Thursday, November 17, 2011

American Founding Fathers and the Creation of the American Republic


American Founding Fathers and the Creation of the American Republic
Syllabus



Course Description:
American founding fathers were genius and there are always many exciting things to learn from them, both from their personal and political lives and their primary writings. Focusing on John Adams, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and other important founding fathers, this course will examine their lives and writings in American Revolutionary period. It will not only help students to know their political lives, but help them to understand their political thinking and recognize their great contributions in American founding.


Course Objectives:

It is our goal that by completing the work in this course, students will have a strong working knowledge of the thoughts and ideas that the United States was founded on. By immersing themselves in the thoughts and writings of these fathers, students will gain a greater understanding of the ideas that drove the founding of the American republic.



Course Requirements:
Students are expected to attend all classes, read all assigned texts and actively take part in class discussions. Students are expected to write two short response essays (3-5 pages) and take a midterm and a final exam. In writing essays, students must cite all ideas, paraphrasing, and quotes in footnotes and bibliography, using either Turabian (7th edition) or the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition), including the movies themselves and any reviews of them that you have used. Attendance is required; there will be no make-ups for missed exams.



Grading:

Midterm exam                                             25%
Final exam                                                   25%
Essay one                                                     15%
Essay two                                                     15%
Participation and attendance                        20%



Course Schedule:

Class 1. Introduction

Class 2. John Adams

Class 3-4. George Washington
               
Class 5-6. Benjamin Franklin
               
Class 7-8. Thomas Jefferson


Class 10. Midterm Exam

Class 11-12. Alexander Hamilton

Class 13-14. James Madison

Class 15. Final Exam







No comments:

Post a Comment