COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Description: We will examine the political, social, and cultural foundations of American history from 1870 to the Present. We will cover Reconstruction, the problems of an increasingly urban and industrialized society, and the United States in World Affairs.

Course Reading: Course Reading:
1. Philip Caputo, Rumor of War
3. Robert McElvaine, Down and Out in the Great Depression
4. Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
5. Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
6. Recommended: Paul Johnson, History of the American People, or Firsthand
America, or any textbook on U.S. history

Grading Scale:
5% Debate on Dropping of the Bomb
10% Participation
5% Two Interviews
25% Writing About Civil Rights
25% Exam #1
30% Exam #2 (final exam)

The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://springhistory232.blogspot.com
You need to sign in to this blog this week.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.

Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 15% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass.

Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. If you are late a few (that means three) times, you will lose the entire 10% participation grade. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident. But if you are late several times, you will not be able to receive a participation grade above 50%.

The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Oh, and guess what, this room is designed to give your teacher a perfect view of you with a phone beneath the table; is that text message really worth 10% of the quarter grade? Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing: when you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for a while.

In-Class Essay on Civil Rights:
In the later part of the quarter, we will be writing an in-class essay on some aspect of the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s. We will have several readings, lectures, and class discussions leading up to this assignment.

Interviews:
You have the opportunity to conduct two interviews this quarter. I will give you more details in class, but basically, you should begin to consider who your two subjects will be. For the first interview, you will need to find someone who is at least 50 and decided to immigrate to this country.
For the second interview, you will be talking to someone who remembers the war in Vietnam. This is not a veteran of the war, necessarily, but anyone who was alive and thinking at that time. For both interviews, I’ll give you a handout and guidelines to direct your interview.

Participation:
You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade, since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.

Academic Integrity
The principles of truth and integrity are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing will protect the integrity of all academic work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance and without giving unauthorized assistance. Faculty have the responsibility of exercising care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be encouraged and positively reinforced.
http://www.csub.edu/studentconduct/documents/academicintegrity.pdf

Course Schedule:
4/3 Intro/Intro to Reconstruction/Jourdan Anderson
4/5 Reconstruction/HOMEWORK DUE TODAY: SIGNED STATEMENT

4/10 Industrialism
4/12 New Imperialism/1890s/How the Other Half Lives Reading Due

4/17 Progressivism/Interview #1 Due
4/19 World War I/Prohibition

4/24 Woman Suffrage/ Harlem Renaissance
4/26 Exam #1/More on the 1920s

5/1 The Great Depression
5/3 The New Deal/McElvaine must be read by today

5/8 From Quarantine to War
5/10 Bomb Debate/Post War Conformity

5/15 The Cold War
5/17 Civil Rights/Coming of Age in Mississippi Reading Due

5/22 New Rights Movements/Writing About Civil Rights Prep.
5/24 Writing About Civil Rights(in class essay)

5/29 Political life from Ike to LBJ/Interview #2 Due
5/31 War in Vietnam/Rumor of War Reading Due

6/5 Student Unrest and Vietnam
6/7 Watergate and the Turbulent 70s

FINAL EXAM Thursday, June 14, 5-7:30

REMEMBER, although this syllabus is the “law” of the class, I reserve the right to change it at any time to suit the particular needs of our class. If I must do so, it will always be in your best interest, and I’ll always advise you as soon as possible.