US HISTORY-A
Ms. Price
Syllabus Overview Video, brought to you by your US History Teachers: Mrs. Southern, Mr. Freed, and Ms. Price. Three people who care about you enough to humiliate ourselves on camera before we've even had a chance to meet :)
Course Information
“History, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past.
On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.
It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.”
- James Baldwin, “White Man’s Guilt,” Ebony Magazine, 1965
WELCOME TO U.S. HISTORY!
This course is group-based, discussion-based, and project-based.
My role is to facilitate conversations so that you and your classmates can develop educated opinions on topics that affected people in the past and shape our lives today.
Most of history involves humans disagreeing, and as students of history we must analyze issues to understand the actions and motives of those who lived in the past and present.
Some topics discussed in history are controversial, deal with morality and ethics, involve political views, and directly tackle racism, sexism, nativism (anti-immigrant), xenophobia (fear of the "other") and LGBTQ*-phobia. Examining history, therefore, means exploring a diversity of perspectives, with particular attention paid to those from historically marginalized communities.
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Everyone living within the boundaries of the United States and its territories today arrived in one (or two or three) ways:
1) Your family is indigenous, and/or
2) You are descended from African people who were trafficked to - and enslaved in - the Americas, and/or
3) You or your ancestors are immigrants.
We will explore these three interconnected journeys through four units:
Unit 1: Legacy of slavery: Civil War and Reconstruction; Fight for civil rights; Why are people afraid of you learning US History?
Unit 2: Indigenous history and present: Tribal Sovereignty and US colonization/imperialism.
Unit 3: Immigration: Chinese Exclusion Act, Mexican-American War, National Origins Act.
Unit 4: Bringing it together: Family History Project
Late work policy:
Late work submitted within the Unit will be accepted for up to full credit except if you miss something for a group project that screws over your group. Don’t do that! That’s just rude!
If you miss an in-class Debate or Socratic, you will not be able to make it up, but you will have the option of completing a make-up assignment.
Cell phone and use of technology policy:
Every day, you must place your cell phone in your assigned cell phone pocket. Use (or non-use) of technology is worth 20% of your grade.
Laptop policy:
Please bring your chromebook and a charger every day. If you forget your charger, imagine like you’ve lost your cell phone charger and find one. Please don’t stare blankly at your dead chromebook. That’s just sad.
School Information
If you are experiencing stress, anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm call Teen Link at 866-TEENLINK (866-833-6546) and ask to talk to a peer. The phone line is open 6 p.m.– 10 p.m. and chat is available 6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. daily. https://www.teenlink.org/
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