week by week
date work

Monday,

August 28

Discussion:

  • Housekeeping & Introductions

Wednesday,

September 30

Reading:

  • Syllabus & Website

Discussion:

  • TypePad Orientation

Class Meets in Innovation 222

Friday,

September 1

Lecture:

  • “Evidence: Text”

TYPEPAD URL DUE

Monday,

September 4

NO CLASS (Labor Day)

Wednesday,

September 6

Discussion:

  • Native American Creation Stories

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 1–3
  • Reader, Leonard Crow Dog, “Remaking the World…”
  • Reader, “Origins of Ottawa Society”
  • Reader, “The Indians of New Netherlands”

Friday,

September 8

Group Meetings

INDIVIDUAL TYPEPAD POST #1

(due Wednesday 9/13)

How did Native American creation stories change between 1650 and 1910 and how would you account for those changes? Historians are interested in the presence or absence of change over time—how things change or remain the same between one point in time and another point in time or during a period of time. The key variable for historians is time. With this definition of history in mind, read the three creation stories and in a three paragraphs discuss how the three stories change over time and what would account for the changes in the indigenous people’s versions of creation.

Monday,

September 11

Lecture:

  • “Evidence: Images”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 4–6

LAST DAY TO ADD CLASSES

Wednesday,

September 13

Discussion:

  • Writeboard Orientation

Class meets Innovation 222

Friday,

September 15

Group Meetings

TYPEPAD POST #2

(due Wednesday, 9/20)

How did the British view the Patriots’ activism in the period leading up to the Revolutionary War? Carefully examine the cartoon, “Society of Patriotic Women, Edenton, North Carolina.” Use the questions accompanying the online materials as well as your notes from the lecture to help develop your thesis and organize your evidence.

Monday,

September 18

Lecture:

  • “What Happened to Paul Revere”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 7–9

Wednesday,

September 20

Lecture:

  • “The Election of 1800”

Friday,

September 22

Group Meetings

COMMENT TYPEPAD POST #3

(due Wednesday, 9/27)

Select three entries from three different class participants in your assigned response group and comment on their entries. The comments should be about a paragraph in length and may address any aspect of the post, but you should offer at least one positive remark and at least three suggestions for improvement. Once you’ve made your comments, write a line or two in your own post with links to your comments. The links should appear in the following form: Mary Smith, Individual Post #1; Group #1, Group Post #2; John Jones, Individual Post #2.

Monday,

September 25

Lecture:

  • “Jacksonian America”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chap. 10–12
  • Reader, “George Catlin’s Indians”

Wednesday,

September 27

Lecture:

  • “The Benevolent Empire”

Friday,

September 29

Group Meetings

LAST DAY TO DROP CLASSES

INDIVIDUAL TYPEPAD POST #4

(due Wednesday, 10/4)
Using Pigeon’s Egg Head as an example, what is Catlin’s view of Native Americans and their culture? Historians are interested in the “historical context,” the time, events, culture, society in which events took place or in which people lived and how the historical context may have (or not) influences historical events and actors. Catlin painted his works between in the decades between 1830 and 1850, a time of transformation for the nation’s indigenous people. What was the historical context for Catlin’s paintings?

Saturday
September 30–
Wednesday,
October 27, 2006

ELECTIVE WITHDRAWAL PERIOD (Full-Semester Course)

Monday,

October 2

Lecture:

  • “Evidence: Maps”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 13–14

Wednesday,

October 4

Discussion:

  • Barrow's Plantation

Reading:

Class meets in Innovation 222

Friday,

October 6

Group Meetings

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #5: Barrow’s Plantation

(due Tuesday, 10/10 via email in PDF format before the class meeting time; due Wednesday, 10/11 as a post at the customary time)

This map has appeared in dozens of textbooks over the years to illustrate the transformation of southern plantation between 1860 and 1881 or before and after Reconstruction. There is an error in the map, however, and your assignment will be to discover the error, among other things. Since there is a little friendly competition among groups involved in this assignment, the assignment will be available in class on Monday, October 2 and for download from the course website on late Monday, October 2, and will submitted via email in PDF format on Tuesday, October 10 before the groups post their results on Wednesday, October 11.

Monday,

October 9

NO CLASS (Columbus Day)

Tuesday,

October 10

Lecture:

  • “A Nation With a Short History”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 15

Wednesday,

October 11

Lecture:

  • “Mexican War & California”

Friday,

October 13

NO GROUP MEETINGS

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #6: Barrow's Plantation Revision

(due Wednesday, 10/18)

Revise your Barrow's Plantation essay and post. This is a revision, so it should go beyond what the lecture offered. You should read and include material from the original article, the Oglethorpe County Genealogy website, or other website to the extent that it is practical. You may even have to use a TypePad photo album to present your evidence.

Monday,

October 16

Lecture:

  • “Up at the Big House, Down in the Quarters”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 16–17
  • Reader, “Wounded Escaping…”
  • Reader, “Sharpshooter’s Last Sleep”
  • Reader, “Home of the Rebel Sharpshooter”

Wednesday,

October 18

Discussion:

Friday,

October 20

Group Meetings

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #7: “Civil War Photo Essay”

(due Wednesday, 10/25)

How do the images reflect a particular Civil War topic? Select 5–8 images around a particular topic from American Memory at the Library of Congress or other archive and download them. (Do not simply use Google and hunt for images.) Once you have your images in hand, create a photo album and arrange the images to illustrate and explain your topic. Each group member should select an image and write the caption and so forth; the group, however, should collaborate on the introduction. Choose a design that includes an introduction and a cover picture. Write an introduction for your album and captions for your images. The captions, although they can be short, should indicate how the image illustrates your topic. You should also call attention to pertinent details in the image that a reader might not see othewise.

Monday,

October 23

Lecture:

  • “The Intimate Life”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 18–20
  • Reader, State v. Rehberg

Wednesday,

October 25

Discussion:

  • State v. Rehberg

Friday,

October 27

Group Meetings

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #8: “We, the Jury”

(due Wednesday, 11/1)

Was Edward Rehberg guilty of murder? Based on the evidence available in State v. Rehberg, imagine that you are a jury member in the twentieth century listening to the evidence. In your groups (you actually constitute a petite jury), decide on your verdict. What is the evidence for your decision? What verdict do you believe the nineteenth-century jury reached? What is the evidence for your decision?

Monday,

October 30

Lecture:

  • “Populism”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 21–23

Wednesday,

November 1

Lecture:

  • “Progressivism”

Friday,

November 3

NO GROUP MEETINGS

COMMENT TYPEPAD POST #9

(due Wednesday, 11/8)

Select three entries from three different class participants in your assigned response group and comment on their entries. The comments should be about a paragraph in length and may address any aspect of the post, but you should offer at least one positive remark and at least three suggestions for improvement. Once you’ve made your comments, write a line or two in your own post with links to your comments. The links should appear in the following form: Mary Smith, Individual Post #1; Group #1, Group Post #2; John Jones, Individual Post #2.

Monday,

November 6

Lecture:

  • “Happy Days Are Here Again”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chap. 24–26
  • Reader, “Father Knows Best”

Wednesday,

November 8

Lecture:

  • “Cold War Nation”

Friday,

November 10

Group Meetings

INDIVIDUAL TYPEPAD POST #10: “1950s Photo Essay”

(due Wednesday, 11/16)

How do the images reflect a particular topic in the 1950s? Select 6–8 images around a particular topic from American Memory at the Library of Congress or any other public domain collection and download them. Once you have your images in hand, create a TypePad photo album and arrange the images to illustrate your theme. Choose a design that includes an introduction and a cover picture. Write an introduction that includes a thesis for your album and captions for your images that illustrate that thesis. The captions, although they can be short, should indicate how the image illustrates your theme and calls attention to pertinent details.

Monday,

November 13

Lecture:

  • “Evidence: Sound”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chaps. 27–29

Wednesday,

November 15

Discussion:

  • “Mini-Research Project”

Friday,

November 17

Group Meetings

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #11: “Top Ten in the 1970s”

(due Wednesday, 11/29)

Compare the top ten movies in 1970 with the “Top Ten Songs” from 1970? How would you categorize them by genre or type? Are there any differences between the themes evident in the songs and themes in films from 1970? How would you account for those differences? You will need to use search engines on the Internet or the library to develop your list of top ten movies that were the most popular by some measure—box office receipts, highest gross, and so forth. Beware of using someone’s personal list. Lists will vary, so you should provide the source for your list and rationale for your choice.

Monday,

November 20

Lecture:

  • “Evidence: Moving Images”

Reading:

Wednesday,

November 22

NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Friday,

November 24

NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Monday,

November 27

Lecture:

  • “Greed is Good: The 1980s”

Reading:

  • Nation of Nations, Chap. 30

Wednesday,

November 29

Discussion:

  • “How to Read a Movie”

Friday,

December 1

Group Meetings (Time Shift)

GROUP TYPEPAD POST #12: “Wall Street”

(due Wednesday, 12/6)

To what extent did the movie Wall Street reflect the economic culture of the 1980s? Gather your group together and select a time to view Wall Street. It’s important that you watch and discuss the film together. To that end, you can reserve a media viewing room in the Johnson Center. The 1st floor group viewing room (134A) will accommodate 5-25 people and the 2nd floor group viewing room (227EB) will accommodate 5-10 people. Inquire at the Media/Reserves desk (1st floor) to access these rooms. You may also reserve a Group Viewing Room in advance by e-mailing Rachel Kirkland or by calling her at 993-9052. Or, you can rent the DVD and gather together for your own viewing on or off campus.

Monday,

December 4

Lecture:

  • “Getting to 9/11”

Reading:

Wednesday,

December 6

Discussion:

  • “Memory as History”

Friday,

December 8

SELF-EVALUATION DUE (in class)

INDIVIDUAL TYPEPAD POST #13: Telling Your Story

(due Wednesday, 12/13)

Where were you when the planes hit the Twin Towers? What did you do? What did you think both before and after. Each generation has its historical moments, a time when we have a clear picture of the events. For one generation, it is the answer to the question: “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?” For another, it “Where were you when Challenger blew up?” For still another generation, it is 9/11. For this assignment, go to the September 11 Digital Archive and read a few of the entries to get a sense of how people remember the events and their reactions. One of most interesting is Don Mercy’s, a former GMU student and Fedex driver.