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University of Utah HIST 1700 © March 2008
History 1700
American Civilization
Instructor Information:
Cory Richardson
Department of History
You are highly encouraged to read, reread and understand this entire syllabus prior to beginning the first lesson. In addition,
please explore and become familiar with the entire course site.
Course Objectives:
This course will provide an overview of American history from the colonial period to the present. As you explore the specific
details of American history you should keep this broad theme in mind: What does it mean to be an American? This seemingly
simple question is in fact quite complicated when you place it in historical perspective. Your task for this course is to consider
how, historically, have Americans decided who is or isn’t “an American”? How has the definition of “an American” changed
over time?
As you think about these questions, consider the following: the United States has always been an unusually diverse society,
and diversity has usually encouraged unequal conditions—policies and practices that discriminate against or take advantage
of marginal groups. But in the Revolutionary era the United States established an idealistic commitment to make liberty
and equality ruling principles for national development. The tension between those two facts—America’s diversity on the
one hand and its commitment to liberty and equality on the other—has been the central force shaping American social and
political development throughout its history.
Required Readings:
The required text for this course is David Goldfield et al., The American Journey, (ISBN 0131921002) combined portfolio
edition (Prentice Hall, 2006). Please note that you must purchase a copy of the text that includes the companion CD-
ROM with primary documents. Several of the readings from the course are taken from this CD. All readings not from the
textbook or on this CD are available through the Marriott Library’s e-reserve system. Links for accessing e-reserve can be
found in each of the lessons requiring e-reserve readings.
The textbook may be obtained from Specialty Books (http:// http://www.specialty-books.com/cgi-bin/ic/utah). In addition,
other such internet booksellers like Amazon or Ebay are good alternatives. Make sure you get the correct edition by noting
the title, author, edition, and ISBN number.
Assignments, Exams, and Grading:
About every two lessons, you will take a multiple choice quiz based on the two lessons you have just covered. This quiz will
consist of ten questions. These quizzes will not count toward your final grade. However, you will need to correctly answer
seven of the ten questions before you can move on to the next two lessons.
Your grade in this course will be based on two papers, two midterms, and a final (note: the final exam IS NOT
comprehensive). Each of the three exams are timed in which you will be given 90 minutes to complete. You will be given
the choice to take each exam online or request a hard copy. Both the hard copy and online exams will require a proctor. If you
