Recent U. S.: 1929 to the Present
Spring 2000
Dr. Leslie Heaphy
MWF 12-12:50
Room 215
Office: Room 310F
Office Hours: MWF 11-12 noon; TR 9-10 a.m. or by appointment
Phone: ext. 306
e-mail: Lheaphy@stark.kent.edu
Course Description
This course is designed to help students better understand the changes and events that have occurred in the United States during most of the twentieth century. Topics to be covered include such things as: depression, New Deal, Wars, civil rights, popular culture, women's movement and technology. The class will depend on lectures, films, class discussions, group work and assigned readings. Students will develop their critical thinking skills by learning to ask questions like why, where, what, when, who and significance.
Course Objectives
Required Texts
The Great Crash by John Kenneth Galbraith
The Age of Doubt by William Graebner
The Vietnam Reader ed. By Stewart O'Nan
The Sixties and the End of Modern America by David Stiegerwald
Class Requirements
Research Project ………………… 200 points total
Thesis and outline ……….. 35 points
Questions & annotations … 45 points
Presentation ……………… 20 points
Final Paper ………………. 100 points
Midterm ………………………… 100 points
Final Exam ……………………… 100 points
4 response papers . ……………….. 25 points each (100 total)
Web Evaluation ………………….. 25 points
Class leadership …………………… 45 points
Class Participation ……………….. 30 points
Total: 600 points
A requires 540-600 points
B requires 480-539 points
C requires 420-479 points
D requires 360-419 points
F is below 360 points
Attendance
All students are expected to attend class regularly. Students are responsible for all material covered in each class. Missing class has negative effects on class participation and can effect performance on tests and other assignments. Students are expected to participate regularly in class and take leadership for class discussions and missing class can result in losing points in those areas. Missing more than four classes will result in the lowering of a student's grade.
Exams
There will be two exams during the semester, a midterm and a final. Both exams will be all essay tests with short answer and long essays. Both exams will be take-home. Students will be given further instructions about format and content as the semester progresses. Late exams being handed in will not be accepted. The due dates are March 10th and May 10th.
Papers
Each student will complete four response papers and one web evaluation during the semester. Late papers will lose 3 points for each day they are late. No late papers will be accepted after May 5th. Directions and expectations for these papers will be handed out separately. All papers are expected to be the student's own work and not someone else's. Cases of plagiarism will be dealt with as is explained in the student handbook.
Research Project
All students will complete a research project on a topic of their choosing. The project has multiple parts and students must complete all sections in order to receive a passing grade for the project. Failure to complete any part of the project will result in a failing grade for the project. Late assignments will lose 3 points for every day they are late and no assignments will be accepted after May 5th.
Students with Disabilities
In accordance with university policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact Kelly Oster in Student Services to submit documentation. Then you must contact the instructor so that they are aware of any required accommodations.
Campus Theme
The 1999-2000 Campus Theme is "Ways of Knowing." Discussion about the ways we know as historians and as individuals will be a regular part of class discussions. You will also be dealing with this theme in other classes to show you how various disciplines are related and different. The theme is designed to help demonstrate the connectedness of education rather than its disjointedness.
Writing Center hours
M 8 am- 7 p.m. R 9 am – 5 p.m.
T 8 am- 7 p.m. F 9 am – 12 p.m.
W 9 am – 5 p.m.
Testing Center Hours
Call 365 for times and availability. The center is located in the basement of the Library.
Course Outline
The following schedule of readings is tentative and subject to change as the semester moves along but due dates will remain as listed (unless some kind of emergency develops). Students are expected to complete all required reading before class sessions so that they can participate in class discussions. Failure to keep up with the reading could result in periodic reading quizzes being added.
Week 1 Introduction, Overview and 1920s
Read The Great Crash
Week 2 Depression and New Deal
Finish The Great Crash
Week 3 New Deal and WWII Beginnings
Read Age of Doubt
*** topics due 2/4***
Week 4 WWII
Continue Age of Doubt
***1st Response Paper due 2/9***
Week 5 End of WWII and Beginnings of the Cold War
Finish Age of Doubt and handouts
***Web evaluation due 2/14 and Questions and Annotations due 2/18***
Week 6 Cold War topics
Handouts
Week 7 Beginnings of the 1960s
Read in The Sixties chap. 1,2, 5, 6 and 8
Week 8 Vietnam and related issues
Read The Sixties chap. 3 and Begin The Vietnam Reader
****Midterm due 3/10 and 2nd Response paper due 3/6****
Week 9 Vietnam and Protests
Read The Vietnam Reader and The Sixties chap. 4
***Tape paper due 3/17****
Week 10 *****************Spring Break Week*******************
Week 11 Nixon and Watergate
Read The Sixties chap. 10
***Outline and Thesis due 3/31****
Week 12 The 1970s
Handouts
***3rd Response Paper due 4/7****
Week 13 Women's Movement
***4th paper due 4/11****
Week 14 1980s
Handouts
Week 15 the Recent Past
Handouts
***Projects due 4/28***
Week 16 Presentations
***4th Response Paper due 5/5****
Week 17 *** Final Exam and Presentations 5/10 at Noon.*********
Due Dates
Exams 3/10 and 5/10
Papers 2/9, 3/6, 4/7, 5/5
Web 2/14
Thesis/outline 3/31
Questions and Annotations 2/18
Project 4/28
Presentations begin during final week of classes-sign-up sheet will be passed around
Response Papers
Each student will hand in four response papers during the semester. Each paper will be 5 pages in length, typed and double-spaced. The papers will be a response to the four texts being read in class. Each response paper will address one of the books. By the end of the semester students will have turned in a paper on The Great Crash, The Age of Doubt, The Sixties and The Vietnam Reader. Late papers will lose 3 points each day they are late.
In each case students are asked to respond to what they have been reading-this can mean the whole book, a particular section of the book or some combination of materials. This is the student's chance to tell the instructor what they are getting from their readings. Students should think about theme, support, relevance of material, ease of understanding, contributions to their learning, research done, questions left unanswered, biases revealed, when it was written and by who. Your paper may not answer each of these questions but these questions should guide your thinking. Since these papers are reader responses the writing style is a little less formal, meaning you can use the first person. Students must still properly cite materials they quote, paraphrase or borrow using either footnotes or endnotes. Failure to cite properly will result in a failing grade on the paper and if it happens more than once a failing grade for the class.
Students will be graded on the following:
Web Evaluation
Each student will hand in one web evaluation on Monday, Feb. 14th. All late papers will lose 3 points for each day they are late. Papers will be 2-3 pages in length, typed and double-spaced. Students will be given an outline to help them evaluate their chosen site. Students can choose any web site to evaluate that ties in with the framework of the course. Ideally students should choose a site that will help with their research project.
Students must be sure to hand in their own work. Failure to properly cite materials and give credit where needed will result in a failing grade. In other words, plagiarism will not be tolerated.
In evaluating the site students should be looking for theme, authority, bibliography, who might find it useful etc.
Students will be graded on:
Research Project
Class Leadership
Every student will be expected to lead one class discussion period during the semester, working with at maximum two other students. Students will choose their topics from a list designated by the instructor and be prepared to lead a discussion. This means doing all the reading in advance, preparing questions and other materials to provoke discussion and class participation. An outline must be handed in to the instructor at the beginning of the class period and any other materials the students need for preparation must be handed out the class before their discussion.
Students are expected to work together in preparing questions and materials with every student taking part. The final grade will be based on the individual work and the successful cooperation of the students as a group. Students need to be adequately prepared, have enough material for the time period and encourage critical discussion by their classmates. In other words, bringing in a video to show for the whole class period will result in a failing grade on this assignment. Also, questions should be geared toward encouraging discussion and not be the kind that can be answered yes or no.
Students will be graded on: