HIST 151:
Early American History

HIST 151 is run as a seminar where I teach the first part of the class and you and your colleagues teach the second part.

Part 1: I Teach

In the first part of the course, we will first focus on the work of an historian and how to do historical research. Then, I will begin my formal presentations. During this period, you will be working with a goup of colleagues to prepare to teach the second part of the course.

Part 2: You Teach

Additional Information

Following is additional information about the class.

• Textbook

• Course Schedule

• Major Assignments

• Research Paper

• Presentation

• Film Analysis

• Constitution Assignment

• Civil Religion Assignment

• American Literature Assignment

• Research Blog






Course Objectives

I think you have a right to know how various assignments help advance the objectives of the course. Therefore, I have inserted this "Protection Symbol" throughout the course pages. The symbol will be a hot link to an explanation as to how that section of the course advances the course objectives.



Textbook

Throughout my teaching materials, I insert this image of the letter "T" as a way to highlight ways in which the textbook is being connected to course materials. For a more detailed explanation as to why I am doing this--as well as to see a larger version of the image--please go to "Highlighting the Textbook" which appears in my blog.

As a Schoolcraft College student, you can earn an a Global Endorsement as part of your degree. To earn the endorsement, you need to take 15 hours of classes designed as international. This class has been approved as an international class and counts toward the Global Endorsement.

Course Description

This course is a survey of the origins or American civilization: native American societies in pre-Columbian and colonial times; European discovery, exploration, conquest and settlement of the Americas; Iberian, French and African elements in the early Americas; 17th and 18th century English colonial development; the Revolutionary era and the founding of the U.S.; and Federalist and Jeffersonian America, to the early 19th century.

Prerequisites

None.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a clear, factual and conceptual understanding of the historical development of American civilization from the pre-Columbian period, through European exploration and colonization, to the emergence of the American Republic of the early nineteenth-century.

2. While focusing on the historical period covered by the course, use research and writing to develop an awareness of history as a means of reflecting and evaluating the human experience, both in the past and in contemporary times.

3. Analyze the unique geographical history of the regions/time-period covered by the course as well as the role geography played in those regions.

4. Identify and explain the European roots of American culture.

5. Explain the formation of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights and the major provisions contained in them.