American Nationalisms HIST384, Fall 2011 Monday, Thursday, 10:5012:05; HUM 111
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American Nationalisms HIST384, Fall 2011 Monday, Thursday, 10:5012:05; HUM 111 Instructor: Reynolds J. ScottChildress Office Hours: Monday, 9:15 – 10:15; Wednesday, 9:15 – 11:15; Thursday, 1:45 – 2:45; and by appointment Office: 1012 JFT Email: [email protected] Phone: x3727 COURSE OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS American Nationalisms has three primary goals. The first is to examine the ways different groups of people from outside the white AngloSaxon Protestant stereotype have tried to imagine themselves as Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The second is to contemplate how we ourselves invent, maintain, and revise an American identity. The third is to develop a writing voice for explaining the ways these two imaginative projects intersect and diverge. Course Requirements • Attend class regularly and promptly. If you know you will miss a class beforehand, contact me. The earlier you let me know, the better I can help you make up the work. • Finish reading assignments Before the Date Assigned. You are expected to be able to answer questions orally about the reading materials. • Satisfactorily complete fifteen journal entries and three papers. • You must be absolutely clear on the University’s policy regarding academic integrity, particularly the section on plagiarism, which is quoted just below. Both active and passive plagiarism will be subject to disciplinary action. Students who plagiarize in any manner or form will receive a final grade of “F” for the course. SUNY New Paltz Policy on Academic Integrity Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their college work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are serious offenses, and students found guilty of any form of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action. Cheating is defined as giving or obtaining information by improper means in meeting any academic requirements. The use for academic credit of the same work in more than one course without knowledge or consent of the instructor(s) is a form of cheating and is a serious violation of academic integrity. Forgery is defined as the alteration of college forms, documents, or records, or the signing of such forms or documents by someone other than the proper designee. Plagiarism is the representation, intentional or unintentional, of someone else's American Nationalisms 1 2011 Syllabus words or ideas as one's own. Since words in print are the property of an author or publisher, plagiarizing is a form of larceny punishable by fine. When using another person's words in a paper, students must place them within quotation marks or clearly set them off in the text and give them appropriate footnoting. When students use only the ideas and change the words, they must clearly identify the source of the ideas. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, therefore, is a violation of the property rights of the author plagiarized and of the implied assurance by the students when they hand in work that the work is their own. If students have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, it is their responsibility to clarify the matter by conferring with the instructor. Faculty members must report in writing cases of cheating, plagiarism or forgery to their department chair and their academic dean. In order to clarify further for yourself what plagiarism is, visit the website: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml Grade Your grade will be determined by the following factors: 1. Active participation in class discussion and group activities (10%). 2. Journal entries (45%)—described below. 3. A final paper of approximately 7000 words (45%). WRITING ASSIGNMENTS The purpose of the writing assignments is to gain experience in making history. History is the story we tell ourselves about where we came from and how we as a community or a people got to be who we are. To figure out our story we have to be careful to see why historical events happened when they did, rather than at another time. Some important questions to ask yourself about each week’s reading include: Could it have happened another way? Who benefited from an event’s outcome? How did an individual’s or group’s beliefs determine patterns of behavior? What motivated different people to act the way they did? What would you have done differently? Or, why would you have done the same thing? Journal Entries DUE Every Thursday Each week you will write a journal entry responding to the reading assignment for a particular section. The first paragraph must briefly summarize the reading. You should mention the author’s thesis, the key points of the reading, the most important pieces of evidence, and the way the reading fits in with the issue under examination that week. After this summary, you will reflect on the reading in two ways: 1) How does the reading relate to other readings and issues we have previously examined? 2) How does the reading relate to your own experience of forming an American identity? Have you or your parents/grandparents/friends had similar experiences? Do the same issues exist in the present? American Nationalisms 2 2011 Syllabus PLEASE NOTE: THESE ENTRIES MUST BE HANDED IN ON TIME. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. THREE LATE ENTRIES WILL RESULT IN YOUR FAILING THE ENTIRE COURSE. Papers Writing a paper is a process of stages: collection of data, outline, first draft, final draft, revisions. You will have the chance to present your paper to your instructor at any one of these stages. Rewriting the paper you hand in is not only possible, but is highly encouraged. All written work will be evaluated according to the following six criteria: • Understanding: a clear demonstration that you comprehend the issues, key terms, and processes of change and continuity over time; • Analysis: the construction of a compelling argument (remember to use the word “because” or something similar in your thesis statement), which includes a sound essay structure comprised of thesis, development, conclusion; • Historical Knowledge: evidence of a commanding awareness of both specific information relating to your argument and the larger historical context in which the events you discuss took place (which includes your use of solid and specific evidence taken from all four components of the course: text book, lectures, group activities, readings; • Creativity: imaginative use of images, anecdotes, and data to engage your reader’s interest; • Presentation and Clarity: use of correct grammar, correct spelling, correct punctuation to present a clear and forceful essay; • Work: indication through the various components listed above that you gave an adequate amount of time and effort to accomplish the assignment. The final paper topic will be decided by the class as we proceed through the semester. Final Exam Date: Thursday, December 15, 10:1512:15 You will be graded on three criteria in addition to those listed above. ● your ability to formulate a compelling argument (remember to use the word “because” or something similar in your thesis statement); ● your use of solid evidence taken from all components of the course: lectures, discussions, journals, readings; ● your ability to structure a sound essay: thesis, development, conclusion. American Nationalisms 3 2011 Syllabus REQUIRED SOURCES • Malinda Maynor Lowery. Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South : Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation (2010). • Matthew Jacobson, Special Sorrows: The Diasporic Imagination of Irish, Polish, and Jewish Immigrants in the United States (2002). • Abraham Cahan, Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto (Dover edition. Also available on line at www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/cahan/yekl1.htm.) • Stefano Luconi, From Paesani to White Ethnics: The Italian Experience in Philadelphia (2001). • Blackboard: A number of shorter readings will be available through the Blackboard website—available through the SUNY New Paltz home page and my.newpaltz.edu. • Making of America <cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa>, a website containing numerous nineteenthcentury American magazines. • Nationalism Project <www.nationalismproject.org/index.htm> NB You must bring reading assignments to class. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES “A SUNY New Paltz student’s right to accommodation is protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Under the guidelines set forth by this legislation, a person with a disability has responsibility as well. The student with a disability is responsible for: 1. “Selfidentifying him/herself to Disabled Student Services. 2. “Providing documentation for the disability(ies) to Disabled Student Services. 3. “Requesting academic accommodations such as use of auxiliary aids, testing arrangements, program modifications, room change for an inaccessible building, and other disability related adjustments. 4. “Informing the instructor in a timely manner of his/her concerns with the course structure and the possible need for accommodations. 5. “Maintaining the same responsibility for his/her education as students who are nondisabled. This includes maintaining the same academic level, attending class, maintaining appropriate behavior, and timely notification of any special needs.” (Disabled Student Services, Advising Handbook, p. 39) American Nationalisms 4 2011 Syllabus COURSE OUTLINE AND READING Thursday, August 25 Danny Thomas, Mr. Moto, and American National Identity Section 1. The History of Nationalist Theory Monday, August 29 Identity