Lansing Community College

Social Science Department
Section Syllabus - ECON 213 for Fall 2009
CRN:   70124

Course and Section Information:

Course Code: ECON 213
Title: U.S. Business and Economic History
Semester: Fall 2010
Class Meetings: ONLINE - (no face-to-face class meetings)

Instructor & Contact Information:

Instructor: Jim Luke
Office: LCC Main Campus, A&S Building, Room 361E
Phone & Voice Mail: 517-483-5384  (office)
313-550-8884   (cell + text) (preferred)
Email: lukej@lcc.edu (preferred for all email. I discourage use of Angel email)
Office Hours: T & Th 11am-12pm; 2-4pm

I. Course Code                    Credit                    Lecture

    Econ 213                                            3                                    48

II. Prerequisite

Reading Level 5

III. Course Description

This course provides a survey of American economic and business history, change, and growth since the colonial period. Topics include an overview of business organization, the role of government and technological change, American industrial development, labor unions, and capitalization patterns.

IV. Instructional Materials

A. Required Textbooks: 

There are three required texts.  (note: links will open Amazon.com page for the book. Students are free to obtain the books from any source they wish and are encouraged to price-shop.)

Issues in American Economic History (Paperback) by Roger LeRoy Miller (Author), Robert L. Sexton (Author)

Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power by John Steele Gordon
A Short History of American Capitalism by Meyer Weinberg

B.  Required Other Materials and Resources  -More information and instructions are provided in specific assignments online..

V.  Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:
  1. Identify and critique the economic causes of the American Revolution.
  2. Identify the transportation/communication innovations which laid the foundation for industrialization and growth in the American economy in the 19th and 20th centuries.
  3. Discuss how transportation/communication innovations and infrastructure guided, facilitated, and enabled the growth of the American economy in the 19th and 20th centuries.
  4. Identify and discuss the forces that transformed the American economy from an agricultural foundation to an industrial and post-industrial economy.
  5. Recall the major forces of technological change from 1865 to 1917.
  6. Identify, discuss, and contrast the major forces of technological change in each of the early 19th, late 19th, early 20th, mid-to-late 20th centuries.
  7. Trace and discuss the development of government policies towards business and the economy with particular attention to the struggle between laissez-faire economic philosophy and policies of government intervention.
  8. Trace and discuss the development of the money, banking, and financial industries throughout American history including particular attention to monetary policy, the business cycle, and the role of Wall Street.
  9. Identify and discuss the standards of living of average Americans throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and the impact economic growth had on everyday lives.
  10. Identify and explain major movements and phenomena of American economic history including the settlement of the frontier, the Robber Barons ("the Gilded Age"), the Labor movement, urbanization, and The Great Depression.

VI. Methods of Instruction

 This course is entirely online. Three primary methods of learning are used. 
  1. Students will read chapters in three books and view an online video series.
  2. Students will reflect on their readings by taking quizzes and posting in Critical Thinking Question forums.
  3. Students will create a "virtual research project".  A "virtual research project" is a website created by the students themselves that examines a particular issue in U.S. Economic history.

VII. Methods of Evaluating Student Acheivement and Progress:

A. The following methods are used in this class:

Assignment
 Points Possible % of Course Grade
Quizzes (online tests)
 90 points 30%
Final Exam 80 points 27%
Required postings to Critical Thinking Questions Forums 70 points 23%
Research Project ("website") 60 points 20%
Total for Course 300 points 100%

More detailed information about these assignments is available online on the Course Angel website.

B. Grading Scale:

The College Standard grading scale will be used:
Course Grade % of Possible Minimum Points Earned 
4.0 Excellent 91-100% 273
3.5
86-90% 258
3.0 Good 81-85% 243
2.5
76-80% 228
2.0 Satisfactory 71-75% 213
1.5
66-70% 198
1.0 Poor 60-65% 180
0.0 No Credit 0-59% 0

VIII. Course Practices and Policies

College-wide policies are stated in the College Catalog and include those on attendance, withdrawals, and incomplete grades.  The College Catalog is available on the Internet at http://www.lcc.edu/catalog/.  Lansing Community College provides services to students with documented disabilities.  If you need accomomdations, contact the Office of Disability Services at 517-483-1207 in room 2300 of Gannon Building to coordinate reasonable accomodations for your needs.

Additional course policies and practices for this course are:

Attendance Policy
Students are expected to be active online every week.  Students who go more than two weeks without logging-on to Angel and submitting work, and without explanation or notification to the professor are subject to Administrative Withdrawal for non-attendance.
Late Assignments
Each quiz and unit has both a recommended date for completion and a final deadline. To progress successfully, students should complete quizzes and forum postings by the recommended date.  Late work will be accepted up till 2 weeks after the recommended date.  Quiz submissions will NOT be accepted more than two weeks after the recommended date. All work must be completed for Units 1-7 by Dec 2. No work for Units 1-7 will be accepted after Dec. 2.
Drops
Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the LCC Withdrawal Policy. It is available on the Internet at     http://www.lcc.edu/policy/policies_9.aspx#W_GRADE.  Under this policy, students may withdraw themselves from the course until the end of the eighth week. Students who do not participate online, have extended unexcused absences from online activity, or who engage in uncivil activity are subject to Administrative Withdrawal.

IX.  Detailed Outline of Course Content and Sequencing

The course is organized into 8 Units of work.  A Unit is scheduled to be completed every two weeks.   Students should refer to the materials on the course site on Angel for specific information on the outline of course content, sequencing, and due dates of assignments. If a student anticipates not being able to work on the course for some particular 2-week period, they should contact the instructor.  Arrangements can be made for legitimate conflicts, such as giving birth to a child, death in the family, hospitalization, etc.

X.  Transfer Potential

For transferability information, please consult the Transfer Equivalency List located on the Internet at http://www.lcc.edu/transfer.  For additional transferability information contact the LCC Counseling Services Department at 517-483-1255  and the college or university to which you intend to transfer. 

XI. Student Academic Integrity

The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity.  Therefore, Lansing Community College has adopted a code of academic conduct and a statement of student academic integrity.  These may be found in the Lansing Community College Catalog where violations of adademic integrity are listed and defined.  Such violations include both cheating and plagiarism. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty.

Classroom and online behavior that interferes with the instructional and learning processes is not tolerated.  the consequences are addressed in the catalog under Administrative Withdrawal.