To many Utah seems a highly unusual state, however, while it has its particular story, our home state also shares much in common with its western neighbors. This course examines the social, economic, and political developments of Utah with special attention to the ways the state compares and contrasts with others states in the American West. In chronology, the class covers prehistoric times to the present, with Learning Modules focusing on various peoples, including Native Americans, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, western pioneers, immigrants, miners, and others who have contributed to Utah's history and heritage. One of the course's major themes is that state's evolution from relative isolation to integration into the national economy and society.

Wayne Hinton. Utah: Unusual Beginning to Unique Present. Sun Valley, CA: American Historical Press, 2000. [Reading assignments are from this text]; this textbook is on reserve at the SUU Library and available for purchase at the SUU Bookstore. There also is an electronic version you can access free of charge by searching the SUU library website under the author and book title.

Raye C. Ringholz. Uranium Frenzy: Saga of the Nuclear West. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2002. [available for purchase at SUU Bookstore; also on Reserve at SUU Library]

Additional Readings: several long articles covering Utah history since World War II will be posted in Canvas. There will be short writing and peer-review assignments covering these articles, posted in Canvas.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World: Students demonstrate knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world through study in the fine arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, life and physical sciences.

• demonstrate factual and critical knowledge of the major historical figures, events and cultural developments in the history of Utah
• demonstrate a broad understanding of the ideologies, society and theories (economic, social, political) of the history of Utah

Critical Thinking: Students demonstrate disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

• critically examine, assess, and analyze various sides to arguments in historical debates in the study of Utah history

Communication: Students develop and express ideas and will be able to do so in a variety of ways, namely in writing, by speaking, visually, kinesthetically, through design or aurally.

• communicate historical arguments and historically-based ideas and data effectively in written form, including having a strong ability to craft well-organized critical and analytical essays that utilize historical data (sources) in support of a thesis

The following are some basics that will help you get started and complete the class:

This is a modified, self-paced course. Please see assignments to locate the due dates early in the semester in which you are enrolled.

There are 10 Quizzes; they are drawn from the chapters in the Hinton book. Together they are 35% of the final grade.

There are 4 Exams; they are drawn from the Course Modules (Lectures) that are posted in Canvas. They are 30% of the final grade.

Paper. Please see the requirements in the Assignments section for specifics. The paper requires students write an analytical paper over the book Uranium Frenzy. The paper is worth 20% of the final grade.

Video Position Papers & Historical Site Paper: students write 2 short papers (see Assignments tab) on two videos or 1 longer paper over a visit to an historical site. These are worth 15% of the final grade.

Grade Scheme

The following grading standards will be used in this class:

Recommended Class Schedule and Assignments

This is a modified, self-paced course. There is a set of assignments due during the first half of the semester while most of the assignments are due toward the end of the term. Please see the assignments with due dates listed at the bottom of the syllabus.

This course contains 7 modules. There are 10 quizzes covering the 10 chapters of the Hinton textbook. It is encouraged that you take the quizzes that correspond with the Learning Modules (listed below) prior to taking the exam. Each exam will cover the material and content between exams. For example, Exam 1 covers all content from the beginning of the course to Exam 1. Exam 2 will cover the content after Exam 1 to Exam 2, and so on.

Note: The Quizzes are over the Hinton textbook only; each quiz covers only 1 chapter, i.e. Quiz 1 is over only Ch. 1, etc. Material for Exams is taken from the Learning Modules only, not the textbook. The exams are not cumulative.

Please peruse the Modules section to the left to get an idea of how to proceed through the course (sequence of lectures, quizzes, and exams).

Instructor's Response Time & Feedback

Online classes provide unique challenges for interaction. If you have a specific question for me, please contact me directly. I will respond in the specified amount of time. Feedback is an important part of learning please look for feedback on your assignments that I provided in the specified amount of time, to find feedback look at this tutorial .

It is my goal to:

• Respond to student messages within 2 business days
• Provide grades and feedback within 5 - 7 days from the due date

Late Policy

The acceptance of Late Work is at the discretion of the professor. You should contact the professor before the due date if there is going to be an issue meeting the set due dates.

Zoom Etiquette

Your class may utilize the Zoom online conference system. To participate in Zoom meetings, you will need to have a webcam/microphone or a smartphone with the Zoom app. We will adopt the same rules and norms as in a physical classroom (take notes; participate by asking and answering questions; wear classroom-ready clothing). For everyone’s benefit:

• Join the course in a quiet, distraction-free location
• Be aware of your background
• Turn on your video (you may close it after attendance is taken if your internet connection cannot handle having both audio and video going)
• Mute your microphone unless you are speaking
• Close browser tabs and software not required for participating in class
• Remember that our classes are in the Mountain Time zone

The success of this class will depend on the same commitment to learning we all typically bring to the physical classroom.

Attendance is based on your completion of the assignments by the assigned due date.

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