History
578 – Topics in
Syllabus
and Survival Guide
Fall
2005
Thursday
7:00 pm – 9:50 pm, Sierra Hall 198
Instructor
Dr.
Thomas W. Devine
Phone:
(818) 677-3550 Email
Office
Hours:
The following books –
listed in the order in which we will read them – are available at the Matador
Bookstore. All other readings will
be provided in class. To subvert the system and to save yourself some money, you
should consider buying second hand copies of the books at one of the following
websites:
http://www.bookfinder.com/; http://www.half.com/; http://www.amazon.com/.
Spirit
of the Course
In this colloquium we
will explore how economic changes have impacted the course of American history
since the Civil War. We will
consider how individuals, groups, and institutions that possessed, aspired to,
or lacked economic power benefited from, adapted to, or suffered under these
evolving conditions. The readings
encompass various ideological, regional, and methodological perspectives and are
intended to give you a broad view of how historians incorporate the study of the
economy into the larger narrative of the nation’s past. Rather than focus on economic theory in
the abstract, the course will emphasize the real world effects of economic policies
in the realms of business and commerce, domestic politics, international
relations, social interaction, and cultural consciousness. Also, given the heated nature of the
historiographical debates that some of our topics have generated, I will
introduce and we will discuss scholarly controversies where appropriate.
Grading
Class
Participation
--40%
Critique
--10%
Semester
Project [Due December 8]*
--30%
Final
Paper [Due December 15]
--20%
*-
But gladly accepted before December 8th
Surviving
History 578…
Explanation of
Requirements
Completing
the
There’s no getting
around it – this class requires a lot of reading. But, as a Masters level colloquium, 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 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
ideologically driven), 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 have gotten the gist 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.
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 in the reading. The discussion leader will meet with me
briefly ahead of time to go over his or her questions. Before the seminar begins, he or she
will also provide each member of the class a copy of the questions. (I can
handle the copying if you get your questions to me at least a half hour before
class.) Your leading of discussion will not receive a grade per se, but
will be taken into account in the calculation of your participation
grade.
Précis
One person will be
responsible for producing a single-spaced 2-page précis of the reading each
week. This assignment is meant to
be a summary rather than a review, though you may give an overall
evaluation of the book in the final paragraph. As with the questions, the person who
writes the précis will provide each member of the class with a copy at the
beginning of the seminar. 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.
Critique
One person will be
responsible for producing a single-spaced 2-page 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 reaction to it; 2) a historiographical
review that explains where the books fits within the secondary literature on its
topic; or 3) a brief essay that focuses on a particular theme or argument that
you found especially interesting and wanted to explore further; or 4) a report
grounded in primary sources in which you examine such sources to see if they
lead 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,
perhaps right after the break, you will have the floor to present the findings
of your critique and field questions from the class. Please do not extend your
presentation beyond 15 minutes. The
written critique will be due a week from the date of your
presentation.
Semester
Project
Select a topic from
the period covered in the course that you find to be of interest and do some
outside reading on it. I would
recommend a mixture of books and articles.
Your choice of focus need not be directly related to the material covered
in the course. Indeed, this is your
opportunity to investigate a subject area that the course may neglect. Then, summarize your findings in a
ten-page essay. So
as to prevent you from putting this assignment off until the last moment (and
confronting the dreaded “incomplete”), I will ask for a tentative bibliography
with brief annotations at the mid-point of the semester. I will gladly critique drafts of this
assignment.
Final
Essay
In a 7-8 page
essay due at the end of the semester, you will answer a question that will be
directly related to the major themes of the course. In responding, you will draw only from
material in the assigned reading; no outside reading or research will be
necessary.
Bringing
Food
On one occasion during
the semester, each person will bring a snack for the entire class to enjoy at
the break. Optimally, your culinary contribution will be related in some way to
that week’s discussion topic.
Course Policies
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.
Out of fairness to your classmates who do attend every week, however,
each absence past the first two will adversely affect your final grade. Also, given the heavy weight placed on
in-class discussion, any absence is likely to detract from your participation
grade. To make up for a missed
class, you may turn in a 2-page, single-spaced précis summarizing the reading
for the class you missed.
Problems
I appreciate that most
CSUN graduate students are stretching themselves quite thin, often working full
time 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. 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. You will find that as
long as you keep me up to speed, I will be very
sympathetic.
Discussion
Topics and Assignments
Schedule
Sept. 1
The Emergence of Big
Business: Structural Factors
John G. Sproat,
“Organizing and Rationalizing American Capitalism”
Maury Klein, “
Sept.
8 The
Second Industrial Revolution: An Overview
Sept. 15 “I Wanna Be a Part of
It”: Business Culture in Gilded Age
Sept.
22 Go West, Young
Capitalist: Industrializing the “Wilderness”
Sept. 27/29 The New Empire? US
Economic Expansion in a Global Context
Edward P. Crapol,
“Coming to Terms with Empire: The Historiography of Late-Nineteenth-Century
American Foreign Relations”
Oct. 6
“Like a Good
Neighbor”: “Selling” the Corporation
Oct. 11/13 “Put it on my Card”:
The Rise of Consumer Credit
Oct. 20
“What’s Good for
General Motors…”: Managing the Modern Corporation
Oct. 25/27 The Great Depression:
The Debate Over Causes and Consequences
Maury Klein, “The
Stock Market Crash of 1929: A Review Article,” Business History Review, 75 (Summer
2001): 325-352.
Peter Temin, “The Great Depression” in The
Nov. 3
The Great Depression: An International Perspective
Nov. 8/10 “Whither the
Military-Industrial Complex?” The Cold War Economy
Nov. 17
“I Want That!”: The
Triumph of Consumerism
Nov. 24
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Dec. 1
“Growing the Economy”: Postwar Economic Policy &
Politics
Dec. 8
“Shrinking the Work
Force” : The Loss of Industrial Jobs in the