LAH 350 / HMN 351C The Johnson Years Unique # 29765 (29235) Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30-10:45 Online by Zoom Dr. Mark A Lawrence [email protected] Office hours (via Zoom): Tuesday, 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m.; Thursday, 3-4 p.m., and by appointment Mark K. Updegrove [email protected] Office hours (via Zoom): Thursday, 3:30-5:00 p.m., and by appointment Nearly fifty years after it ended, the presidency of Lyndon Johnson continues to inspire enormous interest and controversy. What sort of person was LBJ? What motives underpinned his greatest achievements and biggest errors in both the domestic and international arenas? How can we reconcile the triumphs of civil rights and other transformational Great Society initiatives with the disaster of the Vietnam War? What is LBJ’s legacy? What importance does the Johnson presidency hold in the long flow of history, and why does LBJ remain a contentious figure? These are among the major questions at the heart of this seminar. In addressing them, we will read and discuss scholarship and primary sources on President Johnson and his times. We will also meet with various participants in – or close observers of – the Johnson administration. Students will be evaluated largely on their preparation for, and participation in, seminar meetings where we will focus on the questions listed above. The course is also, however, designed to help students improve their skills in argumentative writing – skills with enormous value not only inside the academy but also in law, journalism, business, and other career fields. To this end, each student will write four short essays. Although these papers will take various forms (film review, role-play exercise, op-ed, etc.), all of them are designed to help students wrestle with complex information, develop a central argument, and present their ideas clearly and concisely. Course Requirements 1. Attendance and active participation in class (25 percent of term grade) 2. Brief summary of conversation with a family member or acquaintance, due Sept. 10 (5 percent) 3. Paper 1 (analysis of LBJ/Reagan speeches), due Oct. 1 (15 percent) 4. Paper 2 (analysis of “Selma” controversy), due Oct. 20 (15 percent) 5. Paper 3 (role-play paper on Vietnam decision), due Nov. 5 (25 percent) 6. Paper 4 (op-ed on contemporary implication of LBJ presidency), due Dec. 3 (15 percent) Required texts Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (5th ed., 2015) Mark Atwood Lawrence, The Vietnam War: A Concise International History (2008) Bruce J. Schulman, Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism (2nd ed., 2007) Mark K. Updegrove, Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency (2012) Photocopied material on the course Canvas site Mark A. Lawrence Mark A. Lawrence was Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin until January 2020, when he became the sixth director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum. He is a specialist in American political and diplomatic history. Lawrence is author of Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam and The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, as well as several edited books and numerous articles and chapters on various aspects of the history of U.S. foreign relations. His reviews have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Boston Globe, and Washington Post, among other publications. He earned his BA from Stanford University and his PhD from Yale University. His new book on U.S. policymaking toward the Third World in the 1960s is forthcoming from Princeton University Press. Mark K. Updegrove Mark K. Updegrove is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News and a consultant for CNN. From 2009 to 2017, he was the director of the LBJ Presidential Library, where he hosted the Civil Rights Summit in 2014, which included Barack and Michelle Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, and oversaw a major renovation of the Library’s core museum exhibits. Updegrove is the author of four books on the presidency including The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency. His upcoming book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, will be published by Random House next year. He has written for The New York Times, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Beast, Time, Parade, and National Geographic and has conducted exclusive interviews with six U.S. presidents. Earlier in his career, he served as the publisher of Newsweek and president of Time magazine's Canadian edition. The COVID-19 Pandemic This course, which has been offered for many years, has historically emphasized intense face-to- face discussion and access to the archive at the LBJ Presidential Library on the UT campus. This year, neither of these features of the class will be possible. In an abundance of caution, the instructors decided over the summer to move the class entirely to an on-line format. Meanwhile, the LBJ Library remains closed, with no reopening in sight, making it impossible to access the vast archive of primary source material related to the Johnson presidency. We will, however, carry on the best we can to achieve the core goals of the class. We will use synchronous Zoom sessions for our twice-weekly seminar sessions. While we cannot ask students to design and write major term papers in the LBJ archive, we will still require everyone to delve into primary material and craft argumentative essays. The instructors expect that, through these innovations, the class will prove a lively, engaging, and valuable experience with no less rigor than in the past. One upside of a virtual environment is that we can gain access to a greater array of guests who worked in the Johnson administration and can provide insight to LBJ through their own experiences with him in the White House. The instructors recognize that our community, like the wider world, is experiencing unprecedented disruptions in a Covid-19 era. Many students face challenges ranging from childcare responsibilities to inadequate technology to financial difficulties that may interfere with attendance at class or their ability to meet deadlines. The instructors ask only that each student keep in touch and seek special arrangements if they confront these or other problems related to the pandemic. We are eager to help you and are determined to be flexible, as the university has asked of all of us. Other Important Notes § The instructor may occasionally “hand out” short documents or other materials via Canvas that should be treated as required reading. § No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University’s Student Honor Code and an act of academic dishonesty. I am well aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course. § The required books are available for purchase at the University Coop. Photocopied materials are available on the course Canvas site. § By UT-Austin policy, you must notify the instructor of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class or assignment in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. § Students should be fully aware of university rules regarding academic dishonesty. The instructor assumes full compliance throughout the semester and will strictly observe all university procedures in cases of violations. (Link to University Honor Code: http://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/the-university/#universitycodeofconduct) § The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259 or 471-6441. Students requiring special accommodations should raise this issue with the professor at the beginning of the term. § Late assignments will be penalized one-third of a grade (for example, from a B+ to a B or from a B- to a C+) for each day they are overdue. § A term grade of “A” will be assigned for students who do truly exceptional work, contributing regularly and insightfully and turning in outstanding written papers. A student will earn a “B” for mastering basic course material and submitting written work that is solid but not exceptional. Lower grades will be assigned as appropriate. All students should recognize that oral participation is a major requirement of this class. § Students will be graded on a scale that includes pluses and minuses (A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc.). § Attendance is a requirement and is assumed. Each student may miss three classes without explanation, but each unexcused absence thereafter will result in a three-point deduction from her/his term score. § Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here: http://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/appendices/appendix-h/ § All students should be aware of the Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): 512-232- 5050.