SEMINAR: Modern U.S. History: Politics, Culture, Law, and Ideas
CRN 25440
Mondays, 9:00 – 11:50 in 375 McKenzie Hall
Professor Ellen Herman
Department of History
University of Oregon
e-mail: eherman@uoregon.edu
office hours: Tuesday, noon – 2 pm in 280G Knight Law Center and by appointment
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE AND ITS OBJECTIVES
This seminar will be a place to think, talk, and write about a wide variety of topics in modern U.S. history. We will focus on politics, culture, law, and ideas, allowing students to explore stories about everything from elections and sports to science, law, music, and more.
The primary purpose of this course is to give each student the experience of being a historian and doing the work of history. To achieve that goal, each student will engage in a substantial independent research project, based in primary sources, resulting in a paper of 20-25 pages. You should expect to begin that work right away, and are encouraged to speak to the instructor about your project ideas even before the course begins. We will do a small amount of common reading, but most of your time will be devoted to research and writing about the historical developments and questions that interest you most.
Students will devote a lot of time to defining, executing, and discussing their projects with other participants in the seminar. Written research descriptions, proposals, and drafts will be shared and peer-reviewed in order to generate constructive suggestions, questions, and ideas for revision and refinement. Research presentations will be made by every student during the final weeks of the term. Please consult the instructor’s brief description of the stages of writing research papers.
WRITING REQUIREMENTS
Each student in this course is expected to produce a 20-25-page (double-spaced) research paper, based on primary sources. Please plan to consult individually with the instructor during the first two weeks of the term. Students should expect to serve as peer reviewers in this course, which means that you will be reading and commenting on the written drafts of other students, and other students will be reading and commenting on your written drafts. In addition, each student in the course will make a verbal presentation of his/her research during the final four weeks of the term.
COURSE MODALITY
This course meets in person and attendance is necessary to your success in the class. See attendance policy below.
READING REQUIREMENTS
Most of the texts you will read for this course will be primary and secondary sources related to your research project. We will do a small amount of common reading during week 1 and also from the following texts.
Rampolla, Mary Lynn, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2012). The most recent edition is the 10th edition, published in 2020, but copies of earlier editions are acceptable, available, and less expensive. This is a practical guide to working with sources and organizing research materials, as well as outlining and drafting historical research papers. We will not be discussing it directly in class, but it should be a helpful resource between classes as you navigate the research process.
Eric Foner and Lisa McGirr, eds., American History Now (Temple University Press, 2011). This collection of essays, available in digital form through the UO Library website, is designed to explore and summarize historiographical developments in various time periods and thematic subfields of U.S. history, such as Reconstruction, the Cold War, political history, African-American history, women’s history, etc. Many of your projects will fit into one or more than one of these subfields, so these essays will help you to understand the major questions, problems, and debates that have engaged other historians.
THINKING REQUIREMENTS AND WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
History is a discipline that requires discipline, no less than music, neuroscience, or architecture. That means you should expect this course to require real time and effort. But history repays those who devote time and effort to it many times over. You can also expect the following tangible benefits, all applicable in a wide range of occupations and careers:
- the habit of asking critical questions frequently
- improved reading, writing, and analytical skills
- the ability to recognize and evaluate primary and secondary sources, with special attention to interpreting multiple and conflicting sources of information
- practice in thinking about how economic, political, cultural, and social forces interact over time
My hope is that you will also experience the pleasure of learning and the satisfaction of becoming an educated human being. History really can make us more interesting people and better, more insightful citizens of our communities and the world.
RULES
Accommodations
The University of Oregon seeks to create inclusive learning environments. Please let me know me if anything about the instruction or design of this course creates disability-related barriers to your participation. You are also encouraged to contact the Accessible Education Center in 164 Oregon Hall at 541-346-1155 or uoaec@uoregon.edu. If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please request that the Accessible Education Center verify your disability.
Academic Honesty
If this course is to be a worthwhile educational experience, your work must be original. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are very serious infractions and will not be permitted. That includes the use of generative AI. Students who are uncertain about what plagiarism is, or who have questions about how to cite published, electronic, or other sources should feel free to consult the instructor’s brief guide to plagiarism.
Attendance
This course involves learning through doing and discussing. Most classes will require you to discuss the work you are doing as well as ask and answer questions about it. That means that attendance is critical and will count toward your final grade. Please be aware that many of the attendance policies that were adjusted university-wide during the pandemic are no longer in effect. If you are absent, I will not ask for a reason since I cannot equitably distinguish between reasonable (excused) and unreasonable (unexcused) absences. Be aware that more than 3 absences will result in getting no credit for attendance and participation when those are weighed as part of your final grade. Students with COVID are encouraged to seek guidance at UO’s COVID-19 Safety Resources webpage.
Classroom Community Expectations
All members of the class (students and instructor) can expect to be treated respectfully and are also expected to share ideas and contribute to the learning community we create together. This entails preparing for class, following instructions, and engaging thoughtfully with others so that we create a welcoming and inclusive environment for every member of the class.
Lateness Policy
No late assignments will be accepted except in rare cases where special arrangements have been made in advance for unusual but legitimate reasons. Students who miss deadlines will get no credit for that assignment.
GRADES
This is a research-oriented course, so your final grade will depend very heavily on the quality of the final paper you submit. Approximately 80% of that final grade will reflect the quality of your final paper, but everything will be taken into account: your preparation for and participation in weekly discussions, the brief written assignments you submit throughout the term, the verbal presentation of your research project, and the peer reviews you do for other students’ research descriptions and writing samples. In particular, I will be looking to see how your research and writing skills improve over the course of the term.
DEADLINES
Please submit all of your assignments through the Canvas assignments page. The following deadlines are also listed on the course calendar.
Week 2: January 17, 2024: A one-paragraph description of your research project is due on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 by 5 pm. The deadline was postponed until Friday, January 19, 2024 at noon because of the ice emergency. Please note that we do not have class during Week 2 because of the MLK Holiday, which falls on Monday, January 15, 2024.
Week 4: January 29, 2024: A three-page prospectus about your research project is due before class begins. You will also be assigned to do a peer review of another student’s research prospectus.
Week 5, February 5, 2024: A draft of your paper’s first paragraph is due before class begins. You will also be assigned to do a peer review of another student’s first paragraph draft.
Week 6, February 12, 2024: A draft of your outline is due before class begins. You will also be assigned to do a peer review of another student’s outline draft.
Week 8, February 26, 2024: The first draft of your paper is due before class begins. You will also be assigned to do a peer review of another student’s first draft. This will take place outside of class and will be due on March 4, 2024 before class begins.
Week 9: March 4, 2023: Peer review of another student’s first draft, due before class begins.
Exam week: Your final paper is due on Wednesday, March 20, 2025.
COURSE CALENDAR
Week 1, January 8, 2024: What topics are related to politics, culture, law, and ideas in modern U.S. history? What questions can we ask about them? Where do we start?
Background reading, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, chapters 1 and 5.
Please read/watch the primary sources listed below before class. All of the texts are available on Canvas in the section titled “Files.” Come prepared with questions about them. What can these sources tell us about politics, culture, law, and ideas in modern U.S. history? What can’t they tell us?
U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment, section 1, 1868
Buck v. Bell, 1927
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery,” 1948
SDS, The Port Huron Statement, 1962, excerpt
Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb,” poem read at the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, January 20, 2021
In class, we will be introducing ourselves, discussing the sources listed above, refreshing our memories about sources and citations, and doing a quick exercise with online bibliographic databases.
Week 2, January 15, 2024: MLK Holiday (no class)
We will not meet on January 15 because of the MLK Holiday, but your one-paragraph research project description is due on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 by 5 pm. The deadline was postponed until Friday, January 19, 2024 at noon because of the ice emergency. Guidelines for this assignment can be found on Canvas.
Week 3, January 22, 2024: The Research Projects in Brief
Come to class prepared to talk briefly about your research project and why you selected it. Please locate and read several primary sources related to your research. Take notes on them and think about how they relate to your project. Think about how where your project belongs in terms of chronological and thematic subfields. Bring your notes and your ideas to class. We will talk about them.
Background reading: A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, chapters 2-3 (you can stop on p. 44).
At 10:45, we will walk over to LIB 201 (Kesey Classroom) and meet with Lauren Goss for the final hour of class. Goss is References Services Coordinator and Assistant University Archivist for Athletics. She will introduce us to the wealth of materials available in Special Collections and University Archives.
Because of the ice emergency, our visit to Special Collections and University Archives has been postponed until January 29, 2024. Instead, we will be doing in class the exercise on using bibliographic databases to locate sources and reviewing the basics of citation.
Week 4, January 29, 2024: Nuts and Bolts: Getting Acquainted with Sources
Your three-page research prospectus is due before class. Guidelines for this assignment can be found on Canvas. Please bring a hard copy with you to class because we will be doing peer reviews of these documents.
Please also bring to class two secondary sources from your own research thus far as well as your notes on them.
Activity postponed from January 22, 2024: At 10:45, we will walk over to LIB 201 (Kesey Classroom) and meet with Lauren Goss for the final hour of class. Goss is References Services Coordinator and Assistant University Archivist for Athletics. She will introduce us to the wealth of materials available in Special Collections and University Archives.
Week 5, February 5, 2024: Nuts and Bolts: What Historians Do with the Sources They Use
Background reading: A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, chapters 4, 6, and 7.
We will continue the discussion of using and interpreting sources.
A draft of your first paragraph is due before class. Please bring a hard copy with you to class because we will be doing peer reviews of these documents.
Week 6, February 12, 2024: Nuts and Bolts: Bibliographies, Organization, Outlines, Writing, Revising, and Other Elements of Paper-Writing
Background reading: A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, chapters 4-7.
A draft of your outline is due before class. Please bring a hard copy with you to class because we will be doing peer reviews of these documents.
Week 7, February 19, 2024: Student Presentations
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
Week 8, February 26, 2024: Student Presentations
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
The first draft of your paper is due before class. Guidelines for this assignment can be found on Canvas. We will be doing peer reviews of these drafts outside of class. Peer review forms can be found on Canvas.
Week 9, March 4, 2024: Student Presentations
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
The peer review you were assigned last week is due before class.
Week 10, March 11, 2024: Student Presentations and Celebration
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.