United States History: Post-Civil War History 206; Section 010 Location: KRB 205 Time: M-F, 1:15pm - 2:45pm Instructor: Bryn Varley Hollenbeck E-mail: varley@udel.edu Office: History Department, Munroe Hall, Room 128 Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3-4pm and M-F by appointment Course Description An examination of American history from the Civil War to the present. This course will introduce students to the development of American culture, politics, and society, through lectures, discussions, and the exploration of primary documents. Students will become familiar with the major, or representative, events and issues of American history over the past century. No prior study in American history is necessary. Readings This course will not use an assigned textbook. Rather, for each class students will read (or in some cases view) several short excerpts from primary sources, related to and created/written in the time period being discussed. These various sources, linked below, include letters, diaries, court cases, speeches, literature, popular fiction, art and architecture, sermons, film, pictures, television, and music. Several textbooks are on reserve at the library for any students who would like a more comprehensive approach or need to review course topics. Please bring a hard copy of each reading to class with you; we will be referring to them during lectures and discussions. Schedule Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Heading Towards the 20th Century 5-Jan Introduction 6-Jan The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction 7-Jan The Wild, Wild West 8-Jan Industrial America 9-Jan Reform Begins: Progressivism America Grows 12-Jan The Progressive Era Continues 13-Jan Teddy Roosevelt and the Strenuous Life 14-Jan The Great War: America's Involvement in World War I 15-Jan The 1920s, Part I 16-Jan The Roaring '20s Rough Times 12-Jan No Class - Martin Luther King Day 13-Jan Conspicuous Consumption and the Great Crash of ‘29 14-Jan Midterm Exam 15-Jan The Great Depression 16-Jan FDR’s New Deal The American Century 12-Jan World War II 13-Jan World on the Edge: The Cold War Begins 14-Jan The Cold War Home Front: Patriotism and Accusations 15-Jan Happy Days? 16-Jan The "Other America": Civil Rights Recent History 12-Jan The Sixties Project Due 13-Jan Vietnam: Culture and Counterculture 14-Jan Watergate and Its Legacies 15-Jan Ending History 16-Jan Final Exam Part I Final Exam 17-Jan (Saturday) Final Exam Part II Exams There will be two exams in this course, a mid-term and a final. The exams will include multiple choice questions, true/false questions, short answer questions, identifications, and essays. Projects This course will involve a short project. This project will involve an oral history report, in which students will interview Americans about historical events, and then compare these memories with written history. The assignment sheet for this project will be given out mid-term. Grades Midterm: 25% Final: 35% Class Participation: 20% Oral History Project: 20% Finding Me The fastest and easiest way to find me is generally by email: varley@udel.edu. I will be on campus every weekday, and will hold official office hours twice a week. However, I will be available to meet with students by appointment most times between Monday noon and class Friday. I am located in the History Department, Munroe Hall. (Munroe is located on Delaware Ave, behind Trabant and next to the parking garage.) My mailbox is in the main office, second floor. Class Policies Attendance is required. To be excused from class, students must provide official university documentation of an illness or other emergency, which prevented class attendance. Unexcused absences will negatively affect final grades. Students are expected to read all assignments carefully and be prepared to discuss them in class. Students are expected to come to class on time, and to participate in class discussions. Positive participation includes being respectful to whomever is speaking; be that the professor or other students. Make-up tests are given at my discretion. You must contact me prior to the test if you will miss it because of a sickness or other personal emergency. Make-up tests will be given only when I receive a physician’s note documenting illness on the date of the test, or an excuse from the Dean of Students documenting a personal emergency that prevented you from attending class on the date of the test.