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Fall 2002 History H106, Civil War to the Present Lecture Hall 101 Monday/Wednesday, 11:00 - 11:50, Three Credits
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(NOTE: Sections
C429, lecture, and C430, discussion, are reserved blocks, but assignments are
the same for everyone.)
Professor: Philip
Scarpino
Office:
503R
Cavanaugh
Phone:
274-5983
Email:
pscarpin@iupui.edu
Office Hours: Mon.
and Wed. 1:15-2:15; Mon., 4:00-5:00; Tues., 4:15-5;15 (once a month when I
chair department meetings I will not be available in this time slot; check
Oncourse); & by appt.
TA: Martha
Healy
Office: CA540
Phone: 274-2571
Email: mwhealy@iupui.edu
Office Hours: Mon. 10:00 – 11:00; Tues. 4:00 – 5:00; Wed. 9:00 – 10:00 & by
appointment
History 106 is a survey of American history that
covers the period from the end of the Civil War (1865) to the present. This course critically examines the
transformation of a traditional American society into a modern American
nation. In analyzing this broad theme,
we will consider a variety of political, social, and economic topics that
address the development of the U.S. as an urban, industrial nation and as a
world power. We will focus our
attention on ordinary people, as well as on prominent leaders. At the end of this class, you should be much
better equipped to answer two basic questions for yourself: What is the meaning of America? What does it mean to be an American?
The “Principles of Undergraduate Learning”
reflect the University’s commitment to key elements of a quality
education. You can find these
Principles posted on the Department of History’s Home Page: http://www.iupui.edu/~history. You will note that there are a number ways
in which this class embodies the educational goals and expected outcomes
articulated in the “IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning”: We will
emphasize the development of analytical ability and of reading and writing
skills, rather than just the memorization of facts. Nonetheless, there is a body of factual material that we will
expect students to master. Exams will
have a significant essay component.
Analysis of the range of choices that confronted people in the past and
assessment of the consequences of acting on those choices invites consideration
of ethics. The class will look at the
interplay between various racial, ethnic, and cultural groups in the context of
the historical development of a modern
urban/industrial nation. Over
the course of the twentieth century, Americans shaped and reshaped their
surrounding environment. They did so using available energy and technology and
acting upon attitudes and values embedded in their culture. (See also: Goals, Expectations, and
Outcomes, at the end of this syllabus.)
The following books are required for
this class:
1.
Mary Beth Norton, et al, A People and a Nation, Vol. Two,
6th edition (2001).
2.
Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (Originally published 1888).
3.
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939).
4.
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962).
Tentative Exam Schedule:
First Exam October 9 30 percent
Second Exam November 13 30 percent
Final December 11 30 percent
(10:30-12:30, LE-101)
Readings Quizzes* See reading assignments 10 percent
*We will count the two highest of
three quiz scores.
Testing procedures:
About one week before each scheduled
exam, we will place four or five essay questions on the history department’s
home page http://www.iupui.edu/~history and on Oncourse, http://www.iupui.edu/ (click on Oncourse in the upper right
corner and follow prompts). Both of us
will schedule extra office hours before each test, and we invite you to take
advantage of them. The semester exams
and final will be in the lecture room.
Quizzes will be given in the discussion sections.
Class Policies:
1. Attendance.
The university and the School of Liberal Arts now require that instructors take
attendance and that they report the names of students who stop attending class
but who have not officially withdrawn.
Our policy on attendance has two parts: (1) We will take attendance; (2)
we will subtract 2 points from your final grade average for every unexcused
absence over four. Excused absences
require documentation.
2. Grading. We will be very reluctant to give a grade of
Incomplete (I). We will assign
Incompletes 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 of their assignments. WE USE A GRADING SCALE THAT COUNTS HEAVILY
FOR IMPROVEMENT.
3. Office
hours. If you have questions or
problems related to this class, we invite you to take advantage of our office
hours or make an appointment. Whether
or not you are in Dr. Scarpino's discussion section, you are always welcome to
talk to him about this class.
4. Cheating
and Plagiarism. Our policy on
cheating and plagiarism is to assign a zero to the work in question. For further information, consult the IUPUI
Campus Bulletin, 2002-2004: School
of Liberal Arts, Indianapolis Campus, pages 37-38; also, pages
18-22.
5. Differences
of opinion with the TA. If you have
a difference of opinion with the TA, you should see her before you come to Dr.
Scarpino. If you appeal a grade to Dr.
Scarpino, he reserves the right to raise it, leave it the same, or lower it,
based on his reading of your work.
6. Use
of Voice Mail and Email. We have
twenty-four hour voice mail and email.
You are most welcome to use
either. Please note: If you leave a
phone message, speak slowly, provide a number where you can be reached, state
when you will be at that number, and we
will try twice to return your call. Also note: If you miss an exam or a
quiz or an appointment, it is your responsibility to contact us and
reschedule. Simply leaving a message
for one of us to get back to you does not absolve you of that responsibility.
Goals, Expectations, and Outcomes:
Skills routinely stressed and tested
in H106 will include analytical thinking and interpretation, as opposed to
memorization and regurgitation of information.
We expect students to be able to process information from lectures,
readings, and discussions, to reason clearly, and to think logically and
critically.
Writing is the most common way that
historians and students of history communicate the results of their work. Good writing is clear and focused; it uses
examples to illustrate concepts; and it pays attention to content, as well as
grammar, spelling, syntax, and other skills stressed in the basic English
composition classes. Effective oral
communication is also an important outcome of a liberal arts education. Discussion will provide students with an
opportunity to sharpen their ability to speak clearly in front of others.
History is a study of changing human
experiences over time, and historical writing is often concerned with
process. Ask yourself: What did we start with? What happened? What did we end up with?
Historical writing should convey an understanding of process and a sense
of chronology. We will not insist on
the memorization of large numbers of dates, but we will expect that you know
key dates and the order in which things happened. You will need to be clear about who the actors were. For example, don't write "they" or
"the people" when you mean factory workers in the late 19th
century or civil rights activists in the 1960s.
One of the really exciting things
about a class like H106 is that it can simultaneously help you to understand
the past and the present. At the same
time, because H106 covers modern
American history, it is easy to fall into the trap of judging the past against
your own values and experiences. While
we are certainly not obliged to like or admire everything that our ancestors
did, we should try to understand their actions in the context of their own
time.