History 2112B: the United States Since 1877
History 2112B: The United States since 1877
Spring 2014, MWF 9-9:50, Allgood E259
Instructor: Dr. John Hayes (; 706-248-3391)
Office: Allgood E209
Office Hours: MWF 11-12 or by appt
This course offers a basic introduction to U.S. history from 1877 to the present. We will tell a fast-paced, winding story, exploring three distinct eras in modern American history. Throughout the story, we will be asking what the past can tell us about the present. How did we get to where we are today, and how can we get a handle on the chaotic variety of impressions that bombard us every day? How can a candid, warts-and-all account of the making of the modern U.S. help us to make sense of the complexities, ironies, and limitations of the United States that we presently live and move in?
Class sessions are a mixture of discussion and lecture. In the discussion portion of class (typically the first 20 minutes), you need to be ready to talk about the assigned reading for that day. During the lecture (typically the latter 30 minutes), you need to listen closely and attentively to an episode in the story, taking thorough notes and interacting with the professor. Class sessions are extremely important—your only work outside the classroom is to read for class and study for the three exams. Being “on” in class is the heart of doing well in the course.
Note: The telling of history is a subjective exercise, reflecting the beliefs, biases, interests, and background of the person doing the telling. What you will get in this course, therefore, is Dr. Hayes’ version of U.S. history. There is ample time in each class session to challenge or critique the version of the story that I am giving you: don’t hesitate to speak up for yourself and your point of view. I encourage it.
Course Requirements:
1. Syllabus: Bring this syllabus to class every day. We will consult it often.
2. Attendance: Simply showing up is the foundation for doing well in the class. In the course of the semester, you can miss 4 class sessions without penalty. Every absence after 4 automatically deducts 3 points from your final grade (7 total absences would subtract 9 points from your final grade, for example). I do not differentiate between “excused” and “unexcused” absences—except in extreme cases of a death in the family, a long-term illness, or something of similar magnitude, in which case you should notify me. This policy is not flexible, so make sure you understand it at the outset.
3. Make-Ups/Missed Class: If you miss class, it is up to you to find out what you missed, and how you can make it up. Talk to me, or to another student, so that you can get caught up.
4. Taking Attendance: I will call roll for the first few weeks of class. After that, an attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each class session. Make sure that you sign the sheet, especially if you arrive late, or you will be counted as absent for the day.
5. Classroom Manners: No eating or drinking in the classroom. No texting or Internet use. When another member of the class—the professor, or another student—is speaking, no one else should be speaking. Students who leave early will be marked absent.
6. Class Participation: You are expected to be an engaged, active member of the class. After each class period, I will make notes on who made good comments (speaking simply for the sake of speaking does not count as making good comments). I will also note who spent the period texting, staring into space, dozing off, etc. The sum total of these notes will determine your class participation grade: good comments 75% of the class periods or more (A/100), 50-75% (B/85), 25-50% (C/75), 1-25% (D/60), no participation (F/50).Note that exemplary participation can boost your final grade by a letter, while no participation can reduce your final grade by a letter.
7. Exams: There are three exams for the class, evenly spaced throughout the semester. They cover anything that is common property of the class: lecture, slide, reading, film clip, discussion point. They are all multiple-choice, with 75-100 questions. They are not cumulative.
8. Books and Reading: There is no overarching textbook for the class. Rather, we will read 3 more specific types of book: a biography, a memoir, and a journalistic narrative. All are available in the campus bookstore ( You are expected to buy the 3 books—(the total cost of the books is $58.05 new, $43.55 used). Note that the campus bookstore will not keep the books on its shelves after about a month into the semester. Read the assigned portions of the books closely and carefully, marking in the book and making notes in the margins. Come to class prepared to talk about what you read, and what you think of it. Bring the book to class if we are discussing it that day, and be ready to locate specific places in the book during the class discussion.
Elliott Gorn, Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America ($27.05 new/$20.30 used)
Timothy Tyson, Blood Done Sign My Name($15.00 new/$11.25 used)
George Packer, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America($16.00 new/$12.00 used)
9. Work Expectations: For every hour in class, you should spend an average of 1-1 ½ hours doing work outside of class—reading, reviewing, studying. Put differently, for the 2 ½ hours in class every week, you should be devoting 2 ½ - 3 ¾ hours outside of class every week.
10. Desire2Learn: All slides from class (arranged in PowerPoint presentations, matching the syllabus lecture titles) are on the course Desire2Learn site. Review them as you study for the exams. Nothing else—no grades, not even the syllabus—is on the site.
Grades:
- Class Participation: 25%
- First Exam: 25%
- Second Exam: 25%
- Final Exam: 25%
I. 1877-1930
M 1/6: Introduction
W 1/8: What Are We Doing in a History Class?
F 1/10: The North; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones introduction
M 1/13: The South; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch1
W 1/15: The West; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch2
F 1/17: Immigration and Nativism; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch3
W 1/22: Religious Diversity; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch4
F 1/24: Race/Racism after Slavery; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch5
M 1/27: American Empire?;discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch6
W 1/29: Agrarians, Socialists, and Radical Reform; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch7
F 1/31: Progressivism; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch8
M 2/3: Suffrage and Disfranchisement; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch9
W 2/5: World War I and US World Position; discuss Gorn, Mother Jones ch10
F 2/7: World War I and Social Change; discussGorn, Mother Jones epilogue
M 2/10: First Exam
II. 1929-1975
W 2/12: The Great Depression and Political Transformation; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch1
F 2/14: The New Deal; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch2
M 2/17: World War II and US World Power; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch3
W 2/19: World War II and Social Change; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch4
F 2/21: Religion in General; discussTyson, Blood Done Sign ch5
M 2/24: Transforming the South; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch6
W 2/26: The Zenith of Labor; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch7
M 3/3: Consumers and Communities at the American Zenith; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch8
W 3/5: The Cold War and Permanent Militarization; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch9
M 3/10: The Great Society; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch10
W 3/12: The Civil Rights Movement; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch11
F 3/14: The Sixties and Social Movements; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign ch12
M 3/17:Fighting the Cold War; discuss Tyson, Blood Done Sign epilogue
W 3/19: Second Exam
III. 1973-2013
F 3/21: Globalization and US World Position; discuss Packer, Unwinding 1-34
M 3/24: The End of the Cold War; discussPacker, Unwinding 35-68
W 3/26: Deindustrialization and the Service Economy; discuss Packer, Unwinding 69-105
F 3/28: From Liberal to Conservative Politics;discussPacker, Unwinding 107-135
M 3/31: Consumers and Communities in the Global Era; discuss Packer, Unwinding 137-171
W 4/2: Cultural Politics; discuss Packer, Unwinding 175-208
F 4/4: New Immigration, New Nativism; discuss Packer, Unwinding 209-239
M 4/14: The Reemergence of Religious Diversity; discuss Packer, Unwinding 240-276
W 4/16: Race/Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era; discuss Packer, Unwinding 279-315
F 4/18: The Middle East; discuss Packer, Unwinding 316-344
M 4/21: Emblematic Moments of Our Time; discuss Packer, Unwinding 345-378
W 4/23:Liberal Resurgence?;discuss Packer, Unwinding 379-407
F 4/25:The USA in 2014: A Statistical Portrait; discuss Packer, Unwinding 408-430
M 4/28: Reflecting on American History
Final Exam Wednesday, May 9 at 7am
