Website: http://mypage.iu.edu/~kdierks/H105-2003A.html

E-mail: kdierks@indiana.edu

Office hours: Ballantine 734, Wednesdays, 12:15-2:15 p.m., or by appointment

Office phone: 855-6288

Assistant instructors:

Michael Anklin, manklin@indiana.edu, office hours: Fridays 2:00-4:00 p.m., Main Library Lobby

Dan Clasby, dclasby@indiana.edu, office hours: Thursdays, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Ballantine 708

Amy Elson, aelson@indiana.edu, office hours: Wednesdays, 11:00-12:15 p.m., Wylie Hall 247

Juan Hinojosa, jhinojos@indiana.edu, office hours: Wednesdays, 11:00-12:00 p.m., Ballantine 708

Mara Lazda, mlazda@indiana.edu, office hours: Wednesdays, 10:45-12:30 p.m., Student Academic Center 206

Niera Marshall, nimarsha@indiana.edu, office hours: Thursdays, 1:00-2:00 p.m., Neal-Marshall Center Library

Section times and places:  Go to section schedule

Course description:  This course provides a topical introduction to American history from the era of Columbus's exploration of the "New World," up through the era of the American Civil War.  Because not every topic can be covered equally in a course that spans four centuries of American history, as our guiding themes we will focus on cultural tensions between freedom and unfreedom, between equality and inequality, and between prosperity and poverty.  Has it ever, for example, been possible in American history to imagine "equality" without at the same time excluding some people?  In examining such cultural tensions, we will look in particular at how notions of gender, class, and race have changed over time, first in a "colonial" context when European peoples sought to transfer ideals and practices to the challenging new environment of North America, and then in a "postcolonial" context when competing social groups struggled for position in the young American nation.  Throughout the course, we will situate North America and then the United States not only in a multicultural but also in a global context.  Special attention will be paid, as well, to how the lives of ordinary people intersected with broader sweeps of history.  To test the continuing resonance of early modern American history, we will scrutinize not only struggles for social dominance or self-determination by people in the past, but also struggles over the meaning of historical memory by people in the present.

At the end of the course, I hope you will have a solid grounding in American history, and a keen appreciation of the complexity of the past as well as the contingencies of historical change.  I also hope you will have sharper analytical skills with which to assess evidence and formulate your own arguments, as well as sharper writing skills with which to organize and articulate your own ideas -- beyond the confines of history, and useful in any field of endeavor.

Course requirements:

Reading assignments.  Weekly reading will involve a blend of "primary" documents produced by people in the past, and "secondary" readings written by historians.  Links to these documents and readings can be found in the course syllabus below, from where you can print them out using your web browser.  Be sure to bring print-outs with you to class and to section.  In addition, there are three course books to be purchased (listed below), each of which will be the subject of a written paper.

Specific questions to keep in mind as you do the weekly reading can be found by clicking on the "Documents" and/or "Web readings"  headings in the course syllabus.  For general tips on interpreting primary documents in particular, see the following guideline:  Strategies for Interpreting Primary Documents.

Writing assignments.  There will be three written papers and a take-home final examination.  These assignments will be posted ahead of time on the course website, from where you can print them out.  Each of the assignments approximately counts 20% toward your final grade, although improvement over the course of the semester will be rewarded.  Unreliable attendance will be significantly penalized, as explained below.  Participation in section also counts toward your final grade, as explained below.

Papers are due at the beginning of the class period; the take-home final examination is due by the end of the assigned exam period.  Papers and exams should be double-spaced, no less than three and no more than four pages in a readable font, and stapled (no folders), with your name (but never your social security number), course number and title, date, and paper title at the top of the first page.  Lateness will be penalized, unless excused by official written notification from the Dean of Students (Franklin Hall 108).

Plagiarism will result in failure of and withdrawal from the class, and will become a permanent part of the student's transcript and academic record.  Writing must be original, and all quotations, derivative ideas and uncommon facts must be duly footnoted.  Guidelines    Procedures

For assistance with writing papers, you are encouraged to visit Writing Tutorial Services in Ballantine Hall (Room 206).  Also see the H105 paper writing guidelines.

Students interested in pursuing more intensive work on study and writing skills are encouraged to enroll in a 2-credit course on "Learning Strategies for History" which is specially design to complement this H105 class.

Attendance and participation.  Attendance is absolutely mandatory.  Prior to attending each class and section, using your web browser you must print out the corresponding one-page "reaction sheet" found on the course website.  This "reaction sheet" will serve as the basis of an in-class writing assignment in each class and section.  These assignments will not be graded, except that failure to demonstrate completion of assigned reading will be penalized as the equivalent of an absence.

If you must be absent at some point, you should have the courtesy to alert either your assistant instructor or the professor beforehand.  If you are absent more than once over the course of the semester, you must have official written notification from the Dean of Students (Franklin Hall 108) for such absences to be excused.  After one grace absence, any unexcused absences will result in steep grade deductions on the next assigned paper.

Also absolutely essential to the success of the class is participation in section -- demonstrating a commitment to analytical engagement with the reading materials, and demonstrating a commitment to civil discussion with your peers.  Participation in section counts approximately 20% toward your final grade.

Assistance.  If at any time during the semester you have questions about the course website, lecture material, reading material, writing assignments, or your performance in this class, please feel free to speak to either your assistant instructor or the professor before or after class, during office hours, via email, or via telephone to make an appointment.

If you have a disability or learning disability, please provide me with official written notification from either Disability Services for Students (Franklin Hall 096, 327) as soon as possible so that any necessary accommodations can be made.

Course books: (available at the college bookstores and via online bookstores)

Breen, T.H., and Innes, Stephen, eds.  "Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Rockman, Seth, ed.  Welfare Reform in the Early Republic.  Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003.

Morrison, Michael A., ed.  The Human Tradition in Antebellum America.  Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 2000.

Course syllabus: