History 480: "The Me Decade" - The Culture and Politics of 1970s America

DESCRIPTION

This course explores the cultural and political significance of the 1970s as a distinct time period in American history.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

You will be presented with a variety of different sources and mediums.  In the course of your work you will be evaluating and investigating how these sources talk to each other and speak to this the importance and relevance of this time in history. This course examines what historian Bruce Schulman called the "long 1970s" (1969-1984). Seeing the time period as transformative and refuting the stigma of the 1970s as a “Pinto of a decade”, this course like Schulman tracks American history from the breakdown of 1960s consensus through the crisis of the 1970s and into the early 1980s when that crisis subsided. This course is also about refining your skills as history majors and future historians. You will work on the analytical and interpretive skills demanded by the study of history. You will demonstrate mastery of these skills in reading, writing, historical research and historical methodologies.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Unless otherwise noted, all books can be purchase from SBS.

• Benjamin, Jules R. A Student's Guide to History. Tenth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. ISBN 9780312446741
• Foley, Michael S. Confronting the War Machine: Draft Resistance during the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. ISBN 9780807827673
• Gosse, Van and Richard Moser, eds. The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003. ISBN 1592132014
• Kutler, Stanley I. The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990. ISBN 9780393308273
• Marable, Manning. Race, Reform and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1982. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991. ISBN 0878054928
• McQuaid, Kim. The Anxious Years; America in the Vietnam-Watergate Era. New York: Basic Books, 1989. ISBN 0465003893 (Not available at SBS)
• Schulman, Bruce and Julian Zelizer, eds. Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2008. ISBN 9780674027572

REQUIREMENTS

Participation will count for 20 points towards your course grade. This includes oral participation and presentations during class. All students start with a "C-" in participation or 14 out of 20 points. In a course that demands active learning and engagment during class time, inactivity will not inprove your grade. This means mental attendance is imperative; simply showing up is not enough. You are expected to present your informed ideas as well as listen to and show respect for the others in the classroom. You will be graded on how much you contribute to the learning environment of the class. This means that if you do not add anything to the class during the discussions, then your participation grade will rise no higher than 14 and may in fact go down to a lower number. Also, any behavior that disrespects or hinders the learning process in the class will be penalized. For further description of disruptive behavior click here to see the University Ombudsman’s website. Unexcused tardiness or absence will negatively affect your participation grade. You cannot participate in the class if you are not present during class sessions.

Short Essays will count for 30 points towards your course grade. Students will complete three short essays (approximately 2 pages or 500 words in length) through the course of the semester. Each individual short essay is 10 points. For more information about short essays, click here.

A major Research Essay accounts for the remaining 50 points in the course. The final product will be an approximately 20 page (5000 word) work of original research on any topic related to the 1970s. Students will develop their argument and conduct their research in consultation with the professor as the semester goes along. The final presentation is worth 10 points towards your final grade and the first/final draft of the paper is worth 40 points. For more information about the research essay, click here.

Graduate Option: For graduate students taking this class, the requirements are slightly different corresponding to the more rigorous expectations of graduate coursework. The expectation of participation remains the same but it will not count towards the final grade. Graduate students are also expected to write two other short essays (in the same format as the other three) to account for the remaining 20 points in the course. Each student must set up an appointment with the Professor no later than week four of the semester to discuss which two books they have chosen and when the essays will be submitted.

Together all the points add up to 100. Your grade in this course will be based on how many points you earn over the course of the semester.

GRADING

Each successfully completed assignment will receive a grade based on the total number of points available. Your overall grade for the course will be determined by the sum of all points received in the course. At any time you may check ANGEL to see all recorded scores and determine your current aggregate total.

• 95 to 100 points translates to a 4.0
• 90 to 94 points translates to a 3.5
• 85 to 89 points translates to a 3.0
• 80 to 84 points translates to a 2.5
• 75 to 79 points translates to a 2.0
• 70 to 74 points translates to a 1.5
• 65 to 69 points translates to a 1.0
• 0 to 64 points translates to a 0.0

Note: All work must be turned in to receive a grade above zero in this class. Additionally, all work is due at the time specified in the assignment. Lateness will be penalized at the rate of 5% per 24 hour period. This means that being late by 1 hour carries the same penalty as being late 23 hours. For example, if a 10 point assignment is turned in 40 hours late, the maximum grade possible for that assignment would then be 9 points.

STYLE GUIDE

Proper formatting and style are important compentents of strong course work. Sloppy writing and poor presentaiton deminish the quality of student work. For further information click here to link to a guide to formatting and style.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

In accordance with Michigan State University’s policies on “Protection of Scholarship and Grades” and “Integrity of Scholarship and Grades,” students are expected to honor principles of truth and honesty in their academic work. Academic integrity means, amongst other things, not plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes submitting someone else’s work (words, ideas, etc.) as their own now will the knowingly permit another student to copy and submit their work. Additional discussion of academic integrity is available on the Ombudsman´s website.