History 232 Section 1 (CRN 30019)
Tue/Thu 7:45-9:50am
Classroom: CB 02
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office Hours: MTWTH 10-11am
…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:
3%
Debate on Dropping of the Bomb
10%
Participation
2%
Immigration Interview
30%
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://history232spring2014.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.
Interview:
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 subject will be.
For the interview, you will need to find someone who is at least 50 and decided
to immigrate to this country. 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:
4/1 Intro/Intro to Reconstruction/Jourdan
Anderson/Assign Immigration Interview
4/3 Reconstruction/HOMEWORK DUE TODAY: SIGNED
STATEMENT
4/8 Industrialism
4/10 New Imperialism/1890s/How the Other Half Lives
Reading Due today
4/15 Progressivism/Immigration Interview Due
4/17 More Progressivism
4/22 World War I/Prohibition
4/24 Woman Suffrage/Harlem Renaissance
4/29 EXAM #1
5/1 The Great Depression/New Deal/McElvaine reading
due today
5/6 More New Deal/From Quarantine to War
5/8 Bomb
Debate/Post War Conformity
5/13 Desert Exile Due/The Cold War
5/15 Cold War Culture
5/20 Civil Rights/Prep the In Class Essay
5/22 Writing About
Civil Rights(in class essay)
5/27 New Rights Movements
5/29 War in Vietnam/Caputo Reading Due Today
6/3 Political
life from Ike to LBJ
6/5 Watergate and the Turbulent 70s/EXAM #2
FINAL EXAM: Thursday June 12, 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.
