HIST 104 Summer 2020 Syllabus PDF

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Prof. Alexander Gailing...

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History 104-02: American History, 1865 to Present Queens College, CUNY, Summer 2020, Session I June 1 – June 24, 2020 -- Online Instructor: Alexander Gailing -- History Department, Queens College Instructor Email: [email protected] “Office Hours”: By email. Please always feel free to contact me whenever you have questions or if you have any issues or concerns. I am here to help you.

Note: As per CUNY and the New York State government’s order of April 2, 2020, this course, alongside all others at Queens College and in the CUNY system for the Summer 2020 sessions, will be held entirely online in a “distance learning” format. However, this particular course was not originally designed or intended to be conducted online, but rather in an in-person format. This means that, unfortunately, it will not contain many of the elements and features that it would have under normal circumstances. I, personally, feel quite strongly that online classes and distance learning in any format are very poor substitutes for in-person learning, and that the priority for all educational institutions should be for a return to in-person learning without further delay. But that is the last word I will say on this politically contentious subject during our time together. ***The course will be conducted asynchronously, meaning there will be no simultaneous class meetings or video conferences via any of the distance learning platforms. Instead, there will be assignments and discussion forum questions that will be posted on Blackboard each day, to which you will post your responses, as well as a final exam at the end of the session. More detail follows on pages 2, 3, 4, and 5.***

Course Description This course will survey the history of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present day. It will focus particularly on: Reconstruction; the Gilded Age; Populism, Progressivism, and the New Deal; social, economic, and cultural changes during the 19th and 20th centuries; the long-term struggles of African Americans, women, Native Americans, and others to attain rights, recognition, and equality in American society; immigration; the rise of the anti-war, environmental, and various other popular movements; the numerous American wars, interventions, and conflicts of the period; and, the growth and expansion of America’s global empire. Throughout, the course will explore several recurring major themes: war and empire; civil liberties; race; gender; class; nature and the environment; technology; questions of progress; and political dissent.

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Learning Goals •Further develop abilities to think critically, write effectively, and read analytically. History coursework gives us frequent opportunities to refine and enhance each of these essential skills. •Learn to identify, contextualize, compare, and analyze arguments in works of historical scholarship and in primary sources, as well as to construct original persuasive arguments of one’s own. •Understand the significant events, people, themes, and ideas of the past, as well as challenge conventional interpretations with new ideas and perspectives.

Required Textbooks •Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty!: An American History, Seagull Sixth Edition, Volume 2. ISBN: 978-0-393-418262 (Note: Earlier editions are also acceptable) All other readings will be provided.

Course Requirements and Grading

Blackboard Discussion Posts - 65% Final Exam - 35%

Blackboard Discussion Posts - Every day we are scheduled to have class, discussion posts will be due on the course Blackboard page. Questions will be provided in advance under the “Discussions” section of the class Blackboard page. These will pertain to the assigned readings on the syllabus for that day, listed on the schedule that follows below. As an added reminder, the notation “(BB)” will appear next to course days when required discussion questions are due on Blackboard. To receive credit, all reading posts are due by 8:00 PM on that particular day (there will be a few minutes of a grace period after this, of course, but please try not to wait until the last minute to complete and submit the work). Because these will be our only major assignments for the next few weeks, there will be several questions that will ask you to think critically about what you have read. Your responses to each question should be substantial and extensive. I will let you know promptly if your responses are not adequate or require more detail/information in some way. But generally speaking, the more analysis and specific information you provide, the better your responses will be. You are also free to engage with or respond to the comments of your classmates, although this is in no way required. The 2

questions, alongside any notes or comments I may post in the “Discussions” or in the “Content” section of the Blackboard page after your assignments are submitted, will help guide you in understanding the course material. Any questions or notes that I post on Blackboard, I will also email to the class each day. If for any reason you are unable to access or post to Blackboard, you are always free to email your responses to me.

Final Exam - On Thursday, June 18, I will email the final exam out to the class. It will consist of identification and essay questions. You will have until 11:59 PM on June 24, the last day of our class, to submit your answers to me by email. After this, exams will not be accepted.

Course Schedule and Assignments Note: Readings from the Foner, Give Me Liberty textbook will be listed below as “Foner” followed by the relevant chapter. Page numbers will vary based on the edition you are using. Additional readings listed will feature a website link. Please read all of the assigned readings for each class. Use the Blackboard questions to help guide your reading of the texts, and use these guided readings to answer the questions. Remember, when “(BB)” is listed, it means there is a Blackboard discussion post due by 8:00 PM on that day.

Week 1 (June 1 – June 4) 1. Monday, June 1 (BB) Reconstruction – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 15 2. Tuesday, June 2 (BB) The Gilded Age; The Transformation of the West – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 16 3. Wednesday, June 3 (BB) Segregation and Nativism; War and Empire – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 17; Excerpts from Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise” speech, available at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/88/; And, excerpts from W.E.B. DuBois’s response to Washington: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/40 4. Thursday, June 4 (BB) The Progressive Era – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 18

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Week 2 (June 8 – June 11) 5. Monday, June 8 (BB) The First World War – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 19; Excerpts from Eugene Debs’s 1918 anti-war speech, available to read here: http://college.cengage.com/history/ayers_primary_sources/eugene_cantonspeech_191 8.htm 6. Tuesday, June 9 (BB) The Roaring Twenties – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 20

7. Wednesday, June 10 (BB) The Great Depression – Readings for today: Read the primary source documents (if applicable, follow the links they provide) on conditions during the Depression on the following websites: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/children_depression/hu man_meaning.cfm; http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/children_depression/hel p_president.cfm; http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/137/ 8. Thursday, June 11 (BB) The New Deal – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 21; Read some of FDR’s early “fireside chats” from 1933 and 34, available here: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-documents-archiveguidebook/fireside-chats-f-roosevelt; Also, read Huey Long’s “Share Our Wealth” Speech: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongshare.htm. You can also easily find audio/video of each of them giving these addresses elsewhere online, if you prefer to hear them directly. For present-day conservative and libertarian critiques of the New Deal, see: https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/how-fdrs-newdeal-harmed-millions-poor-people; and: https://mises.org/library/new-deal-debunkedagain

Week 3 (June 15 – June 18) 9. Monday, June 15 (BB) World War Two – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 22 10. Tuesday, June 16 (BB) Military-Industrial Complex: The Cold War – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 23 11. Wednesday, June 17 (BB) The Affluent Society: Post-War America in the 1950s – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 24; Allen Ginsberg, “Howl,” available at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl); Excerpts from Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, available at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/540750/onthe-road-by-jack-kerouac/9780142437254/excerpt; You can also find audio/video of 4

Ginsberg, Kerouac, and other Beat Generation poets reading their work, online. Explore the MoMA’s pages on Abstract Expressionism (https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/abstract-expressionism

12. Thursday, June 18 (BB) The 1960s: Rise of the Counterculture; Civil Rights; Vietnam War – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 25; Excerpts from Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” available here: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/coretexts/_files/resources/texts/1963_MLK_Letter_Abrid ged.pdf; King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm; King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyondvietnam; Mario Savio’s “Put Your Bodies on the Gears” speech: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mariosaviosproulhallsitin.htm. The speeches by King and by Savio are also widely available to view online. Final exam questions will be emailed to the class today. Final exam is due by email, June 24 by 11:59 PM Week 4 (June 22 – June 24) 13. Monday, June 22 (BB) Culture War/Cold War Clashes at Home and Abroad in the 1970s and 80s – Readings for today: Foner, Ch. 26 14. Tuesday, June 23 (BB) New World Order; Axis of Evil; 21st Century Breakdown – Readings for today: Foner Ch. 27 and 28 Optional/Highly Recommended/Extra Credit: If you can find it, watch the 2016 Oliver Stone film, Snowden and write a 1-2 page film review discussing the important political and historical questions raised by the film. Due June 24 by 11:59 PM. 15. Wednesday, June 24 – Final Exam due today by 11:59 PM, by email.

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