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Unit outline_

HSTY1023: Emerging Giant: The Making of America

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Touching down on the shores of the 'New World', the first European colonists imagined the creation of an earthly paradise. But their mission soon floundered in the face of internal dissenters and alien cultures pursuing their own ideals. Fierce clashes between regions, races, social groups and other nations have marked American history ever since. Exploring the origins and outcomes of these contests from first settlement onward, this unit charts America's emergence onto the world scene in the nineteenth century.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
HSTY2634
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Marama Whyte, marama.whyte@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Participation Participation
10% - n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Document assignment
15% - 500wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Research paper
40% - 2000wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Take-home Exam
Take-home exam
35% Please select a valid week from the list below 2hr
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5

Assessment summary

  • Document Analysis: A primary source analysis based on a source you will find and use as the basis for your essay later in the semester.
  • Document Essay: A research essay that builds on your primary source analysis to construct an historical argument that answers an original research question. 
  • Take Home Exam: A take home exam that will draw on your knowledge of the lectures and the unit’s core themes and questions.
  • Participation: Participation is assessed on the value of your contributions to class discussion and your completion of any relevant class exercises. We look to see that you have completed the readings, made an effort to respond to classmates’ contributions, asked thoughtful questions or added pertinent observations or arguments based on a close reading of the assigned texts or exercises. 

Detailed information for each assessment can be found in the Canvas site for this unit.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

 

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. At the end of this unit, you should have a firm grasp of the broad development of American history from white colonization through the 1860s. Lectures are designed to give you a basic grounding in the chronology of early American history, as well as a sense of the way historians have interpreted this history over time. The final exam will allow you to consolidate and express what you have learned through lecture attendance.
  • LO2. You should have improved your ability to think creatively, independently, and analytically about the process of writing and researching history. The secondary readings for each week focus on how historians come up with new hypothesis by interpreting primary sources. To test and sharpen your understanding of these readings, you will conduct your own analysis of a range of primary sources in each tutorial. In addition, the major research assignment is intended to hone your creative and analytical abilities by having you create an original assignment designed around a source of your own choosing.
  • LO3. Facilitate independent learning. Setting a research assignment that requires a creative approach is meant to stimulate your intellectual curiosity and enhance your problem solving abilities. Having to contribute your own interpretation of primary sources in tutorials each week should also improve your analytical skills and allow you to participate in collaborative learning.
  • LO4. Cultivate your ability to examine the past from multiple angles and perspectives. Our lectures, tutorial readings and primary sources are all designed to help you understand the complexity of both the past itself and our modes of analyzing the past.
  • LO5. Develop your capacity to express what you have learnt in both written and verbal form. Our assignments require the ability to construct a logical, analytically sound, and compelling argument, written in flawless English. They will help improve your use of communications technology, since they require extensive use of online databases. And presenting the idea behind your research assignment to your tutorial group, responding to classmates’ presentations, and participating weekly tute discussions will also improve your communication skills.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.