UNITED STATES SOCIAL HISTORY: CULTURAL PLURALISM IN AMERICA Honors Transfer Program El Camino College - History 122 Spring 2014 Dr. Christina Gold Class: TuTh 9:30-10:55 / SOCS 123 / Section 2370 Office: SOCS 115 Email: cgold@elcamino.edu Office Hours: Mon/Wed/Thurs. 11:00-12:00 Course Description: This honors course surveys the contributions of ethnic and racial groups 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. This course emphasizes critical thinking and historical methods by teaching you the mechanics of how historians work. As an honors course, you will be expected to complete all the assigned readings before class, to participate actively in class and group discussions, and to write a paper that reflects critical thinking about the topics and reading materials. Grade Distribution Vocabulary Test 10% Midterm 15% Final Exam 20% Website Review 5% Oral History Review 5% Journal Article Review 5% Thesis/Outline/Bibliography 5% Research Paper 20% Participation 15% Textbooks For Purchase in ECC Bookstore 1. Leonard Dinnerstein. Natives and Strangers: A History of Ethnic Americans. 5 th edition. Oxford University Press, 2010. 2. John Hope Franklin. In Search of the Promised Land: A Slave Family in the Old South. Oxford University Press, 2006. 3. Jules Benjamin. A Student s Guide to History. 12 th edition. Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 4. Course Reader. For sale in the El Camino book store. (Please bring the Course Reader and A Student s Guide to History with you to class every day.) Other Required Reading For the research paper, students will select and read 3 journal articles and a website.
Vocabulary Test The vocabulary test will be given early in the semester and covers the key terms and concepts that will be used for analysis throughout the class. Reading Assignments Please complete the reading assignments before coming to class so that you can fully participate in class and group discussion. Research Paper and Source Reviews Students will write a 7-10 page paper based on a topic of their choice but generally based on In Search of the Promised Land: A Slave Family in the Old South. In the research process, students will write a book review of In Search of the Promised Land, a website review, and an historical article review. The paper will develop and argue an original thesis about the topic, using a variety of secondary sources. An outline, thesis and bibliography are required prior to submission of the paper. All instructions and the grading rubric are included in the course reader. Participation and Group Discussion 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 group discussions, in-class assignments and class discussion. Students will participate actively in small groups that discuss primary document sources in the course reader. Bring the course reader and A Student s Guide to History with you to class every day. Group answers will be graded and will form part of the participation grade. In the event of absence, students must make-up group discussions. 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. Attendance Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students with over 4 absences may be dropped from the class. Classroom Etiquette and Cheating 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. Late Policy and Late Passes Students have two Late Passes to hand in late work up to one week after the due date. The Late Passes do not include the final paper or final exam. After the two Late Passes are used, no late work will be accepted. I suggest that you save the Late Passes for emergencies. Etudes Course Website The class has an Etudes website for the distribution of materials, submission of reading reviews, and posting of instructional videos. To log onto Etudes: 1. Go to https://myetudes.org
2. Enter your User ID: firstname_lastname (all small letters, no spaces if your campus email address has numbers following your name, those numbers may also be included in your Etudes User ID.) 3. Enter your Password. If this is your first time using Etudes, your default password is your birth month and birth date. For example: November 20 = 1120 and March 2 = 0302. 4. Click the Login button and click the course tab for our specific class. Weekly Topics and Assignments Week One Jan. 21 Jan. 23 Course Introduction Theory Reading Assignment: Group Discussion: Course Reader: Vocabulary Definitions Benjamin, The Subject of History, pp. 1-13. Studying History and the Group Contract Week Two Jan. 28 Jan. 30 Week Three Feb. 4 Theory Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Succeeding in Your History Class, pp. 14-23; 31-35. Group Discussion: Succeeding in Class Theory Vocabulary Test Study Activity: Clickers Video: The Dave Chapelle Show Vocabulary Test 17 th century America, 1600-1700 Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 1. Feb. 6 17 th century America, 1600-1700 Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Working with Different Types of Historical Evidence, pp. 36-61. Primary documents: Vincent Bigot, Powhatan, William Bradford and John Rolphe Group Discussion: The Colonists and the Indians Week Four Feb. 11 18 th century America, 1701-1788 Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 2 Feb. 13 18 th century America, 1701-1788 Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Evaluating Primary Sources, pp. 64-67. J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur and Thomas Jefferson Group Discussion: Race and Colonial America Week Five Feb. 18 1780-1836: The New Republic Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapter 3.
Group Discussion: Margaret Van Horn Dwight, John Walker, Samuel F.B. Morse and John Doyle Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Group Self-Evaluation Using the Group Contract Feb. 20 Week Six Feb. 25 Feb. 27 1837-1877: Westward Expansion Reading Assignment: John O Sullivan and Richard Henry Dana Group Discussion: The Californios 1837-1877: Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 4 1837-1877: Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Evaluating Secondary Sources, pp. 62-64. Benjamin, Interpreting Sources and Taking Notes, pp. 69-74. Benjamin, Avoiding Plagiarism, pp. 79-80. Benjamin, Writing About Secondary Sources, pp. 89-95. Benjamin, Footnotes and Bibliography, pp. 182-186. Group Discussion: Book Reviews Week Seven March 4 Race Relations in the South, 1878-1900 Reading Assignment: In Search of the Promised Land, entire book. Dinnerstein, Chapt. 5. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois Group Discussion: African American Reformers March 6 Week Eight March 11 March 13 Book Review: In Search of the Promised Land Due Video: Slavery by Another Name, (PBS) Midterm Review and Research Paper Discussion Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Taking Exams, pp. 23-27. Benjamin, Conducting Research in History, pp. 110-117. Midterm Spring Break: March 17-21 Week Nine March 25 March 27 1878-1900: American Imperialism Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 6 Individual Assignment: American Imperialism and Political Cartoons 1878-1900: Immigration Reading Assignment: ADD Sample Article Benjamin, Scholarly Articles, pp. 45-46. Benjamin, Article Critiques, pp. 95-96. Benjamin, Searching and Databases, pp. 119-128. Benjamin, Citing Journal Articles, pp. 192-195.
Group Discussion: Article Review Week Ten April 1 April 3 Week Eleven April 8 April 10 Week Twelve April 15 April 17 1878-1900: Immigration Reading Assignment: Leonard Covello and Jacob Riis??? Group Discussion: Social Darwinism and Stereotypes Journal Article Review Due 1901-1929: The Critical Period Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 7 1901-1929: The Critical Period Reading Assignment: George Kennan and Theodore Roosevelt Benjamin, Special Problems of Evaluating Web-Based Sources, pp. 67-69. Benjamin, The Problem of Wikipedia, pp. 122-123. Benjamin, Citing Websites, pp. 198-200. Group Discussion: Americanization, Pluralism, and Exclusion Group Self-Evaluation Class Cancelled Website Review Preparing to Write the Paper: Thesis/Outline/Bibliography Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Building a History Essay, pp. 98-109. Benjamin, Writing a Research Paper, pp. 133-140. Group Discussion: Developing and Revising Thesis Statements The Great Depression and World War II Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 8 Week Thirteen April 22 Film: The Defiant Ones, 1958 April 24 Research Assignment: Thesis and Outline Due Film: The Defiant Ones, 1958 The Civil Rights Movement Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 9 Group Discussion: The Defiant Ones Week Fourteen April 29 The Civil Rights Movement Writing Activity Reading Assignment: Benjamin, Writing the Text, pp. 140-148. Benjamin, Plagiarism, pp. 71-74; 79-80. May 1 The Civil Rights Movement Week Fifteen Research Paper Due
May 6 May 8 Week Sixteen May 13 May 15 The 1970s: The Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapter 10 Video: All in the Family The 1980s & 1990s Final Exam Review Final Exam Student Learning Outcome Upon completion of United States History: Cultural Pluralism in America, students will be able to develop and persuasively argue a historical thesis in a written assignment that identifies and explains major social, economic, political and/or cultural historical themes or patterns in the history of ethnic and racial minorities in the United States and applies appropriate historical methods to analyze and use primary and/or secondary sources as evidence to support the thesis. 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. 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. ADA Statement El Camino College is committed to providing educational accommodations for students with disabilities upon the timely request by the student to the instructor. A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to the Special Resources Center To make arrangements for academic accommodations, contact the