Instructor: Dr. Pamela E. Mack

Contact information:

• Class meets MWF 11:15-12:05 in Hardin 100
  
• Email: pammack@clemson.edu (I try to respond to emails within 24 hours on class days)
• preferred form of address: Prof. Mack or Dr. Mack
  
• Office Hours: MWF 9-11, Mon. 12:10-1:00, and by appointment in Hardin 006 (basement level)
  
• Teaching assistants:
• Clelly Johnson, clellyj@clemson.edu, office hours Tues. 2-4 in Hardin B01
• Sandra Mokelled, snmokal@g.clemson.edu, office hours Thurs. 1-3 in Hardin B01

• Demonstrate an understanding of issues created by the complex interactions among science, technology, and society
  
• examine the impact of technology on society and discuss to what extent technology can change history
• assess how social forces shape the development of technology
• analyze the issues they will face as citizens in a technological world
• Demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the causes and consequences of human actions
  
• evaluate historical information
• analyze the different approaches taken by historians
  
• write analytically on topics related to these objectives

• quizzes                                          10%
• discussion board (bb)                    10%
• connection assignments (CA)       10%
• Top Hat participation                     5%
  
• two in-class exams                       30%
• argument paper                            25%
• final exam                                    20%  

The attendance policy for this course is as follows: 6 (changed from 5 because of weather issues) absences allowed without penalty, 2 points off the final grade in the course for each additional absence.  Excuses will be accepted only for major problems; students are expected to use their allowed absences wisely to cover special activities, minor illnesses, and car problems. When an excused absence is requested the absence must be documented and beyond the student's control.  Lateness will be dealt with in the following way: no penalty for up to five minutes, one half absence after 5 minutes. Please speak to the professor or the teaching assistant taking attendance in advance if you must leave early--if you leave early without doing so you will be penalized half an absence.  If the professor or a substitute does not arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled starting time of the class students may leave.

Fairly detailed lecture notes for this class are posted on the web (access them by clicking on the lecture title in the schedule below).  Hopefully, you will find that this allows you to listen and think about the material presented in class rather than struggling to write down the details.  However, think about whether you are a person who doesn't remember something unless you write it down; you may decide that you need to take detailed notes yourself rather than simply annotate the notes posted on the web.   When you are listening to lectures concentrate on the ideas and connections presented; this course is not about learning a set of facts but about learning how to analyze the connection between technology and society.

Top Hat classroom response system:  We will be using the Top Hat (www.tophat.com) classroom response system in class for surveys and student questions. You will be able to submit answers to in-class  questions using Apple or Android smartphones and tablets, laptops, or through text.  Grading is based on approximately 50 questions posted during the semester: 5 points for answering at least 45  questions, 4 points for 40-44, 3 points for 35-39, 2 points for 25-34, 1 point for 10-24.  Questions asked in the discussion area count in your total, so if you answer 38 questions but also posted two discussion questions your score would be 40 for 4 points out of 5 on the 5% of your grade from Top Hat.  Note that before you register for a Top Hat account you will be able to answer questions but you will not get points for those answers.

You can visit tinyurl.com/TopHatStudentGuide for the Student Quick Start Guide which outlines how you will register for a Top Hat account, as well as providing a brief overview to get you up and running on the system.  An email invitation will also be sent to your email account (if you don't receive this email, you can register by visiting our course website https://app.tophat.com/e/176730).  Top Hat will require a subscription.  There are two options to choose from:

• $20 for 4 months of unlimited access
• $38 for 5 years unlimited access

If you need to purchase a subscription card at the bookstore instead of online please email the professor (unfortunately the price will be higher).  If you already have a clicker you can get a discount: contact support@tophat.com before purchasing a Top Hat subscription.  Send a picture of your clicker (with the serial number visible) as well as your name and course information. Once our support representative can confirm the clicker hasn't been previously submitted, they will issue a $10 coupon that you can apply at checkout.

Quizzes will be multiple choice tests based on the reading.  They will be posted on Blackboard Wednesdays at the end of class and are due before class (by 11 am) on Fridays.   Quizzes are found by going into Blackboard and clicking on assignments and then on quizzes.  Quizzes will be 10 questions each.  I want you to have plenty of time but I do want people to do the reading before taking the quiz, so you have one hour to do the quiz (which should take most people about 10 minutes).  Your grade will be lowered if you go over one hour. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped if you do all 11.

Blackboard discussion questions (bb) will be posted approximately every two weeks on the Blackboard learning system.  You must go to the discussion board for your group to find the questions (you will be assigned to one of four groups during the first full week of classes--if you added late please email the professor to get in a group). This assignment is rather like the journals some other courses assign.   The goal of the Blackboard discussion is to allow more discussion of the reading and the lectures than is possible in class. You will not be able to see other responses until after you post your own.  I will place a new discussion topic on the system roughly every other week. Messages posted after the closing deadline (usually 11 am on Mondays) for that topic will get a zero.  You find the discussion board by clicking on Groups-discussion, then on the group that appears, then on the question you want to answer, then on create thread (please do not create new forums).  Write or paste your message directly in the text box in Blackboard.

Your participation in this system will be graded on the basis both of quality and quantity. Contributions to the internet discussion should be thoughtful comments on the reading and/or the professor's notes, at least 300 words (we will not grade ones that are shorter).  They must be your own work--cutting and pasting from other sources is cheating.  To get an A you need to say something new and worthwhile about the question (not just repeat what other students have said).  Your response should be organized and clearly written and should bring new information to the discussion.  Some of that new information can be personal experience, but some should be from outside sources, which should be cited.  Blackboard discussion grades will available on Blackboard before the middle of the term so that you can see how you are doing. Your grade for the Blackboard discussion board will be the average of your 5 highest grades for individual topics out of 6 topics posted.  You will get only one grade per forum, but if you write additional posts in the same forum they will be considered in your grade for that forum.  Your lowest grade will be dropped if you do all 6.

Connection assignments:  Connection assignment opportunities will be listed in the assignments section of Blackboard under connection assignments.  These will be lectures you can attend and movies you can view (you are on your own to obtain the movies).  In either case, you will turn in a write-up or critique of the lecture you attended or the film you viewed in order to get credit.  If you hear of lectures that might be suitable, send the professor an email with the information and I will consider adding them to the list.  The topics are found on Blackboard under assignments and then connection assignments.  Please paste your writeup into the box rather than submitting it as an attachment (that saves me several steps in grading them).  Each connection assignment is worth two points and the maximum grade you can earn is 10 points, so most students will do five, out of at least 10 choices.  The assignments are divided into three sets with different due dates.  Any given assignment must be done by the due date listed in that assignment, but you have free choice which ones you do.

Two tests will be given during regular class meetings.  The final exam will be held at the scheduled exam time in the usual classroom. Both the in-class tests and the final will be essay tests and open books and notes will be permitted. You may use web pages, but be careful to avoid plagiarism and be aware that the test will still take place even if the internet is down at test time. Tests may be written either on your laptop or on paper.  On the in-class tests you will write one essay of 600 to 1000 words from a choice of two questions; on the final you will write two such essays.  There is advice on taking this kind of test at:  http://pammack.sites.clemson.edu/essayexams.html and instructions for online tests at: http://pammack.sites.clemson.edu/lec122sts/onlinetests.htm.  Makeup exams will be available only for students who have excused absences.  On the first test only a rewrite option will be available; see instructions at http://pammack.sites.clemson.edu/lec122sts/rewrite.html.  On the final exam you will write two essays, one based on the third book and one cumulative.  The tests, the argument paper, and the final exam will be handed in via Blackboard and screened by the Turnitin plagiarism detection system.  (This system does keep a copy of your paper--if you have a problem with that please speak to the professor.)   For these longer assignments, write your essays in Word (or in some other wordprocessor and save in Richtext form) and submit in Blackboard as an attachment.  Both the in-class tests and the final will be essay tests and open books and notes will be permitted. You may use web pages, but be careful to avoid plagiarism and be aware that the test will still take place even if the internet is down at test time.

It is cheating to cut and paste or otherwise copy portions of an argument paper, exam, or discussion board posting from a book, web site, or from the online class notes, even if you change a few words, unless you quote and give the source.  It is poor writing for more than about 20% of your paper to consist of quotes.  In most cases when you use specific material from any source you should paraphrase: cite the source and put the ideas into your own words (generally no more than 5 consecutive words should match the source but if the words are mostly the same it could still be plagiarism even if there aren't 5 consecutive words).

The catalog states: "When, in the opinion of a course instructor, there is evidence that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, that person must make a formal written charge of academic dishonesty, including a description of the misconduct, to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. The reporting person may, at his/her discretion, inform each involved student privately of the nature of the alleged charge. In cases of plagiarism instructors may use, as an option, the Plagiarism Resolution Form available from the Office of Undergraduate Studies."

Laptops and Cell Phones: Unlike many history courses, the use of laptops is encouraged in this course.  However, because this is a large freshman level course, that use is subject to rules to prevent distraction for other students and to keep a positive learning atmosphere (research has shown that multitasking interferes seriously with cognitive abilities). 

• The fundamental rule for laptops and tablets in this course is that you may use your laptop in class, with the sound off, only for tasks directly related to this course.  In addition to tasks the professor asks you to do on your laptop, you may use it to participate in Top Hat, to take notes, to view the course notes, or to browse to web sites related to the material being discussed in class.  Do not email, instant message, chat, do homework, download music, look at Facebook, or play games during class.  Students noticeably using their computers for non-class related purposes will receive a warning by email after class.  Every two warnings will count as one absence. 
  
• Cell phones may be used for the Top Hat classroom response system and for other course-related purposes.  It is inappropriate to leave the room to answer a phone call.
  
• Talking during class and wearing headphones are also prohibited.  If you can work better if you listen to music on headphones during a test please negotiate this in advance with the instructor.  Students violating this rule will receive a warning by email after class.  Every two warnings will count as one absence.
  

General Education: This course meets the Social Science and STS general education requirements, and your argument paper will serve as your STS and Social Science artifact.  The competencies are:

• Science, Technology, and Society - Demonstrate an understanding of issues created by the complex interactions among science, technology, and society.
• Social Sciences - Demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the causes and consequences of human actions.