HISTORY 344: SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA HISTORY, A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
PROF. STUART GRAYBILL – OFFICE (RN 211) – INFORMATION
MTWTh 9:15am-10:15amE-mail:
Friday 2:30-4:00 pmPhone: (916) 558-2309
(or, by appointment)Website: web.scc.losrios.edu/graybis
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course will examine the historical development of California from the era of the first settlement by native peoples to the present, and it will emphasize the evolution of the state’s multicultural society. Lectures and readings and other class materials will introduce students to the origins and consequences of the major historical forces (economic, social, cultural and political) that helped shape life in California over the last several centuries.
REQUIRED READING MATERIALS
Course Textbook: California: An Interpretive History, James Rawls, Walton Bean
(The book above is available in the SCC College Store)
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:
Students will be required to complete TWO MIDTERM EXAMS, a FINAL EXAM, and ONE DOCUMENTARY SOURCE PROBLEM (from a selection of two). The schedule for completing these assignments, and their relative value, as a percentage of course grade, is provided below:
First Midterm Exam:Thursday September 2720%
Second Midterm Exam:ThursdayNovember 820%
Formal Essay:TuesdayNovember 2020%
Final Exam:Thursday, December 2020%
Miscellaneous:20%
* MIDTERM and FINAL EXAMINATIONS will examine students on course readings and in-class material (lectures, films, textbook, handouts, etc.). In examinations, students will write essays, short answers, identification exercises or a combination of these methods. Bring a green book to all exams!
* FORMAL ESSAY will require students to identify, analyze and interpret an issue, event, person/s, movement or force in California history from questions provided by the professor (approximately 5 pages, typed, double-spaced, 1" margins, with a cover page – more complete instructions for writing the essays follow later in this syllabus). Students must complete the formal essay to pass the class!
* The MISCELLANEOUS portion of students' grade is a composite of students' regular (or irregular) attendance, on-time (or untimely) arrival, participation in class activities, etc. Lack of attendance and late arrival to, or early departure from, class counts against students’ miscellaneous grade component. The easiest “A” in the class is to attend every class session and participate in all the class exercises.
POLICY REGARDING MISSED EXAMS:
-If an unforeseen emergency compels you to miss one of the exams, you may make up that exam at the end of this semester. However, you may make-up only ONE of the exams!
-Since there are two exams that students may make-up, I will not compose a make-up exam for each individual exam (that would be simply too much extra work for me). So, the make-up exam will be drawn from the material assigned for the first two exams (see the “Exam Preparation” section of the syllabus for more information).
-A SINGLEMAKE-UP DATE for a missed exam will be offered during the final exam, at the end of the summer session. If you miss the make-up exam, you will receive a zero (0) for that exam. Furthermore, if you wish to make-up a missed exam, you must inform the professor of your intent to do so well in advance of the make-up exam date.
POLICY REGARDING LATE PAPERS:
* Late papers will be PENALIZED ONE FULL LETTER GRADE.
* Late Papers must be submitted within ONE WEEK of the due date.
* NO PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED BEYOND ONE WEEK FOLLOWING THE DUE DATE!
*Therefore, in order to ensure you pass the course and maximize your chances for the best possible grade, complete the paper on time.
RECOMMENDED COURSES, SKILLS:
Completion of ENGWR 100 with a grade of "C" or better, or ESLW 320 and ESLR 320 with grades of "C" or better is STRONGLY ADVISED! The principal method of assessment in this course is through evaluation of written work. Therefore, to be successful in this course, proficiency in English composition is a strong asset.
STANDARDS FOR CLASSROOM COURTESY:
1) Students are not permitted to answer cell phones, text, or use other electronic devices in class! 2) Cell phones must be turned off or set to vibrate mode. 3) If you must return phone calls during the class period, exit the classroom as unobtrusively as possible and take the call outside. If you anticipate that you may need to answer a call, please position yourself close to the exit so that you do not disturb class when you leave. 4) Arrive in class on time. 5) no laptop computers are allowed without the express permission of the professor.
LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS:
I will be delighted to assist students who present to me proper verification of their need for learning accommodations. Please inform the professor at the beginning of the semester in order to make arrangements for completing assignments.
History 344 SAMPLE EXAMGraybill
PART I – Extra Credit – One line only!
1. When did Europeans first explore California?
2. When did Russian fur traders build Fort Ross?
3. When was California admitted to the Union?
4. When was the Wheatland Riot?
5. When was the UFW formed? By Whom?
PARTS II & III ON REVERSE SIDE
In the questions you choose to answer in Parts II & III, be sure to discuss the relevance of the main theme of the course to the subject matter of the question.
And, please double-space your essays in your greenbook to make them easier to read.
PART II – Essay – 50% – Answer ONE of the following questions from the textbook and lectures:
1. Explain the similarities and differences among the various Indian "culture areas" of California.
(Chapter 2, Question 2)
In your answer to the question above, explain (from your understanding of lecture material) the diversity of Native Californians.
2. What were the reasons for the limited Spanish commitment to the development of Alta California? (Chapter 4, Question 1)
In your answer, drawing on lecture and the text, explain the operations of the Spanish government in North America in the 18th century.
3. Write an essay that assesses the motives and rationalizations used to justify the oppression of racial minorities in California during the 1850s and 1860s.
(Chapter 11, Question 2)
How does the textbook answer the question above? Also, drawing on lecture material, explain the genocide of California between 1845 and 1880.
PART III – Essay – 50% – Answer ONE of the following questions from the textbook and lectures:
1. Summarize the main provisions and consequences of the constitution of 1879.
(Chapter 15, Question 3)
How does the textbook answer the question above? Also, discuss, from lecture, the alternative concepts of freedom at the heart of the competing visions for California at the California Constitutional Convention in 1878-1879.
2. Describe the status of women in twentieth-century California. What economic and political gains have been made? What problems of inequality remain?
(Chapter 30, Question 2)
How does the textbook answer the question above? Also, discuss, from lecture, the following: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and “affirmative action” programs based on that act, did more for women than any other single act of the twentieth century (including the 19th Amendment).
3. What have been the major trends in California education since World War II?
(Chapter 31, Question 2)
How does the textbook answer the question above? Also, discuss, from lecture, Propositions 187 and 209 in the 1990s.
EXAM PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS
The midterm and final examinations are structurally identical and will be divided into three parts.
PART I is an extra credit section containing several very short answer questions (drawn from the chronology tables supplied later in this syllabus). PARTS II & III will examine you on textbook and lecture material. Please bring a green book to all exams!
Essay questions on PARTS II & III of the exams will be drawn from POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS, accompanying each chapter of the textbook, California: An Interpretive History (supplied at the end of this syllabus). So, by the time you complete reading each chapter of textbook, you should be prepared to write an examination essay on each of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS for that chapter (which are included in this syallbus).
FOR EXAMPLE: In PART II of the first midterm exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 1-6 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 12 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 1-6). You will then write an ESSAY on ONE of those three questions – the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
On PART III of the first midterm exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 7-12 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 11 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 7-12). You will then write an ESSAY on ONE of those three questions – the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
In PART II of the second midterm exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 13-16 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 11 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 13-16). You will then write an ESSAY on ONE of those three questions – the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
On PART III of the second midterm exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 17-22 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 10 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 18-22). You will then write an ESSAY on ONE of those three questions – the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
In PART II of the final exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 23-29 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 15 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 25-30). You will then write an ESSAY on ONE of those three questions – the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
On PART III of the final exam, I will choose, at random, TWO or THREE of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS from chapters 30-36 in the textbook, California, and place those questions on the exam (there are a total of 17 POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS in chapters 31-36). And, remember, you’ll answer the one question that you think you are best able to answer.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPOSING EXAM PREPARATION CARDS:
In order to assist you in writing your essays, during the Midterm and the Final examinations you may use EXAM PREPARATION CARDS, if you take the time to create them. You may prepare an essay in response to each of the POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTIONS for California: An Interpretive History.
For example, on the FIRST MIDTERM EXAM, you may compose a total of 23 3x5 NOTE CARDS (one for each POTENTIAL ESSAY QUESTION) for chapters 1-12 of California: An Interpretive History.
During the examinations you may use (but are NOTrequired to create) EXAM PREPARATION CARDS (on 3x5 notecards) to assist you in writing your essays. You may prepare notes to write an essay in response to each of the "Potential Essay Questions" for each chapter of California: An Interpretive History.
If you decide to prepare cards for Part II & III of the exams, your cards should conform to the following rules:
On a 3x5 notecard, you may include:
1) NAME in the upper right hand corner - REQUIRED FOR ANY CARDS YOU CREATE
2) you may write out, longhand, the QUESTION from the "Potential Essay Questions" supplied
for the relevant chapter of California: An Interpretive History.
3) you may identify the BOOK and the CHAPTER number from which the question comes.
4) a THESIS STATEMENT for the essay you intend to write.
5) a FIVE POINT OUTLINE for the essay you intend to write.
In this outline, you may write a complete topic sentence. You may also include all the
factual information that you might include in the essay. That is, you may include dates,
names,events,movements, organizations,geographical locations, etc. You may include as
much of this sort of information as you can crowd onto the card. You may hand the card or
you may also type it.
With the exception of the thesis statement and the topic sentence for the outlines, however,
YOU MAY NOT WRITE COMPLETE SENTENCES ON THE CARD, AND YOU MAY NOT COPY THE ESSAY ON TO YOUR CARD!
Remember! The cards are VOLUNTARY! You are not required to make them, but you will almost certainly do better on the exams if you do make them. If you decide to make the cards and use them on the exam, you must submit the cards you use for writing the exam essays with your green book. Don’t forget to bring a green book to all exams!
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING FORMAL ESSAYS (PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION!!!!):
The textbook, California: An Interpretive History, as well as the lectures, films, and other class materials are the subject matter for the 5 page formal essays assigned for this class.
Due TuesdayNovember 20
To prepare for this assignment, read the following essay questions and pick the one question that most interests you. You should then read the textbook and review lectures and class materials for all the information that might help you answer your question.
- Imagine that you are a Kumeyaay Indian standing on the shore of a great bay, what European settlers will later call, San Diego Bay, on the morning of May 14, 1769. Off in the distance, you see a number of strange looking vessels coming into the bay (the first European settlers to the region). Unlike your loved ones in the tribe, you have foreknowledge of the future. Explain to them, in detail, what is going to happen in their homeland over the next 75-100 years, and then suggest to them what you think might be the best strategy for dealing with those changes.
- Imagine that you have an opportunity to sit down and have discussion with Juan Crespi, Junipero Serra, and Gaspar de Portola about what they thought they were doing in late Eighteenth-century, why they were doing it, and the resulting consequences for relationships among Spanish soldiers, missionaries, and Indians. If you could talk to them about how future generations would view their actions, what would you tell them. Why would future generations’ view of their actions differ from their own?
- Imagine that you can have a conversation with a Spanish missionary in one of California’s Franciscan missions in California in 1810. Ask him to describe the daily lives of the people, native and nonnative, who occupied the presidios, missions, ranchos, and pueblos. How do you think he would he respond if you asked him WHY people lived the way they did at that time?
4.Write a work of historical fiction, a memoir of a Californio (male or female) who was born in Spanish California in 1800, and lived in California throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras. Drawing on the descriptions of the Californio period in the textbook, describe this individual’s life – i.e., the major events, historical forces, ideas, attitudes, beliefs, ways of life, and social customs that influenced this individual’s life and development.
5. Construct an imaginary discussion between four people – James Beckworth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, and Pio Pico. What would a discussion between them be like if the topic was “what were the various routes to California in the Nineteenth-century, and how and why did people travel to California on those routes, and what were their experiences like?”
6.Imagine that you are a time-traveling oral historian, interested in the consequences of the California Gold Rush. Interview four people, John A. Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp, and Biddy Mason. What would they tell you about the Gold Rush?
7.Construct an imaginary discussion between two people, Henry George and Carey McWilliams. What would they say about their experience of California?
8.Construct an imaginary discussion between four people – all of whom are individuals of color. Assume that two of these individuals came to California in the second half of the Nineteenth-century (1850-1900), and the other two came to California in the second half of the Twentieth-century (1950-2000). The topic of their discussion is “what were the experiences of non-white immigrants to California, and what factors most influenced their experience?”
9.Write a biography of a man or woman you know over the age of sixty (this person may be a relative, a neighbor, a coworker, etc). Learn as much as you can about this person’s life before writing. The best biographers not only focus on the individual they are writing about; they also attempt to explain for the reader the times that individual lived through and how the times shaped that person’s life (that is, the culture, the society, the politics, economics, major events, etc.). Thus the title of your biography should be something like,