3J03 The United States in the 1960s - McMaster University

McMaster University
Course Syllabus
HIS3J03
The United States in the 1960s
(Fall 2007)
“Shoddiness can be found easily, in quantity. The road is smooth
and it lies close by. But in front of excellence the immortal
gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way out.”
Instructor:
Winston Churchill
Dr. D. Azoulay (CNH 607/C)
Office Hours: Mon. 4:30-6:30, Tues. 3:30-4:30, or by appointment
Phone: (905)525-9140 ext. 27144
Email: azoulay@mcmaster.ca
Time/Location:
Mon. 3:30, Tues. 4:30, JHE/264
Course Content:
This course will examine the key events, personalities, and ideological
currents of the 1960s in America. The emphasis will be on social protest,
politics, and foreign policy.
Course Requirements:
There will be two hours of lectures each week, as well as the occasional
documentary film. There will be no formal tutorials, but the third hour
each week (Thurs. 3:30) will be set aside for an informal “Question and
Answer” session, at which time students may pose questions about the
lectures, readings, or assignments. Attendance at this session is optional.
As for written work, students will be asked to submit one “Article Review”
(max. 1200 words) and one Essay (max. 2500 words). There will also be a
two-hour final exam.
Students will be graded as follows:
Value:
Due:
Article Review: 20% Oct. 1
Essay: 40% Nov. 5
Final Exam: 40% TBA
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Required Texts:
T. Anderson, The Sixties, 3rd edition (Pearson-Longman, 2007)
Email communication:
It is the policy of the McMaster History department that all email
communication between students and instructors (including TAs) must
originate from their official McMaster University email accounts. This
policy protects the confidentiality and sensitivity of information and
confirms the identities of both the student and instructor. History
department instructors will delete messages that do not originate from
McMaster email accounts.
LECTURE SCHEDULE AND READINGS
PLEASE NOTE: Audio or visual recordings of the course is forbidden
without the explicit permission of the instructor. Lectures are the
intellectual property of the instructor.
Week of:
Sept. 3
Sept. 10
READINGS:
QUESTIONS:
Introduction (Thurs)
Roots of the Sixties
The Sixties, “Introduction”
1. In what ways were the 1950s very conformist and conservative?
2. Can we detect in the 1950s the seeds of 1960s’ phenomena?
Sept. 17
READINGS:
QUESTIONS:
Film: “Seeds of the 60s” / Civil Rights Movement:
Origins and Beginnings (I)
S. Oates, “Trumpet of Conscience: Martin Luther King
Jr.” (ON RESERVE)
1. Why did Martin Luther King assume the role he did in the civil
rights struggle?
2. How was he important to the movement?
3. How did his views and tactics change by the mid-60s?
Sept. 24
Civil Rights Movement: Origins and Beginnings(II)/
Film: “No Easy Walk”
READINGS: The Sixties, pp. 19-31
QUESTIONS:
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1. What accounts for the spread of the civil rights movement in the
early 1960s?
2. What was the significance of JFK’s victory in 1960?
3. What impact did the violence directed at civil rights activists
have on other Americans and on the Kennedy administration?
Oct. 1
JFK: Style over Substance / JFK and the World
ARTICLE REVIEW DUE
READINGS: The Sixties, pp. 31-44
QUESTIONS:
1. Who or what was to blame for the deterioration in U.S.-Soviet
relations during the Kennedy years?
2. What was the significance of Birmingham as far as the civil rights
movement is concerned?
3. What causes JFK to pursue, by 1963, a more idealistic approach to
domestic and foreign affairs?
Oct. 8
Oct. 9
NO CLASS
LBJ: Substance over Style
READINGS: The Sixties, ch. 2
QUESTIONS:
1. Why was 1964 an important year in the civil rights and student
movements?
2. What were the main grievances of university students in the early
1960s? Were these grievances resolved?
3. In what ways were the early 1960s, especially 1964-65, the
“pinnacle of liberalism”, as Anderson puts it?
Oct. 15
Vietnam
READINGS: J. Clifford, “Vietnam in Historical Perspective”;
R. Hammer, “One Morning in the War”
QUESTIONS:
1. Why does the U.S. take so long to withdraw from Vietnam?
2. What accounts for the behaviour of American soldiers at Xom
Lang(and elsewhere)?
Oct. 22
Film: “America in Vietnam” / The Rise of Black
Militancy
READINGS: The Sixties, ch. 3
QUESTIONS:
1. What was so important about the Watts riot of 1965?
2. What effect did the rise of black power and violence have on the
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civil rights movement and on white Americans?
Oct. 29
The Youth Rebellion
READINGS: The Sixties, ch. 5
QUESTIONS:
1. Why were youth so “alienated” from American society by the late
1960s?
2. Who were the hippies and what did they stand for?
3. Why did the counter culture disappear for the most part?
Nov. 5
Film: “Breaking Boundaries, Testing Limits” / The
Women’s Movement
ESSAY DUE
READINGS:
QUESTIONS:
S. Evans, “The Rebirth of the Women’s Movement in the
1960s”(ON RESERVE)
1. Why did the issue of women’s rights become so prominent by the
early ‘60s?
2. How did the women’s liberation movement differ from the mainstream
women’s movement?
3. What problems plagued the movement as a whole?
Nov. 12
1968 / Film: “In a Dark Time”
READINGS: The Sixties, ch. 4
QUESTIONS:
1. What impact did the assassinations of King and Kennedy have on
America?
2. What was so important about the Columbia University strike?
3. What accounts for the heightened turbulence of 1968?
Nov. 19
Richard Nixon / Gay and Ethnic Power
READINGS: The Sixties, ch. 6
QUESTIONS:
1. What was Nixon’s Vietnam policy, and how did it differ from
Johnson’s?
2. How did social protest change in the years 1969-70?
3. In what ways were women treated as second-class citizens in the
1960s?
4. What were the domestic consequences of the invasion of Cambodia in
1970?
Nov. 26 Pop Culture / Legacies of the ‘60s
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READINGS: The Sixties, pp. 177-193
QUESTIONS:
1. What factors account for the growing disillusionment of the American
public with the Nixon administration in the early 70s?
2. Why did support for the Vietnam war almost totally disappear by
1971?
3. What sorts of social protest emerged in the early ‘70s, and were
these movements successful?
FINAL EXAM: TBA
ARTICLE REVIEW
Students will be required to submit an "Article Review"(AR). The
purpose of the AR is to foster critical thinking and analytical skills
in relation to interpretive historical literature. Basically, it is an
opportunity for you to evaluate the content and merits of a piece of
scholarly literature in the discipline.
For this assignment you must write a review of ONE of the following
articles, all of which are on 2-hour Reserve in Mills Library:
T. McKeown, “The Cuban Missile Crisis and Politics as Usual” (U.S.
foreign policy)
L. Berman, “Coming to Grips with Lyndon Johnson’s War” (Vietnam)
J. Mayer, “Nixon Rides the Backlash to Victory: Racial Politics in the
1968 Presidential Campaign”
See the "Brief Guide to Preparing Article Reviews" below for
information on how to write an Article Review
Deadlines and Late Penalties:
The AR is due Oct. 1st and should not exceed 1200 words in length. No
paper in excess of this limit will be accepted. Extensions will be
granted in exceptional circumstances only and must be requested before
the due date. In fairness to those who submit their essay on time, late
submissions will be penalized at a rate of 5% per day, excluding
weekends, to a maximum of 40%. PLEASE NOTE: No AR will be accepted
after Oct. 15th.
Brief Guide to Preparing Article Reviews
Your AR should consist of three main sections:
a) A brief introduction outlining the author(s), title, and subject of
the article and a summary of the thesis or main argument of the
article.
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) A central section consisting of the main arguments presented to
support the thesis, with particular examples.
c) And a critical evaluation or critique of the article, also with
examples.
Note: sections a) and b) should constitute no more than 1/2 to 3/4 of
the AR.
Things to keep in mind while reading the article and preparing the AR:
a. reading
-to improve your reading efficiency, bear in mind the following points.
Most articles will contain all or most of the following components: an
introduction, a central body, a conclusion, and footnotes/endnotes. The
introduction usually contains useful information about why the author
thinks the topic is important and what s/he thinks the contribution of
the article makes to the existing literature on the subject. More
important, the introduction and conclusion will often tell you what the
main argument of the article is (i.e. the thesis). If you read the
introduction and conclusion first, you will be alert to the main
argument and will therefore be better able to identify and determine
the strength of the supporting arguments.
-the footnotes/endnotes (if included in the article) will list the
sources or written/oral evidence on which the article is based. These
sources fall into two main categories: primary sources, which are
original documents like letters, diaries, newspapers, statistics, and
government reports written at the time of the historical event or
phenomenon under discussion, and secondary sources, such as books or
articles written some time after the event, usually by other
historians. When you discuss the evidence on which the article is
based, you will want to comment on the types of sources the author uses
and whether these are sufficient or reliable in your view.
b. writing
-with reference to the first two sections of your AR (thesis and
supporting arguments), ask yourself such questions as "What is the
author trying to prove to me, the reader, in this article?" Bear in
mind that the thesis may be explicitly or implicitly stated and is
often found in the introductory or concluding portions of the article.
If, however, the author’s thesis is not clear, this can be one of your
criticisms.
-with reference to the third section of the AR (critical evaluation /
critique), ask yourself such general questions as "How well has the
author proven her/his thesis?" and "Is the general or main argument
persuasive?" Here are some of the more specific criteria you may wish
to use in assessing the strengths/weaknesses of the article:
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-how is the article organized or structured and does this help or
hinder the point(s) the author is trying to convey?
-what evidence is presented to prove the thesis; is it sufficient
and reliable; and can this evidence be interpreted in other ways?
-what kinds of assumptions are made in the article (if any) and
are they valid?
-has the author overstated or understated certain facts, as
far as you know?
-does the article contain errors in reasoning?
-is the writing style effective (is the article easy to read?)
(Note: you are not expected to use all of these criteria in evaluating
the article, but should address at least some of these questions in
your critique).
-be sure to indicate both the good and bad points of the article in
your evaluation.
-remember, too, that although the article has been written by a
scholar, it is still open to questioning in terms of its assumptions,
conclusions, evidence and so on. In other words, do not be afraid to
challenge points on which you may disagree with the author, provided
that your criticisms are rational and reasonable.
PLEASE NOTE: we are not looking for a summary of the article's
contents, but a careful and clearly written review of its thesis and
supporting arguments, as well as a thoughtful assessment of the
article's strengths and weaknesses.
ESSAY
The following list of essay questions covers most of the main topics in
the course and has been devised to satisfy a wide variety of interests.
More important, the topics have been specially chosen to facilitate
the primary purpose of the essay exercise, which is to present a clear
and well-substantiated argument (i.e. "interpretation") in relation to
a specific historic event or process. As such, you must select your
topic from this list.
See the "Brief Guide to Essay Preparation" below for information on how
to write historical essays.
Deadlines and Late Penalties:
The essay is due Nov. 5th and should not exceed 2500 words in length.
No paper in excess of this limit will be accepted. Extensions will be
granted in exceptional circumstances only and must be requested before
the due date. In fairness to those who submit their essay on time, late
submissions will be penalized at a rate of 5% per day, excluding
weekends, to a maximum of 40%. Please note: no essay will be accepted
after Nov. 19th.
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Appeals:
As far as resubmitting assignments is concerned, the policy in this
course is that students will not be allowed to rewrite and resubmit
papers which have already been graded. If, however, students have
concerns about their graded papers, they are encouraged to first
approach the TA who marked the paper, and if this fails to bring
satisfaction, should then approach the Instructor. There are, as well,
certain formal appeal procedures which may be invoked should a student
continue to feel that his/her paper has not received the consideration
it is due.
Sources:
You will note that certain books have been cited under each essay
topic. It is expected that these will be used in researching the essay,
if available, in addition to other books, scholarly articles, and if
necessary “primary” materials (i.e. written by participants in, or
direct observers of, the historical phenomenon in question).
For additional sources, see the “Additional Reading” section at the
back of the course text. Another good research tool is the McMaster
University On-line Library Catalogue, called “Morris”, at
http://morris.mcmaster.ca. From here students can easily search for
books by key word etc., and for scholarly articles by searching the E-
Article Databases, such as “America, History and Life.” Overall, at
least 3 books dealing more or less directly with the topic should be
used, in addition to several scholarly articles and, if necessary,
primary materials.
Note: Internet-based “secondary” sources are fine, as long as they are
written by scholars and documented with footnotes or endnotes;
Internet-based “primary” sources are also acceptable.
However, general survey texts (eg. Garraty’s A Short History of the
American Nation) as well as the course text, are not acceptable as
bibliographic items and should only be used to introduce students to
their chosen topic or to locate sources. Nor should the lectures be
considered a source.
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by
other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the
grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the
transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic
dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic
dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty
please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3,
located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/policy/AcademicIntegrity.pdf
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The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or
for which other credit has been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
In this course we will be using software (eg. turnitin.com) designed to
reveal plagiarism. Students are therefore required to submit an
electronic version of their essay (either by email or on disk) as well
as a hard copy in class. Failure to do so will result in a mark of zero
on the essay. Students may also be asked to submit their research notes
and rough drafts or to defend their papers orally. Failure to provide
such notes on request may result in an "F" grade on the essay.
Essay Questions:
1. Why did the Kennedy administration introduce the “Peace Corps,” and
why did so many young people volunteer to serve in it?
F. Fischer, Making Them Like Us
M. Latham, Modernization as Ideology
D. Burner, John F. Kennedy and a New Generation
2. Discuss the significance of the 1960 Greensboro “sit-in” to the
black civil rights movement.
M. Wolff, Lunch at the Five and Ten
W. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights
C. Carson, In Struggle
3. Why did “poverty” become such an important issue to Americans in the
1960s, a time of unprecedented prosperity?
M. Katz, In the Shadow of the Poorhouse
J. Patterson, America’s Struggle Against Poverty
M. Harrington, Fragments of a Century
4. Discuss the influence of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring,
on America.
T. Dunlap, DDT
S. Hays, Beauty, Health and Permanence
K. Sale, The Green Revolution
R. Nash, The Rights of Nature
5. What strains did the 1960s youth rebellion, in all its forms, bring
to American families?
T. Powers, The War at Home
T. Wells, The War Within
R. Hansel, Like Father, Like Son, Like Hell
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6. Discuss the most important legal gains made by women in the 1960s
and early ‘70s in their struggle for equality.
W. Chafe, Women and Equality
F. Davis, Moving the Mountain
R. Rosen, The World Split Open
7. Aside from the immediate destruction they caused, what effect did
the ghetto riots of the late 1960s have on the civil rights movement
and on America generally?
H. Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality (selected chapters)
R. Fogelson, Violence as Protest
J. Feagin, Ghetto Revolts
J. Button, Black Violence
8. Describe the 1967 “Human Be-In” in San Francisco, and more
importantly, the significance or meaning of what transpired at this
event.
C. Perry, The Haight-Ashbury
E. Morgan, The 60s Experience
D. Chalmers, And the Crooked Places Made Straight
9. Did the power and status (i.e. rights, treatment, image, etc.) of
Hispanic-Americans change much in the period 1960 to 1975
approximately?
F. Rosales, Chicano!
L. H. Gann, The Hispanics in the United States
C. Munoz, Youth, Identity, Power
10. Were the 1970 Kent State killings unnecessary, or did the student
protestors bring the violence upon themselves?
J. Kelner, The Kent State Coverup
J. Eszterhas, Thirteen Seconds
I. F. Stone, The Killings at Kent
Brief Guide to Essay Preparation
A number of very good essay-writing manuals are available for purchase
or in the library (listed below) and students who have any doubts about
their essay-writing ability or wish to improve their skills in
particular areas are strongly encouraged to either consult these
manuals, your TA, or the course instructor, or to visit the Centre for
Student Development’s Writing Clinic
(http://csd.mcmaster.ca/academic/writing_skills.htm).
Here are some useful tips (from York University's Essay Tutoring
Centre) for writing and revising drafts of your essay:
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"1. Does your essay fall within the terms of the assignment. Is t on
topic? Does it answer the question? Have you correctly INTERPRETED THE
ASSIGNMENT?
2. Does your essay have a clear and explicitly stated THESIS, that is,
a clearly stated central idea that the rest of the essay develops and
supports?
3. Is there a broad enough base of information? Is the evidence in the
essay that you have done appropriate and sufficient....
4. Is your essay argumentative? Is there a body of ARGUMENT presented
in a way that supports the thesis? Have you given good reasons for your
thesis?
5. Are your arguments supported by appropriate and sufficient EVIDENCE?
6. Does your writing show a reasonable sense of paragraph structure? Is
the topic of each paragraph clear and is that topic clearly related to
proving the thesis?
7. Is it clear how the evidence supports the argument? Are quotations
introduced in a way that makes their function in the argument clear? Do
you comment on quotations in a way which shows their relevance to the
thesis?
8. Is the sentence level grammar correct? For example, do verbs agree
with their subjects; are tense sequences correct, and do pronouns have
antecedents?
9. Is there coherence from sentence to sentence and a reasonable
transition from paragraph to paragraph?
10. Do you follow appropriate conventions of documentation, footnoting,
and bibliography? (note: for HIS3J03, and most humanities courses, the
appropriate documentation style is cited in K. Turabian's A Manual For
Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations)
11. Could other aspects of your writing be improved?"
These are useful questions which students should ask themselves while
preparing their essays. In addition, students will want to keep the
following essay-writing hints in mind, as they will be important
criteria used by the TA in grading the essay:
Content:
a) Thesis: make sure to state this clearly and forcefully in your
introduction (and re-state it in your conclusion), and to repeat it
occasionally in the body of the paper, whenever evidence is presented
in support of the thesis. Remember, an essay is not a simple narrative
of events, such as found in general survey textbooks, but a focussed
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argument in support of a particular point of view or interpretation.
b) Evidence: make sure you have sufficient evidence, in the form of
examples and footnotes/endnotes, to prove your thesis. Remember that
you are building a case, as in a court of law, and that your task is to
marshal as much persuasive evidence as possible in support of your
position. This does not mean starting with a thesis and then searching
for the evidence to prove it. It means taking a position based on prior
extensive research (compelling arguments cannot be based on
insufficient research) and then bringing forward the evidence which
helped persuade you to adopt a particular position or interpretation.
Remember, too, that your thesis or position need not be "black" or
"white"--nor will it likely be--but should in any case be stated
clearly.
c) Relevancy: avoid discussing irrelevant things or spending too much
time on points which only marginally relate to your thesis.
Form / Style:
a) Clarity: it is important that you convey to the reader exactly what
it is you are trying to say. This means using simple, precise language,
properly defining terms and concepts, and avoiding ambiguity. Never
assume the reader knows what you mean. It is always better to
over-explain, even at the risk of being repetitive, than to leave the
reader wondering what it is you mean to say. One last point, this
regarding quotations: do not rely on quotes to make your salient points
for you. Use quotes sparingly, and only to illustrate your points.
b) Organization: this, too, is an important aspect of the paper. In the
introduction, a sort of blueprint for the essay, you will be telling
the reader, either implicitly (as part of your thesis statement), or
explicitly, how your paper will be organized--in what order your points
/ supporting arguments will be discussed. It is up to you to follow
this order of points / arguments in the body of the paper. Preferably
these points will be organized in some logical fashion. Students should
especially avoid mixing a number of different points within the same
paragraph or, conversely, distributing in various sections of the paper
points which should be kept together, in the same section or paragraph.
In short, you should deal with one point at a time. Following this
advice will add greater coherence, clarity, and therefore force, to
your argument.
c) Concision: say what you have to say in as few words as possible,
without sacrificing meaning. This means, for example, avoiding
repetition and long-winded sentences(see how concisely I said that?).
d) PLAGIARISM: UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS! As plagiarism is a very
serious academic offence, one which brings disrepute both to students
and to the university itself, and which carries with it serious
penalties, students are strongly encouraged to read the university's
policy on plagiarism and to approach the instructor with any questions
they might have on this subject.
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For those who want more information on essay preparation, the following
guides/manuals are highly recommended:
M. Hellstern, et. al., The History Student Writer’s Manual
R. Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History.
Janet Giltrow, Academic Writing.
Sheridan Baker, The Practical Stylist.
Kate Turabian, Student's Guide For Writing College Papers
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations.
William Zinsser, On Writing Well.
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