Ira Katznelson, When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial.
Inequality in Twentieth-Century America (Norton) ISBN 9780393328516.
Professor Sarah Phillips History Department 226 Bay State Road, rm. 208
[email protected]; 617-353-9914 Office hours: Mon 2:30-5:30; by appt.
Teaching Fellow: Ben Kochan:
[email protected] 226 BSR rm. 205 Office hours by appointment
CAS HI 337 FALL 2013:
AMERICA IN DEPRESSION AND WAR, 1890-1945 This course examines how the modern United States was forged in the economic depressions of the 1890s and 1930s, and shaped by imperial and global ambitions beginning with the Spanish-American War and culminating with World War I and World War II. Readings are available at the BU Barnes & Noble and on reserve at Mugar Library. Students will find the additional course materials on the Blackboard Learn website (learn.bu.edu). In this course you will become familiar with the dynamic processes that shaped modern America. You will also acquire the ability to interpret primary sources and to craft written historical interpretations. You will do well in this class if you (1) complete the reading the week it is scheduled; (2) listen carefully during lectures and understand that they will not repeat the reading, but will provide new contexts and alternative interpretations; (3) take detailed notes during lecture and review your notes frequently; (4) attend the discussion workshops; (5) budget plenty of time to complete the writing assignments and to study for the exams; and (6) meet with your Teaching Fellow to discuss your paper drafts in advance of the deadlines. Required Texts: James Oakes et al, Of the People: A History of the United States (Oxford, custom binding) ISBN 9780199355198 Jo Ann E. Argersinger, The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martins) ISBN 9780312464523 Jeffrey P. Moran, The Scopes Trial: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martins) ISBN 9780312249199 Richard Polenberg, The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martins) ISBN 9780312133108 Ira Katznelson, When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America (Norton) ISBN 9780393328516 Course Requirements: Attendance and Pop Quizzes: We will not take attendance, but a quiz will be given at the start of each class at precisely 6:05pm. The quiz will consist of two short-answer questions based on the material presented the previous
2 week. It is therefore in your interest to attend every class and to review your notes from the previous lectures before arriving. If you arrive later than 6:04pm, you must wait outside the door until the quiz is over and you will not be allowed to take the quiz. No make-up quizzes will be administered for missed classes, but we will drop your two lowest quiz scores. Make a friend the first day of class so that you can get the notes from any missed lectures, because neither the TF nor the instructor will provide lecture notes. Electronic devices: Electronic devices are impediments to lecture comprehension and to note taking. More importantly, they are profoundly distracting to students who are trying to pay attention. Therefore it is my policy to create a device-free environment in the front half of the classroom for students who want to take notes on paper and do not care to be distracted by a sea of screens, facebook pages, and youtube videos. Therefore, if you choose to use a computer, tablet, or phone in class, you must sit in the back of the room. A 10minute bathroom and phone break will always be offered around 7:15pm. Exams: There will be two in-class exams, a midterm and a final, covering the textbook, some of the additional reading, and the material presented in lectures. The format will consist of matching (to assess textbook comprehension), and short answers and IDs (to assess lecture and additional reading comprehension). No exam-day absences are permitted and no make-up exams will be administered. If you miss an exam you must accept the zero. Written Assignments: There will be three papers, each requiring a thesisdriven analysis of the additional course readings (the Blackboard documents plus The Triangle Fire, The Scopes Trial, and The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt/When Affirmative Action Was White). The assignments will be distributed with a writing and style guide. No paper extensions will be granted. Late papers will be penalized one-third grade per day late. We will grade only hard copies of the essays; no email submissions will be accepted. Component/Assignment Due Date
% Final Grade
Quizzes Essay #1 Midterm Exam Essay #2 Essay #3 Final Exam
15% 15% 15% 20% 20% 15%
Weekly Mon Oct 15 Mon Oct 28 Mon Nov 11 Fri Dec 13 Mon Dec 16
Teaching Fellow, Optional Workshops, and Workshop Incentives: In this course you will be assigned a Teaching Fellow (TF). Your TF will take an interest in your course performance, will grade your work, and will be available to meet
3 with you to discuss paper drafts. The TF will also hold 5 workshops to help you navigate and understand the course readings. During “workshop weeks” the TF will offer the same workshop at 2 different times on a Wednesday. You may attend one but not both. These workshops are not required, but they are highly recommended, and they are obviously a sine qua non for any student wishing to perform well on the written essays. As an added incentive, a ½ percentage point will be added to your final course grade for each workshop you attend, to a maximum of 2.5 total points. Academic Integrity: It is your responsibility to read and understand the Boston University Academic Conduct Code (available at www.bu.edu/academics/resources/academic-conduct-code) and to abide by its provisions. Any suspected cases of plagiarism or unethical academic behavior will be referred to the appropriate officials. Lecture Schedule and Reading Assignments: The readings marked with asterisks (**) are posted on the course website. Sept 9 Course Introduction/ Crisis of the 1890s READ: Of the People chaps. 19 & 20 Sept 16 Nation and Empire/ Whither the West? READ: Of the People chap. 21 ** Gary Gerstle, “Theodore Roosevelt’s Racialized Nation, 1890-1900” and “Civic Nationalism and Its Contradictions, 1890-1917” Sept 23 Progressivism and the Modern Presidency/ Women and Progressivism READ: Triangle Fire, Introduction & chaps. 1-2 (pp. 1-71) Sept 30 Voices on the Left/ Ordering Race Relations READ: Triangle Fire, chaps. 3 & 4 (pp. 72-121) Wed Oct 2: WORKSHOP MEETINGS: 11:00am and 3:00pm Oct 7 Progressive Policy at High Tide/ World War I READ: Of the People chap. 22 Wed Oct 9: WORKSHOP MEETINGS: 11:00am and 3:00pm Oct 14 NO CLASS Oct 15 Migration and Immigration/ Many Meanings of Mass Production ESSAY #1 DUE IN CLASS READ: Of the People chap. 23 Scopes Trial, Introduction (pp. 1-72)
4 Oct 21 Culture and Consumption/ Political Worlds of the 1920s READ: Scopes Trial Part II (pp. 73-170) Wed Oct 23: WORKSHOP MEETINGS: 11:00am and 3:00pm Oct 28 MIDTERM/ Crash and Depression READ: Scopes Trial Part III (pp. 171-214) Nov 4 Launching the New Deal/Voices of Protest READ: Of the People chap. 24 Era of FDR, 1-57, 68-77, 83-102, 114-132 Nov 11 Modernizing Rural America/ The Dust Bowl ESSAY #2 DUE IN CLASS READ: Era of FDR, 64-67, 77-83, 108-113 ** Sarah Phillips, excerpts from This Land, This Nation Nov 18 It Happened One Night READ: When Affirmative Action Was White, Preface, chaps. 1 & 2 Wed Nov 20: WORKSHOP MEETINGS: 11:00am and 3:00pm Nov 25 NO CLASS, BUT READ Era of FDR, 133-160, 58-64, 161-227 Dec 2 What the New Deal Did/ Isolation and Neutrality READ: When Affirmative Action Was White, chaps. 3-5 Wed Dec 4: WORKSHOP MEETINGS: 11:00am and 3:00pm Dec 9 World War II/ War at Home Of the People chap. 25 Friday, Dec 13 ESSAY #3 DUE TO YOUR TF BY 12 NOON Monday, Dec 16 6:00 - 8:00pm FINAL EXAM
