History 102: U.S. History Since Reconstruction

Class Number 32946, Section 22

Spring 2018, Fast Track Session 2

Ramón Cornejo Veloso, Ph.D.

 

 

“I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invented.”

–Catherine Morland on History in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, Chapter XIV

“A man may wear himself out just as fruitlessly in seeking to understand the past, if he is totally ignorant of the present…This faculty of understanding the living is, in very truth, the master quality of the historian.”

–Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft

 

Instructor Information

• Ramón Cornejo Veloso, Ph.D.
• rveloso@palomar.edu
• Class Meetings: Tuesday/Thursdays 11:10am-2:20pm
• Office Hours:
  • Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:20-2:40pm, ESC-105
  • Thursdays, 5:40-6:00pm, ESC-105
  • If you cannot make it during these times, feel free to make an appointment for a time that will work for both of us.

Course Description

This course will survey some of the significant social, political, cultural, and economic issues and events of modern United States history from 1865 to approximately 1964 with focus given to the developments pertaining to class, race, and gender. The course is also an introduction to the study of history: the ways historians look at the past, construct and develop interpretations about the past, and think about how to marshal evidence in order to support these interpretations. Class discussions, exercises, and writing assignments are specifically designed to introduce students to the craft of history. I hope that as this semester progresses you will begin thinking like historians and enjoy being historians.

Student Learning Objectives & Assessment

• Accurately interpret American history through the use of primary and secondary sources
  • Assessed through class discussions, papers, and exams
• Accurately recall knowledge of major events and figures in American history since Reconstruction
  • Assessed through class discussions and exams
• Demonstrate college level writing in assessing and interpreting American history
  • Assessed through papers and exams
• Identify, use, and cite reliable primary and secondary sources in American history
  • Assessed through class discussions and papers
• Demonstrate knowledge of nature and development of California’s government and political system
  • Assessed through class discussions and exams

Required Textbook

• Nancy Hewitt & Steven Lawson, Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey with Sources, Volume 2, Since 1865 (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2013).
  • You may purchase the bound, loose leaf, or digital versions of this text.
    • Bound Version ISBN: 9780312410018
    • Loose-Leaf Version ISBN: 9781457641961
    • Digital Version ISBN: Contact Palomar Bookstore
  • The text is available in the Palomar Bookstore San Marcos and Escondido campuses, Amazon.com, and on the website MacMillan Publishing.

Class Policies

The assigned readings are indispensable for you to understand the course. You should be active rather than passive readers. Do not merely accept the claims of Hewitt, Lawson, myself, and your classmates; instead, interact with the readings by bringing something to the readings, such as questions to be answered, and tentative viewpoints to be confirmed, modified, or discarded. Class discussions will give you the opportunity to raise questions regarding the readings, discuss the readings with the class, and refine your points of view based on the discussions. It is essential that you read all the readings by the due dates assigned.

Attendance is mandatory in this class; you must attend the lectures in order to pass the course. You are allowed to miss two class meetings during the semester, and missing more than two meetings is grounds for failure in the course. Active participation in discussions and during lectures will benefit your overall course grade.

********No late papers will be accepted in this course. **********

********There will be no makeup for any of the exams. ********

********If you miss any exam, you will receive a zero for that exam. ********

There are four exceptions to the no makeup and no late paper policies:

1. If you are a Palomar student athlete, and you have a game scheduled on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
2. If you are a member of a recognized Palomar College club or organization, and you are required to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
3. If you are in the military, active duty or the reserves, and you have orders that require you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
4. If you are ill and your physician requires you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.

If you fall under any of the above four categories, you are excused from the scheduled due dates for papers, exams, and tests if you provide written documentation from your head coach, club/organization’s faculty moderator, commanding officer, or physician.

Students are responsible to avoid both dishonest practices and the appearance of dishonesty. Plagiarism and cheating are grounds for failure in the course. Students should make the necessary effort to ensure that other students do not use their work.  For more information on what constitutes plagiarism, see the Palomar College Library’s definition of plagiarism http://www.palomar.edu/library/infocomp/handouts/plagiarism.pdf, and watch the video titled “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” located on the top right of your monitor’s screen at http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/.

Taking Notes

All the Power Point slides are up on Canvas, so it is unnecessary to copy what is on the slides during the lecture; in fact, focusing on copying the information on the slides is probably counterproductive. Instead, you should take notes on what I’m saying in class, and use the PowerPoint slides as mnemonic visual aids that will help you understand and remember what I’m asserting during the lecture.  Check Canvas under the Note-Taking Module for other note-taking and study aides.

Assignments  & Exams

Remember to go to Canvas and read the prompts for each paper assignment and the directions for each exam. This is only a cursory summary of the paper assignments and exams, so be sure to read the paper prompts up on Canvas.

• Short Paper: This assignment will require you to do what professional academic historians do: assert, support, and develop an original interpretation based on a textual analysis of primary sources. This paper should be two to three double-spaced typed pages.
• Review Essay on Cold War Movie: This assignment will require you to analyze a movie produced during the Cold War and analyze it as a primary source; basically, the paper should address how the movie reveals Cold War culture. There will be several screenings of films during the course of the semester, and you need to watch at least one of these film screenings to write your essay. The screenings will not be during class time. See the schedule of assignments below for the screening dates. This paper should be two to three double-spaced typed pages.
• Midterm Exam: This will be a take-home essay, approximately two to three double-spaced typed pages in length. You will choose one of the essay questions from the list of Midterm Exam essay questions that are on Canvas. These essay questions will be accessible on Canvas on the very first day of class.
• Final: This will be divided into two sections—an open-notes in-class short answer section on the PBS documentary film Freedom Riders, and a take-home essay. The essay should be approximately two to three double-spaced typed pages. You will choose one of the essay questions from the list of essay questions for the Final Exam on Canvas. The Final Exam is not cumulative.
• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignments: These are short reading and lecture comprehension questions on Canvas. There will be a total of four, and each one should take approximately ten to twenty minutes to complete.
• Canvas Primary Source Exercises: These are three exercises on canvas to hone your causality and primary source analysis skills. Each should take ten to twenty minutes.
• Participation: You are required to actively participate in class; this includes asking as well as answering questions. If you are shy, or just do not like speaking in class, you have another option. You may keep a short journal composed of five entries on five lecture topics that interest you. Each journal entry must be at least one paragraph long, and should address how the subject matter of a lecture, or a component topic of a lecture, is relevant to the contemporary United States. Each entry must be submitted to me seven days after I present the lecture to the class. The journal entries may be typed or handwritten, whichever works for you. See Canvas for more information on the journal option.
• Extra Credit for Exams: There will be one extra-credit opportunity that will replace the lowest grade of either the Midterm or Final. The extra-credit will be a two to three page double-spaced essay. See Canvas for instructions on how to complete this extra-credit opportunity.
• Extra Credit for Papers: Each paper will have an extra-credit exercise that will raise each paper’s grade by 2-10%. In order to apply the extra-credit opportunity on the first paper, the exercise must be submitted by April 26. The second paper’s extra-credit exercise is due on May 17. Each paper has its distinct exercise and the exercises cannot be interchanged. See the prompts on Canvas for directions.
• Extra Credit for Overall Course Grade: There will be a total of three extra-credit opportunities at 5 points each that will be available for you in order to improve your overall course grade. These will be in the same format as the Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignments noted above.

Grading

Below is the grade distribution for participation, exams, papers, and assignments for the term. There will be a total of 100 points available, excluding the optional extra-credit opportunities.

• Attendance, 5%, or 5 out of a 100 points (You are expected to attend all lectures, 3 absences are grounds for failure.)
• Participation, 10%, or 10 of a 100 points
• Take-Home Midterm Exam, 10%, or 10 of 100 points
• Final Exam, 10% (in-class portion 2%, take-home portion 8%), or 10 of a 100 points
• Paper 1, 2-3 pages, 15%, or 15 of a 100 points
• Paper 2, 2-3 pages, 15%, or 15 of a 100 points
• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignments (4 total at 5% each), 20%, or 20 of a 100 points
• Canvas Primary Source Exercises (3 total at 5% each), 15%, or 15 of a 100 points

 

Grade Point Range	Grade Equivalent
3.7 to 4.0	A, 90%, or 90 points
2.7 to 3.3	B, 80%, or 80 points
1.7 to 2.3	C, 70%, or 70 points
0.7 to 1.3	D, 60%, or 60 points
0.0 to 0.3	F, 59% & below, or 59 points & below

 

Nota Bene: When course grades are assigned at the end of the semester, the grade point range above may be curved to your advantage. For example, the low end of an A grade may go down to a 3.5 and a B grade to 2.5, etc. This all depends on the overall class average.

Palomar College Services Offered to Students

• Writing Services, H-102, X2778
• Reading Services, H-114, X2568
• Tutoring/STAR Center, LL-105 (first floor of San Marcos Campus Library), X2448
• ESL, H-202L, X2273
• Other services linked on https://www.palomar.edu/studentresources/

Schedule of Assignments

Nota Bene: The schedule below is subject to changes as the course progresses. If changes take place, assignments, readings, and lectures will be postponed to a later date. You will never be given more work than what is listed below, and you will never be told to submit any assignment, take any exam, or read any chapter earlier than the dates noted below.

April 3

• Class Introduction
• Lecture: “Reconstruction”

April 5

• Reading:
  • Ramon Veloso, “Historical Causality” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Reading: Hewitt & Lawson, Chapter 15
• Lecture: “How the West Was Won: Westward Expansion & the Closing of the Frontier, 1865-1896”

April 10

• Reading:
  • Richard Laws, “Analyzing Primary Sources” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American History, Chapter 16
• Lecture: “The Gilded Age: American Industry & the Age of Organization”

April 12

• Canvas Primary Source Exercise 1
• Reading:
  • Elizabeth Losh, “Thesis Statements” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American History, Chapter 17
• Lecture: “Urban & Rural Workers in the Gilded Age: The Rise & Fall of Populism”

April 17

• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignment 1
• Reading:
  • Elizabeth Losh, “Topic Sentences” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American History, Chapter 18
• Lecture: “Immigrants & Urban America”

April 19

• Canvas Primary Source Exercise 2
• Reading:
  • Patricia Hartz, “Paragraphing” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American History, Chapter 19
• Watch on your own time this short video on what constitutes plagiarism: “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
• Lecture: “The Age of Progressivism”

April 20 (Friday)

• Extra-Credit Opportunity #1 due in Canvas by 11.59pm

April 24

• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignment 2
• Reading:
  • Elizabeth Losh, “Integrating Quotes Logically” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 20
• Watch on your own time this short video on instructions on how to avoid plagiarizing: “Lesson 2: Use Information” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
• Lecture: “United States Foreign Relations, 1898-1920”

April 26

• Take-Home Midterm Essay
• Extra-Credit Exercise for Paper #1 due
• Reading:
  • Eva Wessel, “Stylistically Integrating Quotes” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 21
• Watch on your own this video on citing using MLA format style: “Lesson 3: Cite Right with MLA” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
• Film Screening for Paper #2
  • Film, Place, & Time TBA
• Lecture: “A Return to Normalcy: Consumerism, Conservatism, & Pluralism”

May 1

• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignment 3
• Film Screening for Paper #2
  • Film, Place, & Time TBA
• Reading:
  • Ava Arndt, “What is Analysis?” in HCC Module in Canvas
  • Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 22
• Lecture: “The New Deal & the Great Depression”

May 3

• Paper Due: Primary Source Analysis Essay to be submitted in class
  • Prior to submitting your papers be sure to watch these short videos on what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarizing.
    • “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
    • “Lesson 2: Use Information” on http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/
  • Film Screening for Paper #2
    • Film, Place, & Time TBA
  • Reading: Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 23
  • Lecture: “World War II: The Homefront & a War without Mercy”

May 5 (Friday)

• Extra-Credit Opportunity #2 due in Canvas by 11:59pm

May 8

• Canvas Primary Source Exercise 3
• Film Screening for Paper #2
  • Film, Place, & Time TBA
• Reading: Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 24
• Lecture: “Origins of Cold War Culture and Politics”

May 10

• Film Screening for Paper #2
  • Film, Place, & Time TBA
• Reading: Hewitt & Lawson, Exploring American Histories, Chapter 26
• Lecture: “The Culture of Abundance in the Eisenhower & Kennedy Eras”

May 15

• Canvas Reading-Lecture Assignment 4
• Film Screening for Paper #2
  • Film, Place, & Time TBA
• Lecture: “Civil Rights during the Cold War”

May 17

• Extra-Credit Exercise for Paper #2 due
• Documentary Film: The Freedom Riders

May 18 (Friday)

• Extra-Credit Opportunity #3 due in Canvas by 11:59pm

May 22

• Paper Due: Cold War Era Movie Review Essay to be submitted in class

May 24

• Open-Notes Final Exam
  • This will be composed of two parts: a take-home essay, and an in-class short answer on the documentary The Freedom Riders.
  • The take-home essay questions are available on Canvas.