Explore the American Past
by Dr. H - April 9th, 2010
In this course, we explore the history of the United States since end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Students will learn about broad themes in American history, including immigration, race and ethnicity, social and political reform, mobility and population growth, contested meanings of freedom, industrialization, cycles of prosperity and recession, popular culture, modernity, and rights movements. Students will also develop ways of thinking historically through critical analysis of primary and secondary sources; setting events, documents and people in their historical contexts; and crafting interpretations and historical narratives from the “raw material” of the past. In this course, students should expect to do much more than memorize facts or dates – you will be busy actively doing history, not passively learning about history.
In Fall 2010, I am teaching HI 112 on Mon/Wed/Fri at 9:30 am (HI 112-03) – Room S-314. Think of this site as the Grand Central Station (or, for the local analogy, Union Station) for the course.
Our required readings will be:
George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, America: A Narrative History 8th edition (WW Norton), ISBN: 978-0393934076 – read this one at home (“blue book”)
David Emory Shi and Holly Mayer, For the Record: A Documentary History of America: From Reconstruction through Contemporary Times 4th edition (WW Norton), ISBN: 978-0393934045 – bring this one to class (“red book”)
