Section Number: HIST 3399.01
Credit Hours: 3 hours
CRN: 85844
Class Time: Online Course
Semester: Fall 2011

Dr. Jeffrey L. Littlejohn
Office: AB4–455
Office Hours: online anytime
Telephone: 936.294.4438
Email: littlejohn@shsu.edu
Web: http://www.studythepast.com

Catalog Description: Special Topics in History. This course examines various specialized topics in history not normally covered in detail by other upper-level courses. Credit 3.

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists working in association with the al-Qaeda network hijacked four passenger airliners intent on using them in suicide attacks against the United States. The terrorists flew two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing themselves, the crew and passengers, and hundreds of people working in the buildings. Shortly after the attack, the Twin Towers collapsed in a horrifying scene that killed hundreds of people and spread debris and destruction throughout Manhattan. In a coordinated action planned to inflict additional terror, a third set of hijackers flew a plane into the symbol of America's military establishment -- the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. This strike, which killed hundreds of passengers and workers on the ground, was followed by a fourth and final hijacking that targeted an unknown site in the nation's capital. Passengers on the final plane attempted to overpower their hijackers, however, and the terrorists were forced to crash the plane near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Following the attacks of September 11, the United States witnessed an outpouring of international concern and sympathy. Dozens of nations offered to support America in its time of need, and many countries, including China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, and Russia passed new anti-terrorism legislation. In the United States, President George W. Bush declared a Global War on Terrorism and sent American troops into Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, a political organization that supported al-Qaeda terrorists. At the same time, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act, which created a cabinet level Department of Homeland Security and ushered in the most thorough-going reorganization of the federal government since the passage of the National Security Act of 1947.

In 2003, President Bush opened a second front in the War on Terror, when he ordered the invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction. The war in Iraq quickly eclipsed that in Afghanistan, and it became a vital point of domestic and international conflict. Many opponents of the war argued that it was unnecessary and would result in thousands of civilian casualties. This criticism gained credence when the Bush Administration failed to find the weapons of mass destruction on which it had based the invasion of Iraq. Further problems arose in 2004, when stories of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse -- including torture -- arose at the Abu Ghraib prison facility run by the U.S. military in Iraq. Critics of the Bush Administration linked prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib with other controversial topics, including water- boarding at Guantanamo Bay, warrantless wiretapping of suspected terrorists, religious discrimination against Muslims, and dozens of alleged civil liberties violations associated with the PATRIOT Act.

Even now, as we approach the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, Americans are debating the significance of the terrorist attacks and the impact they had on our nation and the world. With our combat troops leaving Iraq and Afghanistan, many people want to know if those nations will ever establish anything resembling a western-style constitutional democracy. And, what of democracy and constitutional rights at home? A recent blog title -- “Groped or Nudie Pics: TSA Asks Which Method You Prefer” -- highlights tensions over full-body x-ray scans and enhanced pat-downs recently deployed for airline security, while an equally outrageous title -- “Florida Pastor Who Threatened to Burn Koran Visits Ground Zero” -- illustrates the lingering religious and cultural tensions that exist after ten years of the Global War on Terrorism.

Since the events of September 11 occurred during the digital age, there is an abundant amount of online material related to the event and its aftermath. The federal government's official 9-11 Commission Report is available in its entirety on the internet, and there are many excellent archival websites, including The September 11 Digital Archive (created by the Center for History and New Media), The September 11, 2001 Web Archive (created by the Library of Congress), and The September 11 Television Archive (created by archive.org). While these sources provide comprehensive coverage of the causes and consequences of the September 11 attacks, they offer little in the way of guidance for students and the general user. This course will provide a problem-based learning experience that will help students target and analyze sources in a meaningful way and empower them to answer their own historical questions about one of the most important events in recent American history.

This course is a problem-based learning experience on the causes and consequences of September 11, 2001.

Unit I includes two problems on the long-term causes of September 11.
Unit II includes one problem on the events of September 11.
Unit III includes three problems on the consequences of September 11.

In each unit, students will work on the assigned problems in groups. Students will develop presentations, timelines, videos, and other digital content to solve problems presented in the course.

In addition to the problem-based assignments, students will complete a mid-term and final exam.

1) Students will gain factual knowledge about the causes and consequences of September 11, 2001.
2) Students will learn fundamental principles and theories of historical scholarship.
3) Students will learn to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view.

Week 1: Aug 24 to Aug 28: Course Introduction

Week 2: Aug 29 to Sept 4 | Unit I - Problem I
Week 3: Sept 5 to Sept 11 | Unit I - Problem I

Week 4: Sept 12 to Sept 18 | Unit I - Problem II
Week 5: Sept 19 to Sept 25 | Unit I - Problem II
Week 6: Sept 26 to Oct 2 | Unit I - Problem II

Week 7: Oct 3 to Oct 9 | Unit II - Problem I
Week 8: Oct 10 to Oct 16 | Unit II - Problem I

October 18: Midterm Examination Due

Week 9: Oct 17 to Oct 23 | Unit III - Problem I
Week 10: Oct 24 to Oct 30 |Unit III - Problem I
Week 11: Oct 31 to Nov 6 | Unit III - Problem I

Week 12: Nov 7 to Nov 13 | Unit III - Problem II
Week 13: Nov 14 to Nov 20 | Unit III - Problem II

Week 14: Nov 21 to Nov 27 | Thanksgiving Break

Week 15: Nov 28 to Dec 4 | Unit III - Problem III
Week 16: Dec 5 to Dec 11 | Unit III - Problem III

December 13: Final Examination Due

Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.
Vintage, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1400030846; ISBN-13: 978-1400030842.
Available as an e-book from Google, Amazon, and Itunes. Also available as an unabridged audiobook.

Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq.
Penguin, 2007. ISBN-10: 9780143038917; ISBN-13: 978-0143038917.
Available as an e-book from Google, Amazon, and Itunes. Also available as an audiobook.

Digital readings will be listed in the Course Schedule

A. You must have a free gmail account for this course. We will be working collaboratively in google docs, and I have found that gmail accounts work best. You will submit your gmail username to me during week 1.

B. You must have a free skype account for this course. We will be working collaboratively throughout the course and skype is required for some of our activities. You will submit your skype username to me during week 1.

C. You must have a webcam with a microphone for this course. We will be working collaboratively throughout the course and a webcam and microphone is required for some of our activities. (Note: the webcam linked above is simply an example. You may purchase any camera and microphone you like).

Grading in this course will be based upon 800 possible points.

As part of this class, you will be expected to check your university email and our SHSUonline page regularly. To email me, you can either go to SHSUonline or send directly to littlejohn@shsu.edu. You will also need a gmail and skype account, which will allow for more collaboration on projects in this course.

You are very fortunate to be enrolled at SHSU, which has an outstanding academic resource to help you succeed as a student: the SAM Center. The SAM Center is now located in CHSS Suite 170. The SAM Center offers academic advising and counseling for numerous issues. They also offer an excellent study skills course. Visit their website for more information: http://www.shsu.edu/~sam_www/.

For those of you who need help with any writing assignments, please visit the Writing Center in Farrington 111. The center’s website is located at: http://www.shsu.edu/~wctr/. For those of you who need help with reading strategies, go to the Reading Center located in Farrington 109. See their website: http://www.shsu.edu/~rdg_www/.

The University expects all students to engage in all academic pursuits in a manner that is above reproach. Students are expected to maintain complete honesty and integrity in the academic experiences both in and out of the classroom.  Any student found guilty of dishonesty in any phase of academic work will be subject to disciplinary action.

5.31 The University and its official representatives, acting in accordance with Subsection 5.32, may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of any form of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials.
"Cheating" includes the following and similar actions:
(1) Copying from another student's test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files, data listings, and/or programs.
(2) Using, during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test.
(3) Collaborating, without authorization, with another student during an examination or in preparing academic work.
(4) Knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying, or possessing, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered test.
(5) Substituting for another student, permitting any other person, or otherwise assisting any other person to substitute for oneself or for another student in the taking of an examination or test or the preparation of academic work to be submitted for academic credit.
(6) Bribing another person to obtain a test or information about an unadministered test.
(7) Purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one's own work any research paper or other writing assignment prepared by an individual or firm. This section does not apply to the typing of the rough and/or final versions of an assignment by a professional typist.

5.32 "Plagiarism" means the appropriation and the unacknowledged incorporation of another's work or idea into one's own work offered for credit.
5.33 "Collusion" means unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing work for credit.
5.34 "Abuse of resource materials" means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course materials.
5.35 “Academic work” means the preparation of an essay, dissertation, thesis, report, problem, assignment, or other project that the student submits as a course requirement or for a grade.

2.00 PROCEDURES IN CASES OF ALLEGED ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

2.01 Procedures for discipline due to academic dishonesty shall be the same as in disciplinary actions specified in The Texas State University System Rules and Regulations and Sam Houston State University Student Guidelines except that all academic dishonesty actions shall be first considered and reviewed by the faculty member teaching the class. The faculty member may impose failure or reduction of a grade in a test or the course, and/or performing additional academic work not required of other students in the course. If the faculty member believes that additional disciplinary action is necessary, as in the case of flagrant or repeated violations, the case may be referred to the Dean of Student Life or a designated appointee for further action. If the student involved does not accept the decision of the faculty member, the student may appeal to the chair of the appropriate academic department/school, seeking reversal of the faculty member's decision.

2.02 If the student does not accept the decision of the chair of the academic department/school, he/she may appeal to the appropriate academic dean. The chair of the academic department/school may also refer the case directly to the academic dean if the case so warrants. 

It is the policy of Sam Houston State University that individuals otherwise qualified shall not be excluded, solely by reason of their disability, from participation in any academic program of the university. Further, they shall not be denied the benefits of these programs nor shall they be subjected to discrimination. Students with disabilities that might affect their academic performance are expected to visit with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities located in the Counseling Center. They should then make arrangements with the instructor in order that accommodations can be made to assure that participation and achievement opportunities are not impaired.  SHSU adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may affect adversely your work in this class, then we encourage you to register with the Counseling Center and to talk with us about how we can best help you.  All disclosures of disabilities will be kept strictly confidential. Please note: No accommodation can be made until you register with the Counseling Center and provide us with proper documentation.

At the end of the semester, students will be asked to complete an evaluation of the course, but I welcome feedback about readings, assignments, and my instruction throughout the semester. Let’s work together to make this a successful and rewarding learning experience for everyone.

This syllabus is your contract for the course. I will not change the nature of the course, the number of assignments, or the grading system. However, I reserve the right to update the course schedule and reading assignments.