COURSE SYLLABUS

History 231: Section 1

CRN 30015

Mon  Wed  7:45-9:50

Classroom Building 102

Office: Faculty Towers 201A

Instructor: Dr. Schmoll

Office Hours: MTWTH 10-11am

…OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!

Email: bschmoll@csub.edu

Office Phone: 654-6549

Course Description:

The colonial foundations; political, economic, social and cultural developments in the emerging United States; the early agrarian republic; the Civil War.

Required Reading:

For each of these books, you may buy the book new or used. Any edition is also fine.

1. Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 

2. Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

3. Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”

4. Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising

5. Paul Johnson, A History of the American People COME TO CLASS BEFORE BUYING THIS ONE 

6. Weekly blog readings: Each week you will have both primary and secondary sources to read on the blog.

The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to our course blog:    history231spring2014.blogspot.com

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Educational theorists insist that the stating of goals and objectives before entering into an instruction-rich environment is crucial. Hence, I am including here the goals and objectives created by the History Department. If you’d like to read more about the way we learn history, Sam Wineburg, at Stanford, has some wonderful theory on how we adopt historical learning practices. (For example, look up the following articles, Wineburg, S. (1991). On the reading of historical texts: Notes on the breach between school and academy. American Educational Research Journal, 28(3), 495-519. Wineburg, S. & Schneider, J. (2009). Was Bloom’s taxonomy pointed in the wrong direction? Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (4), 56-61.)

HISTORY DEPARTMENT COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR HISTORY 231 U.S. HISTORY TO 1865:

Goal 1:

Students will learn the chronology and topical organization of U.S. history from the origins of European colonization to the conclusion of the Civil War.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to identify the major chronological divisions of U.S. history and discuss in writing how and why scholars have divided the past into various periods.

Objective #2:

Students will be able to identify the major topical divisions of U.S. history and recognize on objective tests and discuss in writing the significance of such topics as epidemic disease in the founding period, the role of political ideology in the coming of the Revolution, the rise of slavery and abolitionism, the political consequences of westward expansion, and the origins of the Civil War.

Goal 2:

Student will learn about the origins of European colonization and the consequences of contact among the peoples of America, Europe, and Africa in the colonial period.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to explain the motivations behind European colonization of the New World, the origins of the transAtlantic slave trade, the rise of the plantation economies, and the roles of mercantilism and religious persecution in the founding of the American colonies.

Objective #2:

Students will be able to define and discuss such terms as Columbian Exchange, virgin-soil epidemics, and Eurocentrism.

Goal 3:

Students will acquire an understanding of the principal political documents of U.S. history, including but not limited to the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to write about the core political ideology of the American Revolution as embodied in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

Objective #2:

Students will be able to explain the historical context and significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Goal 4:

Students will acquire an appreciation and understanding of diversity through the study of the history of the contributions of ethnic and racial minorities and women.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to write about and discuss orally the contributions of African Americans to early American history in terms of labor, society and culture.

Objective #2:

Students will be able to write about and discuss orally the contributions of and the prescribed role of women in colonial America and how that role changed as a result of the American Revolution and the subsequent urbanization of the United States.

Goal 5:

Students will learn about the lives of significant individuals in American history.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to identify on objective tests and/or essays the significant individuals in the history of the United States from colonial times to 1865.

Objective #2:

Students will be able to write about the contributions of a number of important people in the history of the United States from colonial times to 1865.

Goal 6:

Students will learn about the importance of republican principles and civic education in the sustaining of the American political system.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to identify the core principles of republicanism and the role of an educated electorate through an examination of a number of historical crises in the era preceding 1865, e.g. the colonial debate over taxation and representation, the struggle for the ratification of the Constitution, the Missouri Compromise, the Mexican War, the Nullification Crisis, the Compromise of 1850, and the Secessionist Crisis.

Goal 7:

Students will learn the geographical setting for historical events and the role expansion played in American history.

Objective #1:

Students will be able to identify on maps and/or objective exams and essays the important geographic settings, locations, and context for historical events.

Graded Coursework:

The work you do in this course is listed below. For each of those areas, the best way to succeed will be to come in to receive extra help. Both exams will have multiple choice questions based on the lectures and readings. Hence, it may be a good idea to have me look over your notes. If it does not seem that you are taking sufficient notes, or if you are taking too many, I’ll give you some guidance. The earlier we can catch these issues the better. The final exam will also include an essay. I would love to go over in-class essay writing standards in my office. Come by and we’ll talk about that. There’s also an out of class essay. That should be heavily revised, something else I’d love to help you do. Simply bring a rough draft by my office and we’ll talk. Be active!
     During the first week of the course, you will check out a library book on colonial America:

For this exercise, you will check out a book from the library and read it.

The book may be on any of the original 13 English-American colonies. The colonial period goes roughly from 1608 to 1776, and you may choose any colony and any time period within that era.  

Go to the library. Search in books for “Colonial Delaware,” or Colonial Rhode Island,” or “Colonial Georgia.” Find a book. (the sooner the better)

Here is what you will do after check out the book on colonial America...read it.

You will read the entire book by APRIL 9.

You will also fill out the following document and bring the worksheet and the book to class on APRIL 9.

How can you possibly read a whole book in this time?

Let’s talk about that together.

!!I WILL HAND OUT THIS WORKSHEET IN CLASS!!

You are only looking for the following questions...

Title of book

Author

Colony in question:

What seems to be the thesis of this book?

What do we learn about that colony by doing a quick read of this book?

What is one notable claim made by the author? Or, what is the thesis of this book? Or, why does the colony you read about matter?

The Two Exams have one section: multiple choice: They are based on readings and lectures. 

The other main assignment is an open book, In-Class Essay. It is engineered to encourage your full preparation on a serious subject: slavery.

Here are the guidelines:

IN CLASS ESSAY RULES:

·         You may bring an outline. Make sure it is an outline, not full sentences or a paragraph. You know the difference;

·         You may bring 12 Years a Slave, any book, or other sources;

·         You may not use electronics during the essay;

·         You will have the whole period to write your essay;

·         You may not ask your instructor how long the essay should be; The essay should have an introduction and conclusion and various body paragraphs. The essay should be detailed with names, dates, organizations, and anything else that helps you make your case;

·         Your essay will be judged on the strength of the argument and the quality of evidence that you employ to prove your case. Your essay will be judged on the argument. What this means is that I expect standard English but not perfect form or perfect grammar and spelling.

THE ESSAY TOPIC: As we move through the quarter, I will make numerous suggestions in class that deal with slave psychology, education on the plantation, discipline, economics, music and culture, or other areas that may interest you. Over the next weeks, you will locate a topic and clear that topic with me. If you are unable to find a topic on your own, I will help lead you toward some scintillating idea.

LET ME REITERATE SOMETHING IN ALL CAPS SO THAT IT SEEMS MORE LIKE I AM YELLING IT...YOU SHOULD STRIVE TO PROVE SOMETHING. IF YOU FIND YOURSELF ONLY DESCRIBING, YOU ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK. 

IF, IN YOUR PREPARATIONS, YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING SOMETHING TO PROVE, THAT SIGNIFIES THAT YOU NEED TO READ MORE, FIND MORE EVIDENCE, AND THINK MORE DEEPLY ABOUT THE ISSUES. 

Although I am stating above many of the general issues and graded assignments that we will cover in this class, let me reiterate, you will receive full descriptions, sample questions, sample essays, or anything else to help you navigate each assignment DURING THE QUARTER!

Grading Scale:

Participation: 10%

Indian Removal Debate: 3%

Library Book Assignment: 2%

Slavery Essay: 30%

EXAM #1: 25%

EXAM #2: 30%

Attendance:

Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing too much of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass.

So, here’s what we do. Do not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 10-15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class or you will be lost.

Being Prompt:

Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader (that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of Gettysburg begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.

So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. By the way, if you are more than 15 minutes late, it is considered an absence. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident. If you are late a three times, however, you will lose the entire 10% participation grade.

The Unforgivable Curse:

Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Lady Gaga ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Just to make this more concrete, just last quarter, three people lost their whole participation and hence did no pass the class because of texting. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.

If you want some scary reading, look into how your brain is being rewired to resemble the brain of a drug addict. Overuse of technologies seems to be an addiction…yikes.

Laptops:

Laptops and/or tablets may not be used in this course. If you would like an explanation, by all means come see me. If there is a verifiable issue that requires that you use a laptop…not just a note from the doctor but paperwork from Student Services here on campus, let me know and you will be given special dispensation. SPECIAL CASE: READINGS. You may bring a laptop or kindle or some other such device to use on the days when we have books to be read. You MAY use electronic versions and may bring the device to class on that day.

Class Climate:

No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.

Reading:

How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls at wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you. Furthermore, there are some studies that say that Bakersfield is the least literate city in the country. Reading the fabulous, vibrant, fascinating, and difficult books that I have assigned you will fight against that trend!

Participation:

You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade, since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.

In fact, to get a 90% participation grade or higher, you must attend all classes, contribute thoughtful comments to the larger class discussion every day, participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.


To get an 85%, you can miss one class and must contribute at least one comment per week to the large class discussion, participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.


To get an 80%, you can miss one class and must participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.


To get a 75%, you can miss two classes and must participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
Show up tardy more than once or fail to participate in the dialogue and the participation grade will begin to diminish quickly.
 

Academic Honesty:

You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean. Here’s the opening paragraph of CSUB’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities:

Academic Integrity:

The principles of truth and integrity are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing will protect the integrity of all academic work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance and without giving unauthorized assistance. Faculty have the responsibility of exercising care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be encouraged and positively reinforced.       http://www.csub.edu/studentconduct/documents/academicintegrity.pdf

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week One:

April 2 Intro/Pre-Columbian Americas

Week Two:


April 7 Syllabus sign-in sheet due/“Discovery” and Exploration

April 9 Early English and Other Colonies: Labor Troubles

Week Three:


April 14 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Due

April 16 Mid-Century Challenges

Week Four: 


April 21 Road to War/Common Sense Reading Due

April 23 Declaration of Independence Reading Due/The Constitution and its Discontents

Week Five:


May 5 EXAM #1

May 7 Jefferson’s America

Week Six:


May 12  Early Industrialism

May 14 The 1820s, The World of Andrew Jackson/Cherokee Rem. Debate Prep

Week Seven:

May 19 Cherokee Removal Debate/Prep for Slavery Essay

May 21 “Secret Life” Reading/Twelve Years a Slave Reading Due

Week Eight:

May 26 MEMORIAL DAY…CAMPUS CLOSED

May 28 “Cycles of Distrust”—Sectionalism

Week Nine: 


June 2 “Cycles of Distrust”—Sectionalism/Midnight Rising Book Due


June 4 Civil War: From Bull Run to the Gettysburg Address/

Week Ten: 


June 9 Exam #2

FINAL EXAM…THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 8-10:30