Hist 365 Course Home Page

In this course, we will analyze the role of workers in American history from the 1600s to the present and ask the following questions: What was the role of workers in building the first European settlements in this country? What was the role of workers in the American Revolution? In the Civil War? How did work itself change during the Industrial Revolution? During the Great Depression? During the recent era of globalization and the rise of high-tech service industries? Most importantly, what were workers' individual and collective responses to these changes?

To carry out this course of inquiry, we will study several types of sources. We will examine some primary documents for the historical period we are studying, but mainly we will read and discuss historical essays about the past. My hope is that by the end of the class, you will have a greater understanding of the history of work and the role of workers in American history. Just as importantly, you will learn that the effort to define exactly where the rights of employees ended and the rights of employers began constitutes a major theme in American history and continues to be one today.

Required Texts

You can order these texts from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center either online or by using the book order form.

Course Requirements

Rules for e-mail in HIST 365!

The most persistent problem in online classes is that sometimes I fail to receive a student's e-mail message—including assignments sent through e-mail. Most often, it turns out that the student simply typed my e-mail address incorrectly. Other times I don't recognize these e-mail messages as HIST 365 assignments because the students have changed their e-mail addresses or sent them to me from someone else's e-mail account, and didn't mention HIST 365 in the subject lines. If I were teaching this class in person (and you were therefore taking this class in person), we could take care of these communication glitches informally, but we cannot do this so easily in a cyberclass. Thus, we need a more formal system to make certain that we are communicating effectively.

To this end, I have developed the following"Rules for e-mail in HIST 365" that will help to make certain that I receive your messages and that you receive full credit for all the work that you do.

Hints for Success

Grading

Your grade should reflect what you have learned in this course. This means you have to communicate to me what you have learned. Even if you have studied hard and understood every reading assignment, you must communicate what you have learned through your participation in the discussion forums, as well as in your written work and exams. Learning is hard. Communicating what you have learned is harder—so be as precise as you can when composing your assignments or contributing to the discussion form.

Your grade will be determined by the scores you receive on three papers and on your participation in the discussion forum.

Grading Scale

Note: I reserve the privilege of raising grades for students who show significant improvement over the course of the semester, or who perform exceptionally well on the discussion forum.

Readings

Our weekly readings will consist of selections from your textbooks, Internet sites, a contemporary or primary document, or excerpts from other books and articles. Some readings will provide general background, while others will relate specifically to the period we are studying. To accomplish our goals in this course, I strongly urge you to complete all the required reading. I also suggest that you take notes when you read, and jot down passages or ideas that you deem worthy of further comment in our discussion forums.

Discussion Forums

These are the instructions for participating in the discussion forum each week. You have two options:

Helpful Hints: When making your comments, try to use specific quotations and examples from the reading (that is, demonstrate to your classmates and me that you've read the material). If possible, give page number citations so the rest of the class can find where you found your ideas and quotations. Think of these contributions as mini-response papers, consisting of one solid and well-crafted paragraph.

Discussion Forum Grading:

The discussion forum is worth 20 percent of your grade. I grade the forum on a point system, in which you can receive up to ten (10) points for each weekly discussion.

You can receive up to eight (8) points for your first significant contribution to the forum, which either addresses the questions I posted for that week’s lesson or contains questions of your own.

You can receive another one-and-a-half (1.5) points for how well you comment or respond to your classmates’ posts.

You can receive a final half (.5) point if I find your comments and responses particularly provocative, thoughtful, or engaging.

Note: In order to allow your classmates to respond to your posts, you must post comments on at least two separate days during each lesson and you must complete your participation by the last day listed on the course schedule. You will not receive full credit for that lesson's discussion forum if you wait until the last day of the lesson to post your comments.

Definition of engagement: To engage means you must offer your own comments and insights and respond thoughtfully to others as well. To engage does not mean that you just agree with someone without putting any thought into it, but it means to respond in a meaningful way—to make what you say valuable to the rest of the class. You will find that the effort it takes you to create a thoughtful response is a valuable learning experience. You will know you are reaching this point when you start grumbling, "Hey, this is like writing a short paper every week!" Not quite. But yes, in order to simulate the give and take of a regular classroom setting, this sort of structured interaction is absolutely necessary if this class is to be the equivalent of three 50-minute class periods per week.

Why discussion? The discussion forum will be the place where your thoughts regarding the material will be of use to your classmates, and where your questions may be answered or argued over. This class depends on your participation. Learning takes place best in dialogue with others, and since this class takes place in “cyberspace,” we need this forum to replace all the ways that students and professors normally interact with each other in the classroom or during office hours. As individuals, you will draw different lessons from the reading, from my notes, and from class discussion. You will invent interesting and memorable ways to think through the material and remember what we are learning. In the best scenario, the class as a whole and the professor will benefit from your thoughts.

One of the benefits of the forums is that you can begin posting a message even before you are finished reading, as questions or comments occur to you. Not all your postings must be somber and thoughtful. Sometimes, you might just ask a question and explain why you think it is important. Note something that stood out to you, and try to articulate why you found it provocative—others may share your impressions. Take advantage of this format and assume that we will benefit from your reactions to course material.

For information on how to access the discussion forum, see Course Mechanics.

Papers

In addition to the discussion section, you will write three papers for this course. Everyone will write on papers #1 and #4 (technically the final exam) and you have a choice of writing either Paper #2 or #3. The first paper is worth 20 percent of your grade, the next two are worth 30 percent. The paper topics will be posted in the Announcements section of Blackboard on the day indicated in the course schedule. Before you begin writing your first paper, I strongly encourage you to visit the Writing Guidelines section, which contains grading standards and tips on writing a good paper. Also, I encourage you to visit the UNC Writing Center's Web page for excellent advice on all aspects of preparing, writing, and polishing your papers.

A note on length requirements: I assign length requirements by the number of words instead of pages because of the various font sizes and page setups that are now available on every word-processing program. (The easiest way to check the number of words for papers composed using Microsoft Word is to click "Tools" and then "Word Count.") You will find that there are roughly 275-300 words per page, if the page is double-spaced, with 12-point type and standard margins of 1.25 inches. You must cite ideas that are not your own. Do so by putting reference in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like this: (Smith, p. 205).

How to turn in paper assignments: I expect that you will write your papers on your word processor and then send them to me as an attachment. Put your name, the paper number, and the word count at the top of the paper (some e-mail addresses do not give sufficient clue as to the identity of the student). I will acknowledge receipt of your papers via e-mail. If you do not receive a confirmation from me by the next day saying that I have received your paper, do not assume that I have it. Send me follow-up emails until you get a confirmation from me.

Late paper policy: Papers are due by 10 pm Eastern Time on the due date noted on the course schedule. You will lose up to a full letter grade (10 points) for every 24-hour period in which your paper is late. No papers will be accepted more than one week past the due date.

Writing Worksheet

Be sure to consult my worksheet on the Three P's of Writing before you begin to write your papers, and again when you review your final drafts.

Honor Code

All work in HIST 365, including participation in the discussion forums, falls under UNC's Honor Code. Please contact me if you have any questions about the use of sources.

Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Some of your class components (announcements, discussion forums, papers) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log in to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.

There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to login to Blackboard. Click on the "HIST 365" link and then you will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Announcements, Discussion Forum, and so on.

Library Services and E-reserves

Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves.

If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to enter your ONYEN and password to access the e-reserve system. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. If you encounter difficulties, please report your problem by visiting this Web page for reporting a problem.

Using E-mail

All communication from me will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail account using Webmail. You can have your Onyen e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward email” on the Onyen Web site.

If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses "blind carbon copy" to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than Hotmail for this course.

Submitting Assignments

It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to me via e-mail. If I don't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.

Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to me, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to me and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.

HIST 365: The Worker and American Life

Course Overview