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Course Information

Thematic Resources Course Description Required Texts Assignments

Reading and Discussion Schedule Attendance and Reading Preparation Grading

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Thematic Resources:

Colonization and Conversion The Ideal and the Actual in American Nationalism Manifest Destiny and the Foundations of American Exceptionalism

Continental Colonialism Slavery and Emancipation Post-Civil War America and Contending Ideas of Democracy The Closing of the Frontier in History and Literature

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Course Description:

Spanning a period from pre-European contact to about 1880, this course examines aspects of the lives and experiences of a diverse cross-section of American peoples and cultures. Our course objective is to promote knowledge and understanding of the historical issues and problems of a multicultural society through discussion and analysis of a variety of interdisciplinary readings and materials. From interdisciplinary perspectives, then, we will examine themes such as the following:

• Colonization and conversion.
• The ideal and the actual in American nationalism.
• Manifest Destiny and the foundations of American exceptionalism.
• Continental colonialism
• Slavery and emancipation
• Post-Civil War America and contending ideas of democracy
• The closing of the frontier in history and literature

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Required Texts:

• Carroll and Noble, The Free and the Unfree
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self Reliance"
• Henry David Thoreau, "On Civil Disobedience"
• Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Chaps. 1-13)
• Herman Melville, "Benito Cereno"
• Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Frederick Jackson Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History"

Also Required:

Course Packets at Williamson Book Store (listed under course number or faculty names)

Reading Packet:
• Increase Mather, "A Brief History of the War with the Indians in New England" (1676)
• Thomas Jefferson, "A Declaration of Independence: Notes on Virginia. Querry XIV and XVIII" (1788)
• Benjamin Banneker, "Letter to Thomas Jefferson" (1791)
• Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, "The Angle Over the Right Shoulder"
• Sojourner Truth,"A'n't I am Woman" recorded by Frances D. Gage (1851)

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Assignments:

1. One requirement this quarter is that you must write and turn in four of five reaction papers of 1-2 pages in length which respond to assigned topics derived from our reading and class discussion. Typically, topics will be assigned weekly during the large-lecture sessions several days before they are to be turned in.

   An important objective of these brief reaction papers is to increase your command of and critical thinking about the materials and issues of our course. Research in every academic discipline shows that writing about your subject of study helps to enhance your learning. You may have noted that you don't often grasp what you really know about a topic until you write about it. The reaction papers are a relatively informal place for you to focus your thinking and writing. We may use the reaction papers in a variety of ways -- but certainly they are intended to generate individual, small-group, and whole-group discussion in both your small sections and in thelecture classes. Reaction papers will also be a place for you to begin generating ideas for and drafting the longer written assignments.

   Please note: You must turn in four of the assigned papers to receive any credit for this portion of class performance. Papers will be evaluated for earnest effort and thoughtful,coherent content. Usage and grammar are not the major concerns of grading, but a minimum mechanical competence to insure the "readibility" of these papers is expected (e.g. you should certainly write in complete sentences and check for spelling and other major proofing errors). Reaction papers will be graded on a point system. They will, along with your participation in lecture and recitation sections, constitute 25% of your course grade.

2. You will also be required to complete two longer written projects, each 4-6 pp. in length, to be turned in during the 5th and 9th weeks. Topics will be assigned several weeks before the assignment is due. As an example, you might be asked to extend and develop in a longer, more detailed essay a subject matter you have briefly addressed in one of your reaction papers, or you might be asked to examine in several textual locations a core theme or idea raised by our reading and discussion. In general, your longer essays will address and analyze at some depth a central issue identified in our collective reading and class discussion. We may be invested in their preparation.

3. You will also be required to write a take-home final which will combine a short answer (e.G. identification of key terms and quotations) and essay format. It will be cumulative, asking you to draw together in a coherent analysis one or more of the major ideas, themes, or issues which we have traced in our ten weks of reading and discussion. You will have plenty of time in class to ask specific questions about writing an effective final before it is due.

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Attendance and Reading Preparation:

Two conditions for successful completion of this course are that you attend all class and section meeting sna dthat you keep up with reading assignments. It's a very good idea to read ahead whenever possible. Please be aware that it is impossible to recreate in-class work. Illness or emergencies may require you to miss class, but it is your responsibility to be in class or to keep up when you must be gone. You may wish to exchange phone numbers with fellow students who can pass information to and from class for you when you must miss. Excessive abscences or unfamiliarity with reading and course content can be reasons for failure.

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Grading:

Class evaluation is based on overlapping criteria related to your understanding of course materials and topics and your willingness and ability to demonstrate that understanding in oral and written formats. You are, for example, required to participate in discussions and ungraded written exercises in the large lecture metings and recitation sessions. Your reaction papers, longer written project, and final exam constitute the major portion of graded activity,

Please note! Late papers will be penalized. All course assignments must be completed to receive a course gade. No incompletes will be given, with the exception of circumstances of illness or injury verified by a doctor.

Reaction papers and in-class participation: 25%
Essay #1: 25%
Essay #2: 25%
Final Exam: 25%

If you require special accomodations to meet the requirements of the course, please see an instructor or section leader as soon as possible Suitable arrangements can be worked out, but these sometimes require advanced planning.