History 21 Syllabus

Race Ethnicity and Gender in American Culture                                                          HISTORY 21

Santa Rosa Junior College                                                                                              Fall 2024                     

Anne Donegan                                                      adonegan@santarosa.edu (Links to an external site.)         

Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30-12

Emeritus Hall 1596

3-4 hours of work will be assigned on Canvas each week                                                            

Zoom Office Hours:  Mondays 10-11

Link to Office Hours: https://santarosa-edu.zoom.us/j/91728788585

 There will be a waiting room set up, so that students can speak to me privately.  If I am meeting with a student, you may be in the waiting room for 5-10 minutes.

In Person Office Hours in Emeritus 1554-A:  Thursdays 12-1

 

 Course Description:  An examination of the interrelated roles of race, ethnicity and gender in shaping political and cultural institutions in the United States. From pre-Columbian times to the present, the course will explore and analyze the experiences, contributions, and interconnectedness of African, Asian, European, Latino and Native American peoples.

Required Texts:    Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror

 

Hymowitz and Weissmann, A History of Women in America.         

                         

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Bedford St. Martin's edition

 

 

 

Course Outline of Record:   https://portal.santarosa.edu/SRWeb/SR_ScheduleOfClasses.aspx

 

Attendance 

Regular class attendance and note taking are expected and recommended.   When you are absent, it is very important that you get notes from a classmate.  

 

 Course Requirements:

A. Homework:  A typical class will be a combination of lecture and discussion, as well as the occasional film.   For success in the class, regular attendance and note taking are critical.   If you are absent, you must get the notes from another student.   Turning in 5-7 pages of homework, being prepared for discussions and/or in class writing or quizzes will be worth 100  points of your final grade.

B.  Exams:  There will be two examinations. Both exams will be worth 100 points. Tests will be based on all assigned materials and on material presented in class. Each exam will have include an essay and objective questions.   The material to be covered on the tests will be discussed prior to each test date.    Make up exams are possible only in cases of extreme emergency or serious illness.   If you do not notify me prior to the scheduled exam date, an automatic 10 points will be deducted.

C. Analytical Essay:  There will be a 4-6 page essay on Frederick Douglass's Narrative worth 100 points.

Classroom Principles:

1.  Ask questions if something doesn't make sense.  

2.  Agree and Disagree with one another with respect.   Keep an Open Mind.

3.  Be engaged in class.      In class, phones should be put away, unless you have an important reason to keep it out.   If you need access to your phone during class, talk to me at the start of class.   If you use your phone during class without checking with me first, I will ask you to leave the class.

4.  Be engaged in class (part 2)!  Come to class awake and ready to go!   If you fall asleep in class, I will ask you to go home and get some much needed rest.  

5.  Visit Office Hours.  These times are dedicated to students asking questions, about ANYTHING!!!

 

Extra Credit:  

1.  You may pass in short essays explaining how an article, TV show, or film relate to a topic discussed in class.   The essay should be 1-2 typed pages.  Be sure to clearly explain how the event, relates to our class.   If applicable, include a copy of the article.  Students can earn 0-3 points per essay.

2.  There will be also be some extra credit assignments added throughout the semester.   

 

 

No more than 20 extra credit points will be accepted.      No extra credit will be accepted after December 5th.

                                                        Course Outline

Section 1:    9/10 -Oct 24th                                                              

Lecture & Discussion Topics                   Assigned Reading                                                                          

Cultures Meet:  Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans   Takaki, chapters 1 & 2   

                                                                                                         Hymowitz and Weissman, ch. 1-3

Establishiing Raced Based Slavery                                              H & W, ch. 4

                                                                                                         Takaki, ch. 3

Embracing Liberty and Contradictions:  A New Republic            

Industrialization and Antebellum Reform.                                    H & W, ch. 5 - 8

                                                                                                         Takaki, ch. 4 & 6

                                                                                                   

9/28               Last Day to Drop w/o a “W”

10/4                No Class

10/24.           Midterm Exam

 

Module 2:   10/29-12/12

Sectional Conflict, Civil War, and Reconstruction                  H & W, ch 9       

                                                                                                     Takaki, ch. 5   & 7                                             

Western Expansion & Indian Removal                                                                  

          --Native Americans Targeted, Moved, and Assimilation     H & W, ch. 11

                                                                                                           Takaki, ch. 8-10

 

    

Industrialization & Progressivism                                                               H & W, ch. 10, 12, & 13                                                                                                                                             Takaki, ch. 11

          --Urban and Rural Americans Organize to Improve Lives

         --Middle Class White and Black Women Organize

 Imperialism  and the 1920s                                                            TBD                                                         

 

11/5 & 11/7             Discuss Douglass

11/26.                             Douglass Essay Due          

 

The Depression.  The New Deal, and WWII                                              

The 1950s                                                                                                        

            -Civil Rights Movement

Rise of Liberalism and Vietnam                                                              

11/16                Last Day to Drop with a W

12/2                 Last day for any extra credit

12/12                 Exam # 2

  

Assignments & Examinations may be Subject to Change by the Instructor