IUPUI
HISTORY
105
3 Credit Hours, Fall 2005
Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.
Cavanaugh Hall 217
Instructor: Dr. Jim Giesen
Office Hours: before and after class and by appointment
E-mail: jgiesen@iupui.edu
Home Phone: (317) 736-6659
Course Description: History 105 is a brief introduction to US history from before the nation’s founding to the Civil War. Through lectures, historical accounts, fiction, film, and music, we will develop an understanding of how “big” political, economic and social events changed ordinary Americans’ lives. The course will be structured around the theme of American freedom. We will examine how Americans’ concept of freedom changed over this period and how the everyday lives of Americans changed as well. By the end of the semester students will have gained not only a better understanding of the events of the American past, but more importantly they will have a well-developed understanding of how history is made and how it changes over time. This class will also work with students to develop their analytical writing and speaking skills, core components of the school’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning.
Course Requirements:
1. First and foremost you must do the assigned readings and come to class prepared not only to sit and take notes, but to engage new ideas, ask questions, argue, and agree.
2. There will be one mid-term exam and one final exam. These will constitute multiple choice questions, short answers, and essays. The final exam will have a cumulative component.
3. You will write a short (two-page) written assignment for each week that a chapter from Wheeler and Becker is assigned (details below). You will also write two 3-4 page critical essays on two of the “outside” books that we will read for class. Details on both of these writing assignments will follow shortly.
The grade breakdown will be as follows:
Critical Essays 15% (each)
Mid-Term 20%
Final 25%
W&B Essays 15%
Participation 10%
Assorted Class Policies:
· Students are required to attend all classes. You will only be able to turn in assignments in class. If you are not in class to turn in an assignment I will not accept it.
·
Please
read your student handbook regarding academic honesty
(http://life.iupui.edu/help/docs/Part_3all.html). Plagiarism and/or cheating will not be
tolerated. If you have questions about
what constitutes plagiarism please ask the instructor.
· Please bring all reading assignments with you to class on the days they have been assigned.
·
I
reserve the right to give pop quizzes at any time and to make changes to
these requirements, the grade breakdown, and the course schedule if needed.
Required Books:
William Wheeler
and Susan Becker, Discovering the
American Past: A Look At the Evidence, Vol. 1 to 1877.
Benjamin Franklin, The
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin with Related Documents.
Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents
in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Course Calendar
Please note: All reading and written assignments should be
completed prior to class on the date listed below.
August 27: Introduction and When Worlds Collide
September 3: Planting Colonies, Planting
Culture
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 2
September 10: From Empire to Independence
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 3
September 17: The American Revolution and its Aftermath
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 4
September 24: An American Life
Reading: Autobiography of Ben Franklin
DUE: Franklin papers.
October 1: Shaping a Federal Union
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 5
October 8: MIDTERM EXAM
October 15: The Early Republic and the Emergence of Nationalism and Sectionalism
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 6
October 22: Slavery and the Old South
Reading: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
DUE: Jacobs papers.
October 29: Growth and Renaissance in America
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 7.
November 5: Rethinking the West
November 12: Growing Crisis
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 9.
November 19: The Civil War
Reading: Wheeler & Becker, chapter 10
December 3: Glory & The Question of Film History
December 10: The Civil War in Memory and Beyond
Reading: McPherson, For Cause and Comrades
DUE: McPherson Papers
December 17: FINAL EXAM