Professor Margaret O'Mara Head Shot

Preferred pronouns: she/her
Email: momara@uw.edu
Website: https://www.margaretomara.com

I am delighted to have all of you in this class with me, and I’m looking forward not only to sharing what I know of this subject but for you to become as engaged and excited about the study of history as I am. My intent is to work with you, wherever you might be in your learning curve, to make this a productive and information-rich experience that leaves you with new knowledge and skills that translate into multiple academic and professional environments. Assignments are designed with these goals in mind, as are the policies I have developed to guide our collective class experience.

Access and Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

Academic Integrity

In all assignments you are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity outlined by the University of Washington Student Conduct Code. In an age of internet-based research and writing, the standards for plagiarism and academic dishonesty can become unclear, and I strongly encourage all students to read UW statements and guidelines that outline acceptable practices and procedures.

Writing and Research Resources

I have a number of handouts and links available on my the Resources page of my web site. Some of these are by me, others are by other professors and university centers. They can be helpful in answering questions you have about work in this class and in other classes. Please read and refer to these as needed, and feel free to share with others as long as you note where you found it.

Fair Use

A number of the things I ask my students to do in class involve pulling digital materials from other places online. When repurposing this content, especially when using for a graded class assignment and especially when you plan to also publish online, do so with copyright law and fair use guidelines in mind. The UW Libraries has a useful and comprehensive guide for this.

Grade Scale

≥ 95% = 4.0
94 = 3.9
93 = 3.8
92 = 3.7
91 = 3.6
90 = 3.5
89 = 3.4

88 = 3.3
87 = 3.2
86 = 3.1
85 = 3.0
84 = 2.9
83 = 2.8
82 = 2.7

81 = 2.6
80 = 2.5
79 = 2.4
78 = 2.3
77 = 2.2
76 = 2.1
75 = 2.0

74 = 1.9
73 = 1.8
72 = 1.7
71 = 1.6
70 = 1.5
69 = 1.4
68 = 1.3

67 = 1.2
66 = 1.1
65 = 1.0
64 = 0.9
63 = 0.8
62 = 0.7
61≥ no credit