Collegiality (15%)

This grade depends on your class participation and your leadership of class discussion.

• Class Participation (10%):  I will base your class participation grade on the frequency and quality of your contribution to classroom discussion. Positive contributions consist not merely of answering the professor's questions. They also include:

• Asking questions concerning the reading, the discussion, or the class in general
• Challenging what either the professor or your peers have said
• Making pertinent observations of all sorts
• Using office hours
• Displaying a positive attitude toward learning and the course

Furthermore, if you are a student, your job consists of learning. I expect you to come to class prepared to learn.

• Come to class having completed the readings assigned for that day (including the textbook readings).
• If we are scheduled to discuss a book or an excerpt out of the coursepack, bring the reading to class so that you can refer to it.
• Bring the textbook to class.
• Also, please arrive on time if not a little early. If you must leave class early, let me know in advance.

Remember, if you are not attending class, you are not participating.

• Leading Class Discussion (5%): I have set aside ten particular topics—each on a specific day—in which groups consisting of two students will lead classroom discussion. I will circulate a sign-up sheet in class. Sign up as soon as possible for the topic of your choice. If you have not volunteered for a discussion by the end of class on Tuesday, January 29, I will assign you one at random.

Although circumstances will vary according to the topic, I expect you to relate the sources to the themes of the course. As you plan the discussion, feel free to employ some creativity.

For this assignment, not only will you be responsible for leading discussion, but you will also be required to produce a food for thought reading assignment for your peers in the class. Furthermore, your grade on this assignment will depend not only on my evaluation of your presentation, but on the opinion of your fellow students. After each presentation, I will ask your peers to provide a short written assessment of your performance, which I will forward to you with my own comments. Here are your options:

• Thursday, February 7: The Mexican-American War
• Tuesday, February 12: The Ostend Manifesto
• Thursday, February 14: The Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Thursday, February 14: Bleeding Kansas
• Tuesday, February 26: John Brown's Raid
• Tuesday, February 26: The Election of 1860
• Tuesday, April 9: The Origins of Reconstruction
• Tuesday, April 16: Southern Women and the Confederate Home Front
• Tuesday, April 23: The Confederate Debate over Arming Black Slaves
• Thursday, May 2: The Retreat from Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877

Instructions on How to Lead Class Discussion

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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2002
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