| The United States
To 1877 HIST 1377 University of Houston Spring 2009 |
Instructor: Clayton
Lust Office: 562 AH (at University of Houston) Phone: 713-743-3096 Hours: W, 12-2 PM & Sat. 8-9AM and 3-4 PM Teaching Asst: Jennifer Yucra Office: 639 AH Phone: 713-743-3108 |
Course Description:
The first part of American history is one of great contradictions. It saw some of the most barbaric acts, but also movements towards social justice. The story of the US to 1877 is the story of the implementation of the world's largest system of slavery; the removal of Native Americans east of the Mississippi; the conquest of a vast empire from Spain and Mexico; and the triumph of urban values. But it is also the story of the defeat and collapse of slavery; the American reform tradition; and new ideals of liberty, equality and democracy.
Disclaimer - Some of the topics we discuss in this class are violent and our discussions will not sugarcoat the brutality. At times you may be offended - and you should be offended. Regardless, the history taught in this class will be in no way sanitized.
Objectionable Materials Warning: Some of the film clips that we will watch during the semester contain scenes of explicit violence, sexual brutality, ethnic and gender stereotyping, nudity, obscenity, adult themes, profanity, and offensive language that might be found objectionable by some. There may be also be ideas or practices endorsed by specific motion pictures that some might consider immoral or amoral. All of these films, however, were already in wide circulation in the culture at large and are, in the instructor’s opinion, essential to understanding American cultural history
Books:
Buzzanco, Carter, eds., Question Authority: Resistance and Protest in Colonial and Early US History.
Lust, The United States to 1877 (packaged with Question Authority).
Townsend, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma (TOWNSEND)
Oates, The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion (OATES)
Walther, The Shattering of the Union: The United States in the 1850s (WALTHER)
I will periodically give handouts that either elucidate course material or further explain lecture topics – you are responsible for this material as well.
Grading:
Your grade in this class is arrived at in the following manner. There are 3 closed book, closed note exams, the dates of which are below. The two mid term exams are worth 25% apiece. The final exam is worth 30% of your grade. In addition there are three (3) quizzes from the readers (Question Authority and US History Since 1877), that are worth a total of 15%. The final 5% is derived from unannounced (pop) quizzes.
Exam 1: February 21 Reader Quiz 1 – February 7
Exam 2: March 28 Reader Quiz 2 – March 7
Final Exam: May 9 Reader Quiz 3 – April 25
SCALE: A 93 and up C 73-76
A- 90-92 C- 70-72
B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69
B 83-86 D 63-66
B- 80-82 D- 60-62
C+ 77-79 F Below 60
THERE ARE NO MAKE-UPS IN THIS CLASS EXCEPT IN CASES OF DIRE, DOCUMENTED EMERGENCY. WHETHER A MAKEUP WILL BE GIVEN IS AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR. ANY MAKEUP WILL BE IN AN ALL-ESSAY FORMAT, AND WILL BE GIVEN ON MAY 11 AT 8:00 AM IN 520-AH.
Classroom Behavior:
THIS IS NOT THE 13TH GRADE. You are adults,
and are expected to behave as such. Come to class prepared to take notes
every Saturday- a pen and notebook are all you required
to bring with you. Additionally I have a few very simple rules.
1. The ONLY person who should be talking is me. If you have a question raise your hand - don't ask the person next to you, unless the person next to you has a PhD in history.
2. NO CELL PHONES. In case that wasn't clear, let me repeat - NO CELL PHONES. When you enter this classroom, cell phones are to be turned off or on vibrate. DO NOT EVER answer a call in class. If you have a situation where it is imperative you be reached, tell me beforehand. Acceptable situations are pregnancy (your own or spouse's), serious family illness, etc. Your boyfriend or girlfriend needing to talk is not an emergency situation.
If a cell phone goes off, the person who owns the phone leaves for the class period, and ALL in the class get a warning. If a phone goes off a second time in that class, I LEAVE, and you are responsible for what would have been covered that day.
3. You registered for this class - no one forced you to. I’m not going to tell people they can’t get up and “use the facilities” if need be, but we have a big break in the middle of class – so you do NOT need to get up to “stretch” or get a beverage or lunch. If you do these things, prepare to be mocked.
4. Do not read materials for other classes, do homework, listen to walkmen/mp3 players, sleep, surf the web, text message, IM, or read newspapers. You will be asked to leave
5. Finally, respect your peers. Periodically we may have discussions in this class where you will be asked to express your own ideas. This classroom and the class list serve must be spaces in which people feel free to express thoughts. Someone may say something you completely disagree with, that even I may disagree with. But I will not tolerate any circumstance where students feel threatened or fearful of expressing ideas - after all that is why you are going to college, to flesh out your ideas and beliefs and find a way to convey those to others.
Course Warning Label: The instructor recognizes that virtually no learning occurs when students do not attend class regularly. Nor does learning take place when students do not keep up with readings and related course assignments. If you are not interested in attending regularly and if you are not interested in completing assignments, both of which are strong indicators that you are not committed to your own education or learning more generally, then I would encourage you to save us both the hassle, and drop the class now while you can still get your money returned.
Attendance:
Attendance is not required at the University of Houston, but it is expected and will only serve you as a benefit given that exams are drawn primarily from lecture. I will do my best to ensure that tests are impossible to pass unless you attend class regularly.
Academic Honesty:
All work is expected to be your own. I have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for cheating. This includes turning in work that is not your own, looking onto another student's exam, using crib/cheat sheets, using electronic devices (i.e. cell phones with text features, side kicks, two-way pagers), and anything that any reasonable person would recognize as cheating. If I catch you cheating I will seek the maximum penalty allowable according to UH policy. If you have questions about cheating please see me or consult the student handbook.
Schedule: |
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| Week 1/January 24 | |||
Introduction |
LUST 1-9; QA 2-16. |
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| Week 2/ January 31 | |||
Shakespeare's England
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LUST, 10-47; |
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| Week 3/ February 7 | |||
Plymouth and Massachussetts Bay |
LUST 43-80 | ||
| Week 4/February 14 | |||
Impact of the Revolutionary War |
Finish TOWNSEND by exam I. |
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| Week 5/February 21 | |||
EXAM I - The exams will only be in the first half of class Hamilton's Financial Plan |
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| Week 6/February 28 | |||
George Washington as President |
QA 115-124 Begin OATES |
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| Week 7/March 7 | |||
The War of 1812 |
QA 162-192 & 268-271 |
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| Week 8/ March 14 | |||
Moral Reform
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QA 62-70 & 237-252 |
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| Week 9/ March 21 | |||
No Class - SPRING BREAK (March 16-21) |
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| Week 10/ March 28 | |||
Exam II - again the exam will only be the first half of class
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LUST 88-93
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| Week 11/ April 4 | |||
The Nat Turner Rebellion |
QA 193-225 |
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| Week 12/ April 11 | |||
The Mexican War's Fallout
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| Week 13/ April 18 | |||
The Slave Power Conspiracy |
LUST 123-146 QA 253-266 |
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| Week 14/ April 25 | |||
Secession and Slavery
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LUST 98-122 |
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| Week 15/ May 2 | |||
The Confederacy Transformed |
LUST 147-148 |
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