Instructor: Dr. Pamela E. Mack

Contact information:

• Email: pammack@clemson.edu (I try to respond to emails within 24 hours on class days)
• This course will use Canvas rather than Blackboard--we making early a transition that all courses are expected to make next summer
• Log in to Canvas at: https://clemson.instructure.com, using your entire Clemson email address as your username.  It will not work if you use just your Clemson username!
  
• quick start guide: http://guides.instructure.com/m/8470
  
• Chat may be available if there is interest--suggest a time
  
• I am happy to talk on the phone but will not keep regular office hours: please email me to set up a time for a phone conversation.  If your email isn't working you can call the History Department office at 864-656-3153 and ask them to email me a message.
• Office: Hardin B06 (please email to set up a time if you want to come by my office: I would be happy to meet anyone in person who can easily stop by)

• to learn to examine the impact of technology on society and think about to what extent technology can change history.
• to gain an understanding of how social forces shape the development of technology.
• to see how the engineering profession and engineering education have changed over time.
• to learn how to evaluation historical information.
• to practice analytical writing on topics related to these objectives.

The participation policy for this course is as follows:  Students are expected to do all assignments by the deadlines assigned or make special arrangements with the professor in advance.  You are responsible for the material in the assigned readings and the course web pages listed on the syllabus.  If unexpected problems arise please contact the professor as soon as possible.  Any student who has done fewer than half the assignments due two weeks after the class begins will be dropped from the course.

Discussion questions (db) will be posted on Canvas at least twice a week.  This is a required assignment for the course, rather like the journals some other courses assign.  The way the discussion board is set up, you will see other people's posts only after you write yours.  If you look at other posts and want to comment on theirs or add to yours, just write a reply (to them or to yourself).  I will consider all post you make under a topic in assigning you a grade. I will place a new discussion topic on the system approximately every other day and you get credit only if you do them before the deadline.

Your participation in this system will be graded from 1 to 10 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  and/or the comments of other students, at least 250 words long (I will not grade shorter ones).  To get an 9 or 10 you need to say something worthwhile about the question.  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 must be cited.  There will be 11 discussions and I will drop the lowest grade.  You will get only one grade per topic, but if you write more than one post on a topic all your posts will be taken into account in deciding your grade for the topic.  Posts after the deadline for that topic will receive no credit.

Quizzes will be multiple choice tests based on the reading.  Quizzes are found in Canvas.  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.  I will drop the lowest quiz grade.

Two tests and the final exam will be due by midnight (the end of the day) on the day listed on the schedule below.  The tests will be made available on the Friday before they are due.  Both the tests and the final exam will be essay tests and open books and notes will be permitted.  On the tests you will write one essay of 600 to 1000 words from a choice of two questions, on the final you will write two different essays of the same length.  See General instructions for online tests.  The tests, the argument project, and the final exam will be handed in via Canvas in the Turnitin assignments section (this plagiarism detection system does keep a copy of your paper--if you have a problem with that please speak to the professor.)   

Connection assignments:   You can earn these credits in several different ways.  Each connection assignment (ca) is worth 20 points, so you should do at least 5.  These will be handed in on Canvas.  You may do more than 5 but your grade cannot exceed 100.

• You can attend a lecture or other program relating to the issues discussed in class.  Get the professor's approval of the program you have identified in advance and write about it after you attend.
  
• You can rent and view up a film from those assigned by the professor and write a critique of the film. 
  
• You can do a reading project, as assigned by the professor, and turn in a write-up.
  
• You can go to a historic site or museum in the area where you are located and write a write-up of it.  This one is worth 20 points if you just hand in a write-up and 40 points if you put your write-up in the form of a web site illustrated with photographs that your classmates can view

The argument project will be an exploration of the impact of a technology on society (both negative and positive).  No two students can write on the same topic; please check the topics already posted on the discussion board before deciding on yours.  More details.

Research can be primarily on the web, but note that some of the books and many of the journals in the Clemson library are available electronically.  For books go to http://libcat.clemson.edu/ and change "view entire catalog" to "electronic resources."  For electronic journals go to: http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/

Project steps:

• Step 1 (20 points): post a topic statement and an annotated list of at least 8 sources for a topic about the impact (both negative and positive) of some technology on society.
  
• Step 2 (20 points): write and post a controversial argument about some part of your topic.  Back up your argument with web links.
  
• Step 3 (20 points): write replies challenging at least two of your fellow students' argument postings, including links to web sites giving a different point of view than that of the argument initially posted.  One of your posts must be the first reply to another student, while the other must reply to a student who already has at least one reply.
  
• Step 4 (10 points): write a critique of  a web site cited by another student.  You must pick one that has not yet been critiqued.
  
• Step 5 (100 points): write a paper of 1000 to 1500 words that considers both sides of the issue and submit it using the Canvas assignments link. 
  
• Step 6 (20 points): write and post a proposal for how we might reduce the negative impact of the technology you wrote about.
• Step 7 (20 points): write and post two responses to two other students' recommendations.  One of your posts must be the first reply to another student, while the other must reply to a student who already has at least one reply.

The higher grades will go to papers that exhibit logical thinking, an analytical framework, specific evidence, the ability to inform and communicate, sound organization, and a concise and coherent argument. In this paper the premium will go to those that make a persuasive argument.  Late papers (step 5) will be penalized five points for each calendar day late.  Very late papers will be penalized no lower than a 65 if the paper merits at least a 75.

The exams for this course are open book.  You may consult your book, your notes, or web pages.  You may study with other students before the exam is posted, but once the exam is posted your work must be entirely your own--you may not discuss the exam questions with any person except the professor in any format (voice, chat, IM, etc.).  You are on your honor on this part; please do not abuse it or I will have to go to timed tests.

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."

This syllabus is a contract between the professor and the students.  The professor reserves the right to make changes in special circumstances, but will discuss any changes with the students.

Class Schedule:
I have tried to organize this schedule so you can see clearly what is expected of you each day and also the material I will make available to you.

The first summer I taught this course I made work due by 5 pm each day, so that I would be available to deal with technical difficulties.  Because of many complaints from students I will instead give you until midnight, but I will not be available to help with technical difficulties in the late evening.  If the work shows up as posted by the end of the day, I will count it.