AMH 2020: HISTORY SINCE 1877

Tuesday, 7th period (1:55 2:45 pm); Thursday, 7 8th period (1:55 3:50 pm); Keene-Flint 117

Instructor:
Email: Office Hours: Required Readings:

Jennifer A. Lyon
[email protected] Friday, 9 10:30 AM (Keene-Flint 011) and by appointment To keep costs down, there is only one text to purchase. The rest will be articles, videos, or sound files you access via course reserves (listed in syllabus as CR). Textbook: James Henretta, Americas History, Vol. II, 7th Edition (listed in syllabus as TEXT)

Grades:

Grading will conform to the university scale:

UF Statements:

Academic Honesty: Academic integrity is a fundamental value at the University of Florida. It must be at the heart of all our endeavors and must guide our actions every day as students and as members of the faculty, administration, and staff. Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Plagiarism: It is plagiarism if you present the ideas or words of someone else as you own. You are responsible for understanding the Universitys definitions of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Please read the Student Honor Code and ask me if you have any questions. Keep in mind that plagiarism is a serious violation of the student academic honor code and university policy recommends that, at a minimum, instructors should impose a course grade penalty and report any suspected academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students. Accommodation for Disabilities: In line with university policy, students requesting accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the professor. Please be sure to provide this documentation to me as soon as possible.

Expectations:

Rather than class rules, we will operate on expectations. You can expect me to be 1) not boring, 2) quick to answer your emails and questions, 3) generally awesome. In return, I expect you to: 1. Be on time. 2. Be prepared. 3. Be proactive. Being late disrupts the class, and will hurt your participation grade. Do the reading, have comments, questions, and opinions to share. If you are struggling in this class, see me ASAP. If you wait until Thanksgiving to ask for help, it will be harder to get back on track.

Class Objective: The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of United States history from the end of the Civil War through the 1970s. Particular emphasis will be placed on issues of race, class, and gender. While we will do traditional readings, a significant portion of this class will be videos, photos, songs, interviews, and other multimedia. If you do not have your own laptop, you can use the computers at Library West to complete all of these assignments. Grades will be based on the following: Attendance/Participation: Midterm Exam: Final Exam: History v. Hollywood Essay: Oral History Interview and Essay: Documentary Review and Essay: 15% 25% 30% 10% 10% 10%

Attendance/Participation: Attendance: If you will be late or need to miss class for something legitimate, let me know in advance, via email, and provide documentation (i.e. a doctors note). Everyone gets one free unexcused absence and one free tardy. Each subsequent absence or tardy will result in a point deduction from your attendance/participation grade.

Participation: Each week we will devote at least one of our three class periods to group discussion. I expect everyone to come prepared to participate in that discussion. However, I understand that some students are uncomfortable speaking in front of others. For this reason, you may also earn your participation points by submitting a 1 2 page essay that reflects on the weeks readings. If you choose this alternative, essays are due at the beginning of class on Thursdays. Quizzes: Pop quizzes, related to the weeks reading assignments, may be given periodically throughout the semester. Quizzes will consist of 5 multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions, and will be factored into your attendance/participation grade. Note: Quizzes will only be given if it becomes clear students have not done the reading and are unprepared for discussion. Prepared and participating = no quiz.

Midterm and Final Exams: The midterm and final exams will consist of multiple choice, short-answer identifications, and essay questions. The midterm will be given Thursday, October 18th, during our regular class time. The final is scheduled for Thursday, December 13th, 10:00 am 12:00 pm. Remember to bring an exam blue book for both the midterm and the final.

Writing Assignments: There will be three writing assignments in this class. These were designed to be different, and more flexible than the standard book review essay. These are: 1. History versus Hollywood. Analyze a movie against historical documents and readings.
Proposal: Due: September 29th October 2nd

2. Documentary Review. Review and critique a historical documentary film (list of titles provided).
Proposal: Essay: October 23rd October 30th

3. Interview Assignment. Conduct an oral history interview and write an analysis essay.
Proposal: Due: November 20th November 29th

While changes must be approved in advance, I am open to substitutions (reviewing a different documentary or movie), or alterations (creating a complete history v. Hollywood lesson plan if you are an education major, turning your interview into a podcast/YouTube documentary if you are studying film). Feel free to be creative! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weekly Schedule
TEXT = Textbook CR = Course Reserves

August 23: Week 1:

Introduction to Syllabus August 28 30 TEXT: CR: CR: Chapter 15, Reconstruction James West Davidson, View From the Bottom Rail Library of Congress, Sarah Gudger, Ex-Slave
http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/ampage?collId=mesn&fileName=111/mesn111.db&recNum=354&itemLink=D?mesnbib:2:./temp/~ammem_TpPn ::

YouTube:

HBO Documentary, Unchained Memories: Slave Narratives Part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7o6b7McLOI

Week 2:

September 4 6 TEXT: CR: Netflix: Chapter 16, Conquering a Continent Joana Stratton, Pioneer Women: Voices From the Kansas Frontier Foreword & Chapter 6: The Clashing of Cultures: Indians AMCs Hell on Wheels, Season 1: Episodes 1 and 2

Week 3:

September 11 13 TEXT: CR: YouTube: Chapter 17, The Busy Hive Kathy Peiss, Putting on Style: Working Women and Consumer Culture in Turn-of-the-Century New York Martin Scorsese documentary, Italianamerican Part 2 of 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzVGuCUj4yY&feature=relmfu Part 3 of 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gonQKFbtec Part 4 of 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlBVeHIFsbE&feature=relmfu

EXTRA CREDIT: 2 points of extra credit to anyone who traces their lineage and finds the name, birth place, and occupation of their great-great-grandparents (easier than you think on ancestry.com). See course reserves for more information. NOTE: there will be future extra credit opportunities; no one will miss out because few records exist for their family, or they cannot access international documents.

Week 4:

September 18 20 TEXT: CR: CR: Chapter 19, Civilizations Inferno Jeffrey Adler, First in Violence, Deepest in Dirt: Homicide in Chicago Chapter 1: So You Refuse a Drink with Me, Do You? What Are Real Historical Records?: Three Murders in New Orleans

Week 5:

September 25 27 TEXT: CR : CR: Chapter 20, Whose Government? William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold (text) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeTkT5-w5RA (audio) Henry M. Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism"

Week 6:

October 2 4 TEXT: CR: CR: Chapter 21, An Emerging World Power Jennifer Keene, Americans as Warriors: Doughboys in Battle During the First World War Poetry of World War I: Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and W.N. Hodgson October 2: History v. Hollywood Essay Due

Week 7:

October 9 11 TEXT: CR: CR: Chapter 22: Wrestling With Modernity David Suisman, Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of African American Music Beth Bailey, From the Front Porch to the Back Seat: A History of the Date

Week 8:

October 16 18 No Reading, Study for Midterm

October 18: MIDTERM EXAMINATION Remember Exam Blue Book

Week 9:

October 23 25 TEXT: CR: CR: VIDEO: Chapter 23: The Great Depression & the New Deal Timothy Egan, The Worst Hard Time Robert S. McElvaine, Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man, (20 pages total, letters from various chapters) Weather Channel, When Weather Changed History: The Dust Bowl

Week 10:

October 30 November 1 TEXT: CR: AUDIO: Chapter 24, The World at War Alessandro Portelli, What Makes Oral History Different: Oral history interviews with World War II veterans

NOTE: I am trying to get a World War II veteran to speak to our class. If it works out, you will be reading material on Iwo Jima and other battles he participated in rather than listening to interviews. October 30: Documentary Review Due

Week 11:

November 6 8 TEXT: Netflix: YouTube: YouTube: Chapter 25, Cold War America, Mad Men, Season 2, Episode 13: Meditations in an Emergency Civil Defense Film, Duck and Cover, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsdiMg2gbBU How to Spot a Communist, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWeZ5SKXvj8

Week 12:

November 13 15 TEXT: CR: VIDEO: Chapter 26, Triumph of the Middle Class Barbara Ehrenreich, Playboy Joins the Battle of the Sexes Mad Men, Season 1, Episode 1: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Week 13:

November 20 TEXT: CR: Chapter 27: Walking Into Freedom Land Tim Tyson, Black Power and the Roots of the African American Freedom Struggle

HOMEWORK: Prepare at least five questions to ask the civil rights activist who will be speaking to our class. Use these readings and the biography posted on course reserves.

Week 14:

November 27 29 TEXT: CR: CR: Chapter 28: Uncivil Wars Terry Anderson, The Movement and the Sixties Generation Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

November 29: Interview Assignment and Essay Due

Week 15:

December 4 (Last Day of Class) TBA

December 13: FINAL EXAMINATION Remember Exam Blue Book