Syllabus—Modern America

 22 November 2024

us since the civil war. spring 2025 @ suny brockport.

Instructor Info

Dr. Michael J. Kramer, Department of History, SUNY Brockport, mkramer@brockport.edu.

Who is your instructor?

Michael J. Kramer specializes in modern US cultural and intellectual history, transnational history, public and digital history, and cultural criticism. He is an associate professor of history at the State University of New York (SUNY) Brockport, the author of The Republic of Rock: Music and Citizenship in the Sixties Counterculture (Oxford University Press, 2013), and the director of the Berkeley Folk Music Festival Project. He is currently working on a history of the 1976 United States bicentennial celebration and a study of folk music, technology, and cultural democracy in the United States. He edits The Carryall, an online journal of US cultural and intellectual history and maintains a blog of cultural criticism, Culture Rover. His website, with additional information about publications, projects, courses, talks, and more can be found at michaeljkramer.net.

What are we up to?

You may think of history simply as the memorization of names and dates, and sure, we need to do some of that, but the study of history is really something far more intriguing. History asks us to figure out a seemingly simple question that gets complicated real fast, namely, how did we get here? This is the core question at stake in historical study. In our case, we will ask how we might better understand the development of the United States from the Civil War’s end in 1865 to our own times. What has changed in this duration of time, in this particular place? What continuities and themes do we notice? What caused what to happen—and, more complexly, why? History is about navigating all these questions, and other questions too, such as: whose history, exactly, do we wish to track? The rich and powerful? The everyday person? And why do we study history as we do, dividing it up by nations rather than other categories? How do all the elements of the past relate to each other, anyway? How do politics, economics, culture, ideas, beliefs, values, customs, environments, technologies, and social relationships connect, just to name a few aspects of the past?

Phew, lots of questions! Fortunately, history offers a method for navigating the messy, vast past as we try to not just memorize, but also give it some meaning. Which is to say history is more than just the feel-good myths we tell about America as a nation. History is more than just your opinion or what you feel. Instead, history is a multifaceted and multiperspectival set of stories we tell using empirical evidence or data to ask questions and come up with interpretations in dialogue with what others have had to say about the past. It is neither about one definitive truth, nor is it about anything goes. Instead it is about measuring and assessing a complex world with as much sophistication as we can muster. Sometimes the answers are simple; sometimes the evidence only produces more questions. History is made to handle both situations, which is why it can help you not only understand the past better, but also understand your own life more profoundly, and even, maybe, navigate your future with more dexterity, skill, and power. History is not a formula. It’s a craft for thinking about facts and truths and their many implications, connections, contexts, meanings, and mysteries.

So where do we start? First and foremost, history is about learning the craft of wielding evidence. We call the evidence our “sources.” They include artifacts of various types and kinds: documents, images, sounds, films, music, speeches, interviews, architecture, art, memories, and anything we can use to access the past. Questions come from what your close reading of the evidence suggests: what specific aspect of the evidence makes an impression on you? How can you put it in context with other bits of evidence to begin to paint a picture of the past? What questions does your close attention to the sources raise? What have other historians and people had to say about the topic at hand (a fancy word for this is “historiography”)? And what kind of convincing interpretation can you draw out of the sources and the existing interpretations of them to help us understand what happened more clearly and precisely?

How did we get here? Remember that this is the core question of history. And remember that the discipline offers a method you can learn to try to answer that question adequately. History, however, is not a science, not in the “natural” sciences sense. There is not usually one true answer (sometimes). The goal is not to achieve reproducible results or falsifiable claims (sometimes) as in the conventional scientific method. Yet history is more than just your opinion. It is based on empirical data. Instead of being reductive, it offers a method for handling complexity. In historical inquiry, there are a multiplicity of interpretations to consider, measure, grapple with, discuss, debate, and decide upon based on the empirical record (again, not your opinion, but your convincing interpretation and explanation of evidence).

So, in this course, we will learn what it means to practice the historical method as we explore the particular histories of the United States since the end of the Civil War in 1865. How did we get from that moment in time to now? What has changed? What continuities and themes have persisted? What kinds of interpretations and stories can we tell not based on what we want to believe or hope to believe or wish to believe about the United States, but rather based on the evidence?Through multimedia lectures, in-class assignments and discussions, at-home readings, writing assignments, and online assignments, you will learn more about what it means to study history, what it means to acquire the skills and capacities of thinking about the past and communicating your ideas about its sources and evidence more effectively. In doing so, you will not only leave this course with a better sense of the history of the United States over the last century and a half, but also with a better sense of how history can help you in whatever you wish to study, analyze, judge, or communicate to others when life gets complex. Sometimes the answers are simple, but as you grow older, you will see that most of the time they are not. Fortunately, history is here to help. For the skills of history are the very skills you will need not only to understand from where we have come, but also where you might want to go next.

Things you are expected to do this term

By taking this course you are agreeing to do the following to the best of your abilities:

  • Complete the readings
  • Come to class prepared
  • Participate in discussions in class
  • Complete the assignments, using resources on campus such as the Academic Success Center and Drake Memorial Library to improve your research, writing, and reading comprehension skills
  • Be respectful of yourself, your instructor, and your fellow students

Required books

  • Eric Foner, et. al., Illumine EBook Give Me Liberty! Volume II Brief 7th Edition (WW Norton, 2023)
  • Eric Foner, et. al., Voices of Freedom Volume II, 7th Edition (New York: WW Norton, 2023)
    • You will need the digital Illumine EBook for this course, not the print version of Give Me Liberty!
    • You may purchase the digital or the print version of Voices of Freedom as you wish
  • Additional assigned documents and resources on Brightspace course website

Schedules

The instructor may adjust the schedule as needed during the term, but will give clear instructions about any changes.

Meetings Schedule

1865-1898

  • Week 01 — Did the Civil War Ever End? The Reconstruction Era
  • Week 02 — The Hog Squeal of the Universe: The Arrival of Industrial Capitalism
  • Week 03 — Expansion and Incorporation: From Settler Colonialism to Formal Colonialism, Indian Wars to the Spanish-American War

1899-1945

  • Week 04 — What was the Progress in Progressivism? The Progressive Era
  • Week 05 — Making the World (or the US) Safe for Democracy? World War I and Its Aftermath
  • Week 06 — The Roaring Twenties: Roars of Modernity…and Antimodernity
  • Week 07 — A Crisis of Industrial Capitalism: The Great Depression Arrives — Learning About Historical Methods of Inquiry

Week 08 — Spring Break

  • Week 09 — From Classic to Modern Liberalism: The Great Depression and the New Deal
  • Week 10 — Did World War II Ever End? Mobilization and WWII

1946-1969

  • Week 11 — Containments and Rebellions of the Cold War: The Fifties
  • Week 12 — Naming the System and Claiming Rights in the Sixties: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Social Movements, Countercultures, Backlashes

1970-2024

  • Week 13 — Disco Demolition: The Uncertain Seventies — Revolting Conservatives: The New Right Reagan Revolution in the Eighties
  • Week 14 — The Rise of Neoliberalism: The Nineties
  • Week 15 — The War on Terror and Making America Great Again? Recent US History in Historical Context

Readings Schedule

Week 01 — Did the Civil War Ever End? The Reconstruction Era

Week 02 — The Hog Squeal of the Universe: The Arrival of Industrial Capitalism

Week 03 — Expansion and Incorporation: From Settler Colonialism to Formal Colonialism, Indian Wars to the Spanish-American War

Week 04 — What was the Progress in Progressivism? The Progressive Era

Week 05 — Making the World (or the US) Safe for Democracy? World War I and Its Aftermath

Week 06 — The Roaring Twenties: Roars of Modernity…and Antimodernity

  • Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 20, From Business Culture to Great Depression in the “Roaring” Twenties, 1920-1932, 612-642
  • Voices of Freedom, Ch. 20, 136-163

Week 07 — A Crisis of Industrial Capitalism: The Great Depression Arrives — Learning About Historical Methods of Inquiry

Week 08 — Spring Break

Week 09 — From Classic to Modern Liberalism: The Great Depression and the New Deal

  • Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 22, Fighting for the Four Freedoms: World War II, 1941-1945, 676-711
  • Voices of Freedom, Ch. 22, 191-212
  • Optional Brockport Faculty Reading: Anne S. Macpherson, “Birth of the U.S. Colonial Minimum Wage: The Struggle over the Fair Labor Standards Act in Puerto Rico, 1938– 1941,” Journal of American History 104, 3 (December 2017), 656-680, on Brightspace

Week 10 — Did World War II Ever End? Mobilization and WWII

  • Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 23, The United States and the Cold War, 1945-1953, 712-740
  • Voices of Freedom, Ch. 23, 213-245
  • Optional Brockport Faculty Reading: Bruce Leslie (and John Halsey), “A College Upon a Hill: Exceptionalism & American Higher Education,” in Marks of Distinction: American Exceptionalism Revisited, ed. Dale Carter (Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2001), 197-228, on Brightspace

Week 11 — Containments and Rebellions of the Cold War: The Fifties

  • Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 24, An Affluent Society, 1953-1960, 741-772
  • Voices of Freedom, Ch. 24, 246-269

Week 12 — Naming the System and Claiming Rights in the Sixties: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Social Movements, Countercultures, Backlashes

Week 13 — Disco Demolition: The Uncertain Seventies — Revolting Conservatives: The New Right Reagan Revolution in the Eighties

Week 14 — The Rise of Neoliberalism: The Nineties

  • Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 27, A New World Order, 1989-2004, 846-886
  • Voices of Freedom, Ch. 27, 332-345

Week 15 — The War on Terror and Making America Great Again? Recent US History in Historical Context

Assignments Schedule

Week 02 — DUE MONDAY 02/03

  • Getting Started with Norton Tools
  • Make sure you can access Author Videos and Online Reader
  • Student Info Form
  • History Skills Tutorials
    • Analyzing Images
    • Analyzing Maps
    • Analyzing Primary Source Documents
    • Analyzing Secondary Source Documents
  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 15 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 15
  • Optional: Chapter 15 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 03 — DUE MONDAY 02/10

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 16 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 16
  • Optional: Chapter 16 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 04 — DUE MONDAY 02/17

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 17 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 17
  • Optional: Chapter 17 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 05 — DUE MONDAY 02/24

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 18 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 18
  • Optional: Chapter 18 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 06 — DUE MONDAY 03/03

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 19 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 19
  • Optional: Chapter 19 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 07 — DUE MONDAY 03/10

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 20 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 20
  • Optional: Chapter 20 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline
  • Paragraph Assignment 01: Industrialization in the US After the Civil War

Week 08 — SPRING BREAK

Week 09 — DUE MONDAY 03/24

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 21 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 21
  • Optional: Chapter 21 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline
  • ANY LATE ILLUMINE AND INQUIZITIVE ASSIGNMENTS CH 15-20 LAST CHANCE DUE.

Week 10 — DUE MONDAY 03/31

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 22 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 22
  • Optional: Chapter 22 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 11 — DUE MONDAY 04/07

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 23 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 23
  • Optional: Chapter 23 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 12 — DUE MONDAY 04/14

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 24 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 24
  • Optional: Chapter 24 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 13 — DUE MONDAY 04/21

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 25 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 25
  • Optional: Chapter 25 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 14 — DUE MONDAY 04/28

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 26 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 26
  • Optional: Chapter 26 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline

Week 15 — DUE MONDAY 05/05

  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 27 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 27
  • Optional: Chapter 27 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline
  • Start working on final assignments.

FINAL — DUE MONDAY 05/10

  • Paragraph Assignment 02: Progress or No?
  • Norton Ilumine Ebook Chapter 28 Reading Comprehension Questions
  • Inquizitive: Chapter 28
  • Optional: Chapter 28 Author Videos, Online, Flashcards, Outline
  • ANY LATE ILLUMINE AND INQUIZITIVE ASSIGNMENTS FROM CH 21-28 LAST CHANCE DUE.

Evaluation

This course uses a simple evaluation process to help you improve your understanding of both US history since the Civil War and history as a method. Note that evaluations are never a judgment of you as a person; rather, they are meant to help you assess how you are processing material in the course and how you can keep improving college-level and lifelong skills of historical knowledge and skills. Remember that history is a craft and it takes practice and iteration to improve, as with any knowledge and skill you wish to develop; but, if you keep at it, thinking historically can help you understand the complexities of the world more powerfully.

There are four evaluations given for assignments—(1) Yes!; (2) Getting Closer; (3) Needs Work; (4) Nah—plus comments, when relevant, based on the rubric below. Late assignments will lose one grade per each day they are late.

Remember to honor the Academic Honesty Policy at SUNY Brockport, including no plagiarism. In this course there is no need to use sources outside of the required ones for the class. The instructor recommends not using algorithmic software such as ChatGPT for your assignments, but rather working on your own writing skills. If you do use algorithmic software, you must cite it as you would any other secondary source that is not your own. For more information on SUNY Brockport’s Academic Honesty Policy.

  1. 5% Student Introduction
  2. 20%—Paragraph Assignment 01: Industrialization in the US After the Civil War—Designing An Essay Assignment to Teach Change Over Time, Context, Causality, Contingency, or Complexity
    • Objective: Learn how to put together primary and secondary sources to develop a precise thematic argument about historical interpretation.
  3. 5%—Illumine EBook Quizzes Part 01
  4. 15%—Inquizitives Part 01
    • Objective: Improve reading comprehension and interpretive analytic skills using evidence.
  5. 25%— Paragraph Assignment 02: Progress or No?
    • Objective: Learn how to put together primary and secondary sources to develop a precise thematic argument about historical interpretation.
  6. 5%—Illumine EBook Quizzes Part 02
  7. 15%—Inquizitives Part 02
    • Objective: Improve reading comprehension and interpretive analytic skills using evidence.
  8. 10%—Attendance, In-Class Worksheets, and Participation. Please note attendance policy below: you may miss up to four class meetings no questions asked, with or without a justified reason (this includes sports team travel, illness, or other reasons). You do not need to notify the instructor of your absences.
    • Objective: Improve oral communication skills; improve skills interpretive analytic skills using evidence.

Please note: I do not offer extra credit in this course.

Overall course rubric

Yes! = A-level work. These show evidence of:

  • clear, compelling writing assignments that include:
    • a credible, persuasive argument with some originality
    • argument persuasively supported by relevant, accurate and complete evidence
    • persuasive integration of argument and evidence in an insightful analysis
    • excellent organization: introduction, topic sentences, coherent paragraphs, use of evidence, contextualization, analysis, smooth transitions, conclusion
    • prose free of spelling and grammatical errors with lack of clichés
    • correct page formatting when relevant, with regular margins, 12-point font, double spaced
    • accurate formatting of footnotes and bibliography with required citation and documentation
    • on-time submission of assignments
    • Your essay should include (as per Joel M. Sipress, “Why Students Don’t Get Evidence and What We Can Do About It,”The History Teacher, 37, 3, May 2004, on Jstor and Brightspace):
      • Thesis—The “thesis” is the point that you are trying to prove. It is the thing of which you are trying to persuade the audience. It is your answer to the important question. A good thesis can usually be expressed in a sentence or two. The ability to formulate a clear and concise thesis is the fundamental skill of argumentation. One cannot argue effectively for a position unless it is clear what that position is.
      • Summary—Arguments often take the form of a response to another person’s argument. In order to respond effectively to an argument, one must first be able to effectively identify and summarize that other person’s argument, including the other person’s thesis.
      • Organization—In order to demonstrate a thesis, one must present points in support of that thesis. The persuasiveness of the argument depends largely upon the organization with which one presents the supporting points. The key to a well-organized argument is to present the supporting points one at a time in a logical order.
      • Evidence—The fundamental criteria by which the persuasiveness of an argument should be judged is the degree to which specific evidence is provided that demonstrates the thesis and supporting points. The ability to locate and present such evidence is thus a fundamental skill of argumentation.
    • Your essay should generally try to engage at least one, if not more than one, of the “5 C’s” as described in Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke. “What Does It Mean to Think Historically?,” Perspectives on History, January 2007. These are:
      • Change over time
      • Context
      • Causality
      • Contingency
      • Complexity
  • for class meetings, regular attendance and timely preparation overall, plus insightful, constructive, respectful, and regular participation in class discussions
  • overall, a thorough understanding of required course material

Getting Closer = B-level work, It is good, but with minor problems in one or more areas that need improvement.

Needs work = C-level work is acceptable, but with major problems in several areas or a major problem in one area.

Nah = D-level work. It shows major problems in multiple areas, including missing or late assignments, missed class meetings, and other shortcomings.

E-level work is unacceptable. It fails to meet basic course requirements and/or standards of academic integrity/honesty.

Successful assignments demonstrate:

  1. Argument – presence of an articulated, precise, compelling argument in response to assignment prompt; makes an evidence-based claim and expresses the significance of that claim; places argument in framework of existing interpretations and shows distinctive, nuanced perspective of argument. Your argument should engage at least one of the “how to think historically” categories: change over time; context; causality; contingency; complexity. From Joel Sipress: Thesis—The “thesis” is the point that you are trying to prove. It is the thing of which you are trying to persuade the audience. It is your answer to the important question. A good thesis can usually be expressed in a sentence or two. The ability to formulate a clear and concise thesis is the fundamental skill of argumentation. One cannot argue effectively for a position unless it is clear what that position is.
  2. Evidence – presence of specific evidence from primary sources to support the argument. From Joel Sipress: Evidence—The fundamental criteria by which the persuasiveness of an argument should be judged is the degree to which specific evidence is provided that demonstrates the thesis and supporting points. The ability to locate and present such evidence is thus a fundamental skill of argumentation.
  3. Argumentation – presence of convincing, compelling connections between evidence and argument; effective explanation of the evidence that links specific details to larger argument and its sub-arguments with logic and precision
  4. Contextualization – presence of contextualization, which is to say an accurate portrayal of historical contexts in which evidence appeared and argument is being made. From Joel Sipress: Summary—Arguments often take the form of a response to another person’s argument. In order to respond effectively to an argument, one must first be able to effectively identify and summarize that other person’s argument, including the other person’s thesis.
  5. Citation – if required by assignment, wields Chicago Manual of Style citation standards effectively to document use of primary and secondary sources
  6. Organization and Style – presence of logical flow of reasoning and grace of prose, including:
    1. an effective introduction that hooks the reader with originality and states the argument of the assignment and its significance
    2. clear topic sentences that provide sub-arguments and their significance in relation to the overall argument
    3. effective transitions between paragraphs
    4. a compelling conclusion that restates argument and adds a final point
    5. accurate phrasing and word choice
    6. use of active rather than passive voice sentence constructions
    7. From Joel Sipress: Organization—In order to demonstrate a thesis, one must present points in support of that thesis. The persuasiveness of the argument depends largely upon the organization with which one presents the supporting points. The key to a well-organized argument is to present the supporting points one at a time in a logical order.

Citation and style guide: Using Chicago Manual of Style

In this course, you can begin to grasp the use of Chicago Manual of Style.

Writing consultation

Writing Tutoring is available through the Academic Success Center. It will help at any stage of writing. Be sure to show your tutor the assignment prompt and syllabus guidelines to help them help you.

Research consultation

The librarians at Drake Memorial Library are an incredible resource. You can consult with them remotely or in person. To schedule a meeting, go to the front desk at Drake Library or visit the library website’s Consultation page.

Attendance policy

You will certainly do better with evaluation in the course, learn more, and get more out of the class the more you attend meetings, participate in discussions, complete readings, and finish assignments. That said, lives get complicated. Therefore, you may miss up to four class meetings, with or without a justified reason (this includes sports team travel, illness, or other reasons). You do not need to notify the instructor of your absences.

If you are ill, please stay home and take precautions if you have any covid or flu symptoms. Moreover, masks are welcome in class if you are still recovering from illness or feel sick.After six absences, subsequent absences will result in reduction of final course grade at the discretion of the instructor. Generally, more than five absences results in the loss of one grade per additional absences from final course evaluation.

Please note again: I do not offer extra credit in this course.

Disabilities and accommodations

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Brockport Faculty Senate legislation, students with documented disabilities may be entitled to specific accommodations. SUNY Brockport is committed to fostering an optimal learning environment by applying current principles and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion. If you are a student with a disability and want to utilize academic accommodations, you must register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to obtain an official accommodation letter which must be submitted to faculty for accommodation implementation. If you think you have a disability, you may want to meet with SAS to learn about related resources. You can find out more about Student Accessibility Services or by contacting SAS via the email address sasoffice@brockport.edu or phone number (585) 395-5409. Students, faculty, staff, and SAS work together to create an inclusive learning environment. Feel free to contact the instructor with any questions.

Discrimination and harassment policies

Sex and Gender discrimination, including sexual harassment, are prohibited in educational programs and activities, including classes. Title IX legislation and College policy require the College to provide sex and gender equity in all areas of campus life. If you or someone you know has experienced sex or gender discrimination (including gender identity or non-conformity), discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or stalking, we encourage you to seek assistance and to report the incident through these resources. Confidential assistance is available on campus at Hazen Center for Integrated Care. Another resource is RESTORE. Note that by law faculty are mandatory reporters and cannot maintain confidentiality under Title IX; they will need to share information with the Title IX & College Compliance Officer.

Statement of equity and open communication

We recognize that each class we teach is composed of diverse populations and are aware of and attentive to inequities of experience based on social identities including but not limited to race, class, assigned gender, gender identity, sexuality, geographical background, language background, religion, disability, age, and nationality. This classroom operates on a model of equity and partnership, in which we expect and appreciate diverse perspectives and ideas and encourage spirited but respectful debate and dialogue. If anyone is experiencing exclusion, intentional or unintentional aggression, silencing, or any other form of oppression, please communicate with me and we will work with each other and with SUNY Brockport resources to address these serious problems.

Disruptive student behaviors

Please see SUNY Brockport’s procedures for dealing with students who are disruptive in class.

Emergency alert system

In case of emergency, the Emergency Alert System at The College at Brockport will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the College’s Emergency Information website.

Learning goals

The study of history is essential. By exploring how our world came to be, the study of history fosters the critical knowledge, breadth of perspective, intellectual growth, and communication and problem-solving skills that will help you lead purposeful lives, exercise responsible citizenship, and achieve career success. History Department learning goals include:

  • Demonstrate knowledge of major concepts, models and issues of US history since the Civil War
  • Identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments as they appear in their own and others’ work
  • Demonstrate understanding of the methods historians use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of interpretive analysis
  • Develop proficiency in oral discourse through class participation and discussion
  • Articulate a historical question and thesis in response to it through analysis of empirical evidence
  • Advance in logical sequence principal arguments in defense of a historical thesis
  • Provide relevant evidence drawn from the evaluation of primary and/or secondary sources that supports the primary arguments in defense of a historical thesis
  • Evaluate the significance of a historical thesis by relating it to a broader field of historical knowledge
  • Express themselves clearly in writing that forwards a historical analysis
  • Start to learn disciplinary standards of documentation and citation when referencing historical sources