AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY TO 1877
Course Structure and Requirements
This is a lecture/discussion course that will examine intellectual and cultural history from colonial times to 1877 in the larger context of world history. Particular emphasis is placed on political ideas and ideologies and the ways in which writers, political theorists, and activists have contributed to the American intellectual tradition. The course highlights the persistence of religious belief systems, and consequences of the continued belief in natural inequalities alongside growing acceptance of ideas of social, economic, and political equality for men and women regardless of creed, color, age, sexual orientation, or disability. You will have an opportunity to write critical analyses of historical primary sources and
of media-produced treatments of American intellectual and cultural history. Two historical documentaries will be shown in class: one on Thomas Jefferson and one on Mary and Abraham Lincoln. No previous college level knowledge of American intellectual and cultural history is assumed. The course is offered for 1 credit hour and meets the Historical Perspectives General Education requirement.Eric Foner, THE STORY OF AMERICAN FREEDOM
Publisher: Norton, 1998 paperback ISBN: 0393319628
David A. Hollinger and Charles Capper, editors
THE AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
Volume I: 1630-1865 Fifth Edition, 2005
Publisher: Oxford paperback ISBN13: 9780195183382
Basis for Grading and Due Dates:
Class participation 20% (includes attendance and contribution to discussions)
Take-home essays 40% (two essays, each worth 20%) Oct. 15 and Dec. 3
Class presentation 15% Dates to be arranged
Book review 15% May be submitted anytime before Dec. 3
Documentary Critiques 10% (two, each worth 5%) Due Oct. 13 and Dec. 3
Take-home Essays:
The essays must utilize both primary (documents) and secondary (The Story of American Freedom) sources from the assigned reading. Additional primary sources, all of which are listed in the "Recommended Reading" section week by week in the agenda below, must be used if students wish to qualify for an "A" or "B" grade; these recommended primary sources are all available online at the URLs listed.
Use of these recommended readings does not guarantee an A or B grade, but if relevant primary and secondary sources are not used the essay will not qualify for a grade higher than C.
Material from lectures should be used and cited whenever it is relevant to the topic of the essay. Essays must be five to seven pages maximum, typewritten, and double-spaced. Use a type font no smaller than 12. Staple the pages in the upper left-hand corner and do not use a cover page or a folder. Essays will be assigned letter grades. Grading will not be based on a grading curve. Essays will be graded on composition as well as substance. For guidelines for writing analytical history essays and an explanation of grading see
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Analytical%20Essays.htm
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Criteria%20for%20Grading%20Essays.htm
Written work will be assigned letter grades. Grading will not be
based on a grading curve. All written work will be graded on composition
as well as substance.
First Essay (choose one) Due October 15
1. Describe Puritanism in American intellectual and cultural life, with specific reference to the writings of John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson, and Roger Williams.
2. Describe "the Enlightenment" in American intellectual and cultural life, with specific reference to the writings of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Judith Sargent Murray.
Second Essay (choose one) Due December 3
1. Compare and contrast the viewpoints regarding the discourse of "Equality of the Sexes," with specific reference to the writings of Sarah Grimke, Catherine Beecher, Margaret Fuller, and Louisa McCord.
2. Compare and contrast the antislavery and proslavery viewpoints, with specific reference to the writings of William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany, John C. Calhoun and George Fitzhugh.
Class Presentations:
Each student will present an oral report based on a selection from the work of one of the men and women who contributed to the American intellectual tradition during one of the Thursday classes. This will be a 15 to 20 minute presentation describing the writing and analyzing its significance for understanding American intellectual and cultural history. Each student will submit a summary of 3 to 4 pages at the time of the presentation. The reports will be based on the primary source documents in The American Intellectual Tradition.
Class Presentation Guidelines:
Prepare and present a report on one of the sources in the American
Intellectual Tradition textbook.
This assignment is designed to afford students an opportunity to learn and
practice the skills used in presentations. Please follow the
following guidelines in preparing and delivering your report. Prepare a one page
outline of your report for the class, and submit a three to four page summary to
the instructor, at the beginning of class the day of your presentation.
Address the Following Questions Explicitly
A. Who is the author of this primary source and why was it produced?
B. What are the main points developed in this primary source?
(Points A and B should be covered in no more than five minutes)
C. What can we learn about American intellectual and cultural history from this particular source?
D. How does this primary source relate to the other primary and the secondary sources for this section of the course, and how does the source contribute to an understanding of this week’s topic?
Spend a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 minutes on this section
For more general guidelines for class presentations, visit
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Class%20Presentations.htm
Book Reviews:
Each student will also prepare a critical review of a book selected in
consultation with the instructor. Reviews are due anytime during the semester
but no later than Dec. 3. The book review and the class presentation may be on
the same or similar topic. Guidelines for the book reviews are available at
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Book%20Reviews.htm
Documentary Critiques:
Each student will write critiques of two historical documentaries, one about Thomas Jefferson and one about Mary and Abraham Lincoln. The documentaries will be shown in class, and instructions for the critiques will be distributed in class.
Class Procedures:
Completion of reading assignments in advance of class meetings and consistent presence and participation in class are fundamental requirements for the course. If it is necessary for you to be late or absent, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor and to make arrangements for covering any material missed. An excessive number of absences (more than three) will result in the lowering of the final grade by five percentage points per absence. Please arrive on time to class. Occasional instances of arriving late may be unavoidable, but habitual lateness is rude and demonstrates disrespect to the instructor and to other students. Please turn off cell phones, and plan to remain in class during the entire meeting.
Students should review the guidelines below in order to prepare for active and productive participation in discussions. Lectures will not merely review the assigned reading but will instead expand upon issues of controversy and interpretive questions related to the topic. Getting the most out of lectures requires that you read the material on the lecture topic in the assigned books before the lecture, so that you can be prepared to understand the additional information provided in the lecture. Attendance at lectures, conventional wisdom to the contrary notwithstanding, is not a "passive" experience, at least not to those who choose to be fully – in mind as well as body – present.
All written work will be evaluated on the basis of substance and composition. Students are responsible for keeping copies of all written assignments that they submit. The due dates for assignments are made well in advance of the due dates, so there should be no reason for extensions to be granted. Consequently, all late papers will be penalized: by one grade if the paper is not submitted in class on the due date; by another grade for every class meeting the paper is delinquent (no papers will be accepted after one week; a grade of F will be recorded). All course work must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in this class. Only a doctor's written excuse or a similar documentation in writing of medical treatment, university sports team responsibility, or employment-related emergency will exempt a student from the above requirement.
College policy on Incompletes: students qualify for incomplete grades only if they have completed 2/3 of the total coursework and are responding to unforeseen circumstances. In this class, students must complete all work except the second take home essay to qualify for consideration of an incomplete. Students who have not completed substantial coursework should not assume that they will be "given" an incomplete at the end of the semester.
Guidelines for Class Participation:
Class participation will count 20% of your course grade and will be based on the criteria below.
Are the points you make in discussion substantive and relevant to the topic under consideration? Are your comments linked to the comments of others?
Do your comments indicate that you have been listening carefully to the lecture and to the discussion?
Do your comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of earlier comments and do they lead to a clearer statement of the concepts and data being covered?
Do your comments show that you are willing to interact in a positive and supportive manner with other class members and the instructor?
Do your comments show evidence of analysis beyond a simple reaction based primarily on emotions, values, ideologies?
Do your comments show your ability to distinguish among different types of analytical approaches, i. e. economic, political, social, cultural, psychological, linguistic, ideological, ethical, moral, etc.?
Do your comments indicate your desire to advance our understanding of the subject matter by developing an appreciation of the complexity of human behavior?
Do your comments indicate your willingness to examine and entertain new
ideas and
Class and Exam Schedule. Readings should be completed prior to the Tuesday meetings.
INTRODUCTION August 27
PART I: COLONIAL ENCOUNTERS
Read The Story of American Freedom (SAF), Intro & pp. 3-12
Week 1: Conquistadors and Puritans Sept. 1 and 3
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
John Winthrop, "A Modell of Christian Charity"
Online Primary Sources:
John Winthrop, "Reasons for Puritan Migration" (1629)
Week 2: Critics and Dissenters Sept. 8 and 10
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams selections
Online Primary Sources:
PART 2: NEW WORLD REVOLUTIONARIES
Read The Story of American Freedom (SAF), pp.12-28
Week 3: Republican Enlightenment Sept. 15 and 17
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson selections
Online Primary Sources:
"Jonathan Edwards: Philosopher," by Mark Noll
Week 4: American Revolutionaries Sept. 22 and 24
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Judith Sargent Murray and Thomas Paine selections
Online Primary Sources:
Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
PART 3: NATION BUILDERS
Read The Story of American Freedom (SAF), chapters 2 and 3
Week 5: Federalists and Anti-Federalists Sept. 29 and Oct. 1
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison selections
Online Primary Sources:
James Bowdoin, On Shays’ Rebellion (1786)
Week 6: The Case of Thomas Jefferson Oct. 6 and 8
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Thomas Jefferson selections
Week 7: Nationalists and Entrepreneurs Oct. 13 and 15
Online Primary Sources:
Alexander Hamilton, "Report on Manufactures" (1791)
PART 4: THOUGHT AND CULTURE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA
Read The Story of American Freedom (SAF), chapter 4
Week 8: Revivalists and Reformers Oct. 20 and 22
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Jonathan Edwards, Charles Grandison Finney, Orestes Brownson,
and Louisa McCord selections
Online Primary Sources:
The Burned Over District – an Overview
Week 9: Romantics and Transcendentalists Oct. 27 and 29
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, and Margaret Fuller selections
The Web of American Transcendentalism web site
Week 10: Manifest Destiny Nov. 3 and 5
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
George Bancroft and Henry C. Carey selections
Online Primary Sources:
Secretary of War Henry Dearborn, "Clearing the Land of Indians"
(1803)
PART 5: SPLITTING THE NATION
Read The Story of American Freedom (SAF), chapter 5
Week 11: Abolitionists and Pro-Slavery Ideologists Nov. 10 and 12
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, martin Delany,and George Fitzhugh
selections
Online Primary Sources:
Samuel Sewall, "The Sin of Slaveholding" (1700)
Week 12: Union Men, Free Soilers, and Secessionists Nov. 17 and 19
American Intellectual Tradition Readings:
John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln selections
Online Primary Sources:
Abraham Lincoln, letter to Joshua Speed (1855)
Week 13: Mary and Abraham Lincoln Nov. 24, Dec. 1 & 3
Online Primary Sources:
Abraham Lincoln, letter to Horace Greely (1862)
The Mills Mission, History Program Outcomes, Course Objectives, Student Learning Outcomes, Essay Evaluation
The Mills College Mission:
Students will learn to think critically.
Students will learn to communicate responsibly and effectively.
Students will develop as leaders and innovators in their chosen endeavors.
Students will learn to develop and realize their own creative visions across the
arts and sciences.
History Department learning outcomes:
Students will possess the ability to appraise historical and archival
resources.
Students will possess the ability to distinguish and evaluate competing
positions and narratives.
Students will possess the ability to construct and articulate independent,
reasoned, and historically grounded perspectives.
American Intellectual and Cultural History Course Objectives
1. To develop a working knowledge of the most important changes and continuities in American intellectual and cultural history from colonial times to the end of the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War.
2. To become familiar with using primary and secondary sources in order to develop a critical appreciation of history as lived experience, history as written by historians, and history as used by governments or other institutions to shape public opinion.
3. To gain practice in using the skills of historical analysis: writing accurate descriptions; making effective evidence-based arguments; making comparisons and contrasts; developing reliable explanations; constructing thoughtful interpretations of the meaning and significance of historical events.
American Intellectual and Cultural History Learning Outcomes
1. Students will demonstrate the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary historical sources and to use these sources critically in connection with American intellectual and cultural history.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to assess the assumptions, theses, and competing points of view regarding the issues addressed in the primary and secondary sources concerning American intellectual and cultural history.
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to utilize skills of description, comparison and contrast, and synthesis in the construction of analytical essays based on evidence from primary and secondary sources concerning American intellectual and cultural history.
4. Students will demonstrate the ability to define and demonstrate the importance of the distinctions among history as
lived experience, history as written by historians, and history as used by governments or other institutions to shape public opinion in the field of American intellectual and cultural history.5. Students will demonstrate the ability to define and demonstrate the importance of the following historical concepts in the field of
American intellectual and cultural history: causality; change; context; contingency; complexity.Detailed criteria to be used in measuring student success in accomplishing the outcomes above can be found at the following locations:
Criteria for evaluating critical reading
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Critical%20Reading.htm
Criteria for evaluating using primary sources
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Using%20Primary%20Sources.htm
Criteria for evaluating comparisons and contrasts in history essays
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Comparing%20and%20Contrasting.htm
General criteria for evaluating analytical essays
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Analytical%20Essays.htm
Detailed criteria for evaluating analytical essays
http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/Criteria%20for%20Grading%20Essays.htm
The evaluation sheet for grading take home essays is included below on page
10.
Students who need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability are invited to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in the Cowell Building on campus (phone: 510.430.2264; email: disability@mills.edu).
This course is conducted under the Mills College Honor Code, which is in the Student Handbook, pp. 142-143, and can be downloaded on: http://www.mills.edu/academics/undergraduate/catalog/student_life.php#student_standards
Policy on Academic Integrity: Students shall honestly prepare assignments
and take examinations and submit them at the time and in the manner specified by
the instructor.
The content of all submitted examinations and assignments is assumed to
represent the student’s own work unless otherwise specified (e.g., group
projects). Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic trust.
For purposes of the Mills College Honor Code, plagiarism is defined as intentionally or knowingly using someone else’s ideas, words and/or thoughts without properly crediting the source. All work for which a source is not cited is presumed to be that of the writer. If the Academic Integrity Standards described above are violated, the instructor will decide on an appropriate response that may include the
assignment of extra work, lowering grades on a particular assignment, failure of the course, and/or the report of the incident to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty for further sanction.Analytical Essay Evaluation Sheet
(Grades on your essays will be assigned using this evaluation form)
Name_______________________________ Grade_________
Criteria Points Percent
1. Professional Appearance of Essay /20 10%
Neatness, free from typographical
errors, correct spelling/grammar,
appropriate margins and spacing
2. Quality of Writing /30 15%
Coherent, concise, informative,
rational and logical discussion
developed persuasive argument/thesis,
clarified issues, avoided long rambling
sentences.
3. Followed Instructions /20 10%
Carried out the intent of the essay
assignment as outlined in syllabus
guidelines, thesis stated explicitly, causal
analysis addressed directly.
4. Analysis /70 35%
Developed an analysis based on primary
and secondary sources and course lectures.
Essay is logical progression from thesis
and statement of purpose through conclusion.
Analysis shows command of course reading
materials and lecture material.
5. Effort and Initiative /30 15%
Demonstrated creativity in analyzing
source materials and critical thinking
in the use of sources in relation
to thesis.
6. Accomplished stated purpose /30 15%
Synthesized material in own words,
backed statements with references in
footnotes, drew conclusions based on
sound evidence, summarized the main
points, achieved the purpose stated in
the introduction to the essay.
Total Points /200
Comments _________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________