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Pomona College
History 21 Spring 2017
Tu-Th. 2:45pm, Mason23

Professor Victor Silverman

 
 

 

The Topic
 

US history in the last 150 years has revolved around battles over equity in the economy, the control of government, the fighting of wars, and the possibilities for social justice. This course introduces students to the study of these conflicts through an examination of power in politics, society, and the economy. Students will learn key historical methods as they consider four crucial periods: The disappointing aftermath of the Civil War, the fight over corporate industrial capitalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the triumph of the statist New Deal order in the 1930s, and the return of inequality in the neoliberalism of recent decades. Because historical questions are informed by contemporary issues and debates, the class will also address current events that emerge from the way Americans settled these older conflicts.

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Assignments:

Course Requirements and Grading:

 

Attendance and class participation;

20%

Attendance at outside events

5%

In-Class Presentations

10%

1 short research paper (1300-1600 word @4-5 pp)

10%

Weekly 1 page Reaction papers(due in class on Thursdays)

25%

1 Mid-sized Research Paper ( 2400-3000 words @8-10 pp.,)

30%

 

History Department Grading Standards

 

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The Fine Print:

Class Policies:
Email copies of the papers are due Fridays at 5:00pm (unless otherwise noted). Reaction Papers are due on Thursdays in class. You must have my permission to turn in a late paper. Other late papers will have one full grade deducted for each day they are late Do not plagiarize: You will fail the assignment. Please review the College policy on academic honesty. Attendance in class is required.  You are allowed 1 unexcused absence without penalty.


Required Readings: The books are available at Huntley Bookstore, on-line, or at the reserve desk in the Library and in the History Department library. Additional or changed readings are/will be linked to the syllabus and class website during the semester.

Double-check the on-line syllabus and Sakai for updated readings!

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The textbooks are available on reserve, on-line as e books, in the bookstore, or through ordering a hard-copy from a webstore.

Walter LaFeber, Richard Polenberg, Nancy Woloch, The American Century, Seventh edition (ME Sharpe) ( On-line through http://www.sharpe-etext.com/ isbn 9780765634856)
G. William Domhoff Who Rules America (7th ed.) (on-line through www.coursesmart.com ISBN 9780077419349)
Additional readings linked to website and on Sakai

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"How to read a book"
David Rumsey Map Collection
History News Network
History Matters
National Security Archive
Calisphere
LOC, American Memory

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Section 1: Reconstruction to Fordism:

Week 1: 1/17, 1/19 Main Themes, Theory, and Methods: From Ferguson to Reconstruction
Readings:Domhoff, Who Rules, intro-ch.1; Freed People's letters (link),

Week 2: 1/24, 1/26: Economic and Social Upheaval
Readings: American Century, Ch.1; Domhoff, Ch. 2-3; On Sakai: Herbert Gutman, "Work Culture & Society in Industrializing America;"  David Nasaw, “Gilded Age Gospels.”

THURSDAY MEET AT HONNOLD LIBRARY KECK LEARNING ROOM (KLR)

Week 3: 1/31, 2/2: Empire
Readings: Domhoff, Ch. 4-5; Populist Party Platform (link); On Sakai: Dawes Act; Teddy Roosevelt, "The Strenuous Life;" Jackson Lears, “Managerial Revitalization of the Rich”

Week 4: 2/7, 2/9: Gender and Whiteness
Readings: American Century, ch 2; On Sakai: Ida B. Wells, Speech to National Negro Conference; Anon., "A Negro Woman Speaks"; Ana Julia Cooper, "A Voice from the South";Rachel Moran, "Anti-Miscegenation Laws and Racial Boundaries."

Thursday 2/9: Presentations on Research Project

Week 5 2/14, 2/16: Fordism and Resistance
Readings: American Century, Ch.3-4; Domhoff, Ch. 6-7 IWW preamble (link) On Sakai: Roediger & O'Hare, "Americanism and Fordism;” Melvyn Dubofsky, "To What Extent Was the United States Fordist?"

Week 6: 2/21, 2/23: Contesting Whiteness and Racial Power
Readings: American Century, Ch. 5-6; Thind v. US (Link);On Sakai: James Grossman, "A Chance to Make Good;"

Research Paper 1 due Friday 2/24 at 5pm:

SECTION 2: Liberalism Triumphant

Week 7: 2/28, 3/2: Crisis Liberalism
Readings:American Century, Ch. 7-9; Alan Dawley,"Abortive rule of Big money" Thomas Ferguson, "Industrial Conflict and the Coming of the New Deal,” Cowie and Salvatore, “The Long Exception: Rethinking the Place of the New Deal in American History."

 
Week 8: 3/7, 3/9:The Pyrrhic Liberal Victory
Readings: American Century: Ch. 10-12; On Sakai: Michael Rogin, "Countersubversive Tradition in American Politics;”

Spring Break: 3/14-3/16

Week 9: 3/21, 3/23:Vietnam
Readings:American Century, Ch. 13-15; Domhoff, 8-9; Film: "The Fog of War," other tbd

Week 10: 3/28-3/30: Resistance and Identity
Readings:On Sakai: Robin D. G. Kelley, from Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination: Jeremy Suri, “The Rise and Fall of an International Counterculture, 1960–1975;”Rory Dicker, “Second Wave Feminism”


SIGN UP FOR MEETINGS ABOUT YOUR FINAL RESEARCH PROJECT

Section 3:The Era of Insecurity

Week 11: 4/4, 4/5: The Era of Insecurity
Readings:American Century, Ch. 16;On Sakai: Lind, “Conservative elites;” Harvey, From The Triumph of Neoliberalism
Week 12: 4/11, 4/13: Neoliberalism triumphant
Readings:American Century, Ch. 17-18 ; Lichtenstein “Wal-Mart and the New World Order”
Week 13: 4/18, 4/20: The New Warfare State
Readings: American Century Ch. 19; Jimmy Carter, State of the Union 1980; George W. Bush, Address on Iraq; Dick Cheney, Speech to World Affairs Council; Condoleezza Rice, "Promoting the National Interest"

Week 14: 4/25, 4/27: Obama's America
Readings: American Century Ch. 20

Final Presentations in class

Week 15:5/2: No Class meeting.

Final Paper Due Wed 5/3 at 5pm via email

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
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