Week 1: Aug 29- Sept 2 Recuction
Week 14: Nov 28-Dec 2: FINAL PAPERS DUE
Week 17: Self Assessment and Portfolio Due
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Brad Simpson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of U.S. History and Foreign RelationsHist 435/635 The U.S. and the World since 1900
Time: MWF 9-9:50, SOND 206
Instructor: Brad Simpson
Office: Admin 718
Office Phone: 455-2042
Email: simpson@umbc.edu
Office HoursCourse Description
Who and what most influenced United States foreign relations during the twentieth century? Has the United States helped or harmed the rest of the world during its rise to world power? Why did the United States go to war in Europe (twice!), Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf, intervene throughout Central America and engage in a Cold War with the Soviet Union and China? Is Donald Duck an agent of U.S. hegemony? This course will explore these and other questions. It will look at America's rise to global power, it's participation in two world wars, the fight against communism, Vietnam, developments in the Middle East and Latin America, the search for markets and minerals, struggles with the Soviet Union, the CIA in foreign policy, militarization and atomic diplomacy, among other topics.
Each student will read from a series of core articles and books while selecting other items to read. While the course will contain extensive reading, students will have an opportunity to work in groups to divide some of the reading with colleagues. Each student will write a series of brief arguments and responses to arguments of other scholars, and (as part of their reading) develop a historical project that expresses personal arguments on an important question. Students can develop that project into any one of a variety of possible forms, including a research paper, an article for a news journal, a policy analysis letter to a public official, or a series of Web pages; but all projects must reflect good historical scholarship (more on the project later).
Students will have an opportunity to work with colleagues in small groups and to communicate with colleagues using the Internet. This course should help students refine their abilities to compare, contrast and evaluate often conflicting interpretations. Much, but not all, of class time will be spent discussing the readings and helping students to become more critical readers and thinkers. I will lecture periodically on important themes and issues related to the history of U.S. foreign relations to provide a bit of narrative to carry us along. We will also spend time exploring some major ideas about the 20th century and how we can know about the recent past and current events, the possible sources of information and misinformation.
Students will have the opportunity to refine their abilities to identify and analyze arguments, to compare and contrast interpretations, to recognize and evaluate different types of evidence, to make and defend reasoned conclusions, and to think historically.
Some Questions We Will Explore
Learning Method:
Students will learn from working collaboratively to explore important central questions using recent scholarship and evidence, understanding and evaluating arguments they hear in class, constructing arguments, drawing conclusions, defending those conclusions, and receiving feedback on their thinking. With several significant developments, students will use case methods to explore some of the challenges U.S. officials faced in understanding a complicated world and to play advisors.
Books and such:
You will want to purchase:
Michael J. Hogan, Ed. Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations
Michael J. Hogan, The Ambiguous Legacy: U.S. Foreign Relations in the "American Century"
Next you will want to go to the Blackboard site for this class. Almost all other readings and case studies will be available on blackboard and can be accessed by going to the "Course Documents" section and clicking on each week's readings.
In order to read some of each week's readings you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, which can read the PDF files online readings will be stored in. All UMBC computers should have Adobe. If you are using your home computer and don't have Adobe, click on this link.
You may also want to purchase (if you have not done so already) a copy of Strunk and White, The Elements of Style; a good dictionary if you do not already have one (e. g., The American Heritage Dictionary. College Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, most recent edition); and a good world atlas.
What Does the Course Promise You?This class will consider some of the most controversial questions of twentieth century U.S. and international history. You will read scholars debating scholars and learn to analyze disagreements and agreements in a systematic manner. You should emerge from the course with a better understanding of some of the major developments of the twentieth century, events that have shaped all of our lives. You should emerge also with an enhanced ability to analyze arguments and to make tentative judgments about other people's judgments. Ideally, the course will help you become a more critically intelligent, creative, and curious person, capable of making rational decisions based on extensive and accurate information.
If you are concerned about how well you think, you should also be concerned with your ability to write. Learning to write more effectively and logically is learning to think in the same manner. Concepts and thoughts exist in words. If you do not learn tocommunicate in words, you cannot formulate fully developed thoughts and will, instead, live by the vague impressions and emotions that often substitute for ideas.
You are responsible for keeping a copy of each paper or other materials you give me. Do NOT give me your only copy of anything!
Reading and Discussing
Your goal is to develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of the thesis, arguments, and major pieces of evidence of the major interpretations we encounter; to be able to determine the ways in which these interpretations agree and disagree; to make well reasoned evaluations of those interpretations; and to develop some well reasoned, albeit tentative, conclusions of your own (with supporting evidence and arguments).
We will be engaging in weekly class discussions about readings and other course materials. For a few thoughts on how to make discussion more productive. Click here to read the discussion guidelines proposed by the class.
There is much to read about the United States and the world in the twentieth century and especially since 1945. You will want to read as much as possible and to discuss other items with your colleagues (see below). I have identified a number of items that are (or will be) available to you on the Web. From there, you can find the on-line syllabus that gives you the schedule for the class. I will also give you copies of some items. It is never wrong to identify additional reading on any topic.
Learning Opportunities
You will also find on this course page more details about learning opportunities and evaluation. To achieve the promises of the course you will do a class project, write three short arguments, participate in class discussion and an online discussion group, and write a self-assessment. Occasionally, I will ask you questions about what I have explained in class and/or about a particular item you have read. The final examination is optional. You should take notes in class and on everything you read and be able to share those notes to support the self-evaluation you will do at the end of the term. See the self-assessment guidelines for details. To see a calendar with all of the assignments and their due dates, go to the "tools" section of the class Blackboard site and click on the calendar button. You can also click on the link entitled "course documents" and scroll down to the bottom, where you will see a link entitled "assignments."
Remember that you need to begin conceptualizing and researching your paper at the start of the quarter in order to bring it to successful fruition by the end. I have provided a few examples of accessible materials you may want to consult in your research on the project page. I also encourage you to consult with me or with a research librarian about specific sources on your topic. The key is to get out and start digging early in the quarter.
Writing:
Full requirements for the final paper are detailed under the above link. Here I will simply suggest that you work steadily throughout the quarter on committing your thoughts to writing. Your paper is the centerpiece of this course and it is expected to be a polished piece of work, so please DO NOT leave it to the last minute!You must complete each step in the class project to pass this course.Working with Other Students on the Reading
Reading is the best way to learn. But no one person can read everything, not even maladjusted history professors. Learning in college gives you the opportunity to learn from each other, to split some of the reading with colleagues and discuss readings with each other. Each student will therefore be part of a group of 3 or 4 other students that will have a discussion "group page" in Blackboard. Within your groups, you can divide reading assignments and then discuss them with each other online. I'll explain more on the first day of class. About every other week you will be asked formally to respond to questions posted in Blackboard. It is important that you learn how to read critically and that you understand the arguments and major pieces of evidence we will encounter in class. Take advantage of the opportunity to share. You will also have the opportunity to work together on the cases. You may also find someone who is interested in working on a project similar to yours and, thus, have the opportunity to share.
Class
Your involvement with the class is extremely important. I will try to make class time valuable. You should come to every class and plan to participate. If you do not find class valuable, please let me know. Please do not simply skip class. If you already know you will miss more than one class this term, you probably should not take this class this quarter. If you miss too much, I will probably assume that you are no longer taking the class and I will probably drop you from the class. It is essential that everyone in the class attend all discussion and case study days.
Academic Integrity
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC's scholarly community in which everyone's academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the Faculty Handbook, or the UMBC Policies section of the UMBC Directory [or for graduate courses, the Graduate School. Students can read about these policies at: http://www.umbc.edu/provost/integrity/students.html
Evaluation:
The final grade will assess each student's ability--as reflected in written and oral work--to draw and defend historical conclusions, to think historically, and to apply that thinking to the issues raised in the course.
This will break down along the following lines:
Short Papers: 15%
Class and Online Discussion: 20%
Class Project Steps: 25%
Final Class Project/Paper: 25%
Self-Assessment: 15%
SELF-ASSESSMENT: At the end of the course you will write a self assessment (click here for more details), an argumentative essay in which you make a case for the grade you think you deserve, based on the 'evidence' you have accumulated over the course of the semester and your own reasoning.
Here are the grading criteria I (and you) will be using to make this evaluation.
Contact Information
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Email: @umbc.edu