HIS 112 • MWF 11:00 a.m.-12:05 p.m. • LB241 • Spring 2008
J. Mark Souther, Associate Professor of History, Cleveland State University
B.A. Furman University, M.A. University of Richmond, Ph.D. Tulane University
Contact info: Rhodes Tower, Room 1904 • (216) 687-3970 • m.souther@csuohio.edu
Office Hours: Mon. & Fri. 9:15-10:30 a.m., or by appointment
Course website: academic.csuohio.edu/souther_m/112.html
INTRODUCTION
This course surveys the political, economic, social, cultural, and technological development of the United States since Reconstruction, following the American Civil War. It examines what was happening in the U.S. (accounting for regional variations of experience) and places the U.S. within an international context whenever possible. The course introduces a chronological historical narrative and also explores topics and themes in U.S. history through the critical analysis of primary sources (sources written in and thus reflecting the circumstances and concerns of a particular period). It also introduces the idea that history is constructed through ongoing interpretation of the past. Throughout the semester, we will explore U.S. history through multimedia-enhanced lectures, readings, discussions, and occasional documentary films. This course is a General Education offering in the area of Arts and Humanities and observes criteria in the skill areas of Writing and Critical Thinking. (See GenEd statement in Appendix A of this syllabus.)
Two of the required texts are available for purchase at the CSU Bookstore, 2400 Euclid Avenue, www.csuohiobookstore.com, with the third available as an e-book online. You should obtain books promptly, as you are responsible for all course activities associated with them.
Henretta, James, David Brody, and Lynn Dumenil. America: A Concise History, Third Edition,
Volume 2: Since 1865. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.
This is the basic textbook for the course. It is meant to introduce and reinforce material covered in class. As a concise text, it is not a substitute for regular class attendance. I will focus selectively on topics covered in the book but not always in a comprehensive manner.
Riis, Jacob A. How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1890. Available free online at http://www.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/contents.html.
One of the most famous reformist writings of the nineteenth century U.S., Riis's book offers a candid look at the ethnic neighborhoods of New York's Lower East Side in 1890 to make an argument for tenement house reform. Despite its sincerity, Riis's writing also reveals commonly held racial assumptions that shaped how Americans viewed the plight of the urban immigrant poor. It is intended to help you see the rapid development of late 19th-century American cities and the emergence of urban reform as precursors of the Progressive Era through a close reading of a primary source.
Sinclair, Upton. The Flivver King: A Novel of Ford-America (1937). Chicago: Charles H. Kerr, 1984.
Sinclair, who also wrote The Jungle, the classic exposé of working conditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry, published The Flivver King in 1937 to aid the United Auto Workers' organizing drive. The novel combines two stories – those of car baron Henry Ford and Ford worker Abner Shutt – which unfold side by side to tell a story of class and culture in the United States in the first three decades of the 20th century. Sinclair's book illuminates many of the important events in that era, including unionism, war and depression, the "roaring twenties," nativism, and Prohibition.
Two Essays. 40% or 200 points (20% or 100 points each). These assignments involve reading Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives, and Upton Sinclair, The Flivver King, and preparing 1,200- to 1,500-word (4-5 pages) essays on each according to instructions made available in class. Instructions and a style sheet appear in Appendix B of this syllabus to guide your preparation of these assignments. Late essays will be penalized. (See "Assignment Submissions" below under "Policies.")
Week 5 & 10 Exams. 40% or 200 points (20% or 100 points each). These exams will be administered during regular class times and will cover, respectively, material for Weeks 1-5 and 6-10. Each exam will have 5 short identification terms, an essay, and a document analysis (either a historical text or image). You will have a choice of 7 terms, 2 essays, and 2 documents.
Final Exam. 20% or 100 points. The final exam will be administered on May 9 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. It will have 5 short identification terms and a document analysis that cover material from Weeks 11-15, as well as an essay that is comprehensive. You will have a choice of 7 terms, 2 essays, and 2 documents.
Grade Distribution. As noted above, each of the five assignments (two essays and three exams) is worth 20% or 100 points, totaling 100% or 500 points. Thus, you may keep track of your points during the semester, dividing your total earned points by the total possible points to calculate your average at any time. At semester's end, I will translate your point total (less any points lost for excessive absences – see below) into a letter grade as follows:
463 to 500 = A; 448 to 462 = A–; 433 to 447 = B+; 413 to 432 = B; 398 to 412 = B–; 383 to 397 = C+; 348 to 382 = C; 298 to 347 = D; 0 to 297 = F
Assignment Submissions. All assignments must be submitted in complete form in class on the due date. Any work submitted late will incur a penalty of 10 points after class on the due date, with an additional 10 points subtracted per subsequent day (including weekends and holidays).
Extensions. In the event of extreme circumstances that prevent your submitting an assignment on time, you may request an extension. If granted, a new due date will be assigned. Extension requests must be made no less than 48 hours (2 days) before the start of class on the due date. After that, I require written documentation that clearly demonstrates your inability to complete the assignment on time.
Attendance. If you anticipate being unable to be in class consistently, you should withdraw from the course. I will take account of absences and may deduct 15 points (approx. 1/3 of a letter grade) from your final average if you accumulate 4 or more unexcused absences. Excused absences are those for which you request permission to miss via email or phone prior to the start of class (pending my approval) or produce appropriate written documentation (again, pending my approval).
Student Conduct. Unacceptable conduct in this course includes but is not limited to: excessive or disruptive talking or noisemaking, arriving late or leaving early without appropriate notice, intimidating or threatening anyone in the classroom, sleeping, bringing any activated personal electronic devices to the classroom, and ÒsurfingÓ the Web.
Academic Integrity. Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism. "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material ranging from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences and phrases. "Someone else" can mean a professional source, such as a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; an electronic resource such as material we discover on the World Wide Web; another student at our school or anywhere else; and a paper-writing "service" (online or otherwise) which offers to sell written papers for a fee. Source: Capitol Community College's guide to plagiarism (based on the MLA style): webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml. I will assign a grade of "0" on any plagiarized work and reserve the right to notify the University according to University procedures.
Writing Assistance. Writing is an art that must be practiced if it is to be improved. I strongly encourage you be proactive in cultivating your writing skills. The Department of History offers a History Tutoring Center where you may seek assistance in preparing written work. The Center is locating in Rhodes Tower, Room 1913, and may be reached at (216) 687-3921.
Student Disabilities. If you have a disability, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of Student Disabilities, which will work with you to develop a reasonable course of action that will enable you to complete this course successfully. You must then provide proper documentation to me if you are requesting any special consideration of your disability.
Important! All readings should be completed—not begun—by the date beside which they appear below.
M 1/14 Course Introduction
W 1/16 The Rise and Fall of Reconstruction, 1862-1877
F 1/18 Westward Expansion
Reading: 1/16 Henretta, Chap. 15
1/18 Henretta, Chap. 16
M 1/21 Martin Luther King Day
W 1/23 The Rise of Industrial Capitalism
F 1/25 The World of the Worker
Reading: 1/23 Henretta, Chap. 17
M 1/28 The Rise of Unionism
W 1/30 The Rise of Industrial Cities
F 2/1 The New Immigration
Reading: 1/30 Henretta, Chap. 18
M 2/4 Gilded Age Politics
W 2/6 Machine Politics
F 2/8 The Populist Revolt of the 1890s
Riis Essay Due
Reading: 2/4 Henretta, Chap. 19
2/8 Riis, Chaps. 1-5, 9, 13, 15, 23
M 2/11 Jim Crow and the Nadir of Black Life
W 2/13 The Emergence of Progressive Reform, 1890s-1900s
F 2/15 Exam 1 (1/16 to 2/11)
M 2/18 President's Day
W 2/20 Progressivism and National Politics, 1901-1917
F 2/22 The Spanish-American War and Its Legacy
Reading: 2/20 Henretta, Chap. 20
2/22 Henretta, Chap. 21
M 2/25 Origins of the Great War
W 2/27 The Great War and Its Consequences, 1914-1918
F 2/29 The Red Scare, 1919-1920
Reading: 2/27 Henretta, Chap. 22
M 3/3 Culture and Politics in the Roaring Twenties
W 3/5 Dissent and Conflict in the 1920s
F 3/7 Discussion: The Flivver King
Sinclair Essay Due
Reading: 3/3 Henretta, Chap. 23
3/7 Sinclair (All)
3/10-14 Spring Break
M 3/17 The Coming of the Great Depression
W 3/19 American Life in the 1930s Great Depression
F 3/21 Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
Reading: 3/17 Henretta, Chap. 24
3/21 Henretta, Chap. 25
M 3/24 The New Deal and Its Critics
W 3/26 The Road to the Second World War, 1933-1941
F 3/28 Exam 2 (2/13-3/24)
Reading: 3/24 Henretta, Chap. 26
M 3/31 Pearl Harbor and Mobilization for War, 1941-1942
W 4/2 American Involvement in World War II, 1942-1945
F 4/4 The Emergence of the Cold War, 1945-1948
Reading: 4/4 Henretta, Chap. 27 (pp. 816–831)
M 4/7 Flexible Day (Subject to move forward or back as needed)
W 4/9 Postwar American Society
F 4/11 The Cold War Heats Up: 1949-1953
Reading: 4/9 Henretta, Chap. 28 (pp. 848–862)
4/11 Henretta, Chap. 27 (pp. 842–845)
M 4/14 The Cold War on the Home Front, 1947-1962
W 4/16 The Emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1960
F 4/18 JFK Presidency / Civil Rights Struggle, 1961-1964
Reading: 4/14 Henretta, Chap. 27 (pp. 831–839) and Chap. 28 (pp. 863–868)
4/16 Henretta, Chap. 27 (pp. 839–842)
4/18 Henretta, Chap. 28 (pp. 868–873)
M 4/21 The Peak and Splintering of the Civil Rights Movement, 1964-1965
W 4/23 Great Society, Burning Cities, 1964-1972
F 4/25 Origins of the Vietnam War and American Escalation
Reading: 4/21 Henretta, Chap. 29 (pp. 893–903)
4/23 Henretta, Chap. 28 (pp. 873–877)
4/25 Henretta, Chap. 29 (pp. 880–889)
M 4/28 Vietnam War and the Antiwar Movement, 1964-1975
W 4/30 Nixon Reagan, and the Transformation of America, 1968-1984
F 5/2 Cold War Twilight and Aftermath, 1985-2001
Reading: 4/28 Henretta, Chap. 29 (pp. 889–893, 903–912)
4/30 Henretta, Chap. 30
5/2 Henretta, Chap. 31
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F 5/9 Exam 3 (3/26-5/2 + Comprehensive Essay) 8:30–10:30 a.m.
APPENDIX A. GENERAL EDUCATION
1. Courses must be offered at the 100/200 level in an arts and humanities discipline including but not limited to English, History, Philosophy, Art History, Music History, Religious Studies, or Modern Languages. Courses offered in other disciplines may be approved if they meet the other conditions indicated below.
2. Courses must provide students with background knowledge and analytical skills that will allow them to:
a. Demonstrate understanding of how human beings interpret, translate, and represent diverse experiences of the world through language, literature, the historical record, philosophical systems, images, sounds, and performances.
b. Apply that understanding to the study of the human condition, cultural heritage, cultural artifacts, creativity, and history.
Skill Areas
This course observes the following criteria set forth for General Education courses in the skill areas of Writing and Critical Thinking.
To qualify in the skill area of writing a course must:
To qualify in the skill area of critical thinking a course must:
APPENDIX B. INSTRUCTIONS, RUBRIC, AND STYLE SHEET FOR RESPONSE ESSAYS
Due in class Friday, February 8, 2008
A free facsimile copy of the original book is now available online. Google riis other half. Click on first link for How the Other Half Lives on Google Books. You may download a 12.3 MB pdf of the book by clicking the Download link at the top of the right column of the page and print only the chapters you need.
Assignment
Read
the following chapters in Riis's book:
In a well-organized, typed, double-spaced essay of 1,200-1,500 words (4-5 pages) excluding headers (in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins), address and develop an argument about the book that encompasses the following issues:
Your essay must develop an argument or thesis that you support by using Riis's statements as evidence. You must refer to specific statements made by Riis, enclosing these passages with quotation marks followed by the page(s) on which the statements appear in the book within parentheses. You should NOT use any printed or web sources beyond the book and your textbook in the completion of this assignment. Any plagiarism will be addressed according to the provisions of the course syllabus.
Due in class Friday, March 7, 2008
This book is available at the CSU bookstore early in the semester, as well as through many online booksellers.
Assignment
Read all of The Flivver King. Then, in a well-organized, typed, double-spaced essay of 1,200-1,500 words (4-5 pages) excluding headers (in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins), address and develop an argument about the book that considers one of the following themes and how it is revealed through the plot of the book:
Regardless of the theme, your essay must develop an argument or thesis that you support by using direct evidence from The Flivver King, either quoted or paraphrased. You must enclose all quoted passages with quotation marks followed by the page(s) on which the statements appear in the book within parentheses. You must make clear whether any quoted material derives from the author's narration or a specific character such as Henry Ford or Abner Shutt. You should NOT use any printed or web sources beyond the book and your textbook in the completion of this assignment. Any plagiarism will be addressed according to the provisions of the course syllabus.
Grading Rubric
I will evaluate each essay by how ably you observe the following criteria:
LENGTH. Your essay must be a minimum of 1,200 words and should be in the range between 1,200 and 1,500 words. This translates to approx. 4-5 typed pages. If you see that you are exceeding this limit, you will need to revise to make your essay more concise.
HEADER. Type the following info in the upper left-hand corner (one item per line, single-spaced in the same font as the rest of the essay): your name, the date. Then skip three spaces and change to double-spacing.
SPACING. Double-spaced text except single-spaced header info.
MARGINS. One-inch margins on left and right, top and bottom.
FONT. Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
INDENTING. All paragraphs must be indented no more than 1" from the left margin of your text.
- - - - - -Here is an example of the maximum
acceptable amount of space that you should
indent the first line of each paragraph. Be consistent throughout the essay.
CITATIONS. Cite page numbers for all quoted material. Do so by putting a page number in parentheses: end of sentence" (##). If a quote is embedded within your own sentence, you should still place the citation at the end of the sentence before the period.
SPELLING. Check and correct your spelling. There is no excuse for submitting an essay with misspelled words. MS Word usually defaults to a spell-check setting, which you can see as a squiggly red line. Correct anything that is misspelled.
GRAMMAR. Here are some grammatical mistakes I see entirely too often among college students.
Indiscriminate use of the words "there," "their," and "they're"
"There" is a place.
"Their" is the possessive form of "they."
"They're" is a contraction meaning "they are."
Example: They went there yesterday in their car, and they're coming home tonight.
Indiscriminate use of the words "to," "too," and "two"
"To" is a preposition.
"Too" means "also."
"Two" is a number.
Example: In two years, I'm going to Florida too.
Confusion of the words "where" and "were"
"Where" is a place; "were" is a verb in past tense.
Example: You should have looked where you were going!
Switching needlessly between past and present tense
Failing to underline or italicize book titles
Example: Upton Sinclair's book The Flivver King reveals much about Henry Ford's life.
or, Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives prefigured Progressive Era reform efforts.
Writing incomplete sentences
Incomplete sentences are often clauses that couldn't stand on their own. They often lack a subject or a verb. Although we often speak this way to follow up a thought succinctly, formal writing must be more precise. You should be able to find a subject, verb, and object in every sentence.
Example:
Incorrect: Upton Sinclair wrote some important books. Like The Jungle, which led to the Pure
Food and Drug Act of 1906. Not to mention The Flivver King, which supported
unionizing auto workers in the 1930s.
Correct: Upton Sinclair wrote some important books. The most famous was The Jungle,
which led to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, but Sinclair also wrote The Flivver King in support of unionizing auto workers in the 1930s.
Writing run-on sentences
Run-on sentences are sentences that have two or more would-be sentences tacked together without proper connecting words.
See http://ace.acadiau.ca/english/grammar/runon.htm for examples and how to correct them.
See http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/runons_quiz.htm for a run-on sentence
quiz that lets you correct several run-on sentences and provides an explanation for each example.
[1] Writing-to-learn helps students use writing to explore many aspects of the course as well as their own reflections; these activities should foster learning at deeper levels than memorization or recitation. Writing-to-communicate emphasizes aspects of writing (style, grammatical correctness, coherence, focus) that allow a reader to navigate the writing as he or she wishes.