Election-related schedule change November 5, 2008
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No, I don’t have your papers ready to give back Wednesday. Therefore I will be moving the due date of the revision back to Nov. 12th, the same day as the next test.
Here’s a handout for the lecture on Korean colonization
Test 2 Extra Credit September 24, 2008
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You got half a point for picking something, and half a point for answering “why.” Right answer? Any of them, if you make a case for it
Number who chose each and my favorite answers:
Aside from maize, the most important new food from the Americas was:
- Chili Peppers (12): “This was another plant that was a valuable food source because it gave unprecedented flavor to bland European food. This also expanded to other places besides Europe like southeast Asia, such is why Thai food is so spicy.”
- Chocolate (20): “was very popular in trade and a lot of people desired it. Helped make new foods was grown in different places than origin. Helped in slave trade and imperialism.”
- Peanuts (5): “Oil was able to be extracted from the peanuts for cooking.”
- Tomato (3): “It obviously had a huge influence in Italian food.”
- Vanilla (4): “without vanilla we would not have my favorite ice cream”
Study Terms for Chapters 19 and 20 September 24, 2008
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The complete list of terms for the semester can be found here, and the sample answers from the first quiz are here
Chapter 19creole |
Chapter 20botanical gardens |
Wednesday’s festivities September 22, 2008
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First, the important stuff:
- the History Club is having a bake sale on Wednesday (9/24), starting at 10am on the Oval (Russ Hall 1st floor if it rains).
Now, the nitty-gritty:
- The test on Wednesday will be slightly different: you’ll still have to pick eight (8) terms to answer, but this time I’ll keep the chapters separate. You’ll have to do at least three (3) from each chapter, and the rest can come from either list. Like last time, you’ll have about fifteen terms to pick from, out of the forty or so on the study list.
Test 1 results September 16, 2008
Posted by jdresner in Schedule Change, Uncategorized, administrative, grading, hist 102 (Fall 2008), study terms.add a comment
The most popular term this time around was “monsoon” — almost everyone picked it. “Pepper’ and “Aztec” tied for second place, followed closely by “humanism”, “joint-stock company” and “imperialism.” The least popular term was “Siberia” — almost 90% of you avoided it — with “Mughal”, “Vasco da Gama” and “Mali” also in the single-digits.
Just a reminder: memorizing the glossary definition won’t get you much beyond C-range, if that. Memorizing the paragraph in which the term first appears only works sometimes, but usually there’s a lot of context if you read futher back and forward from there. Also, you really don’t want to ignore what I say in class: Part of my job is to provide further context and significance….. Conversely, what I say in class is intended to supplement the textbook, not replace it.
The high score in the class was 29.5 out of a possible 32. So here’s how the grades come out:
| grade | minimum score | distribution |
| A+ | 29.5 | |
| A | 27.5 | A-level: 18% |
| A- | 26.6 | |
| B+ | 24.2 | |
| B | 21.6 | B-level: 52% |
| B- | 19.2 | median score: B |
| C+ | 16.8 | |
| C | 14.2 | C-level: 20% |
| C- | 11.8 | |
| D+ | 9.4 | |
| D | 6.8 | D-level: 10% |
| D- | 4.4 | |
| F | 0 |
Here are some sample answers which scored 4 out of 4. I’m not endorsing copying their form or style, nor are they necessarily perfect, but they get the job done: cover the ground and get to the point.
(more…)
PSU History Club Picnic September 3, 2008
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The PSU History Club will have its annual picnic at the West Shelter House (by the stadium) on Thursday, September 4, 4pm. Annual dues for members are $5. Anyone can join — majors, minors, interested folks, curious ones — and the food is free.
There will be some serious discussion of plans and activities for the year, so if you have ideas, come share them!
