The study of American history is more than an exercise in self-congratulation and nostalgia. It is more than politics and diplomacy. It is more than a passive absorption of facts, dates, & names. This course focuses on the human consequences of the legislation, politics, policies, ideologies & wars (declared & undeclared) that comprise our history. The lectures and readings will expose students to a wide range of historical actors, dialogues, and experiences, examining in particular depth race relations, the laboring classes, reform movements, the interior of American lives, the changing conditions for success and survival in the culture Americans were shaping, and the emerging role of the United States as a world power. The lectures and readings are the core of the course, along with visual presentations and films designed to familiarize students with the varieties of cultural expression and documentation.
This course will examine the experiences and the conflicts that made up the history of modern American society. Students will be exposed to a wide range of historical actors and dialogues. The idea is to have you stand in the shoes of those who came before you, to understand the past from the perspective of the men and women who experienced it, to gain some insight into the daily lives of Americans--their work and leisure, their cultures and ideologies, their relations with one another, and with the political and economic system under which they lived. The lectures and readings will focus on the complex interplay between political, economic and cultural interests and will examine in particular depth race relations, the laboring classes, reform movements, the interior of American lives, the changing conditions for success and survival in the culture Americans were shaping, and the emerging role of the United States as a world power. The lectures and readings are the core of the course, along with visual presentations and films designed to familiarize students with the varieties of cultural expression and documentation. In addition to the lectures, students are expected to attend and participate in small discussion groups which meet for two hours each week.
Grading and Deadlines
The breakdown of the final course grade is as follows:
Midterm Exam (20%) Research Paper (20%)
Final Exam (40%) Discussion Section Participation (20%)
Deadlines for all assignments will be announced in section.
Overview and Learning Objectives
Welcome to History 7B! Discussion sections form a central component of this course. Each week, you will collaborate on the connections between the course readings and the lectures. The discussions that you foster will improve your critical thinking, listening and communicative skills, not to mention your understanding of the subject matter, and will enhance your ability to effectively interpret historical primary sources. These sections will also assist you in preparing for course examinations and assignments. You will develop your writing skills through a primary source-based research paper to be handed in during section, which should demonstrate a critical perspective on a topic in American history since the Reconstruction period.
Student Expectations (The “Non-Negotiables”)
Students are expected to be: active participants in class discussions and activities; on time to class and with assignments; respectful of others’ opinions; and prepared to discuss all assigned reading. The participation portion of your grade will be based on both the quantity and quality of your contributions in section.
Your grade for discussion section will be based upon: (1) your active participation in section; (2) your attendance and punctuality; (3) the completeness and quality of all written and oral assignments given out in section. If you are late to section more than once, it will detract from your section grade. If you miss a section, you must make it up by attending another section. A note from the GSI whose section you attended will be required (the make-up section must cover the same material as the section you missed). Absence from discussion sections may severely lower your section grade; you cannot pass this class if you have missed sections without making them up.
Reading Assignments
It is imperative that you complete all non-textbook reading by the beginning of the week for which it appears on the course syllabus (exceptions and/or changes will be announced in section). As you go through the assigned readings, consider the particular point of view from which the book was written and the larger historical context in which it fits. It should go without saying, but nonetheless, your attentive and respectful attendance at every one of Professor Litwack’s lectures, MWF, 11-12, is an absolutely essential component of this course. No talking, reading the newspaper, text messaging, or playing solitaire during lectures (you might as well stay home and flunk the course). If a GSI sees you doing any of these things during a lecture, you will be asked to stop and your grade could be affected. All of your pagers, cell phones, etc., need to be turned OFF before all lectures, discussions, and exams.
Resources to Help You
The Student Learning Center–located at 100 Cesar Chavez (Lower Sproul Plaza), (510) 642-7332, or go to http://slc.berkeley.edu --has an array of resources to help you. They offer drop-in writing help, individual appointments, and services to help if English is your second language. I strongly recommend taking a draft of your papers to them for writing help, prior to turning them in (though you are ultimately responsible for the content of your papers, regardless of any assistance sought). Writing is a learned skill and one that requires constant improvement and effort for all of us, so take advantage of their FREE services to help you cultivate this incredibly valuable tool for succeeding, both in college and far beyond! Also try: www.bartleby.com/141 - there is a free dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia on www.bartleby.com. A good site for guides on proper citation format (we use “Chicago style”), bibliography format (these two are not the same thing!), and how to avoid plagiarism…all extremely useful and very helpful for your research papers: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Citations.html.
Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History (the cheaper, "value" edition - same text as the large one we used in 2005, but fewer images; students have the choice between this textbook or the full version for about $30 more).
W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk
Larry McMurtry, Crazy Horse (the only secondary-source reading aside from the text!)
Thomas Bell, Out of This Furnace
Richard Wright, Black Boy
John Dos Passos, 1919
Studs Terkel, “The Good War”: An Oral History of World War Two
Greil Marcus, Mystery Train
Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried
Students trying to get into HISTORY 7b discussion sections should follow these steps:
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Attend the section in which you would like to enroll. Do NOT go through Telebears; you need to talk to the GSI directly.
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If the GSI does not have room for you, they should have a list of all sections and meeting locations and can send you to another section at the same time. You will have to keep searching for open sections; the earlier the section meets, the more likely you will be able to find an opening.
You can print out a master list of sections with corresponding locations and times from this site (we will update it as often as possible): Note: sections sometimes change their meeting location in the first weeks of the semester. If you cannot find a section, e-mail the corresponding GSI to ask where they are meeting. -
If you still cannot find an opening after attending possible sections,
THEN you should put your request with a copy of your schedule in Amy Lippert’s mailbox, in 3229 Dwinelle (the main office for the History Department). This is a last resort, not the first step that you should take.
Note: Students with Tuesday sections should attend them on the first day (Jan. 18), even though it is before lecture. If you did not attend Tuesday section, you should e-mail your GSI and let them know of your intention to remain in the section, so that you do not lose your spot.
