History 111 - SPRING 2009
Dr. Gayle Olson-Raymer

Founder's Hall 165;  Phone:  826-4788
e-mail: go1@humboldt.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11:15-1:00; Thursdays, 1-4:00; and by appointment

**** Please note: I have the right to revise the syllabus at any time during the course of Semester****

REVISED MARCH 2, 2009 - SEE "EXAMS" AND "COURSE OUTLINE" BELOW

Course Description and Major Skills: This course, which meets the institutions requirements in U.S. history established by the California Legislature (CSU Executive Order 405 and Title 5: 40404), focuses on the "significant events covering a minimum time span of approximately 100 years occurring in the entire area now included in the United States of America, including the relationships of regions within that area and with external regions and powers as appropriate to the understanding of those events within the United States during the period under study and the role of major ethnic and social groups in such events and the contexts in which the events have occurred." It also includes a discussion of "events within a framework which illustrates the continuity of the American experience and its derivation from other cultures including consideration of three or more of the following: politics, economics, social movements, and geography." Additionally, this course meets the five major skills that the History Department believes historians need and that history majors should develop as they progress through the major: writing, research, critical thinking, historiography and methodology, and oral presentation.

Course Syllabus: Please consult this course syllabus online for all questions regarding course requirements and assignment due dates - as welld as for any changes in the syllabus and/or assignments. The syllabus is available online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~go1/hist111/outline2009.html. For those of you who wish to have an extended discussion about the syllabus and the course requirements, you may attend the extra credit evening meeting on Wednesday, February 4th from 6-8pm (see "Extra Credit" below for details.) Other online course materials can be accessed at http://www.humboldt.edu/~go1/hist111/index.html where you can review the overheads used for each class. Please note, even though the overheads are included for each class meeting, they are not the equivalent of the lecture notes. In most cases, the overheads will not make sense without attending class; you must attend class!!!

Teaching Assistants.  This semester we are fortunate to have Jesse Re as our teaching assistant for the 8:00 am class and Nicole Sinclair for the 9:30 am class. Jesse and Nicole will be available to you in the following capacities: to hold regular office hours (to be announced), to help with various class presentations and lectures, and to help you with anything related to the course. You may reach Jesse via email at jer33@humboldt.edu and Nicole at nes21@humboldt.edu.

HISTORY 111 COURSE REQUIREMENTS - Spring 2009

Required Reading. You will be required to read three books as well as several articles on the Internet.   Because one of the main objectives for this class to critically examine the historical materials presented in class discussions and required in the reading, it is essential that you complete the required reading prior to coming to class.

Required Books for every student:

Required Book for half of the students in each class. Students will be assigned to read one of the following two books:

Required Internet Readings: You will be required to read several internet articles - each of which is listed below in the course syllabus.

Recommended Reading and Other Work: The syllabus contains suggestions for extra credit Internet reading and film viewing for all class discussions. While none of this is required, it is useful historical information that can add to your understanding of U.S. history and contribute to your grade.

Grading and Requirements Grades are dependent upon the following three required assessment tools: exams (60%); book analysis and teach-in (10%); and research teach-in (30%). For a list of all assignments and due dates for the entire semester, click here.

1. Exams (60% of total grade.) You will take three exams this semester - one at the end of each of the three course units. Each will be worth 20% of your grade for the course. Exams will be given on Feb. 17, March 24, and May 7th. There will be no make-ups. The first and third exams have a written and an oral component which is explained below:

Each exam will be graded as follows:

The second exam, which is due March 24th AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS, will be a take-home exam. The exam questions will be posted online by March 10th. After that date, students may access the questions by clicking here. The written requirements are the same as the other two exams. There will be no oral class discussion of these exam questions.

2. Book Analysis and Teach-In (15% of total grade). Each of you will read one of the two required books - either Coming of Age in Mississippi or The Autobiography of Malcolm X. In addition to completing a book analysis as described below for both books, you will also need to be prepared to teach your book to a classmate who did not read it on the day of the teach-in, Thursday, April 23rd.

Coming of Age in Mississippi (15% of total grade). Please address the following first four questions in 2-3 pages.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (15% of total grade). Please address the following first four questions in 2-3 pages.

  1. Using specific quotes from the book, explain how at least one major event that shaped Malcolm X's life during each of his four distinct periods - The Malcolm Little Phase (his childhood), The Detroit Red Phase (his life as a hustler), The Malcolm X Phase (his work with the Nation of Islam), and The El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Phase (his period of "enlightenment".) This will require an explanation of four specific events. Then, explain how each of these events may have been related to a larger historical event.
  2. How did Malcolm X's attitudes about human rights differ from Martin Luther King, Jr's attitudes about civil rights? Support your answer with evidence from the text . Explain which approach to gaining social, economic, and political equality for African Americans you most support - those of Malcolm X or those of Martin Luther King, Jr.
  3. Watch the film discussed in the book, The Hate that Hate Produced which can be viewed online at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6140647821635049109. Using at least three specific excerpts from the video, explain how the video contributed to your understanding of the Nation of Islam as well as Malcolm X's role within it.
  4. Much of Malcolm's story is about fighting oppression. How would you define oppression? Explain any incidence in your life in which you experienced oppression. How do you think Malcolm would define oppression? How does your definition and experience compare and contrast with Malcolm's.
  5. On a separate page (an additional page), list the 5-10 most important "big ideas" or themes in the book and of the video The Hate that Hate Produced that you will share with your classmate during the book teach-in on April 23rd. One of these themes or "big ideas" must deal with the issue of oppression as Malcolm experienced it.

The analysis is due on Thursday, April 23rd - on the same day of the book teach-in. During the book teach-in, each pair which meet for 40 minutes (10-15 minutes per person to teach the book, leaving 10-20 minutes for a compare and contrast discussion) to discuss at least the following three things:

3. Research Teach-In (25% of total grade.) You will each research any topic that we will not discuss in class and that relates to any any historical issue, incident, trend, or topic that occurred or person that lived in the United States between 1970 and the present. There are four steps to this assignment:  picking a topic and completing the preliminary research assignment; conducting your research;  writing your paper; and giving an oral presentation to a small group of your classmates.

You must also attach the following three extra pages to your paper (these do not count as part of the four page paper requirement):

Giving an Oral Presentation. This is where your interest in and passion for the topic you select will really shine. On Thursday, April 16th you will share the results of your research in informal, small groups. Do not read your paper, but rather describe what you learned about the topic and what you think might interest your colleagues about your findings. This is a good time to use any audio, visual, poetic, literary, photographic, or artistic primary documents that you used in your research project.   Please note that you must be in class to present your research.  If you are not present, you will not receive credit for the research paper.

Extra Credit: Extra credit will not replace any required assignments; rather, it will help out with a "fence sitter" grade. Once you complete any extra credit assignment, please come talk directly to me about it during my office hours. Following are extra credit options:

Unit I: Closing and Opening New Frontiers, 1877 - 1916

1/20 - Introductory Discussion of Course Syllabus and The Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States

1/29 - 2/3   Discussion: Industrialization and Urbanization in the Gilded Age. Required Reading for 1/29: Chapter 16 in Foner and Chapter 11 in Voices. Required Reading for 2/3: Foner, Chapter 17, pp. 546-571.
Extra Credit:

2/5-2/10  Discussion: The American Quest for Empire. Required reading for 2/5: pp. 572-581 in Chapter 17 in Foner, pp. 622-627 in Chapter 19 in Foner, and Chapter 12 in Voices.
Extra Credit:

2/10 - PRELIMINARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT DUE . Click here to access the form.

2//12  Discussion: Politics and the Impulse to Reform. Required reading: Chapter 18 in Foner and Chapter 13 in Voices.
Extra Credit
:

 2/17 - UNIT I ORAL EXAM

2/19 - OPTIONAL LEARNING FROM UNIT I EXAM DUE

Unit II:  Responding to International and Domestic Crises, 1917 - 1945

2/19- 2/24 Discussion: Causes and Consequences of World War I, Required reading for 2/19: Chapter 19 in Foner and Chapter 14 in Voices.
Extra Credit:

2/26-3/5 Discussion: The Not-So-Roaring Twenties, The Depression, and "A New Deal" for Americans. Required reading for 2/26: Ch. 20 in Foner and Ch. 15 in Voices
Required reading for 3/3:
Chapter 21 in Foner.
Extra Credit:

3/10-3/12 Discussion: Causes and Consequences of World War II. Required reading for 3/10: Chapter 22 in Foner and Chapter 16 in Voices. Required reading for 3/12: browse through and read some of the articles in the Fly Girls web site at  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls(or check out a copy of the Fly Girls CD from the teaching assistant.)
Extra Credit:

3/24 - SECOND EXAM (WRITTEN) IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.

Unit III:  Fermenting International and Domestic Turmoil, 1946-1987

4/2-4/7  Discussion: The Cold War in the International Arena. Required reading for 4/7: Chapter 23 in Foner.
Extra Credit:

4/9 - 4/14 Discussion: Vietnam and the Anti-War Movement. Required reading for 4/9: Chapter 25 in Foner and Chapter 18  in Voices. Required Viewing for 4/14:  See the movie, The Fog of War (available at local video stores in either VHS or DVD).
Extra Credit:

4/16 - RESEARCH TEACH-IN

4/21-4/23 - Discussion 4: The War Within and the Struggle for Civil Rights. Required Reading for 4/21: Chapters 17 in Foner and 19 in Voices. Required Reading for 4/23: Coming of Age in Mississippi or The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Extra Credit:

4/23 - BOOK ANALYSIS AND TEACH-IN DUE

4/28- Discussion: The Seventies. Required Reading: Chapter 26 in Foner, pp. 886-916 ONLY; Chapter 20 in Voices. Required Viewing: Nixon-Frost.
Extra Credit
:

4/30-5/5 Discussion: The Triumph of Conservatism. Required Reading for 4/30: Chapter 26 in Foner, pp. 917-926 ONLY; and Chapter 21 in Voices.
Extra Credit:

5/7 - UNIT III ORAL EXAM