UNITED STATES SOCIAL HISTORY: CULTURAL PLURALISM IN AMERICA El Camino College - History 32 Spring 2009 Dr. Christina Gold

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1 UNITED STATES SOCIAL HISTORY: CULTURAL PLURALISM IN AMERICA El Camino College - History 32 Spring 2009 Dr. Christina Gold Class: MW 1:00-2:25 SOCS 207 Section 2394 Office: 202G Social Sciences Building Phone: (310) x Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:00; T 10:45-11:15; Th 9:45-11:15 Course Description: This course surveys the contributions of ethnic groups and racial minorities to United States history. Emphasis is placed on these groups cultural interaction with the American way of life from colonial times to the present. We will begin by learning relevant basic theory and terminology and will proceed to chronologically study the topic, focusing on the ways that race and ethnicity shaped personal lives, communities, the nation, and international relations. Grading Vocabulary Test 5% 3 Reading Reviews 15% Midterms 30% Final Exam 15% Essay 20% (5% thesis/outline; 15% paper) Participation 10% Course Portfolio 5% Textbooks Reid Luhman. Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Our Differences and Our Roots. Wadsworth, Course Reader. For sale in the El Camino book store. Reading Reviews Students will submit 3 reviews of the course readings. The reading reviews assess student understanding of the basic concepts conveyed in the textbook. Lectures Students are responsible for all the information conveyed in the lectures. Students should take notes during lecture and should borrow someone s notes for days that they are absent. Essays Students will write a 5-7 page essay based upon the secondary and primary document sources in the textbook. An outline and thesis are required prior to submission of the essay. Essay topics and the grading rubric are included in the course reader. Participation Active participation in class discussion is essential to success in the course. Assigned readings must be completed in order to effectively participate. Your final participation grade is based on your attendance, group discussions and class participation. Group Discussion In this honors course, students will participate actively in small groups that discuss primary and secondary sources. Please complete all document readings before coming to class. There will not be time for you to read the documents in class before the group discussion begins. Group

2 answers will be graded and will form part of the participation grade. In the event of absence, students are permitted to make-up two group discussions. Attendance Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. More than 3 absences in the semester will adversely impact your grade. One percentage point will be deducted per absence over 3 unless written notification of a medical or other extraordinary reason is provided. Classroom Etiquette, Cheating, Plagiarism, and Late Policy Students are expected to treat each other and the Professor respectfully. Disruptive behavior interrupts learning and creates a tense classroom environment. Please contribute to a positive learning experience for yourself and the other students. Arrive on time, prepared to participate in class. If you need to leave early, please notify the Professor before class. Out of respect for all the students hard work, cheating and plagiarism will absolutely not be tolerated. Plagiarism occurs when you take credit for the original ideas and/or words of another person. Plagiarism or cheating on any assignment or exam will incur a 0 for the grade, making it difficult to pass the course. For late assignments, the grade will be reduced by one full grade for each class meeting it is late. Reading Assignments Students should complete the assigned reading before coming to class. Do not fall behind in the reading, as it will be difficult to catch up. Try to make it a habit to do your class reading in the evening or day before we meet. Portfolio Students will submit a course portfolio in the last week of class. The portfolio contains all of the semester s work and a brief concluding self-assessment of the student s performance in the course and a discussion of how the course impacted the student s ideas about race and ethnicity. Weekly Topics and Assignments Week One Feb. 18 Week Two Feb. 23 Feb. 25 Course Introduction Learning Styles Survey Homework Due: Conduct an internet web search for the origin and meaning of your last name. Write this on a blank piece of paper, along with the country or countries from which your family first immigrated to the United States. If you aren t certain, make an educated guess. Student Introductions Theory: Basic Concepts Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Theory: Social and Ethnic Stratification Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp (Bring Luhman to class) Group Discussion: Group Rules Imagine a Country

3 Week Three March 2 Theory: Discrimination and Prejudice Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Video: The Dave Chapelle Show March 4 17 th century America, Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Week Four March 9 Vocabulary Test 17 th century America, Group Discussion: The British Colonists and the Indians March th century America, Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Week Five March th century America, Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp (Bring Luhman to class) Group Discussion: Race and Colonial America: Cecilia, a Slave March 18 Reading Review #1 Due : The New Republic Week Six March 23 Midterm #1 March 25 Week Seven March 30 April 1 Week Eight April 6 Film: PBS, Destination America: The Earth is the Lord s : Westward Expansion Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Group Discussion: Manifest Destiny : Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp : Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction Group Discussion: Reconstruction April 8 Race Relations in the South, Reading Assignment: Luhman: pp Group Discussion: African American Reformers New Groups and Group Rules SPRING BREAK April Week Nine April : American Imperialism Group Discussion: Social Darwinism

4 April 22 Week Ten April 27 Reading Review #2 Due : Immigration Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp : Immigration Group Discussion: Immigrant Experience and Restriction April 29 Midterm #2 Week Eleven May 4 May 6 Film: PBS, Destination America: The Golden Door : The Critical Period Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Group Discussion: Mexican Immigration Group Self-Evaluation Week Twelve May 11 The Great Depression and World War II Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp Bring Luhman to class. Group Discussion: Richard Wright, The Ethics of Living Jim Crow May 13 Film: The Defiant Ones, 1958 Week Thirteen May 18 Film: The Defiant Ones, 1958 The Civil Rights Movement: The Early Years Group Discussion: The Defiant Ones May 20 Paper Thesis and Outline Due The Civil Rights Movement: Radicalization Week Fourteen May 25 The 1970s: The Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement Reading Assignment: Luhman, pp May 27 Holiday Memorial Day Week Fifteen June 1 Paper Due New Immigrants Reading Assignment: Group Discussion: Luhman, pp Bring Luhman to class. New Immigrants June 3 Reading Review #3 Due The 1980s & 1990s Group Discussion: Los Angeles Riots

5 Week Sixteen June 8 June 10 Final Exam and Course Portfolio Due Pick up graded work and course grade consultation Student Learning Outcomes 1. Upon completion of History 32, students will identify and explain major social, economic, political and cultural patterns in the history of ethnic groups and racial minorities in the United States in a written or oral assignment. 2. Given primary and/or secondary source(s) pertaining to a significant aspect of economic, political, social or cultural patterns in the history of ethnic groups and racial minorities in the United States, students will develop and persuasively argue an historical thesis in a written or oral assignment that effectively uses the sources as evidence. 3. Given a primary or secondary source relating to the history of ethnic groups and racial minorities in the United States, students will accurately identify the source and then apply appropriate historical methods to explain what the source reveals about its historical context. Course Objectives 1. Assess the influence of race and ethnicity in shaping the American way of life. 2. Evaluate the significance of immigration in redefining American culture from colonial times to the present. 3. Analyze the dominant society s political, social, economic, and legal stratification of ethnic groups and racial minorities in American history. 4. Compare and contrast the status of European and African immigrants in colonial society. 5. Discuss and assess government policies for American Indians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 6. Identify and describe the contributions of major ethnic groups and racial minorities to United States history. 7. Analyze the debate over cultural pluralism in recent American history. 8. Explain and assess the cultural consequences of the assimilation process on immigrant groups. 9. Compare and contrast the economic, political, and cultural experience of Asian, European and Mexican immigrants to the United States in the latter half of the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century.

6 10. Identify the relationship between racial minorities in the American West during the latter half of the nineteenth century. 11. Evaluate the influence of the civil rights movement of the twentieth century on American social attitudes. 12. Analyze differences and similarities between pre-1945 immigration to the United States and recent immigrants from the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.