Indiana History
History
A363/Spring 2004
4:00-5:15,TR
Instructor: Jason S. Lantzer
Email: jlantzer@indiana.edu
Course Description and Goals:
A363 is a course in Indiana History. It aims to look at the major themes, events, and personalities important in the development of the Hoosier State from its prehistory, to its “discovery” by Europeans, to its settlement by American pioneers, to its emergence as an important agricultural, political, and industrial state, right up to the present. We will especially look at to what extent Hoosier’s are an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary people, and what this has meant for the state and the nation. My hope is that you will come away from the class with a deeper understanding of not only Indiana history but also of History in general, and how the past continues to shape the world we live in today.
Required Books:
Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons
Leonard J. Moore, Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in
Indiana, 1921-1928
James H. Madison, A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America
Reading assignments are designed to provide useful context for lectures and discussions. Additionally, The Magnificent Ambersons, Citizen Klansmen, and A Lynching in the Heartland will be the basis for book reviews (see below).
Attendance:
It is expected that you will attend class. Punctual and consistent attendance is a key component to success in college, as it is in one’s career, and it will be valued highly in this course. Should you ever need to miss a class for religious or health reasons, try and let me know ahead of time. Making up assignments/tests, as well as getting any missed notes is your responsibility.
Grades:
There will be two exams in the class, a midterm (worth 30%) and a final (worth 35%), which will be based on the assigned readings and lectures. The exams, which are non-cumulative, will be made up of essay and short answer questions.
Of your remaining grade, 20% will be comprised of writing a 2-3 page book review (details of which will be explained to you in class) based on the aforementioned Tarkington, Moore, or Madison books. Graduate students, however, are required to do two book reviews.
The remaining 15% of your grade will be based on a 3-5 page paper to be written on a topic of your choosing, but based upon the resources of the Conner Prairie Rural History Project, especially the oral histories. For graduate students, the paper should be 5-8 pages in length. You may find the histories at http://www.ruralhistoryproject.org.
Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.
Grading is according to the standard A-F scale: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F.
Class Schedule:
The selections from The Indiana Way and Road to Statehood are tied directly to the lecture of the day. Because of the nature of the summer class, however, you will want to start reading The Magnificent Ambersons, Citizen Klansmen, and A Lynching in the Heartland well in advance of when we will be discussing them in class.
Jan 13: Introduction (No Reading)
Jan 15: What is a Hoosier? (No reading)
Jan 20: Indiana As Middle Ground I (IN Way, C. 1)
Jan 22: Indiana As Middle Ground II (IN Way, C. 1)
Jan 27: The Beginning of Indiana (IN Way, C. 2, 4; Road)
Jan 29: Hoosier Pioneer Migration I (IN Way C. 4; Road)
Feb 3: Hoosier Pioneer Migration II (IN Way C. 4; Road)
Feb 5: Different Kinds of Pioneers (IN Way C.3; Road)
Feb 10: Becoming a State (IN Way, C. 3; Road)
Feb 12: Making it Indiana I (IN Way, C. 5, 6, 7)
Feb 17: Making it Indiana II (IN Way, C. 5, 6, 7)
Feb 19: Indiana and the Civil War I (IN Way, C. 10)
Feb 24: Indiana and the Civil War II (IN Way, C. 10)
Feb 26: Indiana and the Civil War III (IN Way, C. 10)
Mar 2: Midterm
Mar 4: The Hoosier Golden Age of Literature (IN Way, C. 8, 11; Mag. Amb.)
Mar 9: More Hoosier Golden Age (IN Way, C. 8, 9, 11)
Mar 11: The Hoosier Golden Age in Politics (IN Way, C. 9, 11)
Mar 16 and 18: SPRING BREAK
Mar 23: Hoosier Reformers (IN Way, C. 14; CK)
Mar 25: The Klan I (IN Way, C. 14; CK)
Mar 30: The Klan II (IN Way, C. 14; CK)
Apr 1: A Hoosier Lynching (LH)
Citizen
Klansmen Paper Due
Apr 6: Emerging Modernity in Indiana I (IN Way, C. 14)
Lynching
Heartland Paper Due
Apr 8: Emerging Modernity in Indiana II (IN Way, C. 14)
Apr 13: Conner Prairie Day
Apr 15: State Museum Trip
Apr 20: Hoosiers All I (IN Way, C. 12)
Conner Prairie Paper Due
Apr 22: Hoosiers All II (IN Way, C. 12)
Apr 27: Indiana
Today I (IN Way, C. 13, 14)
Apr 29: Indiana Today II (IN Way, C. 13, 14)
May 4: Finals Week