UNITED STATES SOCIAL HISTORY: CULTURAL PLURALISM IN AMERICA El Camino College - History 122 Fall 2015 Dr. Christina Gold Class: TuTh 9:30-10:55 / SOCS 123 / Section 2413 Office: SOCS 115 Email: cgold@elcamino.edu Office Hours: Monday/Wedensday 12:45-1:45 and Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:30 Course Description: This course considers the contributions of ethnic and racial groups to U.S. history and explores how race and ethnicity shaped personal lives, communities, the nation, and international relations. In Unit I of the course we will study the condition of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. today and will be learning the academic terms used to study race and ethnicity. The following three units will apply those academic terms to study race and ethnicity in the past. Emphasis will be placed on the central question of how the past led to and continues to shape racial and ethic relations in the U.S. today. This course emphasizes critical thinking and historical methods by teaching you the mechanics of how historians work. The Student Learning Outcome for the course states that upon completion of the course you 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. In order to achieve this outcome we will learn the content of the relevant history; how to analyze historical sources; and how to develop and argue an historical thesis. You will show your achievement of these skills in the reseach paper and in the written exams. Assignments Course Points Percentage Weight Unit I Test 150 points 15% Unit II Test 150 points 15% Unit III Test 150 points 15% Unit IV Test 150 points 15% Thesis/Outline/Bibliography 100 points 5% Paper 150 points 20% Participation (15 assignments) 150 points (10 points each) 15% Totals 1,000 points 100% Textbooks 1. Richard T. Schaefer, Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the USA. Pearson. 2014. ISBN 978-0-205-18188-9. Amazon: rental $25, ebook $45 ECC bookstore: used $85, new $115 2. Christina Gold, History 122 Course Reader. For sale in the El Camino book store for $6. (Please bring the Course Reader with you to class every day.) 3. Leonard Dinnerstein, et al. Natives and Strangers: A History of Ethnic Americans. 6 th edition. Oxford University Press. 2015. ISBN. 978-0-19-930341-0. Amazon: new $45 (no rental available) ECC bookstore: used $38, new $50
Unit Tests The course is divided into four units with a test at the end of each unit. Unit I concludes with a vocabulary test. Units II, III, IV end with short answer and essay tests. Students will be given study guides for each test. Reading Assignments Assigned readings should be completed before the class period for which they are assigned. Research Paper Students will write a 5 page paper about the history of a racial or ethnic group of their choice. All instructions and the grading rubric are included in the course reader. As part of the preparation to writing the paper, students will submit a thesis/outline/bibliography. 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 and in-class assignments. Students will participate actively in small groups that discuss primary document sources in the course reader. Bring the course reader with you to class every day. In the event of absence, students must make-up group discussions and individual assignments. Attendance Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students with over four absences may be dropped from the course. 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. Etudes Our course grade book and website will be maintained on Etudes. Occasionally, PowerPoints or other course materials will be posted there. 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 like this jane_doe4012.) 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. Students with a Disability 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 Special Resources Center. Student Code of Conduct: http://www.elcamino.edu/administration/board/boarddocs/5500%20%20academic%20honesty.pdf Student Rights and Grievances Procedure 5530: http://www.elcamino.edu/administration/board/policies.asp 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.
WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS --------------------------- UNIT I --------------------------- Week One Tues Aug 25 Thurs Aug 27 Introduction Basic Terms and Theories 1: Race and Ethnicity Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapter 1 Group Discussion: Group Contract and Race as a Social Construct Week Two Tues Sept 1 Thurs Sept 3 Basic Terms and Theories 1: Race and Ethnicity Individual Assignment: Five Minute Paper Basic Terms and Theories 2: Prejudice Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 2 Group Discussion: Stereotypes and Interracial Relations Week Three Tues Sept 8 Thurs Sept 10 Basic Terms and Theories 3: Discrimination Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 3 Group Discussion: Wealth Gap Unit I Test
--------------------------- UNIT II --------------------------- Week Four Tues Sept 15 Native Americans Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 5 Thurs Sept 17 Worlds Collide Europeans and Native Americans, 1492-1590 Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 1 Group Discussion: Bartolome de las Casas and the Debate Over Conquest Self-Evaluation Week Five Tues Sept 22 The Colonies and Native Americans, 1588-1701 Reading Assignment: Course Reader: Vincent Bigot, Powhatan, William Bradford and John Rolphe Group Discussion: The British Colonists and the Indians Thurs Sept 24 Colonial Slavery, 1441-1770 Individual Assignment: Five Minute Paper Week Six Tues Sept 29 Thurs Oct 1 Diversity and Social Stratification Reading Assignments: Schaefer, Chapt. 6 Crevecoeur, Letters From an American Farmer Group Discussion: Diversity in the Colonies and Today The American Revolution, the New Republic and the Limits of Equality Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapter 2 Week Seven Tues Oct 6 Thurs Oct 8 The South and Slavery, 1790s-1850s Unit II Test
--------------------------- UNIT III --------------------------- Week Eight Tues Oct 13 Thurs Oct 15 Immigration, Urbanization and Reform, 1820s-1850s Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 3 Group Discussion: Developing Conclusions and Irish Immigrant Stereotypes Westward Expansion, 1830s-1850s Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 7 Course Reader: Richard Henry Dana Week Nine Tues Oct 20 Thurs Oct 22 Westward Expansion, 1830s-1850s Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 8 Writing a History Paper Week Ten Tues Oct 27 The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1863-1877 Thurs Oct 29 Thesis/Outline Due The South, West and North at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 4 Group Discussion: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois New Group Contract Week Eleven Tues Nov 3 American Imperialism, 1878-1900 Group Discussion: Imperialism Thurs Nov 5 Unit III Test
--------------------------- UNIT IV --------------------------- Week Twelve Tues Nov 10 Thurs Nov 12 Immigration, 1890-1914 and Today Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 5 Schaefer, Chapt. 4 Group Discussion: Reflection on Immigration Reform World War I and the 1920s Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 6 Week Thirteen Tues Nov 17 Thurs Nov 19 Great Depression and World War II Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 7 Paper Due The Civil Rights Movement Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 8 Group Discussion: The Civil Rights Movement Week Fourteen Tues Nov 24 Thurs Nov 26 The Civil Rights Movement Group Discussion: All in the Family Thanksgiving Holiday Week Fifteen Tues Dec 1 The U.S. in the Global Age, 1992-2010 Reading Assignment: Dinnerstein, Chapt. 9 Thurs Dec 3 How the Past Shapes the Present Reading Assignment: Schaefer, Chapt. 9 Individual Reflection: How the Past Impacts You Week Sixteen Tues Dec 8 Thurs Dec 10 Unit VI Test Pick up Graded Work and Grade Consultation
Unit I Test /150 Unit II Test /150 Unit III Test /150 Unit IV Test /150 Thesis/Outline /50 Paper /200 Participation /150 Course Total /1,000 Grade Tracker Divide your course total by 10 to find your percentage grade in the course. The following grades are assigned to each percentage: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; 0-59% = F Group Discussions and Individual Assignments 1. Race as a Social Construct /10 2. Five Minute Paper /10 3. Stereotypes and Interracial Relations /10 4. Wealth Gap /10 5. The Debate Over Conquest /10 6. The British Colonies and Indians /10 7. Five Minute Paper /10 8. Diversity in the Colonies and Today /10 9. Conclusions and Irish Stereotypes /10 10. Washington and DuBois /10 11. Imperialism /10 12. Immigration Reform /10 13. Civil Rights Movement (discussion) /10 14. Civil Rights Movement (reflection) /10 15. How the Past Impacts You /10 Total /150