This course will ask you to complete assignments that demonstrate your grasp of both historical content and digital methodologies. This will consist of participation assignments, blog posts, skill assignments. You will also have a midterm exam and a final project. More information on each assignment type is listed below. More detailed rubrics and criteria will be included for each assignment as needed.
All assignment scopes will be cross-posted in the course Dropbox folder and in the #assignments Slack channel. Any edits or additional information will be included in the #assignments channel.
Assignments will add up to a total score of 100 points. There will be no weighted grades, so you can keep track of points earned throughout the semester to know your status in the course.
Participation: 10 points
Blog Posts: 30 points
Skill Assignments: 35 points
Midterm: 15 points
Final Project: 10 points
Total Points: 100 points
Participation: 10 points
In the first week of the semester everyone will sign up to be discussion leader during a class period. You will work with other discussion leaders for that day to lead the first 15-20 minutes of our class discussion. After your discussion section, you will submit a brief reflection to me. More details will be given in class.
Participating and leading class discussions promote oral communication skills. The ability to think critically and communicate effectively is a highly desired skill by employers. The ability to concisely and clearly express your ideas is a vital part of interaction with classmates, colleagues, and employers. This task will help you learn to share your point of view in a professional and organized manner. Both presentation style and content can impact the reception of your ideas
There will also be occasional participation assignments that will be factored into this grade, as will your general participation in class throughout the semester. In a class this size, I do not expect you to speak in every class but I do expect you to demonstrate your respect for myself and your classmates and avoid being disruptive, checked out, or clearly engaged in other work.
Blog Posts: 30 points (10 x 3 points each)
You will be expected to complete ten blog posts throughout the semester. Each blog post will respond to a prompt that asks you to build on our class discussion using the readings I’ve assigned. Every blog post must be between 350-500 words. Although blog posts are more informal than a traditional essay, I expect these to be well-organized pieces of writing with topic sentences, complete thoughts, correct spelling, and good grammar. These posts are meant to demonstrate your engagement and understanding of class readings and digital tools. Each post must include at least two citations from our class readings (excluding tutorials or projects, although these can be included on top of the citation requirement). You can include citations in any style you are comfortable with, as long as your citations are complete (not just titles or hyperlinks) and let me know exactly where to find the information you reference (page numbers, etc.). Each blog post is worth a total of 3 points.
Writing assignments promote critical thinking, written communication skills, and organization. Blog posts might seem easier than a research paper, but it can actually be more difficult to clearly communicate your ideas in such a short form of writing. Being that these are assigned more frequently than research papers typically are, you will need to organize your time and stick to a schedule much in the same way employers might give you tasks or reports to assemble prior to a deadline.
Skill Assignments: 35 points (7 x 5 points each)
Throughout the semester you will asked to demonstrate your understanding of a number of digital skills to transform primary sources and make historical arguments. The 7 skills are: (1) Juxtapose, (2) Soundcite, (3) CSV and metadata, (4) image analysis, (5) text analysis, (6) timelines, and (7) mapping. More detailed criteria for each assignment will be provided throughout the semester. Each skill assignment is worth a total of 5 points.
Midterm Exam: 15 points
You will have a take-home Midterm Exam handed out Friday, March 5 and due on Blackboard by Sunday, March 8. No late exams will be accepted. This exam will consist of an identification section and an essay. A study guide will be handed out about a week in advance.
The identification setting promotes retrieval and application. They assess your understanding of an idea by having you reference the readings and discussions we have done in class and apply that knowledge to discuss the larger significance of each term. The essay section promotes deeper analytical skills and persuasive written communication. Not only do you need to recall information, but you will need to interpret and critically evaluate it in reference to the prompt. You also need to develop a persuasive argument using the research skills of identifying a historical problem or question and finding data to craft a clearly-written essay.
Final Project: 10 points
The final project asks you to demonstrate the historical and digital skills you learned throughout the semester. You will use primary sources to ask and answer a historical question about New Deal-era America. You will present your work in the form of an Omeka exhibit, making it publicly available on the web.
A proposal for your exhibit will be due during the last week of class and will be worth 3 points. Your exhibit is worth a total of 7 points. More detailed criteria will be given in class.
Late Assignment Policy
Unexcused late work will not be accepted without penalty. Each day you will lose 1 point toward the total value of the assignment, and I will not accept any late work three or more days after the deadline. (For example, if a blog post is due on Monday at noon you have until Wednesday at noon to submit it for a maximum value of 1 point.)
However, each student will be given 5 late days to be used for any assignment (excluding the midterm exam, final project, discussion leader days, or assignments otherwise noted on the syllabus) as long as you have informed me at least 24 hours ahead of the due date and let me know how many days you are using. Any late days requested within 24 hours of the due date will not be honored. You do not need to let me know why you are using the days or wait for my confirmation; as long as they are requested more than 24 hours in advance your request will be honored.
You can use your late days all at once, or space them out over the semester (for example, you can give yourself an extra day for five separate projects or maybe you need to use all five days on one project). Use these wisely. Once you are out of late days, you can no longer request extensions unless under extenuating circumstances.
Grading Scale
| A+ | 98-100 |
| A | 93-97 |
|---|---|
| A- | 90-92 |
| B+ | 88-89 |
| B | 83-87 |
| B- | 80-82 |
| C+ | 78-79 |
| C | 73-77 |
| C- | 70-72 |
| D | 60-69 |
| F | 59 and lower |
