HIS 281 - History of Virginia I, Fall 2000 Course
Course Requirements:
1. Attend class. Attendance and class participation will account for 25% of your grade. The "W" grade is not an option after the eighth week, so dropping out of the course after that point will earn you an "F" (except in case of an emergency certified as such prior to the last class meeting). The "I" grade will be given only to a student who has made every effort to complete assignments and requests special consideration prior to the last class meeting. An "I" grade must be changed before the end of the next semester.
2. Read assigned materials. Virginius Dabney's Virginia: The New Dominion will serve as our text, with selections from Edmund Morgan's American Slavery - American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia and Rhys Isaac's The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 suggested in the "Course Schedule". Other recommended and required materials will be placed on reserve in the library and/or in "Supplemental Readings" section of this web site.
3. Take two tests. Tests, given at the middle and end of the semester, will be largely essay. Each test will account for 25% of your grade.
4. Complete a project. Twenty-five percent of your grade will be based on an independent project, to be chosen and executed by each student in consultation with the instructor, and shared with fellow class members. Students with established interests or expertise in an aspect of Virginia history are invited to pursue and share these in fulfilling this assignment, which may take the form of a traditional research paper or a class presentation. A written and/or oral report on outside reading or a visit to an early Virginia site is another option, while leading or arranging a tour of such a site for other class members would be welcome. Within the first three weeks of the course, students must choose a project and, if appropriate, schedule their presentation to or activity for the class. These will then be added to the "Course Schedule" section of this web site.