Syllabus

H106 Section C375

Wednesday, 5:45pm-8:25pm

Room CA 217

 

Professor:         Melissa Bingmann

Office:              CA 504N

Office Hours:  Tues. & Thurs., 2:30-4:00, Wed., 3:00-5:30, and by appointment

Office Telephone:  278-9024

E-mail:              mbingman@iupui.edu

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The intent of this course is to provide an overview of American history for history majors and non-majors in order to facilitate a lifelong interest in the study of the past. This course will benefit students who intend to pursue advanced history courses and will hopefully inspire others to participate in some form of history-making throughout their adult lives.  In order to accomplish this, it is essential that students gain basic knowledge of the major themes and events that have shaped modern American history in addition to how historians use sources to construct historical narratives.

 

IUPUI PRINCIPLES OF UNDERGRADUATE LEARNING:

Critical thinking and analytical skills are essential to the study of history.  Students will develop these skills by analyzing and synthesizing historical perspectives presented in lectures, visual imagery, and text.  Students will develop oral communication skills by analyzing and discussing assigned text in small groups.  Each student will also complete a written assignment that analyzes historical evidence used by an author, identifies the thesis of the work, and evaluates the supporting arguments.  See www.iupui.edu/~history/principlesundergradlearning.htm for more information on IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning.

 

POLICIES:

Attendance

Attendance is required and will be taken at class meetings.  It is in your best interest to attend class because the lectures will help you focus on the specific material that will need to study to do well on exams.  If you miss one of your group discussions, you will automatically lose 4 points out of a possible 100.  Consistent attendance will be used to determine borderline grades.  For these reasons, attendance at every class meeting will result in a better grade.

 

Cheating and plagiarism

Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive a zero for the work in question and will be reported to the Dean.  According to the Academic Handbook, Indiana University, August 2001, pp. 172-173, “Any student who fails to give credit for ideas or materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism.”  When you are writing your group paper, take extra caution to properly cite the work at the beginning of your paper, put quotation marks around any direct quotes extracted from the book, and include the page number (because you are dealing with the work of one author, you do not need to use footnotes). 

 

For comprehensive information on IUPUI’s policy on cheating and plagiarism consult Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct available on-line at http://hoosiers.iupui.edu/studcode/studcode.htm.

 

Deadlines

Group papers are due one week after the in-class group discussion. 

Youngs, American Realities chapters 1-7                                due 9/10

Schlereth, Victorian America                                                   due 9/24

Linenthal & Englehardt, History Wars                           due 11/5

Youngs, American Realities chapters 8-15                              due 12/3

Bernstein and Woodward, All the President’s Men                  due 12/10

 

Incompletes and make-up exams

Neither are options with the exception of a dire emergency.  What constitutes a dire emergency is solely up to the professor’s discretion and in the rare case that such a request is granted, you will need to provide written documentation in the form of a note from a doctor if it is medical emergency or a note from a mortician or coroner in the case of family death or related tragedy. 

           

Classroom Courtesy

Arrive on time and turn off all cell phones and pagers prior to the beginning of class. 

 

Taking Notes

The lectures will help you prioritize the material that you should study for exams so it is important for you to take notes.  No tape recorders are allowed.  If you cannot take notes without a tape recorder because of a disability, please see me and we will make arrangements to accommodate your needs. 

 

READINGS:

Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, Armitage, Out of Many:  A History of the American People, vol. 2, 4th edition, Prentice Hall.  Use this textbook to supplement lectures as you prepare for the exams and analyze and interpret the following texts.

 

J. William T. Youngs, American Realities, vol. 2., 5th edition.

 

Thomas Schlereth, Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life 1876-1915. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.

 

Edward T. Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt. History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past. Henry Holt and Company, 1996.

 

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. All the President's Men.  Simon & Schuster, 1974.

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

 

Readings assignments

You will be divided into small groups of five at the beginning of the semester.  Each student will lead the group discussion of one of the following:

 

Youngs, American Realities chapters 1-7

Schlereth, Victorian America

Linenthal and Engelhardt, History Wars

Youngs, American Realities chapters 8-15

Bernstein and Woodward, All the President’s Men

 

Completion of the readings is essential to students’ success in this course.  In addition to receiving a grade for your participation in group discussions, 20-30% of the exam questions will be directly related to these readings. 

 

The designated group leader will be responsible for grading the other members of the group on participation.  I will attend some group discussions to evaluate participation.  Points should be assigned by the following guidelines:

 

            4          it was clearly apparent that the group member thoroughly read the book;

                        was an active participant during the discussion; provided exceptional

                        analysis that will assist the group leader in creating the group paper.

 

            3          group member read the book; contributed to the discussion; made helpful

                        points toward the development of the group paper but did not demonstrate

                        significant analysis during the discussion.

 

            2          group member read portions of the book but was clearly unable to

                        participate in some of the discussion because of a lack of familiarity of the

                        book’s content.  Minimal contribution to the construction of the paper.

 

            1          group member did not read the book and/or was unable to make any

                        substantial contribution to the discussion. 

 

0          group member did not attend the group discussion.

 

Group paper

Each student will serve as the group leader for one of the five group discussions.  The group leader is responsible for developing discussion questions, evaluating the other members’ participation in the discussion, and completing the group paper.  Only the group leader will be graded on the group paper.  Grammar, spelling, and the quality of writing skills will be graded in addition to the quality of your study questions, reading comprehension, and historical analysis.  Avoid writing in the passive voice and as you revise your paper prior to submission, try to cut out unnecessary words.          

 

The final version of the group paper will consist of the following:

 

  • A one-page list of discussion questions (five to six).
  • A list of group members and the participation grade you assigned.
  • A five to eight page double-spaced paper that addresses the discussion questions, states the thesis of the book, and analyzes the historical sources used by the author. 
  • For the essays assigned from Youngs, American Realities, create a one-page summary for each essay and include the thesis statement for each essay.  

 

The midterm and final examinations will contain essay questions, identifications, and short answer questions.  Questions will be derived from the material covered in the lectures and 20 to 30 percent of the examination questions will come from the required readings.  Please bring a blue book to the exams. 

 

            There will be an optional informal review session prior to each exam in order to answer questions.  Students who plan to attend need to come prepared with questions.

 

GRADING:

 

Midterm examination                            30%

Final examination                                  30%

Participation in group discussion            20%     (4 points for each of five sessions)

Group paper                                         20%

 

SCHEDULE:

 

August 20         Course Introduction/Reconstruction and Jim Crow

We will explore the impact of reconstruction from the experience of African Americans as they faced segregation and the threat of white violence in their everyday lives.  Specific topics will include the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, laws that prevented African Americans from citizenship, northern migration, and examples of African American agency through organized religion, entrepreneurial activity, family, and community. 

 

August 27         Western Expansion and American Imperialism

We will begin with a discussion of Frederick Jackson Turner's “Frontier Thesis," examine examples of conquest including The Battle of Little Big Horn (formerly known as "Custer's Last Stand"), and the importance of extractive industries, such as mining, as important for Western expansion.   Missionaries, the rising globalism, and "Big Stick" diplomacy will shape our discussion of American Imperialism.

 

September 3     Theodore Roosevelt & American Realities (chpts 1-7)

We will begin with a presentation on Theodore Roosevelt and spend the second

half of the class in small group discussion.

 

September 10   Labor Movements and Immigration

The class will discuss the causes and impact of the rise of labor unions in the late

nineteenth century in addition to major strikes, including the Haymarket Massacre of 1866 through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy.   The topic of immigration will stress the diverse experiences of people from Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

 

September 17   Small group discussion of Schlereth, Victorian America

 

September 24   Growth of urban America and Progressive Era reform

In 1920, for the first time, as many Americans lived in urban-suburban communities as rural ones. Urban life brought new technologies, cultural attractions and amusements in addition to real and imagined dangers.   As urban areas expanded, middle-class reformers noticed emerging social problems and demanded that the state take action to remedy them, planting the seeds for the modern welfare state. We will discuss several reform movements including City Beautiful initiatives, aid to dependent mothers, efforts to rid municipal government of corruption, public health reform, woman’s suffrage, and the birth control movement led by Margaret Sanger.

 

October 1        World War I and the 1920s

The political decisions that led to America's entrance into the war, the government's campaign to sell the war, the emergence of the Peace Movement and the impact of the League of Nations will be the focus of this session. The discussion of the 1920s will  contrast the concept of the "lost generation” with the realities of postwar economic problems, and explore the "Red Scare," political scandal, the new nativism and immigration restriction laws, Harlem Renaissance, the New Woman, and antimodemism.

 

October 8        Midterm Examination

 

October 15      The Great Depression

Roosevelt's efforts to provide economic recovery and relief through the New Deal will be discussed in addition to situation of labor unions, cause and effect of the Dust Bowl, Communism, court packing, March on Washington, and deportation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

 

October 22      World War II

Events that led up to America's entry into World War II and life on the homefront will be explored in this session. Special attention will be paid to Japanese Internment and the military and industrial roles of women during the war.

 

October 29      Book discussion of History Wars

 

 

November 5     Cold War

Beginning with the Bolshevik Revolution, proceeding to events that occurred during the war (lend-lease, the second front, and control of occupied areas), and after the war, we will explore how distrust between the United States and Soviet Union resulted in a Cold War. Beginning with the McCarthy hearings, we will discuss the impact of the Cold War on the American public through the Cuban Missile Crisis. We will also view sections of “Atomic Café” in order to gain a better understanding of the visual images that caused nationwide fear of nuclear attack.

 

November 12   Civil Rights

We begin with Brown vs. the Board of Education and view portions of “Eyes on the Prize” in order to gain a better understanding of the televised images that eventually caught the attention of Northern audiences.

 

November 19   Vietnam War, Counter Culture, American Realities (chpts. 8-14)

Global events that led to America's involvement in the Vietnam war and its impact on American society will be explored. Our discussion American counter culture will emphasize war protest and the women's movement.  The last 1/3 of the class will be spent in small group discussion of the essays in American Realities.

 

November 26   Thanksgiving—no class

 

December 3     1968 and Watergate

            We will begin class with a discussion of 1968 as a watershed year in American

history.  During the second half of the class, small groups will discuss All the

President's Men. 

 

FINAL EXAM:          Wednesday, December 10th, 5:45pm-7:45pm

 

SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE