REFORMERS AND LIBERATORS
David A. Tait,
Ph.D.
HIST 4043 Fall
2007
Office:
Auditorium Room 112
(“The Bunker”)
Claremore
Campus
Website:
http://www.rsu.edu/faculty/dtait/
E-Mail: dtait@rsu.edu Phone:
(918) 343-7746
E-mail
is often the most efficient way to communicate. Use it! You may get a quicker reply to your question
or concern than with any other method.
Office
hours: please refer to the professor’s website for information about office
hours and appointments.
Website
Up-to-date
information about this course can be found on the professor’s website. Visit
the website regularly to look for new information. If there are changes in the curse calendar
and/or course requirements, you will find them there.
CLASS CALENDAR
The
class calendar governs the class: it identifies the readings for each week, and
indicates deadlines. The calendar is
subject to revision. The professor will
provide adequate advance notice of changes.
Week 1 (August 20 & 22)
Read: Garrison, Introduction
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday, Wrap-up, Garrison Introduction
Week 2 (August 27 & 29)
Read: Garrison, Documents
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday, Wrap-up, Garrison Documents
Paper, What is a Reformer?
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday, Document Analysis (2), Garrison
Week 3 (September 5)
No
class September 3 (Labor Day)
Read: Women’s Rights Introduction
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday, Wrap-up
Women’s Rights Introduction
Week 4 (September 10 & 12)
Read: Women’s Rights, Documents
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday, Wrap-up Women’s Rights, Documents
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday, Document Analysis (2), Women’s
Rights
Week 5 (September 17 & 19)
Read: Welfare Reform
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Welfare Reform Introduction
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Document Analysis (2), Welfare Reform
Week 6
(September 24 & 26)
Read: Bearing Witness Against Sin, Intro and chapters 1-3
Get started on the book for your book review
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Bearing Witness, Intro and ch. 1
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Bearing Witness, Ch 2-3
Week 7
(October 1 & 3)
Read: Bearing Witness Against Sin, Ch 4-6 & Conclusion
Finish
reading the book for your book review
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Bearing Witness, Intro and chapters 4-5
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Bearing Witness, Ch 6 & Conclusion
Week 8 (October 8 & 10)
Monday: Student Book Review
Presentations
Wednesday: Student Book Review
Presentations
Due: 8:00 A.M. Book Review
Week 9
(October 15 & 17)
Read: Atlantic Crossings, Prologue and chapters 1-5
Due: 8:00 A.M Monday Wrap-up, Atlantic Crossings, Prologue and chs 1-2
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Atlantic
Crossings, chs 3-5
Week 10 (October 22 & 24)
Read: Atlantic Crossings, chs 6-11
Due: 8:00 A.M Monday Wrap-up, Atlantic Crossings, chs 6-8
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Atlantic
Crossings, chs 9-11
Week 11
(October 29 and 31)
Read: Moral
Reconstruction, Intro and chapters 1-4
Get started on the book for your book review
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Moral Reconstruction, Intro and chapter
1
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Moral Reconstruction, chapters 2-4
Week 12
(November 5 & 7)
Read: Moral Reconstruction, Intro and chapters 5-9 and conclusion
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Moral Reconstruction, chapters 5-7
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, MR chapters 8-9 & conclusion
Week 13 (November 12 & 14)
Monday: Student Book Review
Presentations
Wednesday: Student Book Review
Presentations
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday, Book Review
Week 14 (November 19)
No
class November 21, (Thanksgiving)
Read: Childhood and
Child Welfare in Progressive Era, all
Due: 8:00 A.M Monday Wrap-up, Childhood & Child Welfare in Progressive
Era
Document Analysis
(2) Childhood & Child Welfare
Week 15 (November 26 & 28)
Read: Franklin, Liberating Visions, all
Due: 8:00 A.M. Monday Wrap-up, Franklin,
Liberating Visions, first half
Due: 8:00 A.M. Wednesday Wrap-up, Franklin,
Liberating Visions, second half
Week 16 (December 3 & 5)
Read: Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Malcolm X, all
Due: 8:00 A.M Monday Wrap-up, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X,
intro
Due: 8:00 A.M
Wednesday Document Analysis (2), MLK. and Malcolm X
Exam: Wednesday
December 12 (1:45-3:45)
Due: Book Review of Liberating Visions
Due: What is a Reformer? paper
The Class In Brief
This
class examines major reform periods in nineteenth and twentieth century
Outcomes
Students
who successfully complete this class will be able to evaluate and discuss
reform movements in
Class Requirements
For
additional information, please see the class calendar, the statement about
required work and grading, and the course policies.
|
Course Goals |
B.S.S.S. Program Goals |
How evaluated |
|
Students
will be able to discuss American reform movements in different eras. |
To
develop a level of competence in the core discipline(s) of the social
sciences to allow for further inquiry and study. To
prepare students to function successfully in a society that is heading toward
globalization and becoming more culturally diverse. |
Book
reviews, class presentations, document analysis, final exam essay. Lessons
and Puzzles, document analysis, reflection papers |
|
Students
will be able to compare the characteristics of reform in one era with the
characteristics of reform in another era. |
To
develop a level of competence in the core discipline(s) of the social
sciences to allow for further inquiry and study. |
Final
exam book review |
|
Students
will be able to write a comprehensive, critical book review. |
To equip students with the academic skills
necessary to successfully address increasingly complex, multidisciplinary
problems in the social sciences. |
Book
reviews |
|
Students
will be able to evaluate scholarly works and summarize them in oral and
written presentations for other students |
To develop a level of competence in the core
discipline(s) of the social sciences to allow for further inquiry and study. |
Presentations
|
Required Books
Ante-Bellum Reform
Welfare
Reform in the Early Republic: A Brief History with Documents
Seth Rockman. Bedford St. Martin’s, 0–312–39821–2
Michael
Young. Bearing Witness against Sin: The Evangelical Birth of the American Social
Movement.
William Lloyd Garrison and the Fight Against
Slavery. Beford/St. martins. 978-0-312-10386-6
Kathryn
Kish Sklar, ed. Women's Rights Emerges within the Anti-Slavery Movement,
1830-1870.
Bedford/St.
Martin's, 978-0-312-10144-2
Progressive
Era
Daniel T. Rodgers. Atlantic
Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age.
Childhood and Child Welfare in the
Progressive Era. Bedford St. Matin’s. 978-0-312-40421-5
Gaines M. Foster. Moral Reconstruction: Christian Lobbyists and
the Federal Legislation of Morality, 1865-1920.
Civil Rights and Radical Politics
After World War II
King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the
1950s and ’60s
A Brief History with Documents
David Howard-Pitney
Bedford St. Martin’s
0–312–39505–1
Robert Michael Franklin.
Liberating Visions: Human
Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought. Fortress Press. 978-0800623920
Additional
Required Work
and Grading
Points and Items
050 Opening Reflection Paper: What
is a reformer?
100 Closing Reflection Paper: What
is a reformer?
300 Three book reviews @ 100 points
each.
050 Two class presentations @ 25
points each.
300 15 wrap-ups @ 20 points each
200 10 "Document
Analyses" @ 20 points each
1000 Total
NOTE:
The required work may be modified. If so, the professor will gave adequate
advance notice.
Attendance
Attendance
is the responsibility of the student and is required. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of
each class period. To be counted present
you must arrive on time and remain for the entire class period. After three
absences all subsequent absences will reduce your course point-total by 10
points each. A student who misses more than two consecutive classes may, at the
discretion of the instructor, receive a failing grade for the entire course.
Figuring your grade
A 900 points or better
B 800 to 899 points
C 700 to 799 points
D 600 to 699 points
Your
point total will determine your final grade, provided that you have met all
course requirements and have complied with all the policies contained in this
syllabus.[1]
It
is important to keep in mind that there is no curving of grades, and also that
there is no automatic rounding up of grades (e.g., a semester total of 799
points can mean a course grade of C rather than B). The professor may choose to add extra-credit
opportunities, but any such opportunities will be available to the whole class,
not just to individuals. Keep on top of
your grades: make sure you know what you need to do to get the grade you are
aiming for.
Description
of Required Work
In general
All written work must be prepared in Microsoft Word
or saved as a text file (.rtf or .txt), and submitted electronically via e-mail
attachment or, if directed by the professor, via Web-CT. Double-spacing and 12-point font required,
unless otherwise instructed. If the professor provides a form for the
assignment, use that! All assignments are due no later than the deadlines
specified. Late work is unacceptable and
will get no credit. Please follow the
guidelines for each kind of assignment; if you are not sure what to do, or how
to do it, ask your professor! All
assignments will be graded not only for content but also for the quality of the
presentation (grammar, spelling, word choice, etc., as well as
appearance). Use Standard English and
aim for professionalism in your work. Be
sure to cite the sources you consult and to identify the source of any
quotations.
Opening
Reflection Paper (50) points
Write a paper of no more than three
pages in which you say what you think a social or political reformer is. You may use dictionary definitions, but put
some meat on those bones. How do we know
a reformer when we see one? How are
reformers different from other people (reactionaries, revolutionaries, etc.)?
Closing
Reflection Paper (100 points)
Write a paper of no more than seven
pages in which you say what you think a social or political reformer is. How do we know a reformer when we see
one? How are reformers different from
other people (reactionaries, revolutionaries, etc.)? This is exactly the same topic as the
Opening Reflection Paper. But this time
your paper should clearly reflect the work done in the class. Be sure to discuss reformers or liberators
from at least two eras, and make use of both primary and secondary sources.
Book Reviews
Book reviews will be in the range of four to eight pages. All books reviewed must come from lists
prepared by the professor, or be specially approved by him. They should include
the following elements:
1. Identification of problem and topic. The problem is the subject addressed, e.g.,
the Civil War. The topic is the
particular issue the author wants to deal with (e.g., female soldiers in the
Civil War). What is the author trying to do?
Pay attention to indications that the author is trying a new approach to
an old topic or problem.
2. Identification of the thesis. What is the author’s view on the topic?
3. Discussion of evidence, methods and
argument. What kinds of evidence
(primary sources or secondary sources) does the author use? What research methods are employed? How does
the author argue his/her case, i.e., how does the author try to persuade the
reader?
4. Summary
of the book. What are the major
points the author makes? If you do this
well, a person who reads your review will be able to learn what the book is
about without reading it.
5. Critical evaluation of the book. How well does the author make his/her
case? Does the evidence citied support
the thesis, or would another explanation be better? Is the evidence itself adequate to the
task? Should other kinds of evidence
have been considered? What other issues
still need attention?
6. Be sure that the review contains complete
bibliographic information about the book, and about any other materials used or
consulted in preparing the review.
Please note: the purpose of the review is to
summarize and assess the book. It is not
important to evaluate the writing style, and it does not matter whether you
found the book dull or interesting.
Stick to the essentials!
Book reviews will be graded by the
professor, but may be photocopied and made available to other students in the
class.
Presentations
These are student presentations of
books reviewed by students. The
presentation will include a written handout and an oral presentation about the
book. See the guidelines for book
reviews. Additional information and guidelines will be provided.
Wrap-ups
A
wrap-up includes three lessons (reports on things you learned from the reading)
and two puzzles (two things you did not understand or want to learn more
about). Lessons and puzzles must include
specific information from and/or or
references to the reading. These are to
be submitted electronically by the deadlines on the calendar. Late wrap-ups are not accepted for credit;
they get zeroes. Fifteen wrap-ups are
required. Each one is worth up to 20
points. There are 21 opportunities to
submit wrap-ups. If you do more than 15,
you may earn some extra credit.
Document
Analysis
Use the form provided on the
professor’s website.
COURSE POLICIES
Prerequisites
This course presupposes advanced college-level reading and writing skills. If you do not read English well, the work
will be very difficult. If you do not
write Standard English competently, you will have a hard time with the writing
assignments. As a 4000-level course, it
also presupposes competence in the analytic thinking skills employed in history
and the other social sciences.
Approach to Learning
This course is built around assigned
reading, occasional lectures, class discussions, student presentations, and
writing. Classroom time will be devoted
mainly to lectures and discussions. Student participation is essential if this
class is to achieve its maximum potential.
Outside of class, students will learn through reading books and
historical documents and preparing writing assignments. Individual help is available: your professor
is available to meet with you to help you get the maximum benefit from this
class. You can also talk with your
professor by telephone or consult with him via e-mail.
Deadlines
This class has very strict
deadlines. Normally missed deadlines for assignments or exams mean no
credit. If you miss a deadline, you may
make a written request for an extension.
In exceptionally compelling circumstances, the professor may make
exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
Expectations of Students
The path to success in the class
begins with the attitudes and actions of students and the professor. This is what I expect of students:
1. complete all required work on or before the due
date, and keep up to date on the assigned reading;
2. look up the
definitions of words you do not know;
3. conduct yourself in class so that scheduled
activities can proceed without distraction or interruption (no talking,
whispering, or other actions that can interfere with orderly learning). No
communications devices (telephones, beepers, pagers, etc.). Treat other
students with respect at all times.
Students who disrupt the class in any way may be dismissed from the
classroom;
4. comply with all relevant
5. attend all
classes, arrive on time, and stay to the end.
If you miss a class for any reason, it is your responsibility to obtain the notes and other necessary
information from other members of the class who are willing to help you.
The Professor’s Responsibilities
The professor has certain responsibilities, too. You can expect that I will:
1. lecture on topics mentioned in the course
calendar, or related to them, or lead class discussions on such topics;
2. provide reasonable advance notice of changes
in the course calendar and/or required work;
3. maintain regular office hours for students;
and
4. grade and return your work in a timely
manner.
Academic
Misconduct
All institutions of higher education
rely on intellectual integrity. Teachers
must expect honesty from students, and the failure to demonstrate honesty
represents a fundamental threat to the entire academic endeavor. Students are expected to follow university
policies as put forth in the institution's Student
Code of Responsibilities and Conduct.
In accordance with Title 12 of The
Student Code, instances of alleged academic misconduct (e.g. cheating,
plagiarism, etc) will follow the policies and procedures as described in Title
12. As a general rule, Faculty at
Plagiarism
Statement
Plagiarism
is the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own, including:
direct quotation without both attribution and indication that the material is
being directly quoted; e.g. quotation marks; paraphrase without attribution;
paraphrase with or without attribution where the wording of the original
remains substantially intact and is represented as the author’s own; expression
in one’s own words, but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of
reasoning, facts, processes, or other products of the intellect where such
material is learned from the work of another and is not part of the general
fund of common knowledge.
Non-academic
misconduct
In
order to maintain an effective learning environment, students are expected to
fully comply with The Student Code. Disruptive behavior will not be
tolerated. This includes (but is not
restricted to) talking, being noisy in any manner, coming in late or leaving
early, and the use of cell phones (including text messaging, etc.), PDA’s, Blackberry’s,
etc. during class. PLEASE turn off these
devices while class is in session.
Americans
with Disabilities Act
Students needing more information
about Student Disability Services should contact the office of Student
Development at 918-343-7707.
[1] Failure to observe the course policies could result
in a failing grade, regardless of the point total.