Spring, 2012 Section# 7643
Instructor: Dr. Ellen Joiner, On-campus Office: NEA-181, Phone: 310-233-4582
e-mail:
Office Hours: On-line Chat or via Private Messenger
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Course Summary: This course will survey women’s roles throughout U.S. History. Special emphasis will be placed on the construction of gender through work and family. The influence of race, ethnicity, and status on women will also be explored as well as analyzing primary documentation.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Identify the dynamic of historical continuity and change within U.S. Women’s History.
- Define gender and clarify its interaction with racial, ethnic, and status differences throughout U.S. Women’s History.
- Identify and critically analyze individuals who have contributed to changing women’s status in U.S. History.
- Identify and explain movements that have contributed to changing women’s status throughout U.S. History.
- Analyze the role that American law has played in defining woman’s position in American society.
- Explain the role of American institutions in defining women’s role in American society.
- Differentiate between primary and secondary sources in U.S. Women’s History.
- Locate sources pertinent to U.S. Women’s History in the college library and on the internet.
- Identify evidence used to create and support and argument and conclusion in historical writing.
- Construct a historical project demonstrating use of primary and secondary sources, analysis of evidence, organization, and correct citations.
Required Materials:Because this class is completely online you must have a personal computer and consistent online access. Do not plan to use your employer’s computer, a friend’s, or your hand-held device for this course. The class requires writing (three 5- page essays) and has specific dates when assignments must be submitted. You must have your own computer in order to put in the time that is required.
The textbook for the class is Ellen Carol DuBois and Lynn Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents, Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s. You may use either the 2nd or 3rd editions of the text. If page assignments are different, these will be noted on the class schedule. This book is required and may be purchased from the Harbor College Bookstore or online. If you need help paying for books and other college expenses, contact the Financial Aid Office at http:
Course Requirements: This course surveys women’s experience in the United States as it develops as a nation and as a society. History 52 is completely online. On the first day of class you will be able to log onto the class which is found at After logging on you will immediately click the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys icon and follow the instructions given there. During the first week of class several face-to-face orientation sessions for Etudes will be offered in the computer lab (NEA-126) at Harbor College. The dates and times of these sessions will be posted at the Etudes Announcements page. These sessions are not mandatory but if you are unable to attend an orientation session it is vital that you spend the very first week of class learning to use the Etudes system. There will be a series of assignments the first week to orient you to the class.
The class is organized on a weekly basis with assignments opened each Monday morning at 8 a.m. and closed at 11 p.m. the following Sunday night. Each week’s assignment will be found at the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys section. A weekly assignment will typically include:
1) Reading assigned pagesin the text (Through Women’s Eyes). Chapter assignments do not include the Documents or Visual Source materials (green pages) unless assigned.
2) To help you understand and learn the reading material you will use the Modules section that lists key terms and individuals from each chapter. You are not required to submit writing on the Modules. This section is optional to help you identify the important terms from your reading and to help you prepare for exams.
3)Each week you will also be taking apractice test which is required and counts toward your final grade. The practice tests are for practice so you may re-take the tests to improve your score. The score on the final time that you take the practice test will be the score that goes into the Etudes gradebook. .
4)You will also be listening to my explanation of the material in a 30-40 minute lecture at
5)Each week I will also post a question on the Discussion Board that we will be discussing throughout the week. You are required to participate in at least 10 discussions that I will initiate (10 pts./discussion) throughout the semester.
In addition to the weekly assignments, three 5-page essays (40 pts. each) will be required. All essay assignments will be submitted to turnitin.com. This website allows a grammar and plagiarism check of all submissions. According to LACCD and Harbor College policy, using or copying another person’s work or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism. This practice is illegal and can result in a failing grade. Throughout the semester there are also three examinations (true-false, multiple choice-40 pts. each) and a final (50 pts.) in the course. The examinations will be taken online at the Etudes site. The due dates for the exams and essays are listed in the schedule below. More specific instructions for all of the assignments will be given each week so it is very important that you carefully read and follow each week’s instructions.
The course requirements for online History 52 are not that different from the face-to-face version. This is not a self-directed class. You will have specific assignments each week that will need to be finished by the Sunday night (11 p.m.) deadline. After the deadline, the assignment will close and you will not be able to access it. The primary difference between online and face-to-face is that you are not required to physically come to a class and within the week time frame you are able to decide when you will complete the assigned work. Essay assignments will be given at least two weeks in advance to give you time to work on them. I also hold a weekly “office hour” when I will be in the Chat Room to directly answer questions that you may have. I will post the time and day of the Office Hour each week on the Announcement page. If you have other questions contact me through Private Messenger and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Don’t hesitate to also post questions in the Chat Room or at Questions? on the Etudes site. Other students in the class are very willing to help you.
Grades for History 52 are determined on a percentage of the total points. The total points for the practice tests, exams, and essays will be available to you at the Etudes grade book. I will keep a separate record of the discussion participation plus any extra credit that you may complete and add those points at the end of the semester. At the end of the semester I will tally your total points and determine your grade based on the following percentages. 90% of the total= A, 80%=B, 70%=C, 60%= D. If at any point throughout the semester you would like to know your grade just ask me via Private Messenger. Grades are private information so I won’t discuss your grade in an open forum of the Discussion Board or Chat Room.
Schedule:
Wk. 1 / Feb. 6-12 / Course Introduction / Survey Table of Contents & pp. xxvii-xxxv
Wk. 2 / Feb. 13-19 / Women of the New World / c. 1
Wk. 3 / Feb. 20-26 / European Settlement in the New World / c.2 +
Visual Sources-Material Culture
Wk. 4 / Feb. 27-March 4 / Women in the Revolutionary Era / c. 3
Wk. 5 / March 4-11 / Exam 1 (c. 1-3)
Women’s Work / c. 4 + Visual Sources-Godey’s Lady’s Book
Wk. 6 / March 12-18 / National Expansion and Reform Activism / ed.2-pp. 252-279
ed.3-pp. 252-277
Essay 1due
Wk. 7 / March 19-25 / The Civil War and Reconstruction / c.5 +
ed.2-pp. 324-337
ed.3-pp. 320-333
Wk. 8 / March 26-April 1 / Wage Labor and Women of Leisure / c.6
Spring Recess / April 2-8
Wk. 9 / April 9-15 / Exam 2 (c. 4-6)
Immigration, Cities, & a Maternal Commonwealth / c.7
Wk. 10 / April 16-22 / Faces of Progressive Reform / c. 8 +
Visual Sources: Uncle Sam Wants You
Wk. 11 / April 23-29 / The Great Depression and A Women’s New Deal / ed. 2-pp. 520-545
ed. 3-pp. 522-545
Essay 2 due
Wk. 12 / April 30-May 6 / Women at War- World War II / c. 9
Wk. 13 / May 7-13 / Women in Post-war
America / c.10 +
Visual Sources: Television’s Prescriptions for Women
Wk. 14 / May 14-20 / Exam 3 (c. 7-10)
The Second Wave / c.11
Wk. 15 / May 21-27 / Feminism Reconfigured / c. 12 + Documents: Clinton, Palin, Obama
Essay 3 due
Wk. 16 / May 28-June 1 / Exam 4 (c. 11-12) / Completion of History 52