"Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock.
The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and Justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. "
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Colonial Virginia Outline
Transplanting, not Transforming
I. Beginnings: (and near endings)
--comparisons to New England
II. Social and Political Development
--Sir William Berkeley--
III. Religious Life: Liturgical Anglicanism
IV. Economic Development
--the crop that cureth
--labor problems=development of slavery
V. The Result? Cavalier Culture
I. Beginnings: (and near endings)
--comparisons to New England
II. Social and Political Development
--Sir William Berkeley--
III. Religious Life: Liturgical Anglicanism
IV. Economic Development
--the crop that cureth
--labor problems=development of slavery
V. The Result? Cavalier Culture
Monday, April 6, 2009
DOCUMENTS: COLONIAL EPITAPHS
What do these deathly words say about what the dearly departed valued in life?
--------------------------
In Memory ofMr JOHN GOODSPEEDWho departed thisLife Aug ye 28 1786in ye 66th yearof his Age. Mark traveller this humble stone'Tis death's kind warning to prepareThou too must hasten to the tombAnd mingle with corruption there
In memory ofFreeman Kingman Son ofSimeon Kingman& Rebecca his wifewho was drowned Jan 14 1793in the 12th yearof his age. Also in memory oftheir infant daughterwho died Oct 13 1791
In Memory ofMrs Abigail SturgisRelict ofSam'l Sturgis Esq'rof Barnstable whowho died February 9 1795in the 63 Yearof her Age
Philander ShawSon ofthe Rev Philander Shaw& Mrs Lucy his wifedied Jan'y 27th 1800aged 7 weeksfootstonePhilander Shaw
In Memory ofPrince Son to Mr John& Mrs Mary Bodfishhe died Oct'r 4 1793in ye 3 year of his age. Come now behold and shed a tearTo see a first born slainWho liv'd and died in innocenceAnd turned to dust again
Here lies Ye Body ofABIGAIL WINSLOW LEWISDaug'r of Mr WINSLOW& Mrs MARY LEWISdied June 30th 1767Aged 12 Years
Here lies the Body ofMrs ABIGAIL ADAMSthe amiable Consort ofDr SAMUEL ADAMSwho died in ChildbedJuly 8th 1774in the 24th Yearof her Age
Here lie the Remains ofRev Mr JOHN AVERYWho Departed this Life ye23d of April 1754 in the69th Year of His Age and44th of His Ministry and the First Pastor Ordained inthis Place.
In this dark cavern, in this lonesome GraveHere lies the honest, pious, virtuous FriendHim, Kind Heav'n to us priest and doctor gaveAs such he lived, as such we mourn his end
Here are deposited the Remains ofMr BENJAMIN BANGSwho departed this LifeOctober 31st Anno Domini 1769Aged 48 Years and 4 Months. Some hearty friend shall drop his tearOn my dry Bones and say"These once were strong as mine appearAnd mine must be as they"
Thus shall our moulding Members teachWhat now our Senses learnFor Dust and Ashes loudest preachMan's infinite Concern
In Memory ofCapt SOLOMON BANGSwho died Jan'y 19th1797Aged 68 Years
EDMOND FREEMANBORN IN ENGLAND 1590DIED IN SANDWICH 1682. A FOUNDEROF THETOWN OF SANDWICHIN 1637. ASSISTANT TOGOVERNOR BRADFORD1640 - 1647
HERE LYES BURIEDTHE BODY OF MrsRUTH CHIPMANAGED 71 YEARSDIED OCTOBER Ye 4th1713. Blessed are ye DeadThat die in the Lord
Here lieth Jesseye Son of MerinaNegro Servantto Melatiah BourneEsq died Septye 17 1737 Aged2 Years and 6 Mo
HERE LYETH Ye BODYOF SHEARJASHUB BOURNESQ'R WHO DEPARTED THISLIFE MARCH Ye 7th 1718/19IN THE 76 YEAR OF HIS AGE HE WAS A VIRTUOUS RIGHTEOUS & MERCIFUL MANAND A GREAT FRIEND TO Ye INDIANS.PRECIOUS IN Ye SIGHT OF Ye
LORDIS Ye DEATH OF THIS SAINT
--------------------------
In Memory ofMr JOHN GOODSPEEDWho departed thisLife Aug ye 28 1786in ye 66th yearof his Age. Mark traveller this humble stone'Tis death's kind warning to prepareThou too must hasten to the tombAnd mingle with corruption there
In memory ofFreeman Kingman Son ofSimeon Kingman& Rebecca his wifewho was drowned Jan 14 1793in the 12th yearof his age. Also in memory oftheir infant daughterwho died Oct 13 1791
In Memory ofMrs Abigail SturgisRelict ofSam'l Sturgis Esq'rof Barnstable whowho died February 9 1795in the 63 Yearof her Age
Philander ShawSon ofthe Rev Philander Shaw& Mrs Lucy his wifedied Jan'y 27th 1800aged 7 weeksfootstonePhilander Shaw
In Memory ofPrince Son to Mr John& Mrs Mary Bodfishhe died Oct'r 4 1793in ye 3 year of his age. Come now behold and shed a tearTo see a first born slainWho liv'd and died in innocenceAnd turned to dust again
Here lies Ye Body ofABIGAIL WINSLOW LEWISDaug'r of Mr WINSLOW& Mrs MARY LEWISdied June 30th 1767Aged 12 Years
Here lies the Body ofMrs ABIGAIL ADAMSthe amiable Consort ofDr SAMUEL ADAMSwho died in ChildbedJuly 8th 1774in the 24th Yearof her Age
Here lie the Remains ofRev Mr JOHN AVERYWho Departed this Life ye23d of April 1754 in the69th Year of His Age and44th of His Ministry and the First Pastor Ordained inthis Place.
In this dark cavern, in this lonesome GraveHere lies the honest, pious, virtuous FriendHim, Kind Heav'n to us priest and doctor gaveAs such he lived, as such we mourn his end
Here are deposited the Remains ofMr BENJAMIN BANGSwho departed this LifeOctober 31st Anno Domini 1769Aged 48 Years and 4 Months. Some hearty friend shall drop his tearOn my dry Bones and say"These once were strong as mine appearAnd mine must be as they"
Thus shall our moulding Members teachWhat now our Senses learnFor Dust and Ashes loudest preachMan's infinite Concern
In Memory ofCapt SOLOMON BANGSwho died Jan'y 19th1797Aged 68 Years
EDMOND FREEMANBORN IN ENGLAND 1590DIED IN SANDWICH 1682. A FOUNDEROF THETOWN OF SANDWICHIN 1637. ASSISTANT TOGOVERNOR BRADFORD1640 - 1647
HERE LYES BURIEDTHE BODY OF MrsRUTH CHIPMANAGED 71 YEARSDIED OCTOBER Ye 4th1713. Blessed are ye DeadThat die in the Lord
Here lieth Jesseye Son of MerinaNegro Servantto Melatiah BourneEsq died Septye 17 1737 Aged2 Years and 6 Mo
HERE LYETH Ye BODYOF SHEARJASHUB BOURNESQ'R WHO DEPARTED THISLIFE MARCH Ye 7th 1718/19IN THE 76 YEAR OF HIS AGE HE WAS A VIRTUOUS RIGHTEOUS & MERCIFUL MANAND A GREAT FRIEND TO Ye INDIANS.PRECIOUS IN Ye SIGHT OF Ye
LORDIS Ye DEATH OF THIS SAINT
“Discovery” and Settlement
I. The Colonizers:
A. French: (mainly Jesuit priests)
Giovanni da Verazzano: 1524
French priest:, "It is you women who are the cause of all our misfortunes... it is you who keep the demons among us. You are lazy about going to prayers; when you pass before the cross you never salute it; you wish to be independent. Now, know that you will obey your husbands."
Quebec: 1608
B. The Dutch:1609-1644:
Hudson River Valley
Peter Stuyvesant
New Amsterdam: 1624
Dutch West India Company
C. The English:
Why colonize?
Religious Reasons
Social Reasons
Economic Reasons
1. Pilgrims: Plymouth, 1620
Mayflower Compact: Why is this considered the first
document that establishes American democracy?
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11 of November, the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord James; of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Ano Dom. 1620.
2. The Puritans
a. Religious Life:
Puritan Theology
Heresy:
Roger Williams
--complete separation of church and state
--1635=banished
Anne Hutchinson
--“you have rather
been a husband than a wife.”
--1638: banished
--1642=killed
3. Danger in N.E.--Witchcraft
Magic in Puritan society
The Witch Hunt Itself
--175 arrested, 28 convicted, 22 executed
A. French: (mainly Jesuit priests)
Giovanni da Verazzano: 1524
French priest:, "It is you women who are the cause of all our misfortunes... it is you who keep the demons among us. You are lazy about going to prayers; when you pass before the cross you never salute it; you wish to be independent. Now, know that you will obey your husbands."
Quebec: 1608
B. The Dutch:1609-1644:
Hudson River Valley
Peter Stuyvesant
New Amsterdam: 1624
Dutch West India Company
C. The English:
Why colonize?
Religious Reasons
Social Reasons
Economic Reasons
1. Pilgrims: Plymouth, 1620
Mayflower Compact: Why is this considered the first
document that establishes American democracy?
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11 of November, the year of the reign of our sovereign Lord James; of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Ano Dom. 1620.
2. The Puritans
a. Religious Life:
Puritan Theology
Heresy:
Roger Williams
--complete separation of church and state
--1635=banished
Anne Hutchinson
--“you have rather
been a husband than a wife.”
--1638: banished
--1642=killed
3. Danger in N.E.--Witchcraft
Magic in Puritan society
The Witch Hunt Itself
--175 arrested, 28 convicted, 22 executed
Friday, April 3, 2009
Reading Guide for The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
You will not turn these questions in, but they should guide your reading and aid your understanding of this book. The more specific page numbers you use, the better our discussion will be.
1. Describe the tone of this autobiography. Point to examples of Franklin’s tone sounding arrogant. Point to examples of Franklin’s humility.
2. How would you describe young Ben's attitude toward education, work, and financial success? Give an example or two to illustrate your answer.
3. In Part 3 of the Autobiography Franklin reflects on the problems encountered when governments are in the hands of people who pursue their own private interests at the expense of the public good. What solution does he advocate? How realistic do you think it is?
4. Give some examples of how Franklin spends his time making society better. Why do you think he does this? What is the purpose of the Junto club?
5. Give some examples of how Franklin spends time trying to improve himself.
6. What was Franklin’s daily life like?
7. Describe Franklin’s religious beliefs. What does the passage about George Whitefield say about Franklin’s view of religion?
8. Do you think he was right in recognizing the tendency of politicians to seek after their own interest at the expense of the public good? Can you cite examples of such behavior in our current state, local, and national government?
9. Former Secretary of Education and sometime Republican presidential candidate, William Bennett, in his best selling Book of Virtues, suggests that every American school boy and girl should be made to read and study the values contained in this eighteenth-century book. What are those values? Are they still applicable today? Can values be taught in schools? Should they be? Is it possible to agree on a single list of “virtues”?
1. Describe the tone of this autobiography. Point to examples of Franklin’s tone sounding arrogant. Point to examples of Franklin’s humility.
2. How would you describe young Ben's attitude toward education, work, and financial success? Give an example or two to illustrate your answer.
3. In Part 3 of the Autobiography Franklin reflects on the problems encountered when governments are in the hands of people who pursue their own private interests at the expense of the public good. What solution does he advocate? How realistic do you think it is?
4. Give some examples of how Franklin spends his time making society better. Why do you think he does this? What is the purpose of the Junto club?
5. Give some examples of how Franklin spends time trying to improve himself.
6. What was Franklin’s daily life like?
7. Describe Franklin’s religious beliefs. What does the passage about George Whitefield say about Franklin’s view of religion?
8. Do you think he was right in recognizing the tendency of politicians to seek after their own interest at the expense of the public good? Can you cite examples of such behavior in our current state, local, and national government?
9. Former Secretary of Education and sometime Republican presidential candidate, William Bennett, in his best selling Book of Virtues, suggests that every American school boy and girl should be made to read and study the values contained in this eighteenth-century book. What are those values? Are they still applicable today? Can values be taught in schools? Should they be? Is it possible to agree on a single list of “virtues”?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
COURSE SYLLABUS
History 232—MWF 9:30-10:50 Spring 2009
Section 1 DDH 107G Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll Office Hours: MWF 12:30-1:30
Email: bschmoll@csub.edu Office Phone: 654-6549
Course Description:
The colonial foundations; political, economic, social and cultural developments in the emerging United States; the early agrarian republic; the Civil War.
Required Reading:
1. The U.S. in Con-Text: Digital Textbook
2. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
3. Malcolm Mclaurin, Celia, A Slave
4. Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Grading Scale:
Participation: 10%
Indian Removal Debate: 10%
The Essay: 20%
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmollhistory231.blogspot.com/.
You need to sign in to this blog this week.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Participation: You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade!
Academic Honesty
You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean.
Course Schedule:
4/1 Wed Introduction
4/3 Fri Pre-Columbian Americas
4/6 Mon Early Colonies: Massachusetts
4/8 Wed Early Colonies: Virginia/Middle Colonies
4/10 Fri First Great Awakening/America at 1730
4/13 Mon Mid-Century Challenges
4/15 Wed Mid-Century Challenges
4/17 Fri Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
4/20 Mon Review for Midterm/Road to War
4/22 Wed Road to War
4/24 Fri Revolutionary War
4/27 Mon MIDTERM EXAM
4/29 Wed
5/1 Fri Early National Period
5/4 Mon Early National Period to 1812
5/6 Wed War of 1812
5/8 Fri War of 1812 to 1820
5/11 Mon Early Industrialism/Assign Douglass Essay
5/13 Wed Antebellum Slavery
5/15 Fri Reading Due, Celia, A Slave
5/18 Mon Cherokee Removal/Debate Prep
5/20 Wed Cherokee Removal Debate
5/22 Fri Early Secession Movements
5/25 Mon Early Secession Movements/
5/27 Wed “Secret Life of a Developing Country”
5/29 Fri Reading Due, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass/Sectionalism
6/1 Mon “Cycles of Distrust”—Sectionalism
6/3 Wed War with Mexico and other Western Issues
6/5 Fri Sectionalism and War
6/8 Mon Civil War/Gettysburg Address/LAST DAY OF CLASS
FINAL EXAM: Friday, June 12, 8-10:30
REMEMBER, although this syllabus is the “law” of the class, I reserve the right to change it at any time to suit the particular needs of our class. If I must do so, it will always be in your best interest, and I’ll always advise you as soon as possible.
Section 1 DDH 107G Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll Office Hours: MWF 12:30-1:30
Email: bschmoll@csub.edu Office Phone: 654-6549
Course Description:
The colonial foundations; political, economic, social and cultural developments in the emerging United States; the early agrarian republic; the Civil War.
Required Reading:
1. The U.S. in Con-Text: Digital Textbook
2. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
3. Malcolm Mclaurin, Celia, A Slave
4. Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Grading Scale:
Participation: 10%
Indian Removal Debate: 10%
The Essay: 20%
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmollhistory231.blogspot.com/.
You need to sign in to this blog this week.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Participation: You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade!
Academic Honesty
You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean.
Course Schedule:
4/1 Wed Introduction
4/3 Fri Pre-Columbian Americas
4/6 Mon Early Colonies: Massachusetts
4/8 Wed Early Colonies: Virginia/Middle Colonies
4/10 Fri First Great Awakening/America at 1730
4/13 Mon Mid-Century Challenges
4/15 Wed Mid-Century Challenges
4/17 Fri Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
4/20 Mon Review for Midterm/Road to War
4/22 Wed Road to War
4/24 Fri Revolutionary War
4/27 Mon MIDTERM EXAM
4/29 Wed
5/1 Fri Early National Period
5/4 Mon Early National Period to 1812
5/6 Wed War of 1812
5/8 Fri War of 1812 to 1820
5/11 Mon Early Industrialism/Assign Douglass Essay
5/13 Wed Antebellum Slavery
5/15 Fri Reading Due, Celia, A Slave
5/18 Mon Cherokee Removal/Debate Prep
5/20 Wed Cherokee Removal Debate
5/22 Fri Early Secession Movements
5/25 Mon Early Secession Movements/
5/27 Wed “Secret Life of a Developing Country”
5/29 Fri Reading Due, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass/Sectionalism
6/1 Mon “Cycles of Distrust”—Sectionalism
6/3 Wed War with Mexico and other Western Issues
6/5 Fri Sectionalism and War
6/8 Mon Civil War/Gettysburg Address/LAST DAY OF CLASS
FINAL EXAM: Friday, June 12, 8-10:30
REMEMBER, although this syllabus is the “law” of the class, I reserve the right to change it at any time to suit the particular needs of our class. If I must do so, it will always be in your best interest, and I’ll always advise you as soon as possible.
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