Intellectual Foundations

Learning Outcomes | (Download)

SUNY Guidelines for American History

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

1. knowledge of a basic narrative of American history: political, economic, social, and cultural, including knowledge of unity and diversity in American society;
2. knowledge of common institutions in American society and how they have affected different groups; and
3. understanding of America's evolving relationship with the rest of the world.

Guidelines

To satisfy this SUNY-GER category, students must take either

1. a basic introduction to American History; or
2. a more specialized course in American History (only if they scored 85 or above on the NYS American History and Government Regents Exam).

A. Kinds of courses that are approvable for category (i):

One half of the typical year-long survey of U.S. history.
Introductions to American Government that document significant attention to historical context.
American History courses with a somewhat narrower chronological focus that nevertheless provide enough historical context to cover a narrative equivalent to one semester of the U.S. History survey. Courses in 20 th century U.S. history, e.g., have been approved when it has been documented that there is significant coverage of the 19 th century context.

Special theme courses that have as an explicit component the coverage of the basic narrative equivalent to one semester of the U.S. History survey. Examples of such courses are UGC 211 American Pluralism (Buffalo), and GEA 2000 American History, Society, and the Arts (Purchase). Both of these examples document the breadth of coverage of U.S. history by the use of a U.S. history textbook among the readings for the course.

B. Kinds of courses that are approvable for category (ii):

Virtually any American History course.

Courses on American society and culture that adopt an ostensibly historical perspective and address in a significant way the 2 nd and 3 rd Task Force learning outcomes. These include, e.g., courses on the sociology of American institutions and/or minority groups.

Courses that focus narrowly on literature, philosophy, the arts, vel sim., would not normally be deemed to provide the breadth of coverage of U.S. history intended by the Board Resolution.