-24 January	Guns, Small Pox, and Horses Storms Brewed Elsewhere The doughty English Empires		Last of the Mohicans (MOVIE)
3. 27-31 January	War for Empires The Frontier and the New Republic	Born Fighting	Book Exam I; Blackboard Movie Discussion
4. 3-7 February	An Empire for Liberty Settling the states		The Mountain Men (MOVIE)
5. 10-14 February	Manifest Destiny A Frontier Constabulary	Frontier Texas	Book Exam II; Blackboard Movie Discussion
6. 17-21 February	The Civil War in the West Exploiting the West Indian Wars	From Yorktown to Santiago	She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (MOVIE) Book Exam III;
7. 24-28 Feb	The Buffalo Slaughter Cattle Drives		Blackboard Movie Discussion The Missing (MOVIE)
8. 3-5 March	The Closing of the Frontier		Book Exam IV; Blackboard Movie Discussion
10-14 March	SPRING BREAK