Course Syllabus

Summer 2025 | HIS-2070-VR01 - Vermont History

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Philip Crossman
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Leslie Johnson

General Education Requirements

VSCS Humanistic Perspectives

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course surveys the history of Vermont from early days to the present. Students explore political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the history of the state.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe Vermont's earliest inhabitants and the impact that European exploration and settlement in the region had on indigenous communities.
2. Explain the historical events and circumstances that led to Vermont's settlement, independence, and admission into the Union.
3. Describe how Vermont's geology, topography, and climate affected the pattern of settlement and economic, social, and political development.
4. Compare and contrast Vermont's development with patterns of development in the region and the nation.
5. Discuss the contributions and experiences of Vermont women in different historical periods.
6. Discuss the contributions and experiences of African Americans, Native Americans, and ethnic groups in Vermont, including the history of racism and eugenics in the state.
7. Analyze the significant factors that have created and influenced Vermont's present political, social and economic institutions.
8. Analyze Vermont history utilizing local historical resources.
9. Engage in and evaluate historical research using information literacy skills.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Summer 2025 textbook/book details will be available on 2024-12-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

HIS-2070-VR01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

Vermont History is a unique class in the college's history line-up because it allows you to study in an emersive environment. We will all be looking at questions like "Why are the people I share this space with the way they are?" and "Why does the landscape I am surrounded by every day look the way that it does?" and "How can a knowledge of Vermont's history benefit me in my personal and professional life?" A good deal of the research you will be doing in this class will grow organically out of your own interests and unique learning objectives. Nevertheless, class time will be used with intention and creativity.

Foundational learning may be provided through well-curated lectures that include audio-visuals and dialog. You will often be exposed to relevant films and documentaries. There will be a chance to engage with primary sources, government data,and VSC and locallibrary supplied resources almost every week. The class will involve small group discussion about the relevance of Vermont's history to contemporary issues. You will work with news and journal articlesand historical biographies from every period of Vermont's history. You will work with historical speeches, laws, and Vermont Supreme Court decisions. We may get a chance to hear from some guest lecturers and/or visit historical sites. You may get a chance to work on some family genealogy if that is a subject of interest to you. You will get a chance to work with maps, historical objects, and there may be opportunity for a service learning project involving Vermont history. There is a lot to learn and a lot of ways to learn it here.

Evaluation Criteria

This course aims to provide you with a foundational knowledge of Vermont's fascinating history but more importantly, it aims to give you skills in historical research and interpretation as well. It is a critical thinking course that happens to use history as a medium. The course should provide you with answers to questions you may have going into the course but it will also provide you with tools to answer new questions you have yet to think of. You should get a chance to improve your ability to see cause-and-effect relationships between decisions and policy and the natural, political, creative, and economic environment you live in. You should gain enhanced abilities to seek out multiple perspectives, to identify assumptions and values in historical writing, to summarize arguments when people do not agree, and to identify what it takes to inspire historical change or resist it.

You will be evaluated on your ability to:

• Keep a Journalabout the connections you make between class learning and real life (20%)
• Submit an open book mid-term take-home essay "exam" (20%)
• Engage in classroom discussions (10%)
• Gather and share information from your own self-selected field trip(s) (10%)
• Write a Vermont history related book report (10%)
• Conduct a transcribedoral interview with a person of historical interest to you (10%)
• Participate in a service learning project relevant to Vermont History(10%)

This will not be a class that demands a lot of memorization. It is primarily focused on using the past as a means of seeing the world and people around us more comprehensively as we all play a role in creating Vermont's future.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Experiential Learning Expectations

Hours: 1-5

There is so much to be learned from engaging in site-base learning opportunities. This course will involve one assignment that allows you to volunteer some time at some Vermont History related site or event (to be determined in consultation with your instructor). An alternative assignment can be requested from those who are somehow prohibitted from accessing this opportunity. Details will be supplied in class. It is my hope that you will find this activity personally rewarding and relevant to your unique interests.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.