Course

This course is designed as an introduction to the major themes and arguments in U.S. history from the colonial period to the present. It is also an exploration of the different kinds of evidence that are available to historians and representation in history. Most important, it is a 6-credit course. This is not an easy course; it is, rather, a reading and writing course that will provide you with the general knowledge and skills commonly identified as appropriate to a one-semester introductory course. Unlike upper division courses this course tends to be a bit more fact oriented but not entirely so. You may or may not improve your Jeopardy performance but will, I hope, learn the usefulness and pleasures of history. To get the most from the course, therefore, the reading assignments should be completed before the date they are due so that you will have time to digest the material thoroughly in preparation for discussion and subsequent writing assignments. You will have to use your time wisely.

Books

The following books are required for the course. They are available in the Campus Bookstore.

TYPEPAD

You are required to obtain a Plus-level subscription to Typepad, a blog. All of your writing assignments and projects will be posted to your Typepad blog. The cost is $8.95 per month or roughly $27.00 for the semester (the cost of a modest textbook). The best thing to do is sign up for a free trial; this will furnish you with a month's free service. At the end of the semester, you can cancel your subscription. Or, you may discover that you like blogging so much that you retain your subscription. Alternatively, you can obtain the Movable Type software. It is free, but the installation of the software is challenging and you will need to contact your ISP to ensure that the necessary software is in place. Movable Type will install the application for you for a $40.00 fee, but you will need to arrange to have CGI and MySQL in place. Be aware that most free web page areas do not support CGI or MySQL or charge extra. I do not recommend this option unless you have some solid computer skills and access to a sophisticated ISP, but there may some in the class who can avail themselves of this option.

MOVIES

The movies are scheduled for screening over the weekend (from Thursday evening through Monday evening) so that you will be prepared for discussion on Tuesday and your TypePad entry on Wednesday. You are responsible for obtaining the films on video or DVD. All of the films are available from local video rental stores, through NetFlix, or in the library. Get some microwave popcorn and invite a few friends. One caveat: do not depend on the Internet for plot synopses or other “helpful” reviews for your class preparation.