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HISTORY 528:
University of Idaho Fall 2008 Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m Administration 317
Professor Adam M. Sowards Office: Administration 319 (mailbox in Admin. 315) Phone: 885-0529 (no voicemail) E-Mail: asowards@uidaho.edu (preferred contact) Web: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/asowards/ Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m., and by appointmentPlease Note: It is my pleasure to do what I can to help you meet your goals in this class. If you find yourself having trouble, please send me e-mail, use my office hours, or set up an appointment to see me.
SPECIAL NOTE TO GRADUATE STUDENTS In many ways it is unfortunate that the University of Idaho cannot offer graduate-only classes in history. I have designed, as best as I have been able to given existing constraints, a graduate-level course that can sit alongside the undergraduate one; this is a tricky balancing act that UI asks joint-listed courses to do. I am happy to discuss with you the best strategies to make this work for you. Because a graduate degree suggests a significantly higher level of achievement than undergraduate work, I have increased expectations of you both in terms of the amount of work you should conduct and the quality of that work. Also, because a graduate degree is a professional degree, you should consider yourselves (as I will) emerging professionals. I will do what I can to help you achieve individual goals, since graduate education is often more specialized than undergraduate work. Please contact me and discuss those goals.
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will survey major developments in the American West, from the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and occasionally beyond. We will use a number of conceptual lenses to examine the Western past, including racial and ethnic diversity, environment, and gender, as well as more traditional concentrations on politics and economics.
REQUIRED BOOKS The following list constitutes the required books for this course. They are available for purchase at the University of Idaho Bookstore. It is possible, even likely, that you could find some of the books cheaper through online or local booksellers.
The books above are required for all students; the books below are required only for graduate students.
I also asked the UI Bookstore to stock Joseph M. Williams Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, second edition. It is a short, inexpensive and excellent primer on writing. Many of my comments on your writing will be based on this book. It is highly recommended.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING Preparedness: Participation, Quizzes, and Notes (10%) Just as you don’t get paid for your job simply by showing up, you don’t get credit by just being in the classroom. I expect you to come to class ready to work. That means you will have read the assignment carefully and critically and will be prepared to offer your thoughts, ideas, and questions about the reading. Because my experience has taught me that many students will not do that without inducement, part of your grade will be determined by your preparedness. This will be judged in several ways: Participation will be evaluated by contributions to discussions, attendance, and in-class assignments, through general observations by the professor. We have all been in classes where someone speaks almost constantly, seemingly just to hear her or his own voice. Talking a lot is not necessarily a surefire way to get high grades here (although never speaking is not a positive alternative either). Good participation requires thoughtful listening, intelligent questioning, and careful responses. Other work done in class may be collected. Such work may be individual or collaborative assignments and is likely not to be given a letter grade but a meets / fails to meet / exceeds expectation grade. I simply assume you will be prepared for class, which is why this is a smaller amount of your grade than it is for undergraduates. I require undergraduates to turn in notes on the Western Lives readings; I will not require that of you. You also will not be required to take quizzes, if there are quizzes, although you may do so to get feedback. The other in-class work will be required. In terms of participating in discussion, please try to be sensitive to the fact that there are undergraduates in the room. We don’t want them to resent your presence.
Nature and Power Paper (25%) Students will write an essay that explores the theme of power and nature in the U.S. West based on two assigned books, Rivers of Empire and Native Seattle. These books have quite distinct topics, but they both deal with how power—political, social, economic, and more—interacts with the natural environment and the consequences of that interaction to both people and nature. This six- to eight-page paper asks you to understand each book’s thesis and apply the argument and evidence to a broader question.
Primary Source Paper (15%) Students will write a short four- to five-page paper on one of the primary sources assigned. Choose the assignment that interests you most or works best with your schedule. One is due relatively early in the semester; the other two come relatively late. Being able to critically read and contextualize primary sources is a fundamental skill for historians, and reading analytically is something we can all benefit from. Further details on each assignment will be forthcoming. You may turn in more than one of these papers, and I will use the higher grade. Our Hearts Fell to the Ground Analysis This book is a collection of sources from American Indians on the loss of the Great Plains to Euroamericans. If you choose this assignment, your essay will use these sources to contextualize the change and continuity in Native lives and the impact of cultural contact. Farewell to Manzanar Analysis This memoir tells one person’s story growing up Japanese American and being imprisoned during World War II. If you choose this assignment, your essay will explain how internees accommodated and resisted the experience and will contextualize that event within other occurrences in Western U.S. history. Albuquerque Introduction This novel tells a story about urban politics, cultural conflict, and environmental change. If you choose this assignment, your essay will provide a historical introduction to the fictional plot to illuminate the context of the story Anaya develops.
Major Project (25%) One of the most valuable things undergraduates can do in a history class is an independent research project. It allows students to practice being historians and gives you a chance to study, in-depth, a topic of your own choosing. For this assignment, students will conduct a research project in Western U.S. history based chiefly in primary sources (i.e., those documents produced at the time and by participants or observers). Topics must be approved by me. Your main interpretations must be drawn from the primary sources. All of the above is true for graduate students, too. There are additions, though. Your paper will need to be longer than the undergraduates and consult more sources—both primary and secondary. Aim for a 12- to 15-page paper with at least seven primary sources and four secondary sources (you will not need to read every word of every source, of course), but I will allow some variation. I hope that you will be able to use this assignment to help further your graduate research.
Presentation (10%): As a group, you will present a lecture/discussion to the class based on Violence Over the Land and Suburban Warriors. The topics for the presentation is cultural conflict in the Great Basin and postwar suburban politics—not simply a report on each book. It is an important skill to be able to digest a book and present its essential points to an audience. Indeed, if you plan to teach, this is likely the primary way you will work in the classroom. It will also be useful for me to observe you, since frequently graduate students at UI go on to do PhD or other professional work, and if I can refer to your presentation abilities in a potential letter of recommendation it will serve you well. The guidelines for the presentation include the following: First, the presentations will not take the entire period; you will need focus and brevity. You will have 30 minutes only; I hope this will prevent both rambling (an affliction many of us has) and overly detailed summaries. Second, you will need to engage the class with the material in a way that will leave them with a greater understanding of the broader topic, not just your book. In other words, don’t just summarize the book; explain to the class why they need to understand and care about it and how it connects to the other themes in the course. The class can too easily write this off as a book report with no relevance to them unless you present it in a broader way. Third, you will need to turn in to me one copy your group’s presentation notes and preparations. This should force groups to work together to form a coherent presentation, rather than two or three independent (and often disconnected) parts.
Buffalo Bill’s America Review (15%): For Buffalo Bill’s America, you will write a four-page book review. Louis Warren’s book is long, detailed, and complex. Boiling it down to its essential points (couple pages) and then critiquing his argument and presentation (couple pages) will be a significant challenge but accomplishing it will be very worthwhile.
POLICIESLate Work Policy: Your grade drops one full grade for each day your work is late. Furthermore, you must be in class the day it is due to turn in work. If you do not come to class, your work will be counted as one day late unless you have made prior arrangements. With legitimate, documented excuses or for absences arranged ahead of time, exceptions can be made. Grade Challenges: I am willing to entertain grade challenges provided they are submitted in writing and that you wait 48 hours after the assignment is returned before you hand in your objection. You will then need to set up an appointment with me to discuss the assignment and grade. Also, you must initiate this process within one week of the time the assignment was returned to the class. After re-evaluating a grade and meeting with you to discuss the assignment and evaluation, I may change it. Plagiarism: To plagiarize is to present someone else’s work as your own. To present someone else’s work as your own means to use someone else’s information, ideas or writing without explicitly acknowledging with quotation marks and/or citations that the ideas and/or writing are not your own. You may be plagiarizing even if you are not directly quoting. Plagiarism is a serious offense and I will give a 0 to the first assignment in which a student plagiarizes. If a student plagiarizes again, I will fail that student in the course. Further actions may be warranted, including reporting the offense to the Dean of Students. If you have ANY questions or confusions about plagiarism, please let me know before you turn in your work. It is essential to be using others’ ideas and information; however, you just must provide credit where credit is due. You may find additional information about Academic Honesty (and dishonesty) as part of the Student Code of Conduct: (http://www.students.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=56182). Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify me during the first week of class of an accommodation(s) needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 333, 885-7200, or dss@uidaho.edu.
EXPECTATIONS Students will:
The instructor will:
SCHEDULE Please note that this is an approximation of what we will be doing and changes may be necessary. If so, they will be announced to the class. Also, the reading assignments are to be complete before you come to class on the day they are assigned.
WEEK ONE (begin Blackhawk) Tuesday, August 26 Read: Syllabus Thursday, August 28 Read: Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” online at http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/ (click on Chapter I); Donald Worster, “New West, True West: Interpreting the Region’s History,” Western Historical Quarterly 18 (April 1987): 141-56, linked online
WEEK TWO (continue Blackhawk) Tuesday, September 2 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 1; Calloway, ed., Introduction, Chs. 1-2 Thursday, September 4 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 2; Calloway, ed., Chs. 3-4;
WEEK THREE (continue Blackhawk) Tuesday, September 9 Read: Etulain, ed., Chs. 3-4 Thursday, September 11 Read: Calloway, ed., Chs. 5-7
WEEK FOUR (continue Blackhawk) Tuesday, September 16 Read: Etulain, ed., Chs. 5-6, Calloway, ed., Ch. 8 Thursday, September 18 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 7; Calloway, ed., Ch. 9
WEEK FIVE (finish Blackhawk) Tuesday, September 23 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 8; Calloway, ed., Chs. 10-11 Thursday, September 25 Read: Calloway, ed., Chs. 12-14, Epilogue Due: Presentation on Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin Due: Research Paper Proposal
WEEK SIX (begin Warren) Tuesday, September 30 Read: Worster, Chs. 1-2 Due: Calloway Paper (if you choose it) Thursday, October 2 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 9; Worster, Ch. 3
WEEK SEVEN (begin Warren) Tuesday, October 7 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 11 (Note: this skips ahead a chapter); Worster, Ch. 4 Thursday, October 9 Read: Worster, Ch. 5
WEEK EIGHT (continue Warren) Tuesday, October 14 Read: Worster, Ch. 6-7 Thursday, October 16 Read: Thrush, Foreword, Preface, Chs. 1-2
WEEK NINE (continue Warren) Tuesday, October 21 Read: Thrush, Chs. 3-5 Thursday, October 23: No class meeting; Prof. Sowards in Salt Lake City for Western History Association meeting
WEEK TEN (finish Warren) Tuesday, October 28 Read: Thrush, Chs. 6-10 Due: Annotated Bibliography for Research Project Thursday, October 30 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 10 (Note: this skips back a chapter) Due: Book Review of Buffalo Bill’s America
WEEK ELEVEN (begin McGirr) Tuesday, November 4 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 12 Due: Nature and Power Paper Thursday, November 6 Read: Houston and Houston, Part 1, Chs. 1-11
WEEK TWELVE (continue McGirr) Tuesday, November 11 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 13 Thursday, November 13 Read: Houston and Houston, Parts 2 and 3, Chs. 12-22
WEEK THIRTEEN (finish McGirr) Tuesday, November 18 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 14 Due: Houston and Houston Paper (if you choose it) Thursday, November 20 Read: Etulain, ed., Ch. 15 Due: Presentation on Postwar Suburban Politics Due: Research Paper Introduction and Thesis
FALL RECESS: NOVEMBER 24-28
WEEK FOURTEEN Tuesday, December 2 Read: Anaya, Chs. 1-12 Thursday, December 4 Read: Anaya, Chs. 13-23
WEEK FIFTEEN Tuesday, December 9 Read: No Classes: Research and Individual Meetings or Make up for missed / canceled classes Due: Anaya Paper due in my office by 1:45 (if you choose it) Thursday, December 11 Read: Read: No Classes: Research and Individual Meetings or Make up for missed / canceled classes
Major Project Paper Due during the Final Exam Period in my office: Monday, December 15, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
COURSE OBJECTIVES / LEARNING OUTCOMES The University of Idaho has adopted the following undergraduate learning outcomes: · Learn and Integrate: Through independent learning and collaborative study, attain, use and develop knowledge in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences, with disciplinary specialization and the ability to integrate information across disciplines. · Think and Create: Use multiple thinking strategies to examine real-world issues, explore creative avenues of expression, solve problems and make consequential decisions. · Communicate: Acquire, articulate, create and convey intended meaning using verbal and non-verbal methods of communication that demonstrate respect and understanding in a complex society. · Clarify Purpose and Perspective: Explore one's life purpose and meaning through transformational experiences that foster an understanding of self, relationships and diverse global perspectives. · Practice Citizenship: Apply principles of ethical leadership, collaborative engagement, socially responsible behavior, respect for diversity in an interdependent world and a service-oriented commitment to advance and sustain local and global communities.
The Department of History has adopted the following undergraduate learning outcomes: · Students should develop broad familiarity with historical arguments and methodology. · Students should develop broad familiarity with major historical developments, themes, patterns and issues. · Students should be able to frame relevant research topics andconduct research appropriate to the undergraduate level. · Students should be able to express their research findings and generally communicate effectively in writing.
At the conclusion of History 428, students should be able to: · Synthesize assigned materials to build a broad familiarity with Western U.S. history. · Identify and explain the major developments of Western U.S. history, paying particular attention to cultural conflict and convergence, environmental use and abuse, and dynamics of power as it played out politically, economically, and socially. · Use primary sources and secondary scholarship critically to arrive at independent conclusions to historical questions. · Read critically, pose intelligent questions, listen attentively, and write coherently. · Recognize the similarities and differences of past societies and communities with our own to broaden perspectives. · Use new knowledge appropriately and responsibly, now and in the future, as part of an educated citizenry.
All of these objectives or learning outcomes were designed for undergraduate education. However, they are appropriate to graduate students as well, but the standard for the skills should be considered to be significantly increased. |
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