1000 total points possible

300 points: Participation

            The participation grade includes attendance and discussion posts. Attendance will be taken every class period. Students will submit at least 8 weekly discussion posts on canvas over the course of the semester on the week’s readings. Students may decide which weeks they write discussion posts for, unless noted on the syllabus. Successful posts will connect the readings to one another and to the week’s topics. Each post should also ask at least two questions that are not yes/no questions, but rather, “how” or “why” questions.

            e.g.: How did Sarah Grimke appeal to Christianity in her abolitionist and feminist activism and writings?

            As opposed to:

            Is Christianity important to abolitionism?

150 points: In-Class Midterm

            This test will ask students to remember and define terms highlighted through the first half of the semester, identify events and explain their significance in short answer questions, and analyze events and sources in context in two long answer questions and will be administered halfway through the term.

200 points: Gender in Pop Culture

Using a podcast, a TV show, novel, or movie, write a 5-7pp paper analyzing the piece of media through the lens of gender history. This paper will be due by 5pm the day before Thanksgiving Break. Students must clear their selection with me before Fall break.

200 points: Primary Source Project & Presentation

            Students will choose a single source or body of closely related primary sources (e.g. multiple issues of the same newspaper or entries of the same diary) pertaining to women’s or gender history in America. Over the course of the semester, students will draft an 8-10pp paper with the following components:

1. Introduction
   1. Historical question
      1. Statement of historical argument
         1. Context
         2. Argumentation based on the sources
         3. Conclusion

Each student will give a 15 minute presentation on their findings during the last two weeks of class. Students are required to meet with the instructor at least once over the course of the semester in office hours to discuss the topic and argument. Topics and historical questions must be approved by the instructor before November 15.

150 points: Final

            This test will include terms highlighted throughout the semester, short answer questions, and two long answer questions and will be administered halfway through the term.

Late work will not affect assignment grades if accompanied by documentation. All other late work will drop a partial grade following the deadline and another for each additional 24 hours without submission. For example, if an assignment is due at 5pm on a Wednesday and a student turns in a paper on Friday at 6pm, the maximum grade that student can achieve is a B (3 partial grades deducted).