Tue/Thu
7:45-9:50am
Classroom: DDH 104K
Office: Faculty
Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr.
Schmoll
Office Hours: MW
7-7:30am and 10-11am, Tue Thu 7-7:30
…OR MAKE AN
APPOINTMENT!!!
Email:
bschmoll@csub.edu
Office Phone: 654-6549
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:
1.
Philip
Caputo, Rumor of War
2.
Yoshiko
Uchida, Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family
3.
Jacob
Riis, How the Other Half Lives
4.
Robert
McElvaine, Down & Out in the Great
Depression
5.
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%
Immigration Interview
25%
Writing About Civil Rights
25%
Midterm Exam
30%
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://history232winter2014.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 an
interview 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. 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.
In fact, to get
a 90% participation grade or higher, you must attend all classes, contribute
thoughtful comments to the larger class discussion every day, participate
actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting,
no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get an 85%,
you can miss one class and must contribute at least one comment per week
to the large class discussion, participate actively with those around you, and
avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for
other courses, no being late.
To get an 80%,
you can miss one class and must participate actively with those around you, and
avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for
other courses, no being late.
To get a 75%,
you can miss two classes and must participate actively with those around you,
and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study
for other courses, no being late.
Show up tardy
more than once or fail to participate in the dialogue and the participation
grade will begin to diminish quickly.
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:
1/7 Intro/Intro to Reconstruction/Jourdan
Anderson/Assign Immigration Interview
1/9 Reconstruction/HOMEWORK DUE TODAY:
SIGNED STATEMENT
1/14 Industrialism
1/16 New Imperialism/1890s/How the Other Half
Lives Reading Due today
1/21 Progressivism/Immigration Interview
Due
1/23 More Progressivism
1/28 World War I/Prohibition
1/30 Woman Suffrage/ Harlem Renaissance
2/4
Midterm Examination
2/6 The Great Depression/New Deal/McElvaine
reading due today
2/11 More New Deal/From Quarantine to War
2/13 Bomb
Debate/Post War Conformity
2/18 Desert
Exile Due/The Cold War
2/20 Cold War Culture
2/25 Civil Rights/Prep the In Class Essay/
2/27
Writing About Civil Rights(in
class essay)
3/4 New Rights Movements
3/6 War in Vietnam/Caputo Reading Due Today
3/11 Political life from Ike to LBJ
3/13 Watergate and the Turbulent 70s/Last Day
of Class
FINAL EXAM: Thursday March 20 11:00am-1:30pm
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.
