Fall, 2000
History A314 (Sect.C684) and
History H511 (Sect.C704):
U.S. History, 1917-1945
| Time: M W 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | Instructor: R. Barrows |
| Location: Cavanaugh Hall 217 | Office: Cavanaugh Hall 532 |
| Phone: 274-2457/3811 | |
| Office Hours: M W 10-10:30 a.m., | E-mail: rbarrows@iupui.edu |
| 12:30-1:00 p.m., or by appointment |
REQUIREMENTS: Regular class attendance and participation in discussion; completion of assigned reading; a mid-term exam and a non-comprehensive final (essays and short answer IDs, covering both reading assignments and the lectures); and several short written assignments: a) a brief synopsis and analysis of a supplementary novel or oral history; b) a short description and analysis of a contemporary newspaper or news magazine account of a notable event; c) a synopsis and evaluation of one or two chapters of the book Middletown; d) a brief description and analysis of a mass circulation magazine from the 1930s or early 1940s. Students taking the course for graduate credit will complete an additional reading/writing assignment to be determined in consultation with the instructor.
GRADING: Each exam will count for one-third of the final grade; the written work will comprise the other third. Improvement counts. So does literacy. In cases where the semester grade comes down to a borderline decision (between a C+ or a B-, for example), regular attendance and participation in discussion will be taken into account.
University policy is that grades of "Incomplete" may be assigned only to students who have successfully completed most of the course work and who have been prevented by significant and unanticipated circumstances from finishing all requirements. Removal of "Incomplete" grades is often troublesome for both student and instructor, and I shall be reluctant to assign them.
Plagiarism (including the use, without attribution, of materials found on the Internet), cheating on exams, and other forms of intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated, will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and may lead to disciplinary action by the university. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, ask. Also, consult the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2000-2002, p.36
TEXTS:
| JEANSONNE | Glen Jeansonne, Transformation and Reaction |
| ODETS | Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty |
| POLENBERG | Richard Polenberg, The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| SHANNON | David A. Shannon, Between the Wars (2nd ed.) |
| WINKLER | Allan M. Winkler, Home Front U.S.A. |
Plus one of the following: Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt; John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath; Studs Terkel, Hard Times; Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here
Tentative Course Outline and Assignments
| August | |
| 23 | Introduction to the Course |
| 28 | Legacy of WW I: Treaty Fight, Demobilization, Red Scare |
| Assignment: Shannon, chapter 1 | |
| 30 | The Twenties: An Introduction |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 1 | |
| September | |
| 4 | NO CLASS (Labor Day) |
| 6 | Republican Ascendancy: The Politics of Normalcy |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 2; Shannon, 37-55 | |
| 11 | Prosperity Decade: The U.S. Economy in the Automobile Age |
| Assignment: Shannon, 94-102; Jeansonne, 60-64 | |
| 13 | The Reluctant Giant: Foreign Affairs |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 7; Shannon, 55-65 | |
| 18, 20 | The Tribal Twenties |
| Assignment: Shannon, chapter 3; Jeansonne, chapter 3; and on library reserve: a) Robert Coughlan, AKonklave in Kokomo@ OR William E Wilson, AThe Klan and a Congressman@; b) Leonard J. Moore, AIntroduction: Indiana and the Radical Interpretation of the Ku Klux Klan@; c) H. L. Mencken, AThe Hills of Zion@ OR AIn Memoriam: W.J.B.@ | |
| 25 | The Revolution in Manners and Morals |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, 54-60; "The Revolution in Manners and Morals" [on library reserve] | |
| 27 | Middletown |
| Assignment: Submit and be prepared to discuss your paper on Middletown. | |
| October | |
| 2 | Society and Culture in the 1920s: Highbrow, Middlebrow, and Mass |
| Assignment: Shannon, 102-125; Jeansonne, chapts. 5, 6 | |
| 4 | Group 1: Presentation and discussion of Babbitt |
| 9 | The Big Bull Market and the Stock Market Crash |
| Assignment: Shannon, 142-153 | |
| 11 | Mid-Term Exam |
| 16 | The Great Depression: Cause |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 8 | |
| 18 | The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover |
| Assignment: Shannon, chapter 6 | |
| 23 | The Great Depression: Effect |
| Assignment: Shannon, 129-142 | |
| 25 | Group 2: Presentation and discussion of Hard Times |
| 30 | The New Deal - I |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 9; Shannon, 176-189; Polenberg, 1-16, 39-44 | |
| November | |
| 1 | Group 3: Presentation and discussion of The Grapes of Wrath |
| Assignment: Polenberg, 77-83 | |
| 6 | The New Deal - II |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 10; Shannon, 189-216; Polenberg, 47-52, 83-92 | |
| 8 | Voices of Protest |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, ch.11; Polenberg, 16-24, 114-32 | |
| 13 | Group 4: Presentation and discussion of It Can't Happen Here |
| 15, 20 | Society and Culture in the 1930s |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 12; Shannon, chapter 8; Polenberg, 108-113; Odets, Waiting for Lefty | |
| 22 | NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break) |
| 27 | The Road to War |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 13; Shannon, chapter 9 | |
| 29 | World War II |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 15; Winkler, chapts. 1, 2 | |
| December | |
| 4 | The Home Front |
| Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 14; Winkler, chapters 3, 4; Polenberg, 24-35, 184-204 | |
| {Mass Circulation Magazine Assignment due} | |
| 6 | "The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter" |
| 11 | Recapitulation and Evaluation |
| 13 | FINAL EXAM 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon |
Supplementary Novel