Dr. Carol Hunter BC 231 carolh@earlham.edu

BC 327 M, Th 1:00-2:20

Objectives:
1.to become better thinkers through studying diverse viewpoints on various issues in U.S. history
2. to develop facility in researching and evaluating evidence
3. to better understand the past in order to create a more just present

Assignments

Daily preparation and participation           25%

Research project (written)                        40%

      Oral report/class updates         10%

      Annotated bibliography           10%

      Final paper/product                  20%

Midterm                                                   15%

Final                                                         20%

Texts

Jacquelyn Hall et.al, Like a Family
Patricia Sullivan, Days of Hope
Miriam Louie, Sweatshop Warriors
Robert Moses, Math Literacy and Civil Rights
primary source documents (handouts)
Norton et.al A People and a Nation (or a survey text of US history since 1877).

Syllabus
Jan 16 Introduction and overview

Civil Rights Act: then and now (handouts of 1875 and 1964 Acts)
Video clip of Bob Moses

Reconstruction and Gilded Age 1865-1900

 Jan 20 Reconstruction What happened to former slaves, why are civil rights still an issue? How does Bob Moses connect math literacy today with civil rights?

Moses, 1-22; 91-133; Norton, Chapter 16 Reconstruction
7:00 Goddard Auditorium: Robert B. Moses, King Day speaker (required)

Jan 23 The West Do only those with guns get freedom? Does legality insure freedom for those with less power?

Read Norton: Chapter 17 Development of the West

Begin Reading Hall 1-43
Read Norton, Chapter 18 The Machine Age
Research Topics Due

Hall 44-113
Read Norton, Chapter 20 Gilded Age Politics

Feb 3 The imperial republic How did ideas of freedom influence and justify empire and how do they continue to influence US diplomacy?

Hall 114-182
Norton Chapter 22 Quest for Empire

 Feb 6 The Rise of Progressivism and National Reform How did progressive notions of scientism, rationalism and professionalism change basic cultural ideas?

Hall 183-236
Norton, Chapter 21 Progressive Era

 Feb 10 America and the Great War Can war make the world safe?

Hall 237-357
Norton Chapter 23 Americans in the Great War

 Feb 13 Roaring Twenties Trace the economic, social and ethical changes in society brought about by the mass production of automobiles. Compare these with the economic, social and ethical changes brought about recently by the computer chip.

Hall 358-383
Norton Chapter 24 The new Era of the 1920s

Feb 20 mid-semester break
 
 

 Feb24 Great Depression and New Deal Can/should a capitalist economic system survive?

Sullivan 1-68
Norton, Chapter 25 The Great Depression and the New Deal
Annotated Bibliography for Research Paper Due

 Feb 27 Global Crisis Is a non-intervention policy an appropriate strategy for maintaining peace?

Sullivan 69-132
Norton Chapter 26 Americans in the World 1920-1941

Sullivan 133-192
Norton, Chapter 26

Mar 6 World War II How do we remember "The Good War" and what can we learn from it?

Norton, Chapter 27 The Second World War at Home and Abroad

Sullivan 193-276
Norton chapter 28 Cold War Politics, Civil Rights and the Baby Boom

 Mar 13 Cold War and Globalism Discussion: What foundations were laid in this period for the current crises in Asia (especially Korea) and the Middle East?

Norton, Chapter 29 The Cold War and American Globalism 1945-1961

 Mar 24 Reform and Conflict at Home What was the legacy of the civil rights movement? How does Moses connect it with contemporary problems in public schools?

Moses 23-87
Norton, Chapter 30

Mar 27 Disaster and Detente Why are the 1970's pivotal for the US? What major parameters changed? With what consequences for today?

Moses 134-193
Norton, Chapter 31

Mar 31 Age of Limits What caused the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and how has that shaped options today?

Norton, Chapter 32: End of the Postwar Boom

Louie, 1-62
Norton, Chapter 33 Prosperity, Power and Peril

 April 7 Global Economy What are the challenges of a global economy, particularly living with integrity for US citizens?

Louie 63-122

 April 10 Current Issues: Election of 2000

(PBS video)
Louie 123-194

 April 14 Current Issues: Open Question and Reflective Synthesis

Louie 195-256

 April 21 Reports

 April 24 Reports

 April 28 Reports Research Papers DUE
 

May 1 Review for Final (Monday May 5th at 10:30).
 
 

 I. Jan 27 Research Topic Due
Choose a topic 1) you are interested in (remember everything has a history, so the field is wide open!) 2) that is focused enough to be researched fairly efficiently. (This is not a master's thesis) 3) that reflects a persistent theme or issue in US history. Good research topics can be formulated as a question. "Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?" is a whole lot more fruitful than "I want to know more about World War II." Once you have your topic and it has been ok'd with me, begin thinking about how to outline it and strategies for doing research.

 II. Jan 27-Feb 24. Set aside some library research hours. Lilly has lots of primary sources in US history; government documents, presidential papers, autobiographies, collections of documents, narratives, and good resources in the archives for many topics, especially relating to Quakers. Remember to search "Academic Search Elite" and "American History and Life" (see databases from the library homepage), as well as Palni. If you need to use inter library loan, start early! Janet Wagner is the librarian assigned to our class and she can be of great help. Feel free to schedule an appointment with her.

Set up an efficient system for note-taking and organizing your sources. Computers can be a great help here, but 3 x 5 cards also have some advantages in ease of transport and shuffling for visual folks. Remember, cutting and pasting from computer sources is plagiarism. If you use search engines or databases, make sure you know exactly where you've been and cite them properly. See earlham.edu/~libr

An annotated bibliography is due Feb 24. This bibliography may be modified as you go along, but this check point provides both of us with visible evidence that you are engaged in research for your paper in a timely manner.

 III.. Feb 24-Mar 31. Begin writing. Think of the assignment roughly as 15-20 pages: each day, you might work on just one section. Then put it all together; print, revise, and edit.
1 page of introduction: Why is this topic of interest and important?
2-4 pages of literature review. How have historians handled this question? What sources did they use? What were the strengths and weaknesses of their approach? Offer a spectrum of interpretations or understandings. For some topics, this will come first, for others it should follow your own presentation of your findings.
5-8 pages of content. What actually happened? Make sure everything you use is documented, both primary and secondary sources.
3-6 pages of your analysis, interpretation, why it is significant, connections to other issues, and conclusion
2-3 pages of annotated bibliography

 IV. Apr 3-17 Editing and Oral Presentations I'll read drafts, give you suggestions or you can do your own editing work. Work on your in class presentation. Remember what helps you stay interested in a presentation. Think through your purpose, then outline your presentation. If you are using visuals or computers, make sure they are in working order. Run through your entire presentation at least once before you give it, to see how long it takes and how you may want to modify it. It helps to recruit an audience for this.
 

Your final product will be evaluated according to the following criteria

 I. Thesis and Introduction: Does the presentation have a clear position? Does the audience know why this topic is of interest and important?

 II. Historiography (Literature Review) Does the paper address differing interpretations of historians and offer reasonable explanations for the differences?

 III. Content Is the content well documented with both primary and secondary sources? Does the scope of the content reflect a reasonable coverage of the topic?

 IV. Analysis: Does the student offer some interpretation of the research and/or make some connections or offer some insight into the meaning of the research. Is the interpretation offered plausible, convincing, provocative, creatively original?

 V. Mechanics of Writing: Is the paper will written according to academic standards?

 VI. Annotated Bibliography: Do the sources reasonably cover the field? Do they represent well chosen scholarship? Do they include both primary and secondary sources; both periodicals and monographs? Are the notes sufficient to help an intelligent reader discern the perspective and contribution of the authors?

 VII. Oral Report
Was the student prepared? Were visuals clear? Did the student use a speaking voice that could be easily heard and understood? Was there a focused statement of the research question and the various sources used to answer the question? Did the presentation keep the audience's interest and/or make them want to know more about the subject? Was there some analysis and connection to important issues? Did the report stay within the time limits?