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Syllabus - pdf format Syllabus
AS/HIST 2600.06A
http://www.yorku.ca/mltaylor/hist2600
2006-2007Prof. Molly Ladd-Taylor
2136 Vari Hall
Tel: 736-5123 x30419
email: mltaylor@yorku.ca
Office Hours: Thurs.1:00-2:00 pm or by appt.
UNITED STATES HISTORY
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” – James Baldwin, 1963
This course presents a broad survey of United States history from colonization to the present. It has two main goals: (1) to help you gain a fuller understanding of the historical evolution of American culture and politics; and (2) to improve your skills in the reading, writing and interpretation of history. The texts were chosen with both goals in mind; please make sure you read the assigned chapters carefully and come to tutorial each week prepared to discuss them.
Course Texts: The assigned reading is on reserve at Scott Library and available for purchase at the York University Bookstore. Materials from the course kit are marked on the syllabus with an asterisk.*
Paul Boyer et al, The Enduring Vision, concise 5th edition
William Wheeler & Susan Becker, Discovering the American Past, 6th ed., 2 vol.
Thomas Bell, Out of this Furnace
History 2600 Course Kit
Course requirements: (1) regular attendance at lectures and tutorials; (2) reading of the assigned materials on time; (3) active participation in tutorials (including in-class discussion and writing assignments); (4) successful completion of the online academic integrity quiz; (5) midterm and final exams; and (6) completion of written work on time. Two short papers are due during the first term. A 10-page research essay is due during the second term. Late papers will be penalized, and notes and rough drafts must be turned in with every essay. Unexcused absence from seven (7) tutorials during the year will result in a tutorial mark of 0.Please turn off your cell phone, and remember that it is disruptive to arrive late or leave early, and to talk, read, write notes, or send text-messages while the instructor or another student is speaking.
The final grade will be determined by: tutorial participation, 20%; first paper (article critique), 10%; second paper (document analysis), 15%; midterm, 15%; second-term research paper, 20%; final exam, 20%.
Tutorials: Regular attendance and active participation in tutorials are crucial to your success in, and enjoyment of, this course. Unexcused absence from seven (7) tutorials during the year will result in a tutorial mark of 0.
Meeting Times and Location:
Lectures Tues-Thurs. 11:30 Vari Hall B Tutorial 1 Tues. 12:30 ACW 002 Mark Abraham jabraham@yorku.ca Tutorial 2 Tues. 1:30 SC 214 Mark Abraham jabraham@yorku.ca Tutorial 3 Thurs. 12:30 FS 106 Eric Payseur epayseur@yorku.ca Tutorial 4 Thurs. 1:30 SC 214 Eric Payseur epayseur@yorku.ca Tutorial 5 Tues. 12:30 MC 101 Terry Wilde twilde@yorku.ca Tutorial 6 Tues. 1:30 MC 101 Terry Wilde twilde@yorku.ca
Essays and Deadlines: The first paper, due in tutorial the week of October 19, is a 3-5 page review of a scholarly article. The second paper, a 3-5 page analysis of a short primary source, is due in tutorial the week of November 21. A longer research essay (10 pages) is due during the second term. The research question and preliminary bibliography are due in tutorial the week of January 23. The outline and final bibliography are due the week of February 27. The essay itself (along with your notes and rough drafts) is due the week of March 13. You will receive more specific information about the paper assignments in tutorial. Late papers will be penalized, and your notes and rough drafts must be turned in with every essay.Academic Honesty: All papers must be original, use appropriate methods of citation, and be accompanied by your notes and rough drafts. In addition, all History 2600 students must complete the online Academic Integrity Quiz by the beginning of lecture on October 3. The quiz can be found at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/ .
Violations of the York Senate Policy on Academic Honesty – including cheating during examinations, failing to use quotation marks and citations when using or paraphrasing the printed or electronically-transmitted work of others, submitting work written by someone else or submitted in another course, and aiding or abetting academic misconduct – will be treated severely. Recent penalties have included failure in the course, suspension from the University, and withholding or rescinding a York degree. For further information, see http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm.
Schedule of Topics and Assignments
Term 1:
Th. Sept. 7: Introduction Tutorial: Getting Acquainted Tu. Sept. 12: Spectrum of Early Settlement Th. Sept. 14: New England: A City Upon a Hill? Tutorial: Read Boyer, chap. 3; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 2
[Recommended reading: Boyer, chaps. 1 & 2]Tu. Sept. 19: War and Rebellion in 1676 Th. Sept. 21: Life and Labour in the Thirteen Colonies Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 4; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 3 Tu. Sept. 26: Beginnings of an ‘American’ Nation Th. Sept. 28: Roads to Revolution Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 5; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 4 Tu. Oct. 3: Meanings of American Independence Th. Oct. 5: War, Revolution, and History Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 6;
Gary Nash, “The Revolution’s Roots in Urban Radicalism and Social Change”*
Edmund Morgan, “Conflict and Consensus in the Revolution and Among Historians”*Tu. Oct. 10: Constitution Th. Oct. 12: Creating an ‘American’ Republic Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 7; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 5 Tu. Oct. 17: Jefferson's America Th. Oct 19: Awakening of American Nationalism Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 8;
“Debating Jefferson,” http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/archives/interviews/frame.htm
FIRST PAPER DUE!!Tu. Oct. 24: America's Economic Revolution Th. Oct. 26: Rise of Class Society Tutorial: Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 9 & 11; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 7 Tu. Oct. 31: Slavery and the Old South Th. Nov 2: Slave Resistance and African-American Culture Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 12; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 8 Tu. Nov. 7: Jacksonian Democracy Th. Nov. 9: American West Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 10; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 6 Tu. Nov. 14: Religion and Reform Th. Nov. 16: Sectional Crisis & the Mexican War Tutorial: Boyer, chaps. 13 & 14; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 9 Tu. Nov. 21: Causes of the Civil War Th. Nov. 23: Civil War Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 15; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 10
SECOND PAPER DUE !Tu. Nov. 28: A Second American Revolution? Th. Nov. 30: Reconstruction Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 16; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 11 MIDTERM EXAM DATE TBA – GOOD LUCK & HAPPY HOLIDAYS !
Term 2: Th. Jan. 4: “New” South, “Old” West Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 17 & 18, Wheeler & Becker, vol. 2, chap. 2 Tu. Jan. 9: Gospel of Wealth Th. Jan. 11: Immigration and City Life Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 19; Bell, Out of This Furnace, parts 1 & 2 (to 208) Tu. Jan. 16: Populism Th. Jan. 18: Progressive Era Tutorial: Boyer, chaps. 20 & 21; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 4 Tu. Jan. 23: American Empire Th. Jan. 25: World War I Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 22; Wheeler & Becker, chap.5
PAPER TOPIC DUE!Tu. Jan. 30: 1920s Th. Feb. 1: From Prosperity to Depression Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 23; Bell, Out of This Furnace, finish Tu. Feb. 6: New Deal Th. Feb. 8: World War II at Home Tutorial: Boyer, chaps. 24 & 25; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 7 READING WEEK – NO CLASS
Tu. Feb. 20: World War II & the Bomb Th. Feb 22: Cold War Abroad Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 26; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 8
Tu. Feb. 27: Cold War at Home: From Ike to Camelot Th. Mar. 1: Happy Days in the Postwar Years? Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 27; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 9
PAPER OUTLINE DUETu. Mar. 6: Great Society Th. Mar. 8: Second Reconstruction Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 28;
Anthony Badger, “Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement,”
http://www.historynow.org/06_2006/historian.html
Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963)*
George Wallace, “The Civil Rights Movement: Fraud, Sham, and Hoax” (1964)*
Stokely Carmichael, "Black Power" (1966)*Tu. Mar. 13: War in Vietnam Th. Mar. 15: Wars at Home Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 29; chap. 10
RESEARCH PAPER DUE!Tu. Mar. 20: Watergate and American Politics Th. Mar. 22: Economy and Society in the 1970s and 1980s Tutorial: Boyer, chap 30; David Greenberg, “Nixon in American Memory”* Tu. Mar. 27: Reagan Revolution Th. Mar. 29: United States in the 1990s Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 31; Wheeler & Becker, chap. 11 Tu. Apr. 3: Presidency of George W. Bush Tutorial: Boyer, chap. 32; Exam Review
