U.S. History

Course Syllabus

Readings thematically addressed weekly and varying in number of titles. The themes or topics, are designed to impose coherence in the weekly colloquia.

Students will prepare written Reflection papers as scheduled and should be ready to discuss their work. No late papers will be accepted.

There is a course website: wendeleckford.org. You can download the course syllabus and all reading and writing material for the course. This course is being podcast and iwebcast. You can find iwebcasts and class slides at my website.

There is no required textbook however students may purchase any U.S. history text in order to supplement the readings: Two textbooks that are recommended are:

Jones, et al., Created Equal: A Social and Political History of the United States, Second Edition.

Brinkley, American History, A Survey, Second Edition.

The book is commonly available at the LACC book store, library or on line.

INTRODUCTION

Making Connections to Other Courses: Perspective

This is a comprehensive course intended to give you an overview of American history from the Founding to the Civil War. This course has been designed to provide you not only the history of major events but an overview of how historical events have impacted our lives. We will study the history of ideas, the great actors in history, and those men and women that have been traditionally left out of the traditional historical narrative (minorities, etc.). It is my intent to give you as broad a sweep of American history as possible so that you may have an understanding of the complexity of the historical process but also the complexity of and nuances of our lives and of our nation.

Our course of study, as illustrated in your text, is organized in four major themes.

1.Diversity. We examine how individual Americans have understood and identified themselves by gender, religion, region, income, race and ethnicity. At the founding of this nation in the 18th century, ideas of race, religion, income, region, gender were not as solidified as they are in the 20th century. Throughout the course we will examine how race was socially constructed and how race has became a “real” thing in society and how it affected social relations in American history.

2.Class and systems of power. The United States was founded on the idea, that unlike European countries, the United States would not have an inherited aristocracy. However, in the early years of the republic, the privileges of citizenship were limited to a minority of residents-namely white men who owned property. Understanding how systems of power shaped American society is fundamental to understanding American history.

3.Environment. American Indians and European Americans differed in the ways they inhabited and used the land. The differing views of how to exploit the natural resources of the North American continent brought many groups into conflict and ultimately shaped the destiny of all involved. We discuss how the North American landscape was a place of contestation.

4.Globalization. Many believe that American (and other parts of the world) are witnessing a move toward an integration of national economies and cultures. This, from my point of view is a false interpretation. As we shall see from the very beginning of American society we were inextricably linked to global events and in many ways chief participant in globalization as far back as the 17th century.

Our energies will be directed toward understanding these four themes in order to build and analyze a narrative framework of American history.

Course Documents:

Fall 2007 History 11 To Do List.doc

History 11 1393 Summer 3 2007 Syllabus.doc

History 11- 8 Day Course Syllabus.doc

History 11- Summer Session 3 - 2007 Syllabus.doc

History 11 Final Exam Study Guide 8 Day .doc

US History:Afro Rubric Scoring Sheet 2007.doc

Reflection Paper Formats.doc

Reflection Paper Sample.pdf

Honors Paper Requirements.doc

Readings: (See Syllabus for Due Dates)