This course is an examination of America during the period approximately 1850 to 1865 with our focus being the causes and nature of the Civil War. It is not meant as an exhaustive survey of the period but will instead examine selected topics throughout this time. This is not a course on the war itself but a course on the impact of that war on American society. Some attention will be given to the war itself, but for the most part the war will be used as a framework to examine the nature of American society during that period.
The course will be structured around a single weekly meeting. A very important part of class time will be the discussion of the required readings. A research paper will be required and students should have a working familiarity with computers and the internet. Required readings from the internet will be part of the course material. Students are not required to have their own computer but for those students who do not have their own computer and link to the internet they must be familiar with the use of the student computer labs available on campus by the beginning of term.
Note:
The majority of the readings are taken from the internet
and together would be the equivalent of another text. When preparing
the weekly material it is necessary to have a hard copy both for classroom
discussion and for the final examination. Due to the time that is
sometimes necessary to print the required material, it would be advisable
early in the term to find partners or groups to to share the task of collecting
the materials.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Simpson America's
Civil War
Crane
The Red Badge of Courage
OFFICE HOURS
Friday 1-4 pm or by appointment
note: I am usually in the office before class
ASSUMPTIONS
As there is no American history prerequisite for this
course, many of you will probably not be familiar with the period or the
issues. I do expect though at this level that everyone will
do some background reading in order to understand and intelligently participate
in the lectures and discussions. I will expect that everyone
has an understanding of the basic issues, individuals, and geography of
the period, and thus these will not be explained in class. Some background
preparation may therefore be necessary for some of you.