History H511 Jack Kaufman-McKivigan
Spring 2010 Cavanaugh 531
M&W 12-1:15PM Off. Hr. M&W 1:30-2:30PM
CA 235 Email:
Phone # 274-5860
SPECIAL TOPICS IN AMERICAN HISTORY:
THE GILDED AGE
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will study the response of the American people and their institutions to the opportunities and problems of the late nineteenth century. Special attention will be paid to: the rise of Big Business; labor organization; immigration; regular, reform, and radical politics; disappearance of the frontier; the farm crisis; and the rise of imperialism. An important feature of this course will be the introduction to the class of important issues in the historical interpretation of the late nineteenth century.
B. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The success of this course depends upon the completion of reading assignments and participation in class discussion by the students. If a student falls behind in her/his readings he/she will soon find it difficult to follow the subject matter of class discussion or join in it. Students should feel free to talk to the instructor about any course related problems especially in cases when a student believes that her/his assignment grades do not accurately reflect his/her performance in the course. Students should plan to meet individually with the instructor at least once during the semester to discuss the progress of their historiography paper.
There will be four types of graded assignments for students in the course of the semester: A description of each type of assignment and their intended purpose follows.
(1) There will be two take-home examinations for this course. Students are required to take midterm examinations tentatively scheduled for March 3rd as well as the final examination scheduled for May 5th. Graduate students should submit their answers electronically via email by 5PM of each day. On both examinations, students will answer two essay questions selected from a list of three or four questions given to the class by the instructor in advance of the examination date. The general content of these questions will be drawn from the topics dealt with in lectures, course reading, and class discussion. Each question will be framed to encourage students to exercise their own judgment and interpretative skills in dealing with an important subject of historical debate. (Value: each examination will be worth 25% of the final course grade.)
(2) In addition to the two examinations, there will be three book reviews due during the course of the semester. The subject matter of these reviews are three of the four assigned readings for the semester. Each review is expect to be a minimum of four double-spaced pages and follow general directions to be provided by the instructor. The deadlines for each review to be submitted electronically by 5PM are: Trachtenberg: February 8th; Cashman: March 22nd; and McMath: April 5th. This assignment is designed to enhance student skills in assessing scholarly research and argumentation. These reviews also will assist students’ performance in handling historiographical issues for the final paper. (Value: 5% per review or a total of 15% of the final course grade.)
(3) Students also will prepare a short historiographical essay (15-20 double-spaced pages) on a subject of historical controversy regarding the Gilded Age. Students are required to consult with the instructor and receive his agreement about the subject matter of this paper. The book should examine 5-7 books or dissertations (Not articles or book chapters), but one of these may be from the course’s assigned reading list. A reading list and one page rationale for the topic should be submitted to the instructor by February 1st. The completed paper is due by midnight on April 15th. (Value: 25% of the final course grade. Note: failure to obtain the instructor’s agreement for the paper’s topic will result in a ten percent penalty on the paper’s grade. Note: Papers turned in late without prior permission of the instructor will receive a penalty in grading on a scale the instructor will circulate later.)
(4) There is an expectation on graduate students to play an active role in class discussions through out the semester. To achieve high performance in class discussion, graduate students are expected to have completed all of the required reading assignments in advance of the class. A great measure of the success of the course will depend upon its members' willingness to share both factual information and critical insights. Graduate students are expected to act as role models in this regard for their undergraduate classmates. These skills in oral presentation should be considered as valuable indicator of mastery of course content. Therefore the instructor will assign a graded value to each student's performance in class participation that takes into account both factors of quantity and quality. Please note that participation means not just speaking. Attendance will be taken and absences will affect the participation grade accordingly. (Value: 10% of the final course grade.)
Attendance Policies: The instructor regards deadlines and attendance as extremely important. Failure to take an examination or turn in a review by the announced deadline, without prior permission from the instructor, will automatically result in a one letter grade penalty in grading. Students who miss more than five classes without evidence of medical or personal emergencies will be assessed a penalty in final grading.
IUPUI Adaptive Services: The Adaptive Services Office is available to any student with disabilities. They will work together with instructors to meet special needs while maintaining high academic standards. The Adaptive Services office will always maintain student confidentiality when dealing with instructors or outside agencies, and will only generate letters to instructors with permission from the student. You can contact them at 274-3241 or http://www.life.iupui.edu/aes/testing.asp .
Student Advocate Office: Do you have a problem you don’t know how to solve? Is there information you cannot find? Do you have a question that needs an answer or a problem that is affecting your class attendance?
The Student Advocate Office is here to help! I will answer your questions, direct you to appropriate departments and people, familiarize you with university policies and procedures, and give you guidance as you look at ways to solve problems and make choices.
The Student Advocate Office can be contacted by phone at 278-7594 or email at . For more information, see the Student Advocate website at: http://www/life.iupui.edu/advocate/
C. ASSIGNED READINGS:
(1) Alan Trachtenberg, The Incorporation of America: Culture & Society in the Gilded Age. 25th Anniversary Edition. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
This book is an exploration of the impact of late 19th century trends, including westward expansion, industrialization, and urbanization, on the culture and values of Americans of the era. Trachtenberg utilizes novels, plays, and songs as well as traditional primary sources to study the great transformations of American society in this period.
(2) Robert C. McMath, Jr. American Populism, A Social History, 1877-1898. New York: Hill and Wang, 1992.
As McMath demonstrates the Populist Movement embodied the ambivalence of America’s rural majority to the rapid transformation of American life. The study traces the rise of a vast network of reform organizations that coalesced to attempt to battle the negative impacts of the Industrial Revolution.
(3) Sean Dennis Cashman, America in the Gilded Age: From the Death of Lincoln to the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. 3rd Edition. New York: New York University Press, 1993.
Cashman has prepared a highly readable text for the 1877-1900 period that combines fresh research in primary sources with an up-to-date synthesis of scholarship on the period. It is particularly valuable in its analysis of developments in the business, political, and diplomatic sphere during this period.
(4) Charles W. Calhoun. The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America. 2nd Edition. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2007.
Calhoun brings together the best students on the Gilded Age to each present essays that synthesize existing scholarship and present original interpretations on such key topics as Labor, Immigration, African Americans, Women, Agriculture, Urbanization, Frontier Growth, etc.
D. COURSE SCHEDULE: The following is a prospective schedule of class topics, reading assignments, writing assignments, and examinations. The schedule is somewhat flexible and open to “mid-course” corrections.
Jan 11-13 Introduction: The United States in 1877
Jan 18 Martin Luther King Holiday
Jan 20 Reconstruction Aftermath
Assigned Reading: Cashman, 203-43; Fischel Essay
Jan 25-27 The Far West
Assigned Reading: Cashman, 282-312; Trachtenberg, 11-37; Danziger Essay.
Feb 1-3 Big Business
Assigned Readings: Trachtenberg, 3-10, 38-86; Cashman, 1-72; Porter & Carlson Essays
Feb 8-10 The Working Class
Assigned Readings: Cashman, 100-34; Trachtenberg, 86-100; Arsenen Essay
Feb 15-17 Ethnic America
Assigned Readings: Cashman, 72-99; Daniels Essay
Feb 22-24 Urban Life
Assigned Readings: Cashman, 135-67; Trachtenberg, 101-39; Daniels Essay
Mar 1-3 Historiography Paper Discussion/Catchup/Midterm
Mar 8-10 Gilded Age Culture
Assigned Readings: Trachtenberg, 140-61, 182-234; Cashman, 168-200; Litwicki & Crocker Essays
Mar 15-17 Spring Break
Mar 22-24 New Middle Class
Assigned Readings: Cordrey Essay
Mar 29-31 Conventional Politics
Assigned Readings: Cashman, 244-81; Trachtenberg, 161-73; Campbell, Calhoun, Gould, & Benedict Essays
Apr 5-7 Radical Alternatives
Apr 12-14 The New South
Assigned Readings: Fischel Essay Revisited
Apr 19-21 Populism
Assigned Readings: McMath, 3-211; Trachtenberg, 173-81; Cashman, 313-227; Miller Essay
Apr 26-28 The Farther West
Assigned Readings: Cashman, 338-80; Fry Essay
May 5 Final Examination 1-3pm