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Spring 2005

Syllabus for History 1378

Course Description | Calendar | Required Reading | Examinations | Extra-Credit | Caution

Class Themes | Class Policies | Study Guide for Test 1 | Study Guide for Test 2

NOTE: Policies, dates, and requirements may change after this syllabus is online.
Dr. Mintz will give you the latest information for this class.

Course Description

The last quarter of the nineteenth century marked the birth of modern America. It witnessed stunning technological innovations, such as the development of the internal combustion engine, the telephone, and high explosives. It saw the migration of hundreds of thousands of European peasants and villagers across the ocean to mushrooming cities. It saw the emergence of the corporation as a dominant institution in the American economy. It witnessed the emergence of the United States as a world power.

This course analyzes the history of modern America, from its rise as an industrial and military power in the late nineteenth century to the presidency of George W. Bush. It charts the revolutions in business, morals, politics, race and gender relations, and everyday living that have transformed American life over the past century.

Required Reading

For the first examination:

• Martin et al., America and its Peoples, Chapters 17-23 and
• Mintz, Huck’s Raft, 185-253

For the second examination: Martin et al., America and its Peoples, Chapters 24-32

Examinations

First examination: Thursday, March 2
Second examination: Thursday, April 27

Grading

This class has two exams. Each is worth 100 points and counts for 50 percent of your grade. The scale is:

A	93-100	C	73-77
A-	90-92	C-	70-72
B+	88-89	D+	68-69
B	83-87	D	63-67
B-	80-82	D-	60-62
C+	78-79	F	0-59

Extra-Credit

Extra-credit opportunities will be announced in class during the semester.

Caution: 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. If these clips will make you uncomfortable, please do not enroll in the course.