Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.
—Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” (1883)
Required Text
- H.W. Brands, American Dreams: The United States Since 1945 (New York: Penguin, 2010) [LIBRARY RESERVE]
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 –Clara Blackwell // Long Bui // Sarah Cayouette-Gluckman // Ryan Cohane // Matthew Ferry // Jordan Forry // Miles Krein // Abby Marthins // Patrick Meier // Max Menkes // Martin Vatanka
- History 204 Biography Projects –Max Emery Baum // Shayna Herzfeld
- House Divided Project – Dickinson & Slavery // Prince of Emancipation
- Jonathan Katz, “Birth of a Birthright,” Politico, October 31, 2018 [WEB]
- Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, eds., American Yawp, 2022-23 ed., [WEB]
- Margaret MacMillan, The Rhyme of History: Lessons of the Great War, Brookings (2013) [WEB]
- Esther Popel Shaw, Personal Adventures in Race Relations (1948) [WEB]
First Essay – Industrial America
On Monday, Feb. 17, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic covering how American life changed during industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century. Questions on that topic will be provided in class on Thursday, Feb. 13. All essays must include material from sources on the syllabus, such as the American Yawp online textbook, properly cited with 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 –Global America
On Monday, March 24, 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 20. All essays must include material from sources on the syllabus properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required. 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 14, students should post an annotated transcript (at least 500 words) from their initial interview(s) at the course website, including a list of a half a dozen other sources for further research. These transcripts and bibliographies will receive comments but not grades. By Thursday, 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 –Industrial America 25 percent
Essay 2 –Global America 25 percent
Oral history project 30 percent
Class Schedule
| Day | Date | Discussion Topic | Reading Assignment |
| Tuesday | 1/21 | Methods & Expectations | — |
| Thursday | 1/23 | Reconstruction | Prince of Emancipation exhibit |
| Tuesday | 1/28 | Industrial Capitalism | Yawp, chap. 16 |
| Thursday | 1/30 | American West | Yawp, chap. 17 |
| Tuesday | 2/4 | Cultural Changes | Yawp, chap 18 |
| Thursday | 2/6 | Imperial Era | Yawp, chap. 19 + Katz article |
| Tuesday | 2/11 | Nationalism and Assimilation | Gerstle article |
| Thursday | 2/13 | Through a Dickinson Lens | Dickinson & Slavery + Baum project |
| Monday | 2/17 | Industrial America essay due | By 5pm via email |
| Tuesday | 2/18 | Progressive Era | Yawp, chap. 20 |
| Thursday | 2/20 | WWI Homefront | Yawp, chap. 21 |
| Tuesday | 2/25 | WWI and Wilsonianism | Macmillan essay |
| Thursday | 2/27 | 1920s | Yawp, chap. 22 |
| Tuesday | 3/4 | Great Depression | Yawp, chap 23 |
| Thursday | 3/6 | WWII | Yawp, chap. 24 (Sec. I – VI) |
| Tuesday | 3/11 | NO CLASS (Spring Break) | |
| Thursday | 3/13 | NO CLASS (Spring Break) | |
| Tuesday | 3/18 | Homefront in WWII | Yawp, chap. 24 (Sec. VII – XI) + Popel |
| Thursday | 3/20 | Birth of Atomic Age | Brands, chap. 1 + Marthins |
| Monday | 3/24 | Global America essay due | By 5pm, via email |
| Tuesday | 3/25 | Late 1940s –Toward Cold War | Brands, chap. 2 + Forry |
| Tuesday | 3/25 | Wert Lecture: Fergus Bordewich(required) | ATS, 7pm |
| Thursday | 3/27 | Early 1950s –McCarthyism | Brands, chap. 3 + Herzfeld |
| Tuesday | 4/1 | Late 1950s –Suburbs | Brands, chap. 4 + Menkes |
| Thursday | 4/3 | Early 1960s –Civil Rights | Brands, chap. 5 + Ferry |
| Tuesday | 4/8 | Late 1960s –Vietnam War | Brands, chap. 6 + Bui |
| Thursday | 4/10 | Early 1970s –Time of Change | Brands, chap. 7 + Cayouette |
| Monday | 4/14 | Oral history interviews due | By 5pm via post at course site |
| Tuesday | 4/15 | Late 1970s –Global Energy Crisis | Brands, chap. 8 + Vatanka |
| Thursday | 4/17 | Early 1980s –Political realignment | Brands, chap. 9 + Blackwell |
| Tuesday | 4/22 | Mid 1980s –Return of Cold War | Brands, chap. 10 + Krein |
| Thursday | 4/24 | Late 1980s – End of Cold War | Brands, chap. 11 + Cohane |
| Tuesday | 4/29 | 1990s –Polarization | Brands, chaps, 12-13 |
| Thursday | 5/1 | 2000s –9/11 and beyond | Brands, chaps. 14-15 |
| Thursday | 5/8 | Oral history projects due | By 5pm via post at course site |