“I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am a living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father’s child has.”
—Abraham Lincoln, August 22, 1864

[PRINTABLE SYLLABUS]

Required  Text

• H.W. Brands, American Dreams: The United States Since 1945 (New York: Penguin, 2010)

Additional Readings

• Gary Gerstle, “Theodore Roosevelt and the Divided Character of American Nationalism.” Journal of American History 86 (Dec. 1999): 1280-1307 [JSTOR]
• History 118 Oral History Projects –Long Bui // Sarah Cayouette-Gluckman // Ryan Cohane // Matthew Ferry // Jordan Forry // Heidi Kim // Miles Krein // Dana Marecheau // Abby Marthins // Patrick Meier // Max Menkes // Matt Pasquali // Mitchell Snyder
• House Divided Project exhibits – Dickinson & Slavery // Prince of Emancipation
• Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, eds., American Yawp, 2020-21 ed., [WEB]
• Esther Popel, Personal Adventures in Race Relations (1948) [WEB]

First Essay  –Reconstructing America

On Monday, February 20, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic covering post-Civil War American life that will be provided to them in class on Thursday, February 16. All essays must include both primary and secondary source material from the assigned readings properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required. Additional information will be available on the annotated assignment guidelines at the course site. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.

Second Essay –Cold War America

On Monday, March 27, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic covering Cold War American life provided to them in class on Thursday, March 23. All essays must include both primary and secondary source material from the assigned readings properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes.  Outside research is allowed but not required. Additional information will be available on the annotated assignment guidelines at the course site. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.

Oral History Project

The highlight of this semester will be a multi-media oral history project that students will undertake to illustrate an important episode or trend covered in H.W. Brands’ American Dreams.  By Monday, April 24, students should post an annotated transcript (at least 500 words) from their initial interview(s) at the course website, including a list of sources for further research.  These transcripts will receive comments but not grades.  By Monday, May 8, students should post a full oral history essay that successfully incorporates quoted material from their interview(s) while also putting them into thoughtful historical context using not only American Dreams, but also other relevant primary and secondary sources.  Essays should cover about 4-6 pages (1200-1500 words) and should include Chicago-style footnotes.   All essay posts should include at least 3 to 4 images, properly credited and captioned. Students must also embed a short video documentary (about 1 to 2 minutes) incorporating either audio or video clips from (or about) their oral history interviews.  Additional information will be available on the annotated assignment guidelines at the course site. Projects will be graded on depth of analysis, research and design effort, and quality of prose. Late submissions will be penalized 5 points per day.

Grade Distribution

Class Participation                              20 percent

Essay 1 –Reconstructing America     25 percent

Essay 2 –Cold War America              25 percent

Oral history project                             30 percent