Fall 2004
History H106, Civil War to the Present
Lecture Hall ET-202, Monday/Wednesday,
Professor: Philip Scarpino Looking Backward
Office: 503R Cavanaugh Grapes
Phone: 274-5983/5840 Reading Assignments
Email: pscarpin@iupui.edu
Testing Strategies/Guidelines for True/False
Office Hours: Mon. and Wed.
Tues.
TA: John Beeler
Office: 540 Cavanaugh
Phone: 274-2571
Office Hours: Mon.1:00-2:00; Wed. 9:00-10:00
& 2:00-3:00, and by appt.
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:
class=Section2>
1.
Mary Beth Norton, et al, A People and a Nation, Vol. Two,
7th 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 6 30 percent
Second Exam November 10 30 percent
Final December 15 30 percent
(10:30-12:30, ET-202)
Readings Quizzes* See reading
assignments 10 percent
*We will count the two highest of
three quiz scores.
Testing procedures:
class=Section3>
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.
For information on cheating and plagiarism, see: http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.htm. For information on IUPUI’s policies on
academic misconduct, see: http://registrar.iupui.edu/misconduct.html.
5. Differences of opinion with
the TA. If you have a difference of
opinion with the TA, you should see him 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.