History 574 – Recent
and Contemporary
Syllabus and Survival
Guide
Fall 2019
Wednesday 7:00 pm –
9:45 pm, Sierra Hall 288
Instructor
Dr.
Thomas W. Devine
Phone: (818) 677-3550 Email:
tom.devine@csun.edu
Office
Hours:
Sierra Tower 624, TuTh 2:15-3:15 and by appointment gladly given.
The
following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – are available
at the Matador Bookstore. Any other readings will be posted on the web syllabus.
To subvert the system and to save yourself some money, you should consider buying
used copies of the books. You are likely to find copies at significantly lower
prices at the following websites: www.bookfinder.com;
www.half.com; www.amazon.com.
● Jefferson Cowie, The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American
Politics
● Joel Dinerstein, The Origins
of Cool in Postwar America
● Jeanne
Theoharis, A More Beautiful and Terrible History:
The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History
● Michael H.
Hunt, Lyndon Johnson's War: America's Cold War Crusade in
Vietnam, 1945-1968
● David Farber, Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis
and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam
● Doug Rossinow, The Reagan Era: A History of the 1980s
● Patrick J. Maney, Bill
Clinton: New Gilded Age President
Spirit of the Course
This course will offer
an interpretive survey of political, economic, cultural, and social trends in
the
Since the end of the cold war has forced historians to re-think much of
what has been said about the post-World War II period, I have made a special
effort to assign readings that represent the latest (if not always the most
widely held) views on various topics. You will notice that the readings
throughout the course come from various ideological and political perspectives.
I encourage you to be critical of both the readings and what I say in class
when you find the arguments expressed to be unpersuasive. (More often that not,
what I’m saying is meant to provoke a critical rejoinder and I will eagerly
defend the most outrageous positions just for the joy of playing devil’s
advocate.)
Themes
Though
we will be covering a wide variety of topics, there are certain themes that we
will be revisiting throughout the course of the semester:
You
will also have the opportunity to follow the historiography that has developed
around the topics we will explore. Though the emphasis of the course will not
be on historiographical issues, I will introduce and we will all discuss
scholarly controversies where appropriate.
Grading & Deadlines
Class Participation --30%
Oral Presentation --10%
Analytical Essay 1 --15%
Option A [due September
20th]
Option B [due October
25th]
Analytical Essay 2 [due
December 6th] --15%
Semester Project --30%
[completed draft due
November 24; final due December 11]
Explanation
of Requirements
Completing the
There’s no getting
around it – this class requires a lot of reading. But, as a Masters level seminar, it is
supposed to. To succeed in this course, you will need to complete the reading,
but you will also need to have given it some thought. Read with a pencil in hand
– take notes in the margins. Record terms that are unfamiliar to you or concepts
that you don’t understand, points that you find interesting or surprising,
arguments with which you strongly agree or disagree, methods of research or
analysis that seem especially creative or insightful (or misguided and
unpersuasive), or ideas that connect to things we’ve talked about in previous
classes. Also, read smart – don’t read every single word of the first 4
chapters and nothing thereafter because you ran out of time. If you catch the
argument the author is making, don’t sweat all the details or supporting
examples – skim over them and get on to the next major point. It is more important
to get a good sense of an entire book than to master every aspect of the first
one-third of it.
Participation in
Discussion
This is a seminar-style
course in which active participation in the weekly discussions is crucial to
the class’s success. Our meetings will
be conversations – free, open, and informal exchanges of ideas based on the
assigned readings – and I expect everyone to take part. I will do my best to
insure each student has ample opportunity to contribute, but,
ultimately, it will be up to you to make certain that you remain an active
participant rather than a passive observer. I evaluate participation based on
quality, not quantity. At times, recounting an anecdote or a personal
experience can shed light on a concept covered in the reading – particularly
since all of us have lived through at least part of the period we’ll be
studying – but be aware that it is easy to over do this. “Quality”
participation demands keeping your comments grounded in the reading.
Leading Discussion
One person will be
responsible for leading the discussion each week. That person will compose a
list of 8 questions that address the major themes and issues raised each of the
assigned readings for the week. Well-formulated questions will open up
discussion and allow for various points of view. They should not intrude the
questioner’s own opinion or quiz people on specific facts to which there is
only one answer (“guess what I’m thinking questions”). Each discussion leader
should meet with me briefly to go over his or her questions. (This exchange can
also be done via email.) The discussion leader should submit his/her
questions to me at least 24 hours before the seminar meets so I can distribute
them to everyone via email attachment. Your leading of discussion will not
receive a grade per se, but will be taken into account in the
calculation of your participation grade. As leader, you must do more than
simply read each question aloud and let others talk. Rather, take an active
part in facilitating the discussion by indicating how various comments are
related, occasionally summarizing what has been said, and reminding the class how
the various comments contribute to answering your original question. When
necessary, guide everyone back to the text and the question at hand if you
believe the discussion has gone on a tangent. You should also be “reading” the
room – make sure everyone gets a chance to speak and, when recognizing people,
favor those who have not spoken yet ahead of those who have already
contributed. Resist the urge to answer your own questions since that is the
fastest way to shut down discussion. If you believe the class has missed
pertinent points, phrase follow-up questions that are likely to extract these
points without tipping your own hand. If you have never led a discussion
before, or would like some helpful tips on doing so, I encourage you to meet
with me ahead of time. Though it would be helpful if you had already formulated
some of your questions before we met, this is not necessary.
Précis
One person will be
responsible for producing a 2-3 page précis of the readings for each week. Your
précis should be a summary rather than a review – focus on what the book says and how
it says it rather than giving your own assessment. Your précis should identify
the book’s central arguments, briefly note how it is organized, indicate the
kinds of sources employed and how the author uses them, and summarize the main
points of each chapter (or group of chapters, if that seems more appropriate). The
person who writes the précis should email me a copy 24 hours in advance of the
seminar. I will look it over, make any appropriate edits, and send it to the
rest of the class the night before we meet. This assignment, too, will not
receive a grade per se, though in calculating your participation grade,
I will take into account the quality of and amount of effort you appear to have
put in to your précis. If there are readings beyond the main book, you should
summarize them as well.
Oral
Presentation/Written Critique
One person will be
responsible for producing a 1500-word critique of the assigned reading each
week. This may be handled in one of four ways:
1) a summary of the
book’s critical reception and your own assessment of it
2) a historiographical
review that explains where the assigned book or articles fit within the
existing secondary literature (you might counter pose the assigned reading
against a book or article that takes a contrary point of view).
3) a brief essay that
focuses on a particular theme or argument in the week’s reading that you found
especially interesting and wanted to explore further in other sources.
4) a report grounded in
primary sources in which you discuss whether the sources you examined led you
to the same kinds of interpretations that the author offers.
I can provide you with
both primary source suggestions and historiographical background, so don’t
hesitate to ask. At some point during class, usually right after the break, you
will have the floor to present your findings and field questions from the
class. Please do not read your
critique verbatim or read to the class the text you have put on a series of
Powerpoint slides. That said, you should feel free to include an audio-visual
component if you think it would enhance your presentation. Your presentation should last 15
minutes. I will not allow you to go beyond 20
minutes, so be sure you know ahead of time how long your presentation will
run. The written critique will be due a week from the date of your
presentation. Your grade will be based on the written product (2/3) and the
quality of your oral presentation (1/3). The quality of an oral presentation is
judged on how organized, informative, and prepared you are in your delivery. The
written critique will be graded the same as any paper.
Analytical
Essays
These two 1500-word assignments will give you the opportunity to
respond to a specific question in a concise, tightly argued essay. You will
have several topics from which to choose. I will distribute the topics ten days
before the paper is due. If
you wish, you may do both first paper options and I will count the
higher grade. Please submit the paper to me via email on the day it is due.
Semester Project
Select
a topic from the period covered in the course that you find to be of interest
and familiarize yourself with the secondary literature that has been written on
it. You should choose a topic narrow enough that you are able to master a good
deal of the scholarship over the course of 8-10 weeks. For example, “The
Vietnam War” is too broad; “The Tet Offensive” is more manageable. “The Nixon
Presidency” is too broad; “Nixon’s economic policy” is better. I recommend
drawing on a variety of book chapters and articles. When you have completed
your reading, write a 3500-word essay (approximately 12 pages) in which you indicate
how historians have treated the topic – what have been the main areas of
emphasis and/or contention among scholars who write on your topic? To what
extent have historians’ views on your topic changed over time? How has the
scholarly conversation on your topic proceeded and what factors have caused
historians to come to differing points of view or to reach some sort of
consensus or “conventional wisdom”? In addition to addressing the historiography
of your topic, you should provide your own assessment of the scholarship. After
reading the literature pertinent to your topic, what conclusions do you
draw? Which scholars’ work is most
compelling to you and why? How would you
synthesize the various scholarly views you have read to present your own
interpretation? The more sources you incorporate, the more thorough your essay
will be. So as to prevent you from putting this assignment
off until the last moment, we will approach it in a three step process. At week five (September 25), I will ask for a
tentative annotated bibliography and a one-page status report which you offer
your early impressions on how scholars have approached your topic and what some
of the emphases and issues of contention have been. During weeks nine and ten,
I will hold extra office hours so each student can meet with me to discuss his
or her topic. At this point, you should have completed nearly all of the
reading for your project and be well on your way toward completing a first draft. I
highly recommend submitting a complete draft. Though this is not required,
having the chance to respond to my comments is likely to improve the finished
product.
Surviving History 574…
Attendance
Since
class meets only once a week, it is important, and it is expected, that you
will be at every session. Inevitably, an occasion may arise when you are unable
to attend. To make up for a missed class, you may submit written responses to
any four of the eight discussion questions (the total of the four responses not
to exceed 1500 words). These will be due in class one week after the class you
missed. Missing four or more classes will have a significant negative effect on
your grade.
Problems
I
appreciate that most CSUN graduate students are stretching themselves quite
thin, often working full time or raising kids while taking classes at night. If
you are feeling overwhelmed, find yourself falling behind, or are having any
problems outside of class that are adversely affecting your performance in class,
be sure to let me know. If you need advice on how to improve your performance,
ask for it. Do not wait until the end of the semester when it will be too late.
I am more than willing to work with you to insure you “survive,” but I need to
know you are having difficulties.
Discussion
Topics and Assignments
Schedule
Aug. 28 Introduction/The
Emergence of the Postwar World
Sept. 4 Rethinking
American Politics and the “Anomaly” of New Deal Liberalism
Reading: Cowie, The Great
Exception
Sept. 11 Capturing “Cool”: Artistic
Countercultures in the Postwar Period
Reading: Dinerstein, The Origins
of Cool in Postwar America
Sept. 18 Cold War Liberalism:
Another Look
Reading:
Jennifer
Delton, Rethinking the 1950s
Kevin Mattson,
“Revisiting the Vital Center” Dissent (Winter 2005)
Sept. 25 Religion and Capitalism or Capitalism as
Religion?
Reading: Kruse, One Nation Under God
Due in Class: Annotated
bibliography and a one-page status report on your Semester Project
Oct. 2 “I’ll Take It!” ‘50s Consumer Culture from Tailfins to TV Dinners
Reading: Thomas Hine, Populuxe
Oct. 9 The Swinging, Sexy Sixties: Hyper-masculinity
and its Ambiguous Legacies
Reading: Watts, JFK and the
Masculine Mystique
Oct. 16 “Not in my
Backyard!”: Working Class Racism and Economic Inequality in the Postwar Midwest
Reading: Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis
Oct. 23 Revising the
Revisionists: The Radicalism of the Civil Rights Movement
Reading:
Theoharis, A More Beautiful and Terrible
History
Extra
office hours scheduled to discuss your semester projects
Oct. 30 The “American Century?”:
Economic Growth and Transformation Since 1945
Reading:
Wells, American Capitalism
Extra
office hours scheduled to discuss your semester projects
Nov. 6 “We’re
Here to Help”: The Liberals’ War in Vietnam
Reading: Hunt, Lyndon Johnson’s War
Gareth Porter, “Explaining the Vietnam War:
Dominant and Contending Paradigms”
Nov. 13 “Like a Helpless Giant”
– American Held Hostage in the 1970s
Reading:
Farber, Taken Hostage
Nov. 20 “Morning in America?” – Re-evaluating
the 1980s
Reading: Rossinow, The Reagan
Era
Nov. 27 NO CLASS
Dec. 4 “Prurience and
Prosperity at the Dawn of the Millennium
Reading: Maney, Bill Clinton
Dec. 11 Summation and Dinner
Due: Final draft of Semester Project