Fall
2004
History
H106, Civil War to the Present
(
Tuesday
and Thursday,
Professor: Philip
Scarpino Reading Assignments
Office: 503R
Cavanaugh Testing Strategies/Guidelines for True/False
Phone: 274-5983/5840 Study Questions for Exam #2
Email: pscarpin@iupui.edu Study Questions for Silent Spring
Study Questions for Final Exam
Office Hours: Mon.
and Wed.
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?
This section of H106 is a open only to students
enrolled in the School of Education, either in Social Studies Education or
Elementary Education. Indiana’s
Academic Standards (revised in August 2001) emphasize content-based
training for teachers. This section of
H106 will ground students in the content of the past. In addition, this class will meet on several
Friday afternoons for visits to cultural resource institutions in the
metropolitan area. In each case, the
class will have an overview tour, meet
with professionals who work with teachers, and engage in some type of
group-based participatory exercise. (Schedule provided towards end of this
syllabus.) Students should take away from the class a greatly enhanced
understanding of post-Civil War U.S. history, along with more appreciation for,
and confidence in, their ability to make that content come alive for by taking
advantage of what cultural resource institutions have to offer to teachers and
students. I have illustrated the class
with historical images and sound,
largely to demonstrate that it is possible to use resources mostly available
on the Internet to add richness and interest to history classes. I will provide opportunities for students to
engage the material and each other through occasional participatory exercises,
and from time to time I will distribute information on resources that teachers
can use to enrich their own teaching.
The following books are required for this class:
class=Section2>
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).
5. Indiana’s
Academic Standards: Social Studies (August 2001).
6. Artifacts
& Analysis: A Teachers’ Guide to Interpreting Objects and Writing History
(Smithsonian Institution, 2001).
The volumes by Edward Bellamy, John Steinbeck,
and Rachel Carson (two novels and one non-fiction) provide first-person
interpretations of key themes in modern U.S. history. Combined with the text and lectures, they
should add depth to our examination of the content and interpretation of recent
U.S. history. Indiana’s Academic
Standards provides the current standards for teaching Social Studies and
History in Indiana. We will use these in
class from time to time, and our hosts on field trips will reference them as
well. Artifacts & Analysis offers teacher- and student-“friendly”
exercises for interpreting objects and writing history. We will use this book
for a class participation exercise.
Tentative Exam Schedule:
First Exam October
7 25
percent
Second Exam November
11 25 percent
Final December
16 25 percent
(3:30-5:30, CA-221)
Field trip participation and
Field trip preparation/group presentation 10
percent
Readings Quizzes* See reading assignments 15 percent
*I will count the two highest of three quiz
scores.
Students will earn field trip points in two
ways: (1) [You can earn up to 50 points for
participation in the required field trips.] You will earn participation points by attending 5 of the 8
Friday afternoon field trips listed later on this syllabus. I will deduct 10 participation points for
each unexcused absence from a Friday afternoon field trip. For example, if you attend 4 trips you get 40
out of 50 points; if you attend 3 field trips, you receive 30 out of 50 points,
and so on. I will not subtract points
for excused absences, but because you are only required to attend 5 out of 8
scheduled field trips, I expect that you will make every effort to attend the
field trips for which you sign up. The
institutions that we will be visiting have agreed to provide considerable staff
time to make your experiences there worthwhile.
These visits are a key component of this class. They only work if you
attend. If you miss a field trip, you
should let me know and attempt to reschedule for another trip. Excused absences require documentation.
(2) [You can earn up to 50 points for
participation in a group presentation that prepares the class for one of the
field trips .] I will divide the class into groups, and each group will
“prep” the class for one of the field trips -- just as you should prep your own
students when you become teachers. I
will provide more direction next week, but generally speaking, your group will
make an oral report about 15 minutes in length to the class, with summary
handouts, that explains where they will be going and what they will be
seeing. Your reports should also explain
to the class what kinds of resources this institution has to meet the needs of
teachers of history and social studies. If you want to use Power Point or over
head slides, we have that equipment in the room.
I will grade your group, oral presentations on organization,
content, clarity, and your ability to conduct enough research on “your” site to
be able to explain the resources and programs that it has that are likely to be
useful to teachers of history and social studies. Each of the host organizations for our field
trips has a web site.
Testing procedures: About one week before each scheduled exam, I
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). On the day
of the exam, you will be given two of these questions, and you will be required
to answer one. I will schedule extra
office hours before each test, and I invite you to take advantage of them.
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. My policy on attendance has two parts: (1)
I will take attendance in class [field trips covered separately, above]; (2) I
will subtract 2 points from your final grade average for every unexcused
absence over four. Excused absences
require that you talk to me and/or provide documentation. I believe strongly that learning is greatly
diminished if a student fails to attend class.
2. Classroom
Courtesy: Please arrive on time. If
you need to be late or leave early, please come in quietly and sit at the
back. Turn off cell phones and pagers
prior to the beginning of class. If you
need to maintain contact with children (or some other emergency contact), put
your cell phone on vibrate. Absolutely no cell phones or pagers may be
out in your view during tests or quizzes.
2. Grading. I will be very reluctant to give a grade of
Incomplete (I). I 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. I USE A GRADING SCALE THAT COUNTS HEAVILY FOR
IMPROVEMENT.
3. Cheating
and Plagiarism. My policy on
cheating and plagiarism is to assign a zero to the work in question. Plagiarism is the act of stealing the ideas
or writings of someone else and using them as your own. You plagiarize if you copy directly what
someone else has written without quotations and proper citations. You also plagiarize if you paraphrase someone
else's writings to avoid using quotations and citations, or if you use someone
else's ideas or factual information without attribution. For further information, see: University
Bulletin, 2004-2006, pp. 15, 36-37.
For information on cheating and plagiarism and IUPUI’s policies on
academic misconduct, please see: http://registrar.iupui.edu. (Click on “Students”; look under “Other”;
and click on “Dealing with Student Academic Misconduct.”)
4. Use
of Voice Mail and Email. I 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 I 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 me and reschedule. Simply leaving a message for me to get back
to you does not absolve you of that responsibility.
Class field trips (All scheduled 1:00 - 3:30 pm
– PLAN TO ARRIVE NLT 12:50)
Friday, September 10 Indiana State Museum
Friday, September 17 Indiana Historical Society (*** THIS DATE
TENTATIVE***)
Friday, September 24
Friday, October 8 Morris Butler House Museum, “Victorian Life,”
“Tradesmen for a Day”
Friday, October 15 Indianapolis Museum of Art/Lilly House
Friday, October 22 Historic Landmarks Foundation of
Friday, November 12
Friday, November 19
You must sign up for five of the eight scheduled
field trips. There are two sections of H106 that are for
teachers in training. The other is taught by Dr. Melissa Bingmann. Dr. Bingmann and I are scheduling the same
field trips. The maximum capacity for
each trip will be 25. I will provide
detailed “sign up” instructions next week.
Once we provide the sign up instructions, you need to make your choices
and get them recorded. If you know you
are not going to be able to make a trip for which you signed up, you notify me
to remove your name to “open up” your slot.
If you are prevented from attending by unexpected and significant
circumstances, please let me know and do your best to sign up for another
trip. I will only consider granting an
unexcused absence from field trips in cases where there is no other option but
to attend fewer than the required five field trips.
Several of these places are within easy walking
distance of campus: Indiana Historical Society, Historic Landmarks Foundation
of Indiana, Eiteljorg Museum, Indiana State Museum.
Directions will follow as the dates
approach. (Check OnCourse for
announcements.)
Goals,
Expectations, and Outcomes:
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.
Skills routinely stressed and tested
in H106 will include analytical thinking and interpretation, as opposed to
memorization and regurgitation of information.
I 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. I will not insist on the memorization of
large numbers of dates, but I 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.