A successful student will, by the end of the semester, demonstrate the following: • an understanding of basic concepts in the study of history, such as place, time, contingency, agency, structure, continuity, change, and causation. • a basic understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural history of the American revolutionary era, between the mid 18th and mid 19th centuries. • a knowledge of key events, people, and social groups that have shaped the history of the American revolutionary era, between the mid 18th and mid 19th centuries. • a knowledge of the multiple long- and short-term causes and essential processes in the history of the American revolutionary era, between the mid 18th and mid 19th centuries. • a basic understanding of the core concepts and working vocabulary of the study of revolution and nationhood. • familiarity with primary, secondary, and digital sources concerning the history of the American revolutionary era, between the mid 18th and mid 19th centuries. • the ability to recognize and interpret primary historical sources, taking into consideration authorship and purpose. • the ability to evaluate historical interpretations, and to distinguish between evidence and argument. • the ability to communicate historical arguments, and to deploy relevant evidence, in an effective and persuasive manner orally and in writing. • an appreciation of the ways in which past events have shaped political formations, cultural practices, economic conditions, and social identities up to the present. |