• Explore California History from the perspective of a researcher (if you are a History or any other Major) or as an educator (if you are in the Social Science Education Track).
• Analyze the major themes and issues in California history and the historical and geographical forces that shaped them.
• Reflect upon the most effective ways to make California history accessible, interesting, and relevant.

1. Geographical, cultural, ethnic, and geological diversity are primary ingredients in California's history.
2. Interaction, assimilation, and conflict among racial and socioeconomic groups has shaped California's history.
3. Since statehood, Californians have manipulated their environment in order to extract resources, build more complex economies, and attract and support larger populations.
4. California's lack of water is perhaps the central fact of its existence - and various water policies have all depended on the manipulation of this scarce resource.
5. California is a place of the extreme, the unusual, and the spectacular.
6. In geographical terms, California is a very old place; in socio-political terms, California is a relatively new place.
7. The real history of California is complex and filled with stories of both success and failure, power and oppression, interaction and conflict, extraordinary and ordinary individuals, environmental conservation and destruction.
8. California's society is most accurately characterized by persistent inequality, attempts by certain groups to subordinate others, and inter-group tensions between those in power and those courageous Californians who have resisted social, economic, and political oppression.

Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory. If you miss 3 classes, your final grade in the class will drop a full grade. If you miss 5 classes, your final grade will drop two full grades. If you miss 7 classes, your final grade will drop three full grades. More than 8 absences will result in failure.

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Course Requirements

For each class meeting, you will have various reading and Internet-based assignments. Prior to coming to class, please complete all reading and assignments explained in detail on the Course Outline below. Your prior thought and preparation about the assignments will enable us to have a more intellectual conversation during each class meeting. PLEASE NOTE - If you are a History Major or a History Major - Social Science Education Track student, keep all your work for this class with my comments on them for inclusion in your final portfolio for the History Department.

Following are the course requirements:

Book: Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi, Wherever There's a Fight: How ruanaway slaves, suffragists, immigrants, strikers, and poets shaped civil liberties in California. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2009. Chapters will be assigned as noted in the Course Outline below. Please note that a copy of this book is available on Reserve in the Library.

Primary and secondary documents: Various online primary and secondary documents as noted in the Course Outline below will be required and can be accessed either directly online or through the Library's Oncores program. To learn how to use and access Oncores readings, go to http://library.humboldt.edu/circulation/oncores_accessing.html. To directly access the Oncores readings for this course, simply go to http://oncores.humboldt.edu/cgi-bin/oncores.cgi?crn=41083 and click on the article you wish to read or download.

Assessments: The following will be completed throughout the semester: cold call reading reviews, a social justice research project, and a final examination. All assignments are listed in red on the course syllabus. Please note: You will only get credit for all of the following assignments IF you attend the entire class on the day the assignments are due.

• "Cold Call" Reading Reviews (100 total points or 10 points each for 10 reviews ). You will be assigned a total of 20 primary and secondary readings throughout the semester - each of which is available online, through Oncores, or from Wherever There's A Fight. On the 20 days that you have required reading, I will pose questions directly related to the reading to 1/3 or more of all students who are present. Questions will be broad-based and will require analytical thinking. Additionally, at least one question will always address new academic language that you learned in the reading. To prepare you for the class "cold call," you should think about the following for each of the required readings:
  • What are the 3-5 ideas/themes/topics that you believe are most important to understand in the reading.
  • What are 5-10 new academic language words or phrases you encountered in the reading. You must be able to define them and explain how and why they are important to understand the article's content.
  • What questions remain after you completed the reading.
• Because I will be cold calling - not asking for volunteers - you must be ready to engage in a collegial discussion about the required reading. You may use any of your notes about the reading to help you formulate your answers. You will be called upon A MINIMUM OF 10 TIMES THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. If you are called upon more than 10 times, you will earn extra credit points for your answers. The following point system will be used to determine the score for the answers:
• 10 points if you engage intellectually in the conversation by addressing the specifics of the question and if your response indicates a deep understanding of the reading assignment;
• 8 points if you engage intellectually in the conversation by addressing most of the specifics of the question and if your response indicates a solid understanding of the reading assignment.
• 5 points if you engage in the conversation by addressing some of the specifics of the question and if your response indicates an average understanding of the reading assignment.
• 0 points if you cannot engage in the conversation, are unable to address the specifics of he question and you have little to no understanding of the reading assignment.

• Final Exam (100 points). On Monday, December 16th from 3-4:50pm, you will come to class prepared to take your final exam which consists of two components: PLEASE NOTE - This is revised. You will only have to provide the written component of the final exam - due in class on December 16th. There will be NO ORAL COMPONENT. The exam will still be worth 100 points - 25 points for each question.
  • Written component. Ten days before the exam, you will receive 4 essay questions. Each will address one or more of the course discussions and will require the use of specific examples from classroom discussion notes and required reading materials. You must take notes on each question and turn in your typewritten notes - in any format that helps you study - on the day of the exam.
• Oral component. For the oral component, the class will be divided into four small groups, each of which will work together for 15 minutes i to produce a collective answer to a one of the four questions. Each group will then take 5-7 minutes to present their answer to the class. The remainder of the class will engage in a dialog with the oral presenters about each of the questions and will complete a required evaluation form for the oral presentations.
• Each exam will be assessed as follows:
  • 80% of your grade - or 80 points - will be based upon your written notes and the quality of examples used from the classroom and reading materials.
  • 10% of your grade - or 10 points - will be based upon the dialog in which you engage during the presentations of the other groups.
  • 10% of your grade - or 10 points - will be based on the evaluation form you complete during and after the oral presentations.
• There will be no make-ups for this exam. You must be present on the day it is given to receive your grade.

• Civil Rights/Social Justice Research Project (250 points). Each of you will pick a person or topic related to the struggle for civil rights and social justice in California between 1950-2010. You must then conduct research on your subject and use your findings to create two products: a research paper and a visual, electronic presentation that you will present to a small group of your classmates. Following are the steps for completing this project:
  • Selecting a person or topic. Pick a person or topic of great interest to you - something about the struggle for social justice in California that you would enjoy researching and learning about throughout the semester.
  • Conducting the research. Examine the primary documents and secondary documents that will inform your understanding of the person or topic.
  • Completing the Preliminary Research Design (25 points out of 250 total points). Complete the required research design and turn it in at the beginning of class on September 25th. You can access the Preliminary Research Design Template by clicking here.
  • Meeting with your professor for a one-on-one conversation about the progression of your research and your thesis topic. Make an appointment anytime during the weeks of October 2 - October 23 with your professor. During this meeting, you must be able to fully articulate your thesis, discuss how your research is progressing (i.e., things that are going well, stumbling blocks, etc.), and explain what steps still need to be taken.
  • Discussing your thesis and research with your colleagues and engaging in a peer review. During class on November 4th, you will come to class prepared to work in a group of 3-4 of your colleagues and explain your thesis and how your research is progressing. Your peers will be reviewing your work and assisting you with clearer articulation of your research goals and findings.
  • Turning in a rough draft of your research paper (50 points out of 250 total points). On November 13th, you will submit a solid draft of your research paper.
  • Writing your research paper. (100 points out of 250 total points)Write up your findings in your research paper and turn it in on December 16th. Your paper must be at least 8 pages and no more than 10 pages in length. You must address the following six components in your research paper:
    • An introduction that explains how and why you selected the person or topic for your research.
    • A thesis statement in which you stake a claim and map out the basis for the argument you will be making.
    • A detailed and historical explanation of how and why your person or topic was/is involved in the struggle for social justice in California. This will be the central focus - the heart of your research paper.
    • An explanation of how and why the life of the person or your topic relate to one or more of the course themes.
    • A final analysis and conclusion that addresses what you discovered about California history in the process of your research, how the focus of your research may have changed as your research continued, and what you believe are the "bottom line" conclusions of your research.
    • A bibliography of all your resources. Note that your bibliography will not count as part of your total pages for the project.
  • Designing the presentation. Once you have finished your research paper, begin to think about how you can design a visual, electronic presentation that will highlight the story you uncovered during the course of your research. In your presentation on December 16th, you must address the following four components:
    • An introduction that explains how and why you selected the person or topic for your tour.
    • An explanation of how and why the life of the person or the events related to your topic relate to one or more of the course themes.
    • An analysis of your research findings that addresses what you discovered about California history in the process of your research, how the focus of your research may have changed as your research continued, and what you believe are the most important things about your research that your classmates should understand.
    • Visual and written information that is interesting and creative.
  • Sharing your presentation (75 points out of 250 total points). Put your presentation together using your choice of computer technologies - powerpoint, youtube video, short movie, etc. You may be as creative as you wish with your mode of presentation. On the day your project is due - December 16th - you will each share your presentation with a small group of your classmates - between 4-5. Each group will select the best presentation and the person who is selected will then share his/her project with the whole class.

It is possible to accumulate 450 points for this semester's class. Points and grades will be earned as follows:

• 450 - 400 points = A
• 399 - 350 points = B
• 349 - 300 points = C
• 299 - 250 points = D
• 249 and below points = F

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Course Outline

This course is divided into four units of academic study. Under each of the four units, you will find the topic and a link to the discussion guides for each day's discussion, as well as the required reading and any required assignments that are due.

8/26 - Introduction: California - Land of Mythology and Geographical Diversity. The discussion guides can be found at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/Calif-LandofDiversity.html

Unit I: Colonizing California

• 8/28 - The Original Californians. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Elinson and Yogi, "Introduction" (pp 1-6) and "Epilogue" (pp 453-429)
    • 8/28 - First Reading Review
• 9/2 - Labor Day Holiday. No class.
• 9/4-9/9 - The Discovery, Exploration, and Founding of Spanish California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 8/30 : Guadalupe Vallejo, "Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California," (1890) at http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist2/rancho.html.
    • 9/4 - Second Reading Review
• 9/11- 9/16 - Mexican Occupation and American Conquest. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here
  • Required Reading for 9/11: Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, Chapter 13, "Trading at Monterey" at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DanTwoy.html (click on Chapter 13).
    • 9/11 - Third Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 9/16: The Chronicle, "The Foremothers Tell of Olden Times," (1900) at http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/foremoms.html.
    • 9/16 - Fourth Reading Review

• 9/18-9/23 -The California Gold Rush and the Contoversy over the State Constitution. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 9/18: Rudolfo Acuna, "California Lost: America for Anglo-Americans" in Occupied America on Oncores
    • 9/18 - Fifth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 9/23: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 2, "In a Strange Land: The Rights of Immigrants."
    • 9/23 - Sixth Reading Review
• 9/25 - 9/30 - The Intricate Web of State and National Politics: 1850-1860. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • 9/25 - Required Assignment: Preliminary Research Design
• 10/2 class cancelled due to professor's illness
• 10/7 - Entrepreneurial Politics and Economics: The Transcontinental Railroad and Its Consequences for California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here
  • Required Reading: “Central Pacific Railroad: Building the Central Pacific – A Narrative History” available on Oncores.
    • 10/7- Seventh Reading Review
• 10/9 - Americanization. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Bret Harte, "Indiscriminate Massacre... 1860" at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/BretHarte.html and Elison and Yogi, Ch. 1, "Staking Our Claim: The Law in California"
    • 10/9 - Eighth Reading Review CANCELLED.
• 10/14-10/16 The Consequences of Progress. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
• Required Viewing for 10/14: The Big Trees at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq5FDMCGIQs
• Required reading for 10/16: Andrew S. Isenberg, "Capitalizing on Nature: Innovation and Production in the Redwood Forests" in Mining California: An Ecological History on Oncores
  • 10/14 - Eighth Reading Review
  • 10/16 - Ninth Reading Review

• 10/21-10/23- Labor, Reform, Industry, and Politics. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 10/21: James J. Rawls and Walton Bean, "Labor and Capital" in California: An Interpretive History on Oncores
    • 10/21 - Tenth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 10/23: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 3, "An Injury to All: the Rights of Workers."
    • 10/23 - Eleventh Reading Review
• 10/28-10/30 - California within the National Framework: The Great Depression and World War II. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 10/28 : Kevin Starr, "War and Peace: Garrison State and Suburban Growth" in California on Oncores; and Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 7, "Mightier than the Sword."
    • 10/28 - Twelfth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 10/30: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 12, "Behind Barbed Wire: WWII Removal and Incarceration."
    • 10/30 - Thirteenth Reading Review
    • 10/30 - In-class peer review of research.
• 11/4-11/6 - Case Study of California Growth: Southern California and Los Angeles. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 11/4 "Myth, History and Water in the Eastern Sierra" by Abraham Hoffman. Please conduct a Google search for this pdf document. It should come right up but it cannot be directly connected to the syllabus.
    • 11/4 - Fourteenth Reading Review
  • Required Reading and Viewing for 11/6: Watch the videotape of the Rodney King Beating at http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/kingvideo.html AND read Goals #6 and #7 about the Watts and Rodney King Riots in the discussion guides for today at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/LosAngeles.html
    • 11/6 - Fifteenth Reading Review
• 11/11 - Veteran's Day Holiday. No Class
• 11/13 - California Water - Political and economic policies related to a scarce resource. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here
  • Required Reading: Read Goals #1 and #2 in the discussion guide for today at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/Water.html AND read "Contemporary Issues Related to California's Water" at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/WaterProblems.html
    • 11/13 - Sixteenth Reading Review
    • 11/13 - First Draft of Social Justice Research Paper due.
• 11/18 - Chicano Power in California. No discussion guides for today.
  • Required Viewing: Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. This 4-part video is available in the library. Students will be divided into four groups - each of which must watch one part of the video prior to coming to class. Each group will spend 15 minutes discussing the following about the part they reviewed. You must be prepared to discuss the 3-5 most important things you want to share with your classmates about the evolution of the Chicano Movement in your portion of the video and a brief explanation of how useful this part was to your understanding of the Chicano Movement in California.
    • 11/18 - Seventeenth Reading Review
• 11/20 - Californians and Civil Liberties. No discussion guides for today.
  • Required Reading: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 4,"Under Color of Law: The Fight for Racial Equality;" and Ch. 5, "Holding Up Half the Sky: The Rights of Women; and Ch. 6, "The Right Not to Remain Silent" and Ch. 9, "That Dare Not Speak its Name;" and Ch. 10, "Breaking Down Barriers;" and Ch. 11, "The Wrong Side of the Law."
    • 10/20 - Eighteenth Reading Review

• 12/2 - Campus Turmoil . The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required viewing and reading: Berkeley in the Sixties (documentary) AND California Master Plan for Higher Education, "Preface" at http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9c6008sn;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00007&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=calisphere and Chapter 1 (pages 1-15) at http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9c6008sn;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=chap1&toc.depth=1&toc.id=chap1&brand=calisphere
    • 12/2 - Eighteenth Reading Review
• 12/4 - Red Power in California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Read the "Background," "The Landing," and "The Occupation" at under the "Reclaiming Native Land" section accessible on the Alcatraz is Not An Island website at http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/nativeland.html and listen to and read the 7 short interviews of those who were at Alcatraz at http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/people.html. (All can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate subtitle in the left-hand margin of the website.) .
    • 12/4 - Nineteenth Reading Review
• 12/9-12/11 - Brown, Reagan, and Brown: California Governors. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 12/9: Richard B. Rice, William A. Bullough, Richard J. Orsi, "Eras of Limits: Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, and After" in The Elusive Eden on Oncores.
    • 12/9 - Twentieth Reading Review

Monday, December 16th from 3-4:50 - Final Examination is due AND Social Justice Research Paper and Presentations due

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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.

• Writing. Each assignment requires the use of writing skills. The journal entries on the required course reading and the two lesson plans requires multiple types of academic writing.
• Research. The two lesson plans require extensive research involving both primary and secondary sources, the application of such research to a middle or high school history course, and a chronological understanding of the chosen topic.
• Critical thinking. You will be asked to use critical thinking when completing every course requirement, as well as during the Socratic discussions that take place during every class period.
• Historiography and methodology. You will gain a better understanding of what historians actually do by learning in our first unit of study how historians agree and disagree about causes and consequences of historical topics. You will also discuss various teaching methodologies that will help students understand the relevance of history to their lives, as well as how interesting and exciting history can be.
• Oral presentation. You will be required to give an oral presentation of both of your lesson plan to a group of your peers.

• Academic Honesty. Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity. For HSU's definitions of academic honesty and cheating, as well as the consequences of and appeal process for being accused of cheating, see http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/academic_honesty.php
• Add/Drop policy: Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for dropping or adding classes found at http://www.humboldt.edu/~reg/regulations/schedadjust.html
• Emergency evacuation: The evacuation plan for the classroom, which is posted on the orange signs, can be accessed at http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/campus_emergency_preparedness.php
• During an emergency, information can be found campus conditions at: 826-INFO or online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~humboldt/emergency.
• Attendance and disruptive behavior: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior found at http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/attendance_behavior.php