Fall 2021

History 1378

Prof. Buzzanco

This class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, either from 2:30-3:45 or 4:00-5:15.  Attending class is the most important thing you can do if you want to do well in this class.  If you attend class and do all the readings, you should do well.  We will also make extra credit available from time to time, and it will be based on the readings in the Texts and Interpretations books (below).

Most questions can be answered by referring to the syllabus or to Blackboard.  If not, contact your TA or contact me.  But please check the syllabus or  Blackboard first.

I’ve also set up a Facebook page for the class where I can also put up information re the class itself or the materials we’re covering, which you can join–it’s voluntary, not required– at https://www.facebook.com/groups/953860084692994    

 

 

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Teaching Assistants:

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Required Books

America: From 1865 to COVID-19 is a package from Nunn-McGinty publishers which consists of 3 books. You need only purchase the package–all 3 books are included in it.

Available at bookstore on online at https://www.nunnmcginty.com/  If you have an issues or questions about downloading or otherwise getting access to the books, contact    documents@nunnmcginty.com

It includes From Reconstruction to Rebellion (listed as RR below), and also two readers,  Texts and Speeches in U.S. History,  and   Interpretations of U.S. History (listed as Texts and Interpretations below).

****Also, there will be a change in the book From Reconstruction to Rebellion this semester.  I have written and am writing new sections, epilogues really, for each chapter, which are not in the book yet.  The publisher will add them to the book as I finish them and I will notify you immediately when they appear.  These epilogues are required reading and we will ask test questions about them. Basically, I take a topic from that chapter and show how history applies to current events.  I’ll always tell you in class and email when they’re included in the Reconstruction to Rebellion book.  You will need to re-download the new material and I’ll notify you in class and give you information on downloading when the epilogues are up and available both in class and via email.

 

Grading:

Your grade in this course will be based on your scores on three exams [which may include essays and  IDs], two during the semester, at dates announced on Blackboard, worth 100 points each, and a final exam, worth 150 points. There will also be extra credit questions available based on the readers. Practice questions will be given out before the tests and review sessions with TAs can  be scheduled online.

Makeup Policy–read carefully. The typical makeup policy below isn’t relevant to an online class.  The tests will be given online at a date and time that the TAs and I will notify you about ahead of time.  You’ll have 1 1/2 hours online to do the test, which is more than you’d have in class.  Given the circumstances, there should be fewer reasons to miss the exam and ask for a makeup.  If something serious does occur, however, and you can’t take the test at the scheduled time, contact your TA as soon as possible to let her/him know and arrange another test. 

In-class makeup policy:   We do not want to get flooded with requests for makeups.  Do everything in your power to be here on test dates.  If you miss an exam due to verifiable emergency conditions, with proper documentation, there will be makeup tests given on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the professor/TAs. On the day of your scheduled make-up, you will be required to make up all missing tests.  The only excuses for missing that day will also be medical or other emergencies [not travel plans], for which you must provide written documentation. If you miss the makeup test, you will receive zeroes for those tests.  Additionally, it is your responsibility to notify your TA that you have missed an exam and to schedule a make-up as soon as possible.

 

Make sure you attend class regularly and keep up with the assigned readings. If at any time you are unsure of the material we are covering, please ask the T.A. or me.

For information on Incompletes or other UH policies and requirements, consult the UH Student Handbook.

Questioning a grade: If you have questions or other issues with the grade you received on a test, this is the procedure to follow. 

 

First, the TAs will not discuss your tests right after we turn them back to you (other than to correct a math error in the grading).  Please look at your exam and wait a day before contacting your TA.  Make an appointment with him/her and come to that meeting with specific questions and concerns and be prepared to specifically explain why you deserved a higher grade (do not simply say “I studied and thought I should have done better”).  If the TA and you do not reach an agreement, the TA will re-grade the entire test and the score be increased, decreased, or stay the same.

 

If at that point you still are not satisfied, make an appointment with me and bring  your specific concerns and questions and I will go over the exam and, as above, possibly re-grade it and give a new score accordingly.  At all times be respectful and courteous toward the TAs , and the same is expected of their interactions with you. At the end of the semester, please do not send me an email asking for your grade to be raised because you need extra points to maintain your GPA or to graduate or for other such reasons.  Again, any questioning of your grade must include specific questions or comments regarding the specific questions on the test

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Topics and Reading Assignments

(Extra Credit opportunities will be posted on Blackboard throughout the semester)

 

The books will be listed as RR, Texts, and Interpretations 

 

Week 1

Background: Reconstruction, Capitalism, Labor Wars, Empire

 RR, chapter 1

Texts, chapter 1

Suggested: Interview with Richard Wolff on the economy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o778RuarDo

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Week 2

Imperialism, Markets, the Great War 

RR, chapter 2

Texts, chapter 2

Interpretations, chapter 1

 

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Week 3

The Aftermath of War Abroad and at Home

 RR, chapter 2

Texts, chapter 3

 

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Week 4

The 1920s

 RR, chapter 3

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Week 5

 FDR and the New Deal

RR, chapter 4

 

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Week 6

The Onset of War

RR, chapter 5

Interpretations, chapter 3

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Week 7

 War, the Bomb, and Cold War 

RR, chapter 6

Interpretations, chapter 4

Podcast on Atomic Bomb:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tdLz16ljiM&t=1013s

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Week 8

 The War at Home: Domestic Containment (Conformity and Counterculture)

RR, chapter 7

Texts, chapter 4

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Week 9

 Taking the Third World, Origins of Vietnam

 Texts, chapter 5

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Week 10

 The Modern Civil Rights Era 

RR, chapter 8

Texts, chapter 7

Interpretations, chapter 5

 

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Week 11

 Questioning Authority: The 1960s

 Texts, chapter 6

Interpretations, chapter 6

 

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Week 12

 Backlash and the Rise of the Conservatives

 RR, chapter 10

Interpretations, chapter 7

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Week 13

 Globalization and Militarism from Reagan to Clinton 

Interpretations, chapter 8

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Week 14

Economic Crash and Background to 9/11

 RR, chapter 11

Texts, chapter 8

Interpretations, chapter 9

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Week 15

The U.S., Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East

 RR, Conclusion

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Final Exam