You may be excited to learn that this course does not require any quizzes or exams, and that we will use a variety of assessments and activities throughout the semester. Please do your best to keep up with reading and other assignments. Note that ALL assignments are required and ALL must be completed to pass this course. All work must be submitted online to Canvas by the relevant deadlines of Saturdays at 12 midnight.
All Canvas submissions (except for Discussion posts) must be uploaded in an acceptable file format (such as .docx) rather than a text box entry. You are encouraged to work at a steady and systematic pace to finish all required work. Unless prior approval has been granted by the instructor, any assignment submitted after the deadline will receive a permanent grade of zero or "incomplete."
Assignments with Weight/Percentage of Final Grade
- Weekly Reading Journal, (Weekly entries graded on P/F basis, completion will determine letter grade) -- 50% of final grade
- Weekly Discussions, (Weekly entries graded on P/F basis, completion will determine letter grade) -- 15% of final grade
- Critical Web Site Evaluation, 10% of final grade
- Independent Project, 25% of final grade
Weekly Reading Journal (separate weekly assignments together worth 50% of your final grade)
All students are expected to write a thoughtful and detailed weekly reflections about their reading and understanding of The African-American Odyssey. You are expected to submit a weekly journal entry to Canvas that will typically focus on a prompt or question related to class readings and activities. Your response should be organized, factual, insightful, and well written, submitted in an essay format of at least 400 words in length (more than one page of double-spaced text with 12-font type). All Canvas submissions should be uploaded in an acceptable file format (such as .docx) rather than a text box entry. (Note that Discussion posts and responses can be submitted with a text box entry, although you should compose with a word processor and upload or copy your comments after adequate proofreading and spell-checks.)
These weekly assignments will be due to Canvas no later than the deadlines at 12 midnight. As noted above, unless prior approval has been granted by the instructor, any assignment submitted after the deadline will receive a permanent grade of zero or "incomplete." You are encouraged to submit earlier if you choose. You are expected to read and follow formatting guidelines and writing suggestions in "Writing Resources & Tips," a reference located in the first module.
Your work will be evaluated by the quality of your written response, not its length, although you are strongly encouraged to write much more than the stated minimum of 400 words. Because this is a history class, you should strive always to use relevant, specific, and detailed historical evidence drawn from all course materials in your written journal entries, discussion posts, and other assignments in this class. Aim to think, write, and analyze evidence as historians do.
These written journal exercises are designed to 1) encourage your active and regular reading of our required textbook, 2) help you think more critically about issues and topics in African American history, and 3) improve your writing and analytical skills. You will receive some helpful but not extensive feedback for your weekly journal entries, and these will be graded on a P/F (or Complete/Incomplete) basis. A simple rubric will be used to evaluate your work and to encourage high-quality responses. If your response is deemed inadequate or incomplete, you may be asked to revise and resubmit to earn credit for the assignment. If you have been given an opportunity to "revise and resubmit," the new deadline typically will be no more than one week from the assignment's initial deadline.
The percentage of completed and acceptable journal entries (of fourteen total for the entire semester) will determine your final grade for this assignment:
- 100 % (A) = 100% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 95% (A) = 95% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 90% (A-) = 90% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 85% (B) = 85% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 80% (B-) = 80% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 75% (C) = 75% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 70% (C-) = 70% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 65% (D) = 65% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 60% (D-) = 60% completed and acceptable journal entries
- 0% = Less than 60% completed and acceptable journal entries (yes, this will be a grade of 0 that will count toward 50% of your final grade)
Each weekly journal assignment is due in Canvas by the deadline at midnight. If your journal entry is submitted late, it will NOT count as a completed or acceptable submission. It will be marked as missing or incomplete. While students are encouraged to meet all assignment deadlines, you are welcome to move at a faster pace in this course if you choose.
NOTE: For your weekly journal entries, you do NOT need any kind of formal citations, footnotes, or bibliography. You are encouraged to integrate specific and relevant historical evidence (names, places, dates, topics, events, etc.) into your journal entries. You are encouraged to write in your own words with only occasional and necessary quoted excerpts. Please note that plagiarism will not be tolerated, and you may be asked to revise and resubmit entries that are deemed to be deficient in any way.
As with all of your college-level work, your journal submissions should be coherent and feature well-crafted writing that is appropriate for academic purposes. (Your written responses are not texts, tweets, or informal emails.) While you are encouraged to write in your own words, if you wish to quote from course materials or other sources, please place all quoted material in quotation marks and add a page reference or citation in parentheses at the end of that sentence.
Note that all assignments will be processed by an excellent and thorough plagiarism and AI detection program within Canvas. The use of AI-generated work in this course is explicitly prohibited and will be viewed as a serious violation of SUU Policy 6.33 Academic MisconductLinks to an external site.. You are encouraged to review course materials that include "Avoiding Plagiarism" and "Discouraging the Use of ChatGBT and AI Resources for Academic Purposes."
You have much latitude in writing your entries, but mainly you should demonstrate that you read and understood the course material. This journal exercise is designed to be an engaging way for you to complete all readings in The African-American Odyssey, by far the best textbook in this field. Your journal entries must demonstrate convincingly that you read each chapter in entirety and that you made effective use of each chapter's embedded multimedia and learning resources. Finally, feel free to be imaginative in exploring the questions asked in this course, and ask questions if you are unclear about assignments or expectations.
Weekly Discussions (separate weekly assignments together worth 15% of your final grade)
This course features weekly Discussions that are designed for you to read, review, and critically evaluate course materials in our required textbook, The American-American Odyssey, Volume 1, along with additional materials included within Canvas. Some Discussions may focus on primary source materials ("Voices") or mini-biographies ("Profiles"), and within Canvas you will find additional materials relating to "Primary Source Analysis." One goal of this assignment is to create a "learning community" of students enrolled in this online class. A second goal is to enhance your understanding of primary sources as the building blocks of historical interpretation. A third and related goal is to develop your critical thinking and communication skills as they relate to interpreting the past.
While Discussion posts and responses can be submitted with a text box entry, you are expected to compose with a word processor and upload or copy your comments after adequate proofreading and spell-checks. Similar to the grading scale for your Weekly Journal Entries, you will receive some helpful but not extensive feedback for your alternative weekly Discussion posts and responses, and these will be graded on a P/F (or Complete/Incomplete) basis. A simple rubric will be used to evaluate your work and to encourage high-quality responses. As with all assignments in this course, plagiarism or the submission of AI-generated text will not be tolerated.
The percentage of completed and acceptable Discussion posts and responses will determine your final grade for this assignment:
- 100 % (A) = 100% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 95% (A) = 95% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 90% (A-) = 90% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 85% (B) = 85% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 80% (B-) = 80% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 75% (C) = 75% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 70% (C-) = 70% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 65% (D) = 65% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 60% (D-) = 60% completed and acceptable discussion posts
- 0% = Less than 60% completed and acceptable discussion posts (yes, this will be a grade of 0 that will count toward 15% of your final grade)
Critical Web Site Evaluation Assignment (10% of final grade)
This assignment asks you to select, review, and critically evaluate one web site about some aspect of African American history up to 1877. You will find more materials in Canvas, but note that your evaluation of a chosen web site will share similarities with a critical book or movie review. For example, your review should examine aspects of the web site from at least the following four (4) categories: 1) authority and accuracy; 2) purpose and content; 3) currency; 4) design, organization, and ease of use. Of course, you are encouraged to range beyond these guidelines to assess other aspects of the web site, such as its aesthetic appeal, its incorporation of unique technologies, or its standing within the field of digital history. Note that this assignment is designed, in part, to help you find high-quality web sites to help you in developing your Independent Final Project.
Independent Final Project (25%)
Each student is required to create a unique Individual Project that relates to some aspect of African American history up to 1877. (Group projects or other collaborations are NOT allowed.) You have great latitude in selecting a topic and focus, but please seek suggestions (and approval) from the instructor by the end of Week 6. You will find that the textbook and web sites provide lots of ideas and materials for potential projects.
Probably the best way to approach this project is to ask: What topic (or issue or person or event) in African-American history do I want to know more about?
You will be pursuing independent research through print and electronic resources to explore your chosen topic, to be completed in a format appropriate to your skills and interests. While these projects should demonstrate a sound reliance upon the course textbook, you are free to bring in outside materials through the internet or other external sources, including scholarly books and articles. All sources and materials should be acknowledged in your Individual Project. As with all assignments in this course, plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Ideally, your Individual Project will be submitted in one of four formats:
- PowerPoint or Google slideshow with rich content and audiovisual materials (minimum of 20 high-quality slides)
- Web site with rich content, audiovisual materials, and appropriate links (minimum of 15 high-quality pages)
- “Mini-documentary” movie in a digitized format with rich content and audiovisual materials (minimum of 10 minutes of high-quality edited video)
- Note: While footnotes or endnotes are appreciated and encouraged, they are NOT required. However, a formal bibliography at the conclusion of your project IS REQUIRED for all sources and conform to the Chicago Style Note and Bibliography format.
If you have ideas for other formats, please ask. The primary aim here is for you to investigate some aspect of African American history and choose the best way to showcase your skills and knowledge. Feel free to be imaginative in examining these topics and formats, and please find a focus that truly interests and inspires you! By the end of Week 14, please submit an electronic link and/or digital version of the project to Canvas.
Grading Scale
All assignments and activities will be evaluated on a scale of 0-100, a scale that will also inform the determination of final grades in the course. (For example, a student who earns 94% of all possible points through the weighted assignments will earn a final grade of "A.") Individual assignments and activities will be evaluated with rubrics and other guidelines as explained further within Canvas.
- A, 93-100
- A-, 90-92
- B+, 87-89
- B, 83-86
- B-, 80-82
- C+, 77-79
- C, 73-76
- C-, 70-72
- D+, 67-69
- D, 63-66
- D-, 60-62
- F, 0-59