• Examines gender as an organizing principle in United States History from the beginnings of European settlement to the present. Also explores the ways in which race, ethnicity, class, and region shaped different female experiences.
• This course includes Native American, African American, Asian American, Latina, European American and immigrant women--heroines and “ordinary” women who have shaped American history and culture. 
• This course is a survey of the experiences, roles and contributions of women in the political, economic, social and cultural developments of the United States across racial, ethnic, and class lines. The class will consist of lectures, discussions, participation, and group work/presentations.
• Students taking this class will not only learn facts, but the theory and practical applications of Women’s History. Students will critically engage in questions on how a woman’s race, class, and sexuality shaped their experience in the United States.

 This course will be reading and writing intensive. Readings include original source materials, scholarly essays, and scholarly Internet sites. Writings will include discussion forums, short response papers, short essay quizzes, and critical analyzes.

Texts: 

• Kerber, de Hart and Dayton, Women's America
• Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• Gilman, Yellow Wall-Paper, Herland....
• Brumberg, Body Project
• other texts as assigned

Learning Goals:

A. Historical Knowledge 

• Students will be describe the experiences of various women from colonial to present times.
• Students will explain the factors that affected women’s lives.
• Students will analyze some major changes in women’s history and the causes.

B. Historical Thinking 

•  Students will explain what it means that gender is socially constructed.
• Students will describe some of the ways the gender role for American women has changed.
• Students will consider a wide variety of historical sources and analyze how historians go about "recovering the past." 

 C. Historical Skills

•  Students will hone their skills in reading, thinking, writing. Students will learn how to learn, how to reflect on their own learning.
• Students will be able to weigh conflicting claims by employing reason and rules of evidence to establish the reliability of any claim or statement.

 Activities in support of learning goals:

•  There are 15 Modules
  • 15 Discussion Forums. For each module of study, there are discussion forums. You are usually required to make three posts per forum. Two of these should be substantive responses to our readings (topics are posted, including work with primary documents), and one should be a response to the post of a classmate.Students should complete 15 forums). Points are earned for: 
    • Response to topic A (including evidence of critical thinking and citation of sources) = 8 points
    • Response to topic B (including evidence of critical thinking and citation of sources) 8 points
    • Response to colleague's post = 4 points

Posts should total a minimum of  600 words per week. Your grade for the discussion forums will be based on the timeliness of your responses, their length, their quality and substance, your use of assigned readings. (20 points each forum) 

• • Projects. There will be a variety of projects. Choose 10. Projects should be completed by  the Monday after the unit in which they are described. Points will be taken off late projects. (10 points each) Points are earned for:
    • Writing which accomplishes the objectives of the assignment = 5 points
    • Writing which demonstrates strong compositional skills (no gross spelling or grammatical errors) = 3 points
    • paper includes specifics to support comments and notes sources. = 2 points

• 3 Analyses of Scholarship. You will critique 3 pieces of scholarship in formal papers (2-3 pages), typed, free of gross spelling and grammatical errors. You may analyze the scholarship of 3 different topics in U.S. women's history, or you may analyze a single topic through 3 different scholars. An analysis paper is due at the end of each of the 4 week intervals of the semester.(15 points each.) Points are earned for:
  • All 7 topics included = 8 points
  • Bibliographic citation is correct = 2 points
  • Paper is free of gross spelling and grammatical errors = 3 points
  • Paper demonstrates student's critical thinking = 2 points
    • You may substitute a generations paper for the 3rd analysis
• 3 exams. These will be randomized from a list of posted topics. (50 points each) These quizzes must be taken on Chi Tester at WSU testing center or under proctored conditions.

• Final reflection. (5 points)

Grades: Grades will a weighted percentage of points possible-not "on the curve." 

• 15 discussion forums =  300 points
• 10 projects = 100 points
• 3 Analyses = 45 points
• 3 exams = 150 points

94% = A

84% = B

74% = C

____________________________

About Accommodations:

• Any student requiring accommodations or services dues to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.
• Weber State University recognizes that there are times when course content may differ from a student's core beliefs. Faculty, however, have a responsibility to teach content that is related to the discipline and that has a reasonable relationship to pedagogical goals. If you, as a student, believe that the content of the course conflicts with your ability to pursue the topic, you may request a resolution from the instructor. (See PPM 6-22.)

About Plagiarism:

Plagiarism on any of your work will result in failure of the project in question. Plagiarism may also be grounds for failing the course. If at any time, you are unsure about what might constitute plagiarism, just ask. I'll be glad to help you figure out where and when you need to document sources or credit others with ideas you wish to borrow.

Emergency Closure:

Look for announcements on Weber e-mail. Code Purple is a good way to be alerted to campus closures, and you are encouraged to sign up for it