dDDepartment of History

The aim of this course is to help students to understand social history as a methodology and avenue of historical inquiry. Toward this end, students will explore a variety of works examining the history and development of the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries . By the end of this course students should have an appreciation for and understanding of the richness and complexity of the history of the American experience in the long nineteenth century, a clear understanding of social history as a methodology, and sharpened reading, writing and critical thinking skills.

The course work includes reading all required books and all assigned articles, writing one analytical summary, two critical book reviews, one annotated bibliography, one critical book review essay, and that students be prepared to be active participants in class discussion and other in-class activities. Part of this daily preparation will be the submission of a weekly reaction questions assignment.   A description of the required reader response questions may be found here.

The analytical summary must be written about one of the four required books read during the first portion of the semester and is due no later than 2/18. The two book reviews must be written on any of the books other than the book for which you wrote an analytical summary.   The first book review will be due no later than 3/7, and the second no later than 4/28. By the end of the semester you will have written formally about three of the seven books you are required to read.

The final assignment is a critical literature review essay, that is, an essay which reviews four to six books as a group, both for the contribution to the field they make as a whole, and to measure the individual books up against each other.   The critical literature review essay is due no later than May 14. In preparation for the critical literature review, you must submit an annotated bibliography no later than 3/14.

The final grade will be determined as follows:

General Requirements and Course Policies

• Attendance is required.
• Absences will be treated as follows.   For every unexcused absence after the first two, your grade in the course will go down by one letter grade.   That is, if you have earned an A but have three unexcused absences, you will receive a B in the course.   If you have earned an A, but have four unexcused absences, you will receive a C in the course.   Thus, even if you have earned an A in the course, six unexcused absences will result in a course grade of F.
• Always bring the assigned reading material to class.
• Essays and reader response reports are due at the beginning of the class on the date specified.
• Homework will not be accepted after the due date.   If you cannot attend class that day, make arrangements for the essay to be turned in early or send it with a colleague.
• There will be no Incompletes.
• There will be no makeups for in-class quizzes and in-class activities.   If you are absent that day, you will receive zero credit for that quiz or activity.   If your absence is excused you may elect to negotiate either an alternative assignment or a conversion of the points from quizzes and activities to participation points. Failure to negotiate for either will result in zero points.
• When sending email to me concerning the course, please put the course number (Hist 3316) in the subject line.
• Plagiarism and other forms of scholastic dishonesty, as defined in Section III of the University of Minnesota Duluth Student Conduct Code, will result in zero credit for the assignment and may result in a course grade of F, depending on the severity of the offense.
• Individuals who may have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the start of the semester.   Adaptations of methods, materials, or testing may be made as required to provide for equitable participation.

Required Readings:

Books:

• Gay New York , by George Chauncey
• Mother's of Invention , by Drew Gilpin Faust
• Untidy Origins, by Lori Ginzberg
• The Manly Art , by Elliot Gorn
• Southern Discomfort, by Nancy Hewitt
• The Kingdom of Mathias by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz
• The Wages of Whiteness , by David Roediger

Articles:

• American Slavery in History and Memory and the Search for Social Justice , by Ira Berlin. The Journal of American history [0021-8723] yr: 2003 vol: 90 iss: 4 pg: 1251
• Separate Spheres, Female Worlds, Women's Place: The Rhetoric of Women's History , by Linda K. Kerber, The Journal of American History , [0021-8723] yr: 1988 vol: 75 iss: 1 pg: 9
• Additional articles may be added over the course of the semester.

Recommended (and sometimes required) Reading:

• The New York Review of Books. This biweekly tabloid style newspaper is just what the title says - a newspaper that reviews books in all fields, fiction and non-fiction.   Reading this at the library will give you an excellent sense of how review articles are structures, what it is important to say and why and how.

All course books are available at the Campus Bookstore and all articles are available online or through the UMD library.   The assigned readings for the course should be done before each class as noted in the Class Schedule.