The
question is as follows:
Theodore Geisel wrote children’s books
for adults. Eric Foner wrote a text designed to challenge student ideas about
America’s progression toward a more inclusive society. Professor Jamieson
picked books and movies designed to encourage you consider the theme of the
class–what is liberty and who has it? In a real sense the Sneetches, the
Lorax and the Yooks and the Zooks (The Butter
Battle) all have the question of liberty at their core. Are the
plain-bellied Sneetches free to have picnics on the beaches? Can the
Lorax freely enjoy his home and all its creatures? Are the Yooks and the Zooks
free to live without fear?
Using all the sources you’ve considered (Foner, Alger, Crane and Baldwin,
“Shane,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner,” “Do the Right Thing” and
Casualties of War), address these three questions in a paper (minimum four to
six pages). To have a comprehensive response, you must consider at least
one of the Foner Guiding Questions from each of the six Modules in the syllabus
as well as a movie or monograph question.
You cannot, for example, fail to include “Do the Right Thing” or James
Baldwin, The Fire Next Time even though you have considered the tragic
successes of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon or the responsibility of the
United States and the Soviet Union for the Cold War .
Guiding Questions
Along with Dr. Seuss,
The Guiding Questions make up the questions for the final exam. At the conclusion of the course the
successful student will be able to address these in a clear and succinct
fashion. Guiding questions are divided into three separate and distinct categories:
plain text guiding
questions relate directly to the text by Foner;
bold face guiding questions are associated with
the supplemental readings;
italicized guiding questions connect to the
movies.
MODULE 1
RECONSTRUCTION
AND THE EXPANSION OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION
1865-1890
Foner,
Chapters 15, 16
The Era of
Reconstruction and Expansion of American Civilization begins with the
conclusion of the Civil War and continues through 1890, when the Director of
the Census concludes there no longer exists a “frontier” in the
United States. The reading beyond the text includes the Reconstruction
Amendments (13, 14, 15) to the Constitution. Students will also watch the
classic western, “Shane.”
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1.
Describe
the success of the Reconstruction Amendments over the course of American
history.
2.
Compare
and contrast the kinds of resistance to the Reconstruction Amendments put
forward by white southerners and the responses by the federal government.
3.
Examine
how the related events of the Election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877
brought about the end of Reconstruction.
4.
Review how “Shane’s” portrayal of the
west perhaps better represents American’s beliefs about the west rather than
the actual west itself.
5.
Evaluate
how the United States transformed politically, economically and socially in
this period (1877-1900).
6. Explain how American freedom was
transformed and to whom it extended.
MODULE
2
AMERICA’S
APPEARANCE ON THE WORLD STAGE
1890-1918
Foner, Chapters 17, 18, 19
America’s
appearance on the world stage begins with the closing of the frontier, at which
time the nation’s empire building begins, and continues through the successful
conclusion of the Great War for the Allies, brought about in part at least by
America’s entry into the war in 1917. The reading beyond the text
includes Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick
and Stephen Crane’s Maggie.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. Compare
and contrast how the ways in which Horatio Alger and Stephen Crane explore life
in the late nineteenth century city.
2.
Analyze
how Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson,
Progressives all, invited either federal government involvement (positive) or
intrusion (negative) in the lives of ordinary citizens, citing pieces of legislation
which point to such government action.
3.
Describe
the events that changed Woodrow Wilson’s perspective from that of neutrality in
thought, word and deed in 1914 to a declaration of war in 1917.
MODULE 3
THE INTERWAR YEARS
1918-1941
Foner, Chapters 20, 21,
22
Following a
brief recession, the Roaring Twenties marked almost a decade of seemingly
unprecedented growth followed by a devastating depression that did not end
until the United States entered World War Two, ending almost two decades
largely devoted to isolationism. The era also witnessed a dramatic
expansion of federal power as FDR dealt with the collapsing economy.
Beyond the textbook students will watch “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “The
Grapes of Wrath.”
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1.
Critique
the ways in which the arrests, trials, convictions and executions of Nicola
Sacco and Bartolommeo Vanzetti indicate a retreat from both the spirit of the
Declaration of Independence and the goals of the Progressive Movement.
2.
Examine
the idea that the unbalanced economy of the 1920s led to a severe economic
slowdown in the mid-1920s which led to the stock market crash of 1929 and Great
Depression of the 1930s.
3.
Critique
how successfully FDR’s nomination, election and presidency addressed the
problems of the Great Depression.
4.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” presents two
views of 1930s society in the rural South.
Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell represent the main characters on each side;
what are the differences in their views and how do they demonstrate them?
5. Compare
and contrast the ways in which the New Deal failed as well as helped the
displaced migrants of the Dust Bowl, represented by the Joads in “The Grapes of
Wrath.”
MODULE
4
AMERICA’S
RISE TO WORLD LEADERSHIP
1941-1968
Foner, Chapters 23, 24, 25
World War Two
saw America emerge as the only major power which avoided war on its
shores. While millions of American men and women participated in the war,
none of it was fought on our soil. As a result, our infrastructure
emerged unscathed, offering the United States the opportunity to rebuild
Western Europe and Japan while it strengthened its own economy. Economic
prosperity and a baby boom changed the face of the nation, while African
Americans sought their long denied civil rights. The reading beyond the
text includes James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1.
Justify
America’s use of atomic weapons against Japan relative to the events leading to
the United States’ entry into World War Two.
2.
Compare
and contrast the responsibility of the United States and the Soviet Union in
starting the Cold War.
3.
Analyze
how the post war prosperity, the baby boom and the rapid expansion of suburbia
shaped American society after 1945.
4. Compare and contrast the legal
frameworks of Plessy v Ferguson (1896) and Brown v Board of Education (1954)
vis a vis de jure and de facto segregation.
5. Consider
and reflect on the role James Baldwin played in the Civil Rights Movement of
the 1950s and 60s.
MODULE 5:
MODERN AMERICA
1968-1989
Foner, Chapters 26, 27, 28
Richard
Nixon’s election as president marks the beginning of Modern America.
Though major civil rights legislation passed, the plight of African Americans
did not improve as dramatically as some hoped. Before the collapse of the
Soviet Union the Cold War occupied American foreign policy while domestically
environmental issues came to the fore. The reading beyond the text
includes three activist books by Dr. Seuss: The Sneetches, The Lorax and
The Butter Battle. Students will also watch “Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner”/”Do the Right Thing.”
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. Explain
how the Prentices and the Draytons, in the movie “Guess Who’s Coming To
Dinner,” illustrate race relations at the conclusion of the Civil Rights Era.
2. Identify
what Spike Lee means as “the right thing,” considering the activities of all
the characters in the movie.
3. Critique in terms of tragic success
the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
MODULE
SIX:
1989-Present
Foner,
Chapters 26, 28
Review the
section in Chapter 26 of Foner in which he discusses The Vietnam War, known in
Vietnam as the American War. Either way
it was a quagmire caused by the Cold War belief that only two types of nations
existed in the world—those aligned with the United States or those aligned with
the Soviet Union. The American foreign
policy of containment prohibited any expansion of communism anywhere in the
world. When the Vietnamese pushed the
French out in the 1950s the fear was the communists would take control in
Southeast Asia. Known as the Domino
Theory, if Vietnam fell, Southeast Asia might be lost. “Casualties of War” in a brutal, gritty
antiwar movie based on an incident uncovered by an investigative reporter who
wrote an article for New Yorker which became the basis for the movie.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1.
Who
are the “casualties”? Be as comprehensive as possible and be sure to defend
your choices.
2.
Describe
Eriksson’s dilemma.
3.
What
is the significance of Brownie’s character?
4.
To
what extent, if any, does Eriksson suffer from PTSD?
5.
Discuss
the proposition that both Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were victims of
political posturing rather than legitimate accusations of “high crimes and
misdemeanors.”
6.
Analyze
how Foner sees the changes in the concept of liberty since 1865.
MODULE 7:
While
it may seem strange, the final exam is one of the first items you should
consider. You will notice there are only
a couple of days at the conclusion of the seven weeks devoted to the course,
but the good student will start considering it immediately. The question is as follows:
Theodore Geisel wrote children’s books
for adults. Eric Foner wrote a text designed to challenge student ideas about
America’s progression toward a more inclusive society. Professor Jamieson
picked books and movies designed to encourage you consider the theme of the
class–what is liberty and who has it? In a real sense the Sneetches, the
Lorax and the Yooks and the Zooks (The
Butter Battle) all have the question of liberty at their core. Are the
plain-bellied Sneetches free to have picnics on the beaches? Can the
Lorax freely enjoy his home and all its creatures? Are the Yooks and the Zooks
free to live without fear?
Using all the sources you’ve considered (Foner, Alger, Crane and Baldwin,
“Shane,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner,” “Do the Right Thing, and Casualties of War”), address these three
questions in a paper (four to six pages minimum). To have a comprehensive
response, you must consider at least one of the Foner Guiding Questions from
each of the six Modules in the syllabus as well as a movie or monograph
question. You cannot, for example, fail
to include “Do the Right Thing” or James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
even though you have considered the tragic successes of Lyndon Johnson and
Richard Nixon or the responsibility of the United States and the Soviet Union
for the Cold War.
Along with Dr. Seuss, The
Guiding Questions make up the questions for the final exam. At the conclusion of the course the
successful student will be able to address these in a clear and succinct
fashion. Guiding questions are divided into three separate and distinct
categories:
plain text guiding
questions relate directly to the text by Foner;
bold face guiding questions are associated with
the supplemental readings;
italicized guiding questions connect to the
movies.
