American Studies Office Contact Information:

Phone: 617 287-6770
Email: American.studies@umb.edu
Main office: W-5-003

Course Description:

Put course description here.

Course Objectives:

List course objectives here. Below are the course objectives from Patricia Raub's AMST 210 course as an example:

You should be able to demonstrate in your classroom and on-line comments and questions, your papers, and your examination essays:

· Familiarity with the broad social and historical trends examined in class;
· Awareness of the ways in which race, class, and gender shaped the experiences of those who lived in America in the historical periods studied in this course;
· Ability to subject primary source material (fiction, autobiographies, paintings, photographs, etc.) to critical interpretation, to use such material as evidence of the attitudes, assumptions, and values of the era;
· Competence in navigating Internet web sites and proficiency in evaluating web sited in terms of their scholarly merits;
· Ability to write well-organized, carefully considered essays in which you demonstrate skills in historical and cultural analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

Course Goals:

Tell the students what the academic purpose of the course is here. A brief paragraph is sufficient. Below is another example from Patricia Raub's AMST 210 syllabus:

By the end of the term, you should come to realize that the American past was more than a series of "important" political and economic events. You should become more aware of the interconnections among the political, social, cultural, and economic trends of the times,; thus, you should become ore proficient in viewing our history from an interdisciplinary perspective. At the same time, you should become more aware of the dreams, ideals, and aspirations held by various groups of people in the past; and you should be able to recognize the factors which enabled them to achieve their dreams-or inhibited them from doing so.

Course Requirements:

Tell the students what you expect from them: class participation, attendance, how many papers, how many exams, all papers must be typed double spaced in 12 pt font, must have an email address, etc.

Required Texts:

List your required texts here (please include authors' names, year published and edition if pertinent)

Disability Accommodations:
Section 504 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 offer guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. Students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Lillian Semper Ross Center (617 287-7430). They must present these recommendations to each professor by the end of the Add/Drop period.

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty:
Below is the University Policy on Academic Standards and Cheating from page 333 of the University Undergraduate Catalog 2007-2009. For further details, see pages 333-334 in the 2007-2009 Undergraduate Catalog; there is a lengthy definition and explanation of plagiarism and the consequences.

"The first obligation of students is to pursue conscientiously the academic objective which they have determined for themselves. Students are expected to conform to all regulations of the University, of the College in which they are enrolled, and of the classes in which they are registered. It is further expected that all examinations, texts, written papers or other assignments completed as a part of academic programs are the product of the student's own work and effort.

This means that students may not solicit or use unauthorized material or assistance for their own benefit and may ot offer or give such assistance to another student. Every written report or similar class assignment must indicate fully the sources form which the information used is obtained, and any verbatim quotations or paraphrases must be clearly indicated as such and properly credited to the source form which they were extracted or adapted.

Academic dishonesty may also involve cheating or plagiarism. Cheating is defined as the use of illegal techniques (slips, copying, signs, etc.) to convey or receive answers during examinations."

Grading:

List your grading policy here, including the percentages for each category.
For example:

Two writing assignments 40% (15%, 25%)
Attendance 10%
Class participation 10%
Midterm 15%
Final 25%

Grading Policy:

List the grading policy for each item you have listed under the Grading category. Use a subheading for each grading policy item.

If you count attendance under grading, put your attendance policy here under an "attendance" subheading. You may allow a certain number of excused and/or unexcused absences. (You may request documentation for excused absences, such as doctor's notes, xeroxed copies of plane tickets, etc. Spell it all out here. Remember, it is easier to be strict at first and ease up on the rules at your discretion than to start out too lenient and then try to discipline later).

Attendance Policy:

If you do not mention attendance policy under grading, mention it here as a separate category. It is strongly advised that you have an attendance policy and put it in writing on your syllabus. Also include your make-up policy for exams and your policy on taking late papers (you may refuse to take late papers or penalize students part of a letter grade for each day late).

Schedule of Classes and Assignments:

You may format this in other ways, but make it very clear what readings are due on what days and when assignments are due. Some instructors prefer tables (easy to draw with MSWord) like the one below:

Note:
For 100 or 200 level courses that have semester long projects, instructors (and students) have found it helpful to put project status reminders on the syllabus. For example, if students are doing an oral history project, status reminder could include the following:

Sept. 30: You should have found your interview subject.

Oct. 10: Your outline and interview questions should be ready.

October 23: Your interview should be completed

Nov. 8: Your first draft should be completed.

Giving (newer) students these milestones helps them learn to structure their time and stay on target so that they can complete the assignment by the due date.