GUH 3810

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF HISTORY

WINTER 2003

History and You

Sections:981 (3cr), 982 (4cr)

Instructor: Ronald Aronson (313) 577-0828

Office: 2426 AAB 5700 Cass Ave.

ac7159@wayne edu

Fax: (313) 577-8585

Class Locations: Education Building and Macomb University Center (MUC)

Class meets every Thursday, 6:00-9:40pm, Jan. 9-April 24 except for March 13 (Spring break).

Office Hours: I will be at MUC or at my office on campus at least one-half hour before every class session; please see me by appointment during that time. Contact me by email with any questions.

General Education Requirement:

GUH 3810 fulfills the University General Education requirements in Historical Studies (HS). HS courses provide insight into the development of human institutions, their similarities and differences, and the means by which knowledge about the past is acquired. Such studies reveal how contemporary perspectives evolve from past events, while enhancing understanding of the present. Approved courses may explore significant historical periods or themes. In keeping with this requirement, GUH 3810 does not offer a comprehensive overview of history. Rather, by focusing on major themes and then on genealogy it allows the student to situate her/himself in the historical process while fostering understanding of the purposes and methods of historical study.

Course Plan:

This upper-division course explores three intersecting questions, What is history? How is it made and understood? And how does it affect individual lives? The course examines the historical nature of our experience, the historical development of social institutions, cultural practices, and values, and how knowledge of the past is acquired. We will explore our own and our families’ historicity - the historical dimensions of our own lives and personal experience.

All students will read three texts, Davidson and Lytle’s After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, W. E. B. Dubois’s classic, The Souls of Black Folk, and Ron Kovic’s famous Born on the Fourth of July. In addition, students will begin a family history project by bringing a document to class and doing two of the following: a family tree, a family time line, an oral history interview.

Texts (available at Marwil Books, Cass and Warren, Detroit):

Davison and Lytle, After the Fact

W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk

Ron Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July

There will be a $1 fee for films to be seen during the semester. Videos will include Ancestors (series)

Student Responsibilities and Grading Procedures:

Students are required to be punctual and to attend every class session. Participation entails active involvement in class discussion and all activities. (Attendance and participation are calculated as 25% of the grade). NOTICE: Any student absent three times will be dropped from the course and given the grade of “X.” MISSED ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE MADE UP, INCLUDING SEEING ANY MISSED VIDEOS. IN THE EVENT OF ABSENCE, CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR THE MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENT. AVOID COMING TO THE NEXT CLASS WITHOUT HAVING CONTACTED ME AND MADE UP THE CURRENT ASSIGNMENT.

Assigned papers include:

(1) Three summaries of assignments                                                            (15%)

(2) A paper on the theme of the Veil in The Souls of Black Folk                   (15%)

(3) A longer paper is due on After the Fact                                                   (15%)

(4) A final paper. This will be an in-depth discussion of the relationship of the personal and the historical, in After the Fact, DuBois, Kovics, and your own genealogical work

(30%).

The Contract:

As students you have a right to expect that your instructor will come to class prepared, treat you with respect, and conduct class in a scholarly manner. Being learners and not consumers, students’ growth and development entail a corresponding commitment: coming to class prepared, treating the instructor and fellow students with respect, and taking all aspects of class participation seriously. Students are required to be punctual and to attend every class session in full. Participation entails active involvement in class discussion and all activities, scholarly demeanor, and respect for the classroom process and the opinions of others.

The purpose of this course is to help students develop their capacity to think. As a course focusing on ideas, its lifeblood is class discussion. This is a collective process, requiring tolerance, openness, and careful listening. Each participant has a right to expect this of the others.

Grades on papers:

A = Excellent (A is equivalent to 4.00 HPA; A- equivalent to 3.67). Well-written and well-argued with a clear thesis statement, sustained focus on the thesis, plenty of well-developed examples, and use of relevant readings from the text. May contain original ideas or insights.

B = Good (B+ 3.33 HPA; B 3.00; B- 2.67). A strong presentation but may not adequately develop one or more of the above areas.

C = Average (C+ 2.33 HPA; C 2.00; C- l.67). Shows understanding of the issues and readings, but a thin presentation, weak in key areas or does not touch upon key points. May also have writing problems.

D = Poor but still passing (D+ 1.33 HPA; D 1.00; D- 0.67). A cursory presentation lacking in examples and support from the text, and or serious writing problems. May show inadequate reading or reflection.

E = not acceptable (E or F = 0.00 HPA). Inadequate effort.

R = Returned for revision. Automatic for D and E papers until the final week.

Final Grades:

ALL course requirements must be fulfilled to receive a final grade in the A to C minus range. Students who do not complete all course requirements will receive a grade in the D to E range, or, where insufficient work has been done to assign a grade and at the instructor’s discretion, a student may be given an “X.”

A student who is unable to complete the final assignment but has completed most of the course work and has notified the instructor of his or her intention to complete the remaining work by a given date may, at the instructor’s discretion, be granted an “I” until the work is made up and a final letter grade assigned. At the end of one year, the University regards the “I” as a “W” and the course must be retaken. Extensions are difficult to obtain.

Plagiarism, Citation and Rough-Draft Policies.

Plagiarism is not tolerated at Wayne State University; students who pass off the work of others as their own will receive a failing grade. This is automatic and cannot be appealed. Whether quoting, summarizing, paraphrasing, or alluding, you must provide proper documentation of sources following Trimmer's Guide to MLA Documentation (4th edition) or the MLA Handbook (Fifth Edition). Since one of the most important sites of learning is the margins of papers. I encourage rough drafts and ongoing discussion of papers by E-mail.

SCHEDULE

Week 1 (Jan. 9): “What is history?” Introduction to the course

Film: The Emigrants, part 1

Assignment for Week 2: ATF, “Serving Time in Virginia” and “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem”

Write a one-page typed summary of either chapter

Week 2 (Jan. 16): 1) The Two Ways of Entering the New Land; 2) America’s Witch Hunts

Film: The Emigrants, part 2; Ancestors, “Looking at Home”

Assignment for Week 3: ATF, "Declaring Independence,” 46-69

Bring a “document” to class

Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk, “Forethought,” Chapter I

Week 3 (Jan. 23) "How to Read a Document"

Film: Ancestors, Episode 1: “Getting Started”

Discussion of Genealogy

Assignment for Week 4: ATF, ““The Invisible Pioneers” (96-119)

Prepare a summary to be presented in class

Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters 2 and 4

Week 4 (January 30): “Going West: Myth and Reality”

Film: Ancestors, Episode 3: “Gathering Family Stories”

Assignment for Week 5: ATF, Six: “The Madness of John Brown” (122-45)

Write a one-page typed summary of this chapter

Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters 7 and 8

Week 5 (February 6): “Individual Motivation and Great Causes”

Ancestors, Episodes 4 and 5, “The Paper Trail,” and “Libraries and Archives”

Assignment for week 6: ATF, Seven: “The View from the Bottom Rail” (147-75)

Dubois; The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters 9, 11 and 13

Week 6 (February 13) “African American Stories”

“Ancestors,” Episodes 6 and 7, “Military and Census Records,” “African American Families”

Assignment for week 7: ATF, Eight, “The Mirror with the Memory” (178-99)

Paper: What does Dubois mean by the “veil” and how does it illuminate the relations of African Americans and whites today? (4 pages, 1000 words; section 981 students 3 pages, 750 words)

Week 7 (February 20) “The Lives of Immigrants: I”; Ancestors, Episodes 8 and 9, “Your Medical Heritage” and “High-Tech Help”

Film: The New Land, I

Assignment for week 8: ATF , “USDA Government Inspected” (201-27)

Complete Family Tree

Week 8 (February 27), “The Lives of Immigrants: II”

Film: The New Land, II

Ancestors, Episode 10, “Leaving a Legacy”

Assignment for week 9: ATF, “Sacco and Vanzetti” (228-53)

Week 9 (March 6): “Sacco and Vanzetti,”

NO CLASS MARCH 13: SPRING BREAK

Assignment for week 10: ATF, “Dust Bowl Odyssey,” (256-81)

Complete Family Time Line

Week 10 (March 20), “Family History, I”

Assignment for week 11:

Paper on After the Fact: What is the book’s argument and how is it demonstrated? Write a 4-6 page paper (1000-1500 words); (3-credit students 3-4 pages - 750- 1000 words).

Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July, 1-44

Week 11 (March 27), “Family History, II”

Assignment for week 12:

Complete Family Tree and Time Line

(One chapter, according to your group), ATF, “The Decision to Drop the Bomb” (284-309), “From Rosie to Lucie” (310-36), “Breaking into Watergate” (339-61)

Week 12 (April 3): “Media and Myth”

Assignment for week 13: Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July, 45-142

Week 13 (April 10): “The 1960s”

Assignment for week 14: ATF, “Where Trouble Comes,” 356-386, finish Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July, 143-224

Film: Born on the Fourth of July

Week 14 (April 17): “Vietnam: Myths and Realities”

Film: SDS: Rebels with a Cause

Final Assignment: How is the historical personal and the personal historical? Write a 6-8 page paper (1500-2000 words) based on appropriate readings in ATF, The Souls of Black Folk, Born on the Fourth of July, and your own genealogical research (3-credit students 4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words). Consider how historical events and processes shape individual lives, values, and even personalities and how individuals contribute to historical processes.

Final Exam Day: April 24: Meeting of both classes. Papers handed in and final exam/evaluation/discussion.

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GIS 3540

DIRECTED STUDY: UNDERSTANDING HISTORY

WINTER 2003

Genealogy

Instructor: Ronald Aronson (313) 577-0828

ac7159@wayne edu

Fax: (313) 577-8585

In this Directed Study course, which is designed to complement Humanities 3810, students will have the opportunity to undertake their own in-depth study of their family history.

Students will be able to 1) analyze a document, 2) prepare a family tree, 3) conduct an oral history interview, 4) spend time at a major genealogy website such as that of the Latter Day Saints, and 5) prepare a family history time-line. GUH 3810 students will do some of these. In addition, those enrolled in the Directed Study will 6) read and use the text accompanying Ancestors, 7) obtain and analyze a major record, such as a census report or visit a genealogical library or collection, and 8) write a family history paper of at least 12 pages or create a family history web site, and present their findings to the class on April 17.

The Directed Study schedule is printed in boxes at appropriate weeks on the 3810 schedule.