1 Spring 2021 Syllabus v 1.0 Dr. Thomas F. Arnold American History, 1876 to the Present Above: Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway (1995), Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington DC. A fifty-two channel CRT video screen sculpture/installation with lighted neon tubes indicating the borders of the “Lower 48” states, this flickering, glowing, and mesmerizing monster art work featuring clips from The Wizard of Oz and Oklahoma (as well as many other sources) seems a fitting monument to our contemporary, 300-plus- million inhabitant, 500-plus TV channel America. The US of A has indeed been on a “superhighway,” and we are certainly moving fast. But where are we going? And where did we come from? How did we get here, and what does it all mean? For more information about this art work, visit the website of the Smithsonian American Art Museum: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/electronic-superhighway-continental-us-alaska-hawaii-71478 Best contact: email [email protected] at any time with any questions or concerns. “Office hours” will be held virtually by appointment – just email to set up a Zoom or similar session. Available times will include, but are not limited to: MWF 8:00-9:30 and TR 10:00-12:00 + 2:00-3:00. Significant time during scheduled in-person class meetings will be available to go over and clarify general questions about readings, assignment instructions, evaluation criteria and policies, etc. Course description: This course surveys the American historical experience since 1876. Students will examine key events, ideas, personalities and movements from the Centennial to the twenty-first century. This course is available for Dual Credit as BSU HIST 202.
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Spring2021 Syllabusv1.0Dr.ThomasF.Arnold
AmericanHistory,1876tothePresent
Above:NamJunePaik,ElectronicSuperhighway(1995),SmithsonianMuseumofAmericanArt,WashingtonDC.Afifty-twochannelCRTvideoscreensculpture/installationwithlightedneontubesindicatingthebordersofthe“Lower48”states,thisflickering,glowing,andmesmerizingmonsterartworkfeaturingclipsfromTheWizardofOzandOklahoma(aswellasmanyothersources)seemsafittingmonumenttoourcontemporary,300-plus-millioninhabitant,500-plusTVchannelAmerica.TheUSofAhasindeedbeenona“superhighway,”andwearecertainlymovingfast.Butwherearewegoing?Andwheredidwecomefrom?Howdidwegethere,andwhatdoesitallmean? Formoreinformationaboutthisartwork,visitthewebsiteoftheSmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum:https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/electronic-superhighway-continental-us-alaska-hawaii-71478Bestcontact:[email protected]. “Officehours”willbeheldvirtuallybyappointment–justemailtosetupaZoomorsimilarsession.Availabletimeswillinclude,butarenotlimitedto:MWF8:00-9:30andTR10:00-12:00+2:00-3:00.Significanttimeduringscheduledin-personclassmeetingswillbeavailabletogooverandclarifygeneralquestionsaboutreadings,assignmentinstructions,evaluationcriteriaandpolicies,etc.Coursedescription:ThiscoursesurveystheAmericanhistoricalexperiencesince1876.Studentswillexaminekeyevents,ideas,personalitiesandmovementsfromtheCentennialtothetwenty-firstcentury.ThiscourseisavailableforDualCreditasBSUHIST202.
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Coursegoals:Toexplore,withasmuchsophisticationaspossible,theAmericanexperiencefrom1876throughthepresent. Topracticethinking,writing,andspeakingwithclarity,force,andconviction.Canvas:ThecourseCanvassiteistheessentialorganizinghubforthisclass,includingannouncementsandotherinstructions.ThreadeddiscussionswillbehostedontheclassCanvassite,andmost(ifnotall)ofthecoursediscussionreadingswillbefoundonthatsiteaswell.Forallthesereasons,studentsshouldregularlyandroutinelycheckthecourseCanvassite,atleasteveryscheduledclassday.Classpolicies:Attendancewillbetakenforallin-personsessionsaccordingtothepoliciesexplainedinthestudenthandbook.Pleasepromptlycontacttheinstructorwithanyquestionsregardingtheapplicationofthosepolicies. Studentsarefreetousealaptop,tablet,orphoneforclasspurposesatanytime.Somediscussionreadingsandothermaterialswillbeonlineordistributedasapdfdocument.Studentsmayreadorviewtheseonadevice,orprintthemoutashardcopies,astheyseefit.Inanycase,studentsareexpectedtobeabletorefertoanytextorimageunderdiscussion. Studentsareexpectedtoreadalldiscussionreadingscarefullyandthoughtfullybytheindicateddatesinthecoursecalendarofreadingsandthreadeddiscussiondates(seebelow).Studentsareencouragedtotakenotesonallreadings,andduringanyclasssessions,astheyseefit.Studentsarenotexpectedtohavemasteredanyreadingorothermaterialbeforetheclasssessioninwhichthattextorimageisdiscussed.However,ifstudentsfindthattheydonotunderstandthebasicideasandexamplesinatextorimage,evenafterin-classconversation,thentheyhavearesponsibilitytofurtherworkonthatmaterial–withtheirfellowstudentsaswellaswiththeinstructor–tobeabletocontributetotheonlinethreadeddiscussion(andrespondtoanywrittenessayquestion).Ageneroustimeallowancewillbeprovidedforallonlinethreadeddiscussionsandforallessays(“papers”).Ifyouneedextratime,pleaseask.Reasonableaccommodationswillbeprovidedshouldcircumstanceswarrant.Inthecaseofmissingthreadeddiscussionposts,agradeof0%maybeenteredifarequireddiscussionpostisnotmadewithinsevendays,andnoaccommodationorextensionhasbeengranted.Inthecaseofmissedessayassignments,agradeof0%maybeenteredifnoessayisreceivedbythefinalduedate,andnoextensionhasbeengranted.Any0%grademaybereplaceduponsubmissionofwork,withanappropriategradepenaltyforlateness,andafterdiscussionwiththeinstructortodetermineacceptanceandanyappropriatepenalty.GradeswillbepostedtoPowerSchoolfollowingareasonabletimeforevaluation.Discussiongradeswillnormallybepostedwithinafewdaysofthelastclasssessionorfinalonlinediscussionthreadpertainingtoagiventopicorweek.Essayswillnormallybeevaluatedandthegradespostedwithinaweekofsubmission.Studentswillbeinformedincircumstancesofdelay.StudentsshouldregularlyandroutinelychecktheirgradesonPowerSchool,sharethosegradeswithparentsorguardians,andpromptlycontacttheinstructorwithanyquestionsorconcerns.Academicdishonestyandplagiarismwillnotbetolerated.Pleasereviewthestudenthandbookforafulldiscussionoftherelevantpolicies.Theremaybeprovisionforextracreditoradditionalorreplacementassignments.Suchopportunities,ifany,willbeannouncedduringthesemester.
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Ifcircumstanceswarrant,alternateassignments,extendedduedates,andotherexceptionstostatedpoliciescanbearrangedonacase-by-casebasisafterconsultationwiththeinstructor.Allreasonableaccommodationwillbemade.Anystudentwithadisabilitywillbeaccordedappropriateaccommodation,asarrangedinadvance.Asthesemesterdevelops,coursetopicsandreadingsmaybeamendedastheinstructorseesfit.Therefore,bealerttoallannouncementsandanyrevisionstothebelowcalendarofreadingsandthreadeddiscussions.Thissyllabusmaybeamendedbytheinstructoratanytime.Insuchcases,studentswillalwaysreceivetimelypriornotificationofanychanges.Requiredsyllabistatements:1.IndianaAcademyMaskPolicy:a.RequirementTheIndianaAcademywillfollowBallStateUniversity’smaskpolicy.EffectiveJuly1,2020,allpeopleoncampus—includingfaculty,staff,students,vendors,contractors,suppliers,andvisitors—shouldwearfacemasks(coveringnoseandmouth)whileinsidecampusbuildings.Facemasksarespecificallyrequiredinthefollowingsituations: i.Wheninthepresenceofothers(indoorsoroutdoors)andphysicaldistancingisdifficulttomaintain,suchasinhallways,elevators,stairs,publicspaces,andcommonareas; ii.Wheninaclassroomorlaboratory; iii.Whenusingcampustransportation(suchasashuttlebus); iv.WhenmultipleindividualsareinaUniversityvehicle.Students,faculty,andstaffareencouragedtobringtheirownmask.Maskswillbeprovidedtoanyonewhoisunabletobringamaskortheirmaskisdamaged.b.Non-complianceIfastudentdeclinestowearafacemaskasrequired,thestudentwillbereferredtotheDirectorofAcademicAffairsortheDirectorofResidentialAffairs.Ifthesituationoccursinaclassroomorotheracademicsetting,itisconsideredaclassroommanagementissue,andtheteacherwillremindthestudentoftherequirementandgivethestudentachancetocomplywithitpriortoreferringthemattertotheDirectorofAcademicAffairsortheDirectorofResidentialAffairs.WearingmasksiscrucialtopreventingthespreadofCOVID-19toothers.2.BallStatediversityandinclusionstatement:BallStateUniversityaspirestobeauniversitythatattractsandretainsadiversefaculty,staff,andstudentbody.Wearecommittedtoensuringthatallmembersofthecommunityarewelcome,throughvaluingthevariousexperiencesandworldviewsrepresentedatBallStateandamongthoseweserve.WepromoteacultureofrespectandcivildiscourseasexpressedinourBeneficencePledgeandthroughuniversityresourcesfoundathttp://cms.bsu.edu/campuslife/multiculturalcenter.3.IndianaAcademyHistoryDepartmentcontentstatement:Aswithmanyhistoryclasses,thelectures,readings,anddiscussions[inthiscourse]willincludearangeoftopicsthatmaybetriggering,emotionallydistressing,anddifficultforsomestudents.Engagingwithtopicssuchasslaveryandhumansufferingisessentialtothisdiscipline.Historyseekstounderstandtheexperiencesandthoughtprocessesofformergenerations,whetherforgoodorill.Sometimesthelanguageandwordchoicesusedbypeopleinthepastmaybeinsensitiveorpoliticallyincorrecttoday.Nevertheless,thegoalofhistoryisto
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understandthepastwithinitsowncontextandtime.Ifareading,imageshowninclass,ordiscussionistrulytroublingtoanyone,pleasedonothesitatetotalktoyourinstructor.Insomecircumstances,analternativereadingcanbeassignedEvaluationoverview: 16weeklydiscussiongrades@25pointseach 400 5writtenessays@100pointseach 500 total 900points+anyextracreditGradingscale: Percentage Grade .940-1000 A .900-939 A- .870-899 B+ .830-869 B .800-829 B- .770-799 C+ .730-769 C .700-729 C- Below700 D*Discussions:Studentswillreceiveadiscussiongradeforeachweekofthesemester,fromWeek1throughWeek17(withWeeks1and2evaluatedtogetherasthefirstdiscussiongradeofthesemester).Evaluationwillprincipallybebasedonpoststothatweek’sonlinediscussionthreadshostedonthecourseCanvassite.Evaluationwillalsobesupplementedbyspokenparticipationinanyin-classorvirtualsessions.Normally,therewillbethreethreadeddiscussiontopicsperweek,firstpostedonMonday,Wednesday,andFriday,andhighlycorrelatedwiththeassignedreadings(orimages)ofthatday.MostWednesdayandFridaydiscussionthreadswillbebasedonprimarysourcereadings.MostMondaydiscussionquestionswillbebasedonasignificantartobjectfromamuseumorsimilarcollection,andviewedonline.These“ArtandAmerica”Mondaydiscussiontopicswillrequireconsiderationoftheartobjectanditsmeanings,butwilltypicallyrequirelesspreparationworkthantheWednesdayandFridaydiscussiontopicsbasedonprimarysourcereadings.Somethreadsmayhaveonlyonequestion;othersmayhavemorethanone.Threadswillalwaysbeclearlylabeled;i.e.,Week1.1,1.2,2.1,etc.Studentswillhaveagenerous24-hours-plustofirstposttoagiventopicorthread;theexpectationisthattheonlineconversationwillflowanddevelopoveracoupleofdaysormore.StudentsarenotexpectedtoposttotheFridaydiscussionthreadsuntilearlyinthefollowingweek,iftheychoose.Studentsareencouragedtorespondtoeachother’sposts,andtoposttheirownfollow-uppoints,etc.Studentsareexpectedtoreturntoandpotentiallyaddtotheonlineconversation,notjustpostonceandnotreturntoreadcomments,replytoothers,etc.Theinstructorwillofcoursepostandrespondtostudentactivity,butcannotguaranteerespondingtoeachandeverystudentpost.Studentswillreceivefurthergeneralandpossiblyindividualinstructionandguidanceastowhatconstituteseffectiveorimpressiveonlinediscussionperformance.Studentsshouldfeelfreeatanytimetocontacttheinstructorwithanyquestionsorconcernsregardingdiscussionevaluation.Intheirposts,studentswillbeexpectedtoberespectfulofallpersonsatalltimes.
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Essays:Studentswillberequiredtowritefiveshortessays,oneforeachofthefivetopicalunitsofthesemester.Theseessaysarenotresearchpapers–thequestionswillalwayspertaintothediscussionreadingsandothercoursematerial,includingArtandAmericaobjects,andinformation,concepts,andideasfromthelectures.NewessayquestionswillbesharedwiththeclassmostFridaysofthesemester,fromWeek2onwards.Therewillthereforebemultipleopportunitiestowriteanessayineachofthefivetopicalunitsofthesemester.However,studentsmaywriteonlyoneessaypertopicalunit.Forthemostpart,essayswillbedueinoneweek,onthefollowingFriday.(BecauseofscheduledAcademybreaks,insomeweeksthepapersmaybedueinmorethanoneweek’stime.Also,becauseoffinalgradecalculationrequirements,Week17essayoptionsmaybedueinlessthanoneweek’stime.)Theexactduedatetimeisalwaysmidnight.Ifstudentsareoncampus,theyshouldplaceahardcopyintheinstructor’sfacultymailbox,orslipacopyundertheinstructor’sofficedoor.Ifstudentsarenotoncampus,theyshouldattachtheessayasadocumenttoanemailsenttotheinstructor.Furtherdetailsonessayassignmentsandevaluationwillbeprovidedwitheachweek’sessayoptionsinstructions.Studentsshouldfeelfreeatanytimetocontacttheinstructorwithanyquestionsorconcernsregardingdiscussionevaluation.Textbookandreadings:Studentsneedonlyacquireonebookfromthebookroom:JamesA.Henretta,et.al.,America(3rded.).Studentswillneverbeexpectedtobringthistextbooktoanyin-personclasssession.Backgroundreadingselectionsfromthistextbookforagivenweekwillbeindicatedontheoutlineprovidedforeachlectureclass.Discussionreadingsandothermaterialswillbeprovidedbytheinstructor,inmostcasesasapdfdocumentpostedtothecourseCanvassite,orasalinktoanonlinetextorimage.Studentsneedtobealerttothecalendarbelow,aswellastoallclassannouncementsandsyllabuschanges,tobesuretheyarereadingandpreparingtodiscussthecorrectreadingforagivenday’sclass(andthatday’sassociatedonlinediscussion,ifany).Thebasic“homework”ofthisclassisreadingandcarefullyconsideringtheassignedtexts(andimages,inthecaseoftheFriday“ArtandAmerica”discussions).Coursecalendarofreadingsandonlinediscussion:Givendiscussionmaterialsanddatesmaychangeoverthecourseofthesemester.Bealerttoallannouncements.Weeks1and2areonlineonlyforallstudents.Unit1,Weeks1-4:IndustrialAmerica,fromfarmstofactories(1876to1914) Class-timeactivity Canvasonlinediscussionthread Week1 MonJan4 Independentsyllabusreview Week1.1Syllabusreviewconfirmation WedJan6 AudiolecturerecordingonCanvas Week1.2ArtandAmerica FriJan8 Asynchronousonlineconversation Week1.3
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Class-timeactivity Canvasonlinediscussionthread Week2 MonJan11 AudiolecturerecordingonCanvas Week2.1ArtandAmerica WedJan13 Asynchronousonlineconversation Week2.2 FriJan15 Asynchronousonlineconversation Week2.3Week3 MonJan18 MLKDay,noclass WedJan20 In-classlecture,audiorecordingposted Week3.1ArtandAmerica FriJan22 In-classconversationonthereadings Week3.2Week4 MonJan25 Lecture Week4.1ArtandAmerica WedJan27 Conversationonthereadings Week4.2 FriJan29 Conversationonthereadings Week4.3Unit2,Weeks5-7:AmericaandtheWorld,fromtheSpanish-AmericanWartotheRoaring20s(1896-1929)Week5 MonFeb1 Lecture Week5.1ArtandAmerica WedFeb3 Conversationonthereadings Week5.2 FriFeb5 Conversationonthereadings Week5.3Week6 MonFeb8 Lecture Week6.1ArtandAmerica WedFeb10 Conversationonthereadings Week6.2 FriFeb12 Conversationonthereadings Week6.3Week7 MonFeb15 Lecture Week7.1ArtandAmerica WedFeb17 Conversationonthereadings Week7.2 FriFeb19 Conversationonthereadings Week7.3Unit3,Weeks8-11:AmericaandtheWorldCrisis,fromtheDepressionthroughWorldWarII(1929-1945)Week8 MonFeb22 Lecture Week8.1ArtandAmerica WedFeb24 Conversationonthereadings Week8.2 FriFeb26 Conversationonthereadings Week8.3Week9 MonMar1 Lecture Week9.1ArtandAmerica WedMar3 Conversationonthereadings Week9.2 FriMar5 Conversationonthereadings Week9.3SpringBreakWeek10 MonMar15 Lecture Week10.1ArtandAmerica WedMar17 Conversationonthereadings Week10.2 FriMar19 Conversationonthereadings Week10.3
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Class-timeactivity Canvasonlinediscussionthread Week11 MonMar22 Lecture Week11.1ArtandAmerica WedMar24 Conversationonthereadings Week11.2 FriMar26 Conversationonthereadings Week11.3Unit4,Weeks12-15:AmericaintheColdWarandtheCivilRightsMovement(1945-1989)Week12 MonMar29 Lecture Week12.1ArtandAmerica WedMar31 Conversationonthereadings Week12.2 FriApr2 Conversationonthereadings Week12.3Week13 MonApr5 Noclass,extendedweekend WedApr7 Lecture Week13.1ArtandAmerica FriApr9 Conversationonthereadings Week13.2Week14 MonApr12 Lecture Week14.1ArtandAmerica WedApr14 Conversationonthereadings Week14.2 FriApr16 Conversationonthereadings Week14.3Week15 MonApr19 Lecture Week15.1ArtandAmerica WedApr21 Conversationonthereadings Week15.2 FriApr23 Conversationonthereadings Week15.3Unit5,Weeks16-17:ContemporaryAmerica(1989-2021)Week16 MonApr26 Lecture Week16.1ArtandAmerica WedApr28 Conversationonthereadings Week16.2 FriApr30 Conversationonthereadings Week16.3Week17 MonMay3 Lecture Week17.1ArtandAmerica WedMay5 Conversationonthereadings Week17.2 FriMay7 Conversationonthereadings Week17.3Thereisnofinalexam(thoughstudentsmaywellbeworkingontheirfinalessayoptionduringexamweek).
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