Book Reviews - A brief review of the book read. No more than 3 double spaced pages. Use arial style 12pt type and submit your review in  a Rich Text Format (.rtf) document. The review must be submitted prior to each exam but may be submitted any time prior to that date. Two reviews are required but a third review may be submitted for extra credit. For guidelines for this assignment look in "supplement - info" on the Homepage of the course  For examples of a book review consult The American Historical Review, The Journal of American History, Reviews in American History, The William and Mary Quarterly or any other similar history journal. NOTE: All submissions will be checked for plagiarism using the software program "Turn-It In." This program checks each submission against a host of sources including previously submitted papers on the subject at Lone Star College. Academic integrity is a serious matter. When there is clear evidence of cheating, plagiarism, collusion or misrepresentation. a grade of "F" will be assigned for the course. If you have a question on this item review the college policy outlined in the syllabus.

Exams - There are three Unit Exams in this course. Each exam contains 90 questions, 10 short answer questions based on the unit learning outcomes and 80 multiple choice covering the textbook, additional reading and lectures. All events are scheduled on the course calendar.

 Letter Grade Assignment:

 Final letter grades will be assigned after dividing the total points achieved by the student by the total number of points possible as follows:  A=89.5-100%, B=79.5-89.4%, C=69.5-79.4%, D=59.5-69.4%, and F=below 59.5%.  The final course grade will adjusted for any penalty that you might have accumulated as a result of absences and lateness [see policy below].

 Attendance Policy: 

·         Regular and punctual attendance is expected. A seating chart will be kept, and attendance will be noted at the start of class by visual inspection. The instructor will work out a seating chart based upon your answers to the student survey.

·         If you are late, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor at the end of the class session.  Otherwise, you may be recorded as absent.

·         If you are absent, the cause of the absence is not normally relevant. You are permitted four days [six hours] absence from class without penalty.  Each absence in excess of four will reduce your course grade by one letter. 

·         Exceptions to the attendance policy will be allowed in cases of severe medical problems or emergencies of comparable gravity if verifiable documentation is supplied in a timely fashion, but such exceptions are at the discretion of the instructor.

 Assignments:

All assignments are to be completed and submitted to the instructor on the scheduled due date.  No late assignments will be accepted.

 Make-up Exams:

 Students are expected to sit for examinations with their class. If you miss an in-class exam, you MUST take the following steps:

• Contact the instructor within 24 hours of the scheduled examination time in person, by phone, by e-mail, by voice mail, or via a letter or by message. If you fail to leave any message, it will be assumed that you have left the class, and you will receive a course grade of "F" unless you drop the course prior to the last day of withdrawals [“W” Day].  In short, making prompt contact with the instructor is your responsibility.
• On the first day that you return to class after the scheduled examination time, request permission in writing to make up the examination. A full explanation and documentation of your absence must accompany all requests. Note that vacation or other discretionary travel is not an acceptable excuse for missing any test. Make-up grades will not be available until the day of Test III.
• The instructor reserves the right to either have the student write a make-up test at the Assessment Center, or complete an individualized written assignment in lieu of the missed test. In the later case, the individualized written assignment will be due on the last day of class.

 Withdrawal Policy:

Withdrawal from the course after the official day of record (see current catalog) will result in a final grade of “W” on the student transcript and no credit will be awarded.  Prior to the official day of record, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a request for withdrawal from any course.

 Academic Integrity:

Lone Star College is committed to a high standard of academic integrity in the academic community. In becoming a part of the academic community, students are responsible for honesty and independent effort. Failure to uphold these standards includes, but is not limited to, the following: plagiarizing written work or projects, cheating on exams or assignments, collusion on an exam or project, and misrepresentation of credentials or prerequisites when registering for a course. Cheating includes looking at or copying from another student's exam, orally communicating or receiving answers during an exam, having another person take an exam or complete a project or assignment, using unauthorized notes, texts, or other materials for an exam, and obtaining or distributing an unauthorized copy of an exam or any part of an exam. Plagiarism means passing off as his/her own the ideas or writings of another (that is, without giving proper credit by documenting sources). Plagiarism includes submitting a paper, report or project that someone else has prepared, in whole or in part. Collusion is inappropriately collaborating on assignments designed to be completed independently. These definitions are not exhaustive.  When there is clear evidence of cheating, plagiarism, collusion or misrepresentation, a faculty member will take disciplinary action including but not limited to: requiring the student to retake or resubmit an exam or assignment, assigning a grade of zero or "F" for an exam or assignment; or assigning a grade of "F" for the course.  Additional sanctions including being withdrawn from the course, program or expelled from school may be imposed on a student who violates the standards of academic integrity.

Software Piracy: 

Law strictly prohibits unauthorized copying of software purchased by Lone Star College for use in laboratories.  Lone Star College administration will take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone violating copyright laws.

 Computer Virus Protection:

Computer viruses are, unfortunately, a fact of life. Using the diskettes on more than one computer creates the possibility of infecting computers and diskettes with a computer virus. This exposes the computers of the college, your personal computer, and any others you may be using to potentially damaging viruses. The college has aggressive anti-virus procedures in place to protect its computers, but cannot guarantee that a virus might not temporarily infect one of its machines. It is your responsibility to protect all computers under your control and use and ensure that each diskette you use, whenever or wherever you use it, has been scanned with anti-virus software. Since new viruses arise continually, your anti-virus software must be kept current. And, since no anti-virus software will find every virus, keeping copies of data (backups) is extremely important. 

Equal Opportunity Statement: 

It is the policy of Lone Star to provide equal employment, admission and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability.  

Lone Star College strives to provide an excellent learning environment free from harassment or intimidation directed at any person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability.  Any form of harassment will not be tolerated. 

Library Hours: 

 Guaranteed Graduate Policy:

Lone Star College guarantees that graduates of its Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Applied Science and all Certificate programs, providing under certain circumstances, additional education and training tuition free to students lacking appropriate mastery of specified competencies.  For additional information, refer to the Lone Star College catalog.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE DIVISION AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT:

    -   Dr. Eric Wildman; Dean of Behavioral Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences; 281-351-3342
    -   Nancy Kral; Chair of Social Sciences Department; 281-351-3371

Tentative Lecture Outline:

 *The instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the semester.