History Department

HISTORY 204: AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1877 CAS/Spring 2006 Dr. Henry Kamerling Office:  201 Watkins  Hours: M/W/F 9-11 & T/R 12-1 Phone:  704-337-2435 Email: kamerlih@queens.edu

History 204 Schedule of Readings and Assignments - CAS
 

Course Overview: This course offers students an interpretive survey of the important social, economic, political, and cultural developments of American history from the end of Reconstruction to the present. As the turn of the twentieth century and end of the millennium looms it is incumbent upon us to take a look back at the past 123 years or so and examine our collective history. Pressing questions today about globalization, mega-business mergers, race relations, changing ethical and value systems, the relationship of ever changing technology to our lives, and the role of the government in overseeing these developments all have a rich and important history. We will spend this semester examining in great detail the historical context behind these pressing contemporary issues.

Your studies this semester will be divided into three separate units. Unit One will explore America’s industrial revolution in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Unit Two examines inter-war America, and Unit Three looks at America since 1945. Throughout the course I will be making the argument that there is a profound relationship between the macro-economic system behind the emergence of an industrial America and everything else from the rise of the flapper in the 1920s to changing notions of civility in the 1960s to the rising divorce rate of recent times. We will pay particular attention to how fundamental changes in our economic system precipitated profound changes in Americans’ understanding of the role of government and the expressions of popular culture.

It is important to remember that the discipline of history is a way of arguing and a way of thinking. It is not about memorizing names and dates and facts. Having a firm grasp of such material is important in order to make intelligent arguments. Historians make their living by providing interpretations, analyses, and insights into the past. In this class you will make your grade by developing the critical thinking and interpretive skills of the historian. Becoming familiar with primary source evidence will take a central role in this process.

In this class you are required to think of yourself as a historian. You must come to each class prepared to meet the past, arming yourself only with the historian’s cynicism, detective skills, and knack for critical thinking. Contradictions and complexities abound and the best historical questions have no hard and fast answers. So, fasten your seat-belts and let’s get started.

Class Format & Quizzes: This class meets three times a week for an hour. Classes will be divided between lecture and discussion. You are expected to have read the material in advance and come to class ready to discuss the day’s assignment. Bring all your books with you to each class.

Quizzes: There will be regular, five min. quizzes on the reading. Quizzes will be simple and are designed just to check and make sure you have done the reading. You may use a hand written 3x5 note card for quizzes. Students who show up early to class may start their quizzes early. Students who come late to class will not be given extra time to complete their quiz.  Quiz time will not last longer than 5 past the hour. I will generally announce quizzes in advance. However, if I sense students are not reading the material regularly or engaging in class discussion I will resort to the dreaded "pop" quiz.

Attendance Policy: Attendance counts as 5% of your final grade and affects other grades you will receive in this course like class participation. There are no "free" absences. Excused absences are possible but must be cleared with me, in advance if possible. If you show up late to class you may be marked as absent and it is your responsibility to see that I make the correct changes. This can only be done on the day you show up late and not after. Two "late" marks will count as one absence. Each un-excused absence will be factored in as a third off your final attendance grade. In addition, each absence will also take one point off your final grade for the course. Finally, absences, excused or un-excused, negatively impact your class participation grade.

Assignments and Evaluation: Breakdown of Grading Guidelines. Students taking this course will be evaluated on their performance on the following assignments:

• Expectations and Rules
• No late assignments will be accepted.
• If you show up late to class you will not be able to take or reschedule a quiz.
• Missing work will receive a "0" when calculating final grades.
• Failure to show up for class on the day an assignment is due means that you will not be able to hand in the assignment or participate in the event scheduled for that day. 
• All assignments earning an "F" will earn 30% of the total points for that portion of the assignment.
• Computer problems do not constitute a valid reason for not being able to hand in an assignment.
• You must take the final exam or you will fail the course. 
• Email submissions will not be accepted. 
• All CELL PHONES or PAGERS must be shut off before class.  If a cell phone goes off during class I will mark you down as absent for that day. 

Grading Homework:  Homework submitted will earn only a check.  If all homework is submitted, the student will earn all the points towards their final grade.  Homework will earn a "check -" a "check" or a "check +."  These indicate unsatisfactory work, satisfactory work, or exemplary work.  Two "check -" marks on a student's homework will result in a "zero" mark in the gradebook.  This is equivalent to as a failure to submit a homework assignment.  

Required Reading: You will need to purchase 4 books for this course. These are:
    1. Alan Brinkley, American History:  A Survey, Vol. II, 11th edition
    2. Hoffman and Gjerde, editors, Major Problems in American History, vol. II, since 1865
    3. Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (must be University of Illinois Press edition w/ introduction by James Barrett) 
    4.  Jeffrey P. Moran, The Scopes Trial:  A Brief History with Documents
    5.  Reserve readings are in the Library in the a 3 ring binder, with the title "Readings in Recent American History" and are indicated by the mark ® on the syllabus.