History
304: America, 1945-Present
Colorado State University - Pueblo
Spring 2008
MWF 9-10AM
Professor Jonathan Rees
Office: 124 Psychology
Office Phone: 549-2541
Office Hours: MWF 10-11AM, MW 1-2PM.
E-Mail: Jonathan [dot] Rees [at] colostate-pueblo [dot] edu
This course will examine the
social, economic, cultural and political changes that followed the Second World
War up to the present time. The topics covered will be similar to those
discussed in the second part of the History 202 survey. However, we will get into
greater detail for many important developments and have more discussion and
writing assignments than in a survey course.
I encourage students with questions or concerns about any aspect of this course to either visit me during office hours, make an appointment or contact me by E-Mail. Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a disability should speak to me during the first two weeks of class.
The taping of class lectures and discussions is not permitted unless you have my explicit permission.
Access to e-mail is a requirement for this course. If you do not have it currently, you are entitled as a student to set one up through the university. Call the computer help desk at 549-2002 for more information.
Please turn off your mobile phones before
class begins.
This University abides by
the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an
education "solely by reason of a handicap." If you have a documented
disability that may impact your work in this class and for which you may require
accommodations, please see the Disability Resource Coordinator as soon as
possible to arrange accommodations. In order to receive accommodations,
you must be registered with and provide documentation of your disability to:
the Disability Resource Office, which is located in the Psychology Building,
Suite 232.
You are responsible for all the rules and requirements contained on this syllabus. Failure to learn them will likely result in damage to your final grade.
Grading and Attendance Policies
Your grade will be based on three larger papers, a series of short e-mails and class participation. The Elvis paper will count for 15% of your grade, the Baldwin/Chavez Paper will count for 20%, the research paper will count for 20%, your written critique of two other students' draft papers will count for 5%, the weekly e-mails will count for 25%, and class participation will count for 15%.
The first paper will be based on Peter Guralnick's book, Last Train to Memphis. The question is:
Was Elvis Presley a significant figure in recent American history? Why or why not? In order to answer this question cite key passages from Guralnick's book and explore the relationship between his early biography and key trends of the 1950s.
This paper should be 4-6 pages. A draft of this paper is due via e-mail attachment at reesassignments@gmail.com on February 11. The final version of this paper is due in class on February 18.
The next paper is based on the Baldwin and Etulain books. The question is:
Compare and contrast the ways in which James Baldwin and Cesar Chavez confronted the problems faced by the racial minorities to which they belonged. Cite key passages from the Baldwin and Etulain texts in constructing your answer.
This paper should be 6-8 pages long. A draft of this paper is due via e-mail attachment at reesassignments@gmail.com on March 10.
All draft papers should show substantial progress towards completing the assignment. If your draft does not show substantial progress towards completing the assignment or you hand in no draft at all, you will not receive comments from me before the assignment deadline and I reserve the right to fail you on the assignment at that point in time.
The largest paper of the semester will be your research paper. For details on that click here.
For advice on how to write a good paper, click here.
On each Friday during which we have discussion scheduled, you will write and e-mail me a question and answer based on the reading for that day. If that reading assignment is an en entire text, you will ALSO be required to explain the thesis of that text as a separate part of the e-mail. If you demonstrate that you have read and understand the reading for that week you will get full credit. To do this, you will want to ask and answer a question that requires thought and interpretation in your answer. "What's the last word on page 61?," won't cut it. I'm looking for questions that will spark discussion. If you offer little or no indication that you have read or understand the reading for that week you will get no credit. There are 12 Fridays with such discussions scheduled over the course of the semester. You will get 10 points every time you get credit for your e-mail. [That means you can mess up 2 and still get an "A" for this part of the course.] These e-mails are due even if you are not in class. No late e-mails will be accepted for any reason. After all, what's the use once the discussion is over?
When determining class participation, I will be interested in the quality of your statements rather than the frequency with which you talk. If your comments demonstrate that you have not done the reading, you are better off not speaking at all. However, failure to talk at all during the class will make an above average grade on class participation impossible.
Grades will be measured on an A-F scale with pluses and minuses. [The University has banned C- as a final grade.] I will do my best to explain the criteria by which each assignment is graded before you undertake them.
It is assumed that students will make every effort to attend each class period, arrive on time and stay for the entire class. An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each class. If you arrive late to class, make sure your name is on the attendance sheet before you leave. Otherwise, you will be counted as absent.
You will be permitted four unexcused absences during the course of the semester (to account for the random mishaps, mistakes and burdens of everyday life). After that, you will fail the class participation section of this course. All excuses must be presented to me within one week of the absence in question. If you have eight unexcused absences, I will either make your final grade an F regardless of other performance or drop you from the course.
Any form of academic dishonesty will result in a failing
grade for the entire course. This
includes plagiarism, the taking of words and/or ideas of another and passing
them off as your own. If another
person's work is quoted directly in a formal paper, this must be indicated with
quotation marks and a citation. Paraphrased
or borrowed ideas must be identified in the footnotes of the text.
Textbooks
Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time.
Chafe, William H., Sitkoff, Harvard, and Bailey, Beth. A History of Our Time, Seventh Edition.
Etulain, ed. Cesar Chavez: A Brief Biography with Documents.
Frank, Thomas. What's the Matter with Kansas?
Herr, Michael. Dispatches.
Guralnick, Peter. Last Train to Memphis.
Wolfe, Tom. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
Books are available for purchase at the CSU-Pueblo Bookstore.
Week of January 14th:
Introduction - On the History of the Present Day
The Cold War
Reading Discussion
-
Kennan, “The Necessity for Containment,” CS&B, p. 17.
-
McCarthy, “The Internal Communist Menace,” CS&B, p. 50.
-
Begin Guralnick
Week of January 21st:
"Surviving Atomic Attack," "Duck and Cover," and "Make Mine Freedom."
The Baby Boom and the Postwar Prosperity.
Reading Discussion.
-
Hine, "The Luckiest Generation," CS&B, p. 68.
-
Marchand, "Trends in Postwar American Culture and Society, CS&B p. 75.
-
Continue Guralnick
Week of January 28th:
The 1950s: Happy Days?
Civil Rights Movement, Part 1.
Elvis Discussion.
-
Finish Guralnick
-
Brown vs. Board of Education, CS&B, p. 119.
Week of February 4th:
Civil Rights Movement, Part 2.
Kennedy and Johnson
Baldwin Discussion
-
Baldwin
-
Begin Herr
Week of February 11th:
Draft Elvis Paper Discussion
Vietnam, Part 1.
Etulain Discussion
-
Etulain
-
Continue Herr
Draft Elvis paper due February 11.
Week of February 18th:
Vietnam, Part 2.
Introduction to the 60s/The Anti-War Movement
Herr Discussion
-
Finish Herr
Final Elvis paper due February 22.
Week of February 25th:
Library Research Presentation
"The Personal is Political"
Week of March 3rd:
The Counterculture
"I Know It's Only Rock and Roll but I Like It."
Reading Discussion:
-
John Kerry, "Vietnam Veterans Against the War," CS&B, 251.
-
Bill Clinton, Letter to the Draftboard, CS&B, p. 256.
-
The Diggers, "Trip without a Ticket," CS&B, p. 277.
-
Continue Wolfe
Week of March 10th:
Movie, "The US vs. John Lennon,” Part 1.
Movie, “The US vs. John Lennon,” Part 2 and Movie Discussion.
Wolfe Discussion.
-
Finish Wolfe
Final Baldwin/Chavez Paper due March 10.
Week of March 17th:
Nixon and Watergate
Nixon's Tapes
Week of March 24th: Spring Break
Week of March 31st:
March 31st: Class Canceled
The Rise of the Conservative Movement
Reading Discussion:
-
Lisa McGirr, "Piety and Property," CS&B, p, 355.
-
E.J. Dionne, "The Religious Right and the New Republican Party," CS&B, p. 371.
-
Ronald Reagan, "The Second American Revolution," CS&B, p. 385.
Week of April 7th:
Ronald Reagan
The 80s: Wall Street and Main Street
April 11th: Class Canceled
-
Begin Frank
Week of April 14th:
Personal Computers and the Internet
Bill Clinton and the Age of Indulgence
Reading Discussion:
-
Daniel Pink, "Why the World is Flat," CS&B, p. 448.
-
J.R. McNeill, "Our Gigantic Experiment with Planet Earth," p. 464.
-
Continue Frank
Week of April 21st:
Draft Research Paper Discussion
9/11
Frank Discussion
-
Finish Frank
-
Peter Coates and Vincent Vok, 9/11.
April 21: Draft Research Papers Due
April 23: Critiques of Two Other Students' Draft Research Papers Due via E-mail.