HISTORY 300, AMERICAN SOUTH CIVIL WAR THROUGH CIVIL RIGHTS
| Consult the syllabus for the general topic themes,
and their respective due dates. Please note that what is on the syllabus
constitutes general themes, not topics in and of themselves; specific
topics would be chosen within those themes. Papers will be due at various
times throughout the semester, depending on your choice of topic. You should choose your general theme area by September 25 and turn that in to me in
class (I’ll pass around a sheet that day). If you want to do a paper on the
general area of the Civil War and Reconstruction, you should probably decide before then and get to work on it as soon as you can, as it is due October
1.
Topics should be selected in specific consultation with me; it’s up to you to contact me and arrange a meeting, or consult with me over email. My office hours are T 1:30 – 4:30, and I’m available by email (pharvey *AT* uccs *DOT* edu) or phone (X 4078) if that is preferable. You should select a topic that is as specific as possible, and one that is researchable – that is, a topic that has a body of primary sources available for you to consult. All papers should be fully referenced (with footnotes or endnotes, and a bibliography of sources consulted) done in Chicago style of documentation. If you don’t know what that is, click on the link, consult the Writing Center handouts, or get the book Pocket Guide to Writing in History, available in the bookstore for the History 394 class (also easily available and very inexpensively online). Or just model you footnotes/endnotes and bibliography after the one you see at the end of Southern Music, American Music.
Your paper should be thesis-driven; it should present an argument, and then support that argument with evidence. Your thesis should not be a statement of fact, or of the obvious, but should instead articulate an analytical and specific idea about your topic which a reasonable person could plausibly accept or reject. This paper, in short, is ideally not a "book report" or a presentation of facts you have learned about a particular subject. It is, rather, an argument, supported by evidence, about a significant and carefully defined topic.
Try to think of a topic that interests you, and have some fun with it. Be prepared to discuss the results of your research during class if/when I call on you – and I will.
I am happy to read rough drafts,
provided I have a week or so to do it. I will not write or rewrite your
paper for you, but I'll be glad to respond generally to your ideas in draft
form.
1)
Civil War and Reconstruction:
due October 1
2)
im Crow and racial violence,
1870s – 1930s: due October 8
3)
Southern Liberalism and
Progressivism during the Jim Crow era:
due Oct. 15
4)
Civil Rights Movement:
due November 19
5)
The Rise of the Sunbelt and
Contemporary Southern Conservatism:
due Nov. 26
6)
Southern
Cultures: Music, the Arts, Literature:
due Dec. 3
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On the day you have signed up to be a class discussion
leader, come prepared with a short (about 5 – 10 minutes) oral presentation on
the readings for the day. Most importantly, be prepared to discuss the
central arguments/points made in a particular reading, and bring
questions for discussion to propose to the class. Make a list of three (or
so) of each. Your goal should be to communicate the most important points
you got from the reading, and the most important
questions/queries/quandaries you were left with. Present your findings to the
class clearly and concisely in an oral presentation. Don’t worry about the
minutiae or details of a reading; focus on the largest and most important topics
and questions for discussion.
Sept. 11: Foner, pp. 76-189: April Roof
Sept. 18: Foner, 189-end: Kara Crews
Sept. 25: Litwack article “Hellhounds,” on reserve: Latasha Smith, Courtney Brewner, Jessica Emery
Oct. 2: Coclanis, Confronting Southern Poverty During the Great Depression Michelle Rozell, April Long, Jessica Stewart
Oct. 9: Southern Music, American Music, pp. 1-90 Stephen Williams, Brock Kilgore
Oct. 16: Southern Music, pp. 90-180 Charlie Morath, Brian Hoffman
Oct. 16: Harvey article, on reserve Sarah Cyr, Theresa Trammell
Oct. 30: Raines, My Soul is Rested, pp. 1-137 Jacob D. Williams, Vanessa Greenlee
Nov. 6: Raines, My Soul is Rested, pp. 137-227 Brooke Brumley, Sarah Busby
Nov. 6: Martin Luther King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail Tina Kracker, Cliff Butler
Nov. 13: Raines, My Soul is Rested, pp. 233-336 Tahara George, Jamie Mobley, Angela Dinolfo
Nov. 13: Raines, My Soul is Rested, 401-72 Laura Grant
Nov. 27: Kruse, White Flight, pp. 1-131 Sheran DeReus, Megan Lukow
Dec. 4: Kruse, White Flight, pp. 131-end Grant Mathews, Emily Buikema |