Beijing Jiaotong University International Summer Session HIS 17 US History Term: July 4 th July 29 th, 2016 Instructor: Dr. William R. Cook Home Institution: State University of New York at Geneseo & Wabash College Office hours: TBA Email: cookb@geneseo.edu Teaching Assistant: TBD Course Description This course focuses on the social, cultural, political and economic history of the United States after the Civil War examining significant landmark political events as well as the everyday experiences of women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups. It emphasizes key issues in American politics and society since 1865 including reconstruction, the growth of big business; changes in the lives of farmers, workers, and immigrants; the rise of the city; the emergence of America as a world power; and reform movements among rural and urban labor, and among minority groups. Course Overview In this course, we shall look at the main currents in the history of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. We shall be more thematic than merely chronological. We will focus both on domestic history and the US s relations with the world. Matters of race and class will be significant elements in this course. This course will prepare students for understanding the 2016 US Presidential election. Course Goals: A student who satisfactorily completes this course should: 1. To have an intelligent overview of American history 2. To be able to understand how America went from being a divided nation to becoming a world power 3. To do research in the primary sources for American history 4. To discuss intelligently major issues in the US s past and present 5. To be acquainted with the main figures and events in US history
Required Text Frederick Douglass Narrative Life, first edition Robert Putnam s Our Kids, (ISBN: 978-1476769899) We will continue by reading a series of important primary texts including Lincoln s Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, Sojourner Truth s Ain t I a Woman, Plessyv. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King s I Have a Dream speech, John Kennedy s Inaugural Address, and many others. Course Hours The course has 20 class sessions in total. Each class session is 135 minutes in length, for a total of 2700 minutes of in-class time. The course meets from Monday to Friday. BJTU awards 4 credits for this course. Different universities may count course credits differently. Consult officials at your own home institution. Attendance Summer school is very intense and to be successful, students need to attend every class. Occasionally, due to illness or other unavoidable circumstance, a student may need to miss a class. BJTU policy requires a medical certificate to be excused. Any absence may impact on the student's grade. Moreover, BJTU policy is that a student who has more than 2 absences will fail the course. Arriving late or leaving early will count as a partial absence. Grading Policy BJTU awards grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F. not award transfer credit for grades of D or F. Most colleges and universities do In this course, grading will be based on the following: (Faculty fill in as appropriate example) 15% Midterm exam 30% Final exam 20% Analytical paper 25% Research paper 10% Class Participation General expectations: Students are expected to: Attend all classes and be responsible for all material covered in class and otherwise assigned. Any unexcused absence may impact a student's grade. Moreover, SIE policy is that a student who has more than 2 absences will fail the course. Arriving late or leaving early will count as a partial absence. Complete the day s required reading and assignments before class
Review the previous day s notes before class; make notes about questions you have about the previous class or the day s reading Participate in class discussions and complete required written work on time. Refrain from texting, phoning or engaging in computer activities unrelated to class during class. Students who do not do this will be asked to leave the class While class participation is welcome, even required, you are expected to refrain from private conversations during the class period. I expect a high level of participation and hard work. I am happy to arrange for discussions of the material of the course and your papers and exams. Our class time must be focused on our work, and you should not be doing private things including using your phone or talking with other students. Note that some readings are listed here and others will be added. We will make use largely of documents from the period we are studying. Course Schedules The planned schedule sketched out below may be modified to suit the interests or abilities of the enrolled students or to take advantage of special opportunities or events that may arise during the term. WEEK ONE (July 4 July 8): Mon: the day the US celebrates its independence, discussion of the origins of the American nation and its constitution. Read/do: Declaration of Independence, 7 articles of constitution, and Bill of Rights. Tues: discussion of the Early Republic including the institution of slavery Read/do: selections from Tocqueville, Democracy in America and from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Wed: The Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln Read/do: Lincoln s Second Inaugural Address Thurs: what is Reconstruction, and what is the meaning of Jim Crow? Read/do: selections from Booker T Washington, Up From Slavery Fri: The Growth of American Industry.
WEEK TWO (July 11 July 15): Mon: the end of the 19th century: Separate but equal & The Spanish-American War Read/do: Plessy v. Ferguson Tues: the robber barons and the Progressives: Theodore Roosevelt Wed: The US and the World: World War I Read/do: the charter of the League of Nations Thurs: the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression Fri: the New Deal. MIDTERM EXAMINATION WEEK THREE (July 18 July 22): Mon: FDR and the New Deal Read/do: selections from speeches of Franklin D Roosevelt Tues: World War II and the beginning of American hegemony Read/do: charter of the United Nations and of NATO Wed: America and China and the Korean War Thurs: the Cold War Fri: The 60s: Vietnam, Civil Rights, and Women s Rights Read/do: Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham City Jail and watch together I Have a Dream. *LAST DAY TO DROP CLASSES WEEK FOUR (July 25 July 29): Mon: continue discussing civil rights and women s rights Read/do: Readings from Gloria Steinam Tues: Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, and the end of the Cold War Wed: America and the post-cold War era Thurs: President Obama and the 2016 election. Read/do: Watch several speeches of Barack Obama. Fri: FINAL EXAMINATION
Academic Honesty Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty. Specifically, unless otherwise directed by the professor, students may not consult other students, books, notes, electronic devices or any other source, on examinations. Failure to abide by this may result in a zero on the examination, or even failure in the course. Students are also expected to adhere to appropriate scholarly conventions in essays and research papers. This class includes paper assignment(s) in which students must give credit to all outside sources used by means of citations and a bibliography. Failure to do so may result in a zero on the paper assignment, or even failure in the course.