History H106 (Sect. C397): Fall, 2002

U.S. History Since 1865

Location: Lecture Hall 103 Time: M W 1:00 - 2:15 p.m.

Instructor: Robert Barrows Teaching Assistant: Doug Cline

Office: Cavanaugh Hall 532 Office: Cavanaugh Hall 540

Phone: 274-2457/381 Phone: 274-2571

E-mail: rbarrows@iupui.edu [send direct, not via Oncourse) E-mail: dwcline@iupui.edu

Office Hours: M 2:30-3:30 p.m., Office Hours: M W 12:00-12:45

W 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, and by appointment and by appointment

REQUIREMENTS: Regular class attendance; completion of assigned reading; two mid-term exams and a non-comprehensive final exam (essays and short-answer IDs, covering both reading assignments and lectures); two short written assignments based on the supplemental reading. Completion of all exams and all written assignments is required of all students, including those taking the class on a Pass/Fail basis. If you do not take all three exams and submit both written assignments, you will fail the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Lectures, reading and writing assignments, and exams are designed, in part, to convey and test factual knowledge. But they also ask students to comprehend and analyze historical texts, synthesize information, and effectively communicate facts and ideas to others in a variety of written formats. And, of course, History H106 should deepen your understanding of the society and culture of modern America. These objectives are consistent with several of the goals enunciated in IUPUI’s "Principles of Undergraduate Learning." The text of the "Principles" may be found at <www.jaguars.iupui.edu/gened/gnedprin.htm>

GRADING: Each exam will count for one-fourth of the final grade; the written work will comprise the other fourth. 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, class participation, and improvement will be taken into account.

Papers are due, and exams will be given, on the dates indicated. Unless prior arrangements have been made, we will schedule make-up exams or accept late papers only in cases of documented illness or other unanticipated emergency.

University policy is that grades of "Incomplete" should 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 result in a failing grade on the work in question and may lead to disciplinary action by the university. Consult the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2002-2004, pp. 37-38.

MISCELLANEOUS: The ability to take good notes is a useful skill, and one that improves with practice. I therefore ask that students not record my lectures. If a hearing impairment or physical disability prevents you from taking notes without a tape recorder, please visit the office of Adaptive Educational Services in CA-001E and have them contact me.

Both of us have voice mail that is on twenty-four hours a day. You are welcome to call either or both of us should you need to do so. Note, however, that we will not play "phone tag." If you leave a phone message, speak slowly and clearly, provide a phone number where you can be reached, and state when you will be at that number.

Class begins promptly at 1:00 p.m. Please be on time. In this classroom it is particularly difficult to arrive late and find a seat without disrupting other students.

I welcome questions at any time (although I may sometimes put you "on hold" until I conclude a particular point or topic). I do not, however, welcome private conversations between class members while I am lecturing. In addition to being rude, such conversations are distracting for other members of the class.

Unless you anticipate receiving a call that qualifies as a true emergency, please turn off or mute cell phones and pagers before class begins.

TEXTS:

BRINKLEY Alan Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, vol. 2 (3rd ed.)

ROBERTS Roberts/Olson, American Experiences, vol. II (5th ed.)

RIIS Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (Dover edition)

TERKEL Studs Terkel, Hard Times

KENNEDY Robert Kennedy, Thirteen Days

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Tentative Course Outline and Assignments

August

21 Introduction to the Course

26 Reconstruction (Brinkley, 441-469)

28 The "Wild" West (Brinkley, Ch. 16; Roberts, 16-25)

September

2 NO CLASS (Labor Day)

4 The "New" South (Brinkley, 469-479; Roberts, 4-15)

9, 11 The Rise of Industry (Brinkley, Ch. 17, Roberts, 80-90)

16, 18 The Rise of the City (Brinkley, Ch. 18; Riis, do same reading

as for Writing Assignment #1)

{Writing Assignment #1 due September 18}

23 Gilded Age Politics (Brinkley, Ch. 19; Roberts, 28-59)

25 EXAM #1

30 Progressivism - I (Brinkley, Ch. 21 + 657-670)

October

2 Progressivism - II (Roberts, 91-99;

begin Terkel, do same reading as for Writing Assignment #2)

7 America's Rise to World Power (Brinkley, Ch. 20 + 670-679;

Roberts, 72-79)

9, 14 World War I & Its Aftermath (Brinkley, Ch. 23; Roberts, 110-119)

16, 21 Prosperity Decade/Depression Decade (Brinkley, Ch. 24, 25;

Roberts, 134-145, 183-203; Terkel, any 200 pages)

23 New Deal - I (Brinkley, Ch. 26)

{Writing Assignment #2 due October 23}

October

28 New Deal - II (Roberts, 172-182)

30 EXAM #2

November

4 Interwar Diplomacy (Brinkley, Ch. 27)

6 World War II (Brinkley, Ch. 28; Roberts, 214-231)

11 Cold War: At Home and Abroad (Brinkley, Ch. 29)

13 The Affluent Society (Brinkley, 875-899, 904-906;

Roberts, 261-270)

18 Foreign Policy, 1960s-1980s (Brinkley, 906-912; Kennedy, entire)

{Writing Assignment #3 due November 18}

20 Civil Rights (Brinkley, 899-904, 921-927; Roberts, 234-244)

25 Vietnam (Brinkley, 914-921, 927-943)

27 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)

December

2, 4 Vietnam (Brinkley, 960-967; Roberts, 299-316)

9 Watergate, etc. (Brinkley, Ch. 32 [minus 960-967], 33)

16 FINAL EXAM 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

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H106 (Barrows/Cline)

Fall, 2002

Writing Assignments

Each student will complete two short written assignments for this course, both based on the supplemental reading. The two assignments will combine for one-fourth of your grade, the equivalent of one of the exams. The two assignments combined will be worth 200 points. The grading scale will be the familiar 90=A-,

80=B-, etc.

Please print/type double-spaced with 1" margins on 8 1/2" x 11" white paper and staple in the upper left-hand corner. Do not put the paper in any sort of binder, folder, or cover. It is expected that papers will be neatly typed/word processed and employ correct English spelling and grammar.

Writing Assignment #1 (due September 18)

Read the following in Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives:

Introduction (pp. 1-2), chapters 1, 2, 6, 12, 17, 20, 24, 25 plus any other four chapters. In 2-3 double-spaced, typewritten pages, discuss this classic description of slum life in New York City. Begin by briefly summarizing the volume. Questions that you should then address include: Is Riis's work an accurate representation of late 19th century American urban life? What solution(s) does Riis propose to alleviate the conditions he describes? Does Riis reflect any biases in his text? (If so, against whom and why?) Why do you think this book achieved such renown?

Writing Assignment #2 (due October 23)

Read any 200 pages of your choice in Hard Times (they need not be the first 200 pages) and then prepare a 2-3 page, double-spaced review of the book. The first one-third should be a summary that tells the person reading the review what the book is about. The remaining two-thirds of the review should be an analysis of the book in which you give your opinion of what Terkel has done and how well he has done it. You should state explicitly your evaluation of oral interviews as a technique for historical research.

Writing Assignment #3 (due November 18)

Read Robert F. Kennedy's Thirteen Days. (You are only required to read RFK’s text; you may, of course, read the "Foreword" by Schlesinger and the "Afterword" by Neustadt and Allison if you wish.) In 2-3 double-spaced, typewritten pages, discuss the response of the United States--particularly the President and the "Ex Comm"--to the introduction of offensive nuclear missles in Cuba. Was the response appropriate? What do you think should have been done differently (if anything)? What lessons, according to Kennedy, were learned from this thirteen day period when the nation's leaders "peered over the precipice?"

Option

Students who wish to do so may complete all three of the writing assignments, rather than just the two that are required. In that case we will average the two highest grades in order to determine your overall grade on the written work. Papers remain due on the date indicated for that particular writing assignment. You do not need to decide until toward the end of the semester whether you wish to exercise this option. Note, however, that if you wish to preserve this option you must complete Writing Assignment #1.

Fatal Errors

The following errors are not acceptable. (Lots of other things are not acceptable either, but we have to start somewhere.) If we encounter these errors in your papers (not exams), we will circle them and return the paper ungraded for correction and resubmission within one week.

Improper use of its or it's (or the nonexistent its')

Improper use of to or too or two

Improper use of there or their or they're

Improper use of who's or whose

Any use of would of or could of or should of

(If you don't understand why these are never correct, please ask for an explanation.)

Any use of alot (as if it were one word)

If you know you have problems with these usages, we strongly recommend a visit to the University Writing Center (Cavanaugh Hall 427) for a quick review.