H106 Fall Semester2004
Instructor: Robin Henry Email: rochenry@indiana.edu
Where: CA 217 Office: CA 313N
When:
Office Hours: TR
11-12:15, or by appt. home
(812) 337-1636 (10A-10P)
Introduction: The
purpose of this course is to gain a general understanding of the main
historical concepts, questions, and themes present in the study of American
history from 1877 to the present.
Throughout the semester, we will discuss concepts such as religion,
ethnicity, race, national identity, society and culture, and gender in the 19th
and 20th centuries, in the context of the
Required Texts:
Eric Foner, Give Me
Norton & Co., 2005).
Eric Foner, editor, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History,
Volume 2, (New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., 2005).
Helen Lefkowitz
Horowitz, Love Across the Color Line: The
Letters of
Hanley to Channing
Lewis, (
1996).
Harvard Sitkoff, A New Deal for Blacks: The Emergence of
Civil Rights as a
National Issue: Volume
I The Depression Decade, (
University Press, 1978).
William C. Berman, America’s Right Turn: From Nixon to Clinton,
2d ed.
(
Grades Distribution:
Exam #1: 15% Paper #3: 15%
Exam #
Paper #
Paper #2: 15%
Exams: There will be two (2) take-home exams. Each exam will be worth 15% of your final grade. The exams will consist of short answer and essay questions covering material from lectures and readings. I will hand out the exam two weeks before it is due (see syllabus calendar). In addition, I will hand out instructions concerning the format of the exam when I hand out the questions. Exams will be due IN CLASS on the due date specified in the syllabus. I will not accept late exams. There will be no make-up exams.
Papers: There will be three (3) papers covering the three books we will read for class. Each paper will be worth 15% of your final grade. The first paper will be a response paper. The second and third papers will be analytical papers. For each paper, I will hand out additional instructions concerning the format of the paper and questions you should address. Papers are due IN CLASS the day that we discuss the book, as indicated on the syllabus. I will not accept late papers.
Document Labs: Every couple of classes (roughly) we will spend approximately twenty minutes of the class on one of the documents in your document reader, Voices of Freedom. Much like a science laboratory, or any time you encounter raw data in life, you will be required to read, examine, analyze, and figure out what the document says and why it is important. During the class period, we will break into small groups, and work through a series of questions addressing the document and its historical context. Though you will work in groups, each individual will turn in a separate lab sheet for each document we exam over the semester. The total document lab grade will be 10% of your final grade. No late labs will be accepted. There will be no make-up labs for unexcused absences.
Reading: All reading assignments should be completed before class on the day it is listed on the syllabus. As you read, you should take notes; this practice will help you remember the information better, allow you to participate in class more easily, and begin the process of critical thinking about history. On days that we have a document lab, it is important to pay close attention to the document from Voices. (A good idea is to read the document in question more than once.) In addition to the document labs, I have assigned readings from Voices that correspond with that day’s topic. These readings are not required, but could be useful for a better understanding of the topic, extra practice on reading documents, and strengthening your exam essays.
Participation: Participation in class is worth 10% of your final grade. Much like any job that you will have in life, it is important that you come to class everyday ready to participate. For this class you should be ready to discuss the readings, ask questions, and take any potential pop quizzes. The more you participate the more interesting the class is for you and for your classmates, so don’t be shy!
Attendance: Daily attendance is essential for successful completion of the class, therefore, it’s required. Since you have signed up for this class, I expect you to work your other schedules—work, family, friends, and vacations—around your schoolwork. There are times, however, that missing class is unavoidable. Therefore, I will allow you to miss class five times unexcused. An excused absence is one that is associated with an official school function, a documented illness, or documented funeral attendance. It is your responsibility to use your five unexcused absences wisely for true emergencies. Each subsequent absence after five unexcused absences will result in a point deduction from your final participation grade.
Classroom Etiquette: During class please make sure that all beepers, pagers, cell phones, PDAs of any kind, and anything else that beep, rings, or makes noise is turned off. The noise these items make is not only distracting to me, but is also distracting to your fellow classmates. I would also appreciate that you refrain from reading newspapers, talking to your neighbor, or using your electronic devices in any way for the seventy-five minutes that we are in my class. If you need or would like to use a recording device or laptop to take notes, please see me.
Help: Knowing when to ask for help is an important skill in life and in school. Taking advantage of office hours, catching me before or after class, calling, and emailing me to talk about readings, books, exams, and papers can mean the difference between getting the grade that you want and not. However, I am not a mind reader. So it is up to you to alert me to any problems you are having, and the sooner the better. I have designed the course for your success with many opportunities to improve your grade throughout the semester. Don’t let these opportunities pass you by.
Academic Misconduct: You are required to abide by the rules of academic honesty and intellectual integrity in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, p. 36 or visit http://www.hossiers.iupui.edu/stucode/stucode.htm#part%203. Plagiarism is defined as copying another person’s work (classmate’s work, book, or website) and presenting it as your own. Any kind of academic misconduct will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade for the assignment and possibly further disciplinary action. I am required by University policy to report all instances of academic misconduct to the Dean of Students who may impose additional penalties.
8/26 Introduction: What is History? Why do we
study it?
8/31 Reconstruction and Redemption
Reading: Foner, 550-84; Voices: 69, 71
9/2 The American West
Reading: Foner, 604-13; 635-50
Document Lab: Voices, 79
9/7 Labor, Industry, and Urbanization
Reading: Foner, 591-603; 614-32; Voices, 76
9/9 Late-Nineteenth Century Politics
Reading: Foner, 650-62
Document Lab: Voices, 77
9/14 America as a World Power
Reading: Foner, 662-672; Voices, 82
9/16 The Progressive Era
Reading: Foner, 676-716
Document Lab: Jane Addams, excerpt from Twenty Years at Hull House
(on reserve in the library)
9/21 Race, Gender, and Ethnicity at the Dawn of
the 20th Century
***Paper #1 Due, Love Across the Color Line***
9/23 World War I
Reading: Foner, 719-62
Document Lab: Voices, 91
9/28 The “Modern” Age of the 1920s
Reading: Foner, 769-98; Voices, 94-97
9/30 The Great Depression and the First New Deal
Reading: Foner, 799-827
Document Lab: Voices, 100
10/5 FDR and the Second New Deal
Reading: Foner, 827-46; Voices, 101-02
10/7 Social Issues of the Great Depression
***Paper Due, A New Deal for
Blacks***
***Exam #1 passed out***
10/12 World War II
Reading: Foner, 849-68; Voices, 104-07
10/14 The American Homefront
Reading: 868-85
Document Lab: Voices, 108
10/19 The Cold War
Reading: 885-907; Voices, 109-12
***Exam #1 Due IN CLASS***
10/21 American Affluence and the Communist Threat
Reading: Foner, 907-26; Voices, 114
10/26 The Emergence of a Liberal Consensus
Reading: Foner, 936-63; Voices, 115-18
10/28 The Civil Rights Movement
Reading: Foner, 963-98
Document Lab: Voices, 119
11/2 The Vietnam War
Reading: Foner, 998-1006
11/4 Student Protest and the Rights Revolution
Reading: Foner, 1007-09; 1012-20
Document Lab: Voices, 122
11/9 The Women’s Movement
Reading: Foner, 1009-11
11/11 Political and Economic Change 1968-1980
Reading: Foner, 1023-49
11/16 Social Change: ERA and the Gay/Lesbian Rights
Movement
Reading: TBA
11/18 America’s Conservative Turn: The Reagan and
Bush Years
***Paper Due, America’s Right Turn***
11/30 America and the New World Order
Reading: Foner, 1069-83
Document Lab: Voices, 130
11/23-11/25 NO CLASS THANKSGIVING BREAK
12/2 AIDS, Technology, and Social Change
***Exam #2 passed out***
Reading: Foner, 1083-1110
12/7 America in a Global Context
Reading: Foner, 1113-30
Document Lab: Voices, 131
12/9 Today’s Current Events, Tomorrow’s History
Reading: Voices, 134-137
12/13-12/19 FINALS WEEK
***EXAM #2 DUE DEC. 16th BY 5PM***