Issues in American History:

PROGRESSIVE REFORM

History 240-1, Second half, Fall Semester 2007
(2 Credits)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What is this course? This course examines the origins, development, and ongoing legacy of a pivotal period of reformism in U.S. history: the Progressive era, 1890-1920. Besides providing a historical overview of the period, the course will especially focus on the role of religious convictions, sensibilities, and institutions in fostering, sustaining, and opposing progressive reform and other related social and cultural factors of the period.

What will class meetings be like? The course will meet three times a week. In general, lecture and discussion will constitute the main portion of most classes. Often, parts of classes will be devoted to the preparation and/or presentation of assignments or the viewing of a documentary or film clip.

What will be expected in general of each student? The workload of the course reflects both liberal arts expectations in general and historical method in particular. Attendance at all class meetings is, of course, expected. Some 1300 pp. of reading will be required. Writing will include two reflective papers and two in-class exams. Discussion will be a significant part of the class.

COURSE OBJECTIVES (WHAT DIFFERENCE THIS COURSE SHOULD MAKE):

1. To build familiarity with the significant U.S. historical developments centered around the reform impulses of the Progressive era (1890-1920), since such reformism and developments have arguably shaped contemporary society and culture in ways that are still being weighed (e.g., "progressive," prohibition, woman's suffrage, social gospel, government regulation).
2. To further develop skills in analytical reading, critical thinking and writing, oral discussion, and research through course assignments and activities beyond 100-level history courses, since such liberal arts skills are key tools for learning how, with the Apostle Paul, to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
3. To further develop practice of historical method beyond 100-level history courses through attention to such issues as context, continuity and change, causation, moral judgment, and interpretation while engaged with course material, since historical method can be a tool for living “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt. 10:16).
4. To provide tools and opportunity for integrating a historical understanding of the significance of progressive reform in the U.S. with a maturing Christian perspective on faith and life, since "in [Christ] all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).

COURSE OUTLINE:

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Reading (or viewing, in assignment order):

• Link, Arthur S. and Richard L. McCormick. Progressivism. Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1983.  ISBN 0882958143
• Kazin, Michael. A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan. New York: Anchor Books, 2007.  ISBN 9780385720564
• Addams, Jane. Twenty Years at Hull-House. New York: Signet Classics, 1999 (orig. ed. 1910).  ISBN 9780451527394
• Sinclair, Upton.  The Jungle.  New York: Signet Classics, 2006 (orig. ed. 1906).  ISBN 9780451528049
• Various handouts and articles, some available on Synapse, throughout the course.
• Matewan.  DVD.  Directed by John Sayles.  1987; Santa Monica, CA: Artisan Entertainment, 1999.

2. Assignments:

A. TWO EXAMS will constitute 50% of the course grade.

1. A midcourse exam will be given in class on Mon., Nov. 12.  It will constitute 20% of the course grade.
2. A final exam will be given during the scheduled final period.  It will be comprehensive, and it will constitute 30% of the course grade.

3. Each exam will each comprise at least two essay questions to be written in class.  In addition, the comprehensive part of the final exam will consist of a take-home essay question.

4. For each exam, a study sheet will be distributed a week ahead of the exam.  (The study sheet for the final will also include the take-home essay question).

5. On exam days, no textbooks or other course material should be used during the exam (on penalty of voiding the entire exam) except for one 8 ½ x 11 inch exam sheet of outlines and notes (typed or handwritten, both sides if necessary).  This exam sheet must be handed in with the exam blue book.
6. Blue books will be required for each exam.  (These are available in the NWC bookstore.)

B. An ARTICLE REPORT will constitute 15% of the course grade.

1. A report on a scholarly article about some aspect of progressive reform is due either on Nov. 7 (Wed.) or Nov. 9 (Fri.).  Each student will be assigned one or the other day; these assignments will be decided soon after the course gets underway.
2. Each article reported on is up to each student, so long as the choice meets all the following guidelines:

• it is from a peer-reviewed history journal (i.e., usually a quarterly, and with foot- or endnotes)
• it is not on William Jennings Bryan, Jane Addams, or Upton Sinclair (we have assigned reading on or by these folks)
• it is directly related to some aspect of progressive reform, that is, is is about a reformer, a reform issue, a reform organization or movement, etc., during the Progressive era, ca. 1890-1920.  See Article Search Topics in the Content section for this course on Synapse.  If in doubt about whether an article meets the guidelines, please check with the instructor.

3. The report is to be in two forms, written and oral.
4. The written report should be 1 p., typed, single spaced, with a header containing your name, the due date, your RSC box number, and the author, title, and source of the article, e.g., Douglas Firth Anderson. "'A True Revival of Religion': Protestants and the San Francisco Graft Prosecutions, 1906-1909." Religion and American Culture 4 (1994): 25-49.
5. The written report should concisely provide a) a one-to-three sentence statement of the article's main argument, b) a paragraph summary of the main points made in the article, and c) a paragraph critically engaging the article and relating it to the course's topic of progressive reform.
6. Enough copies of the written report should be made so that the instructor and all class members have a copy of it at the beginning of the class for which it is assigned.
7. The written report is the basis for an oral report to the class (to be presented on the class day assigned).  The oral report should present present parts a), b), and c) of the written report, with any appropriate elaborations, quotations, and illustrations, in five to seven minutes, followed by three to five minutes of class discussion.  The total time for each oral report should be around 10 minutes.  (These times are subject to adjustment depending on the number of students in the course.)
8. Evaluation of the report (written and oral) will include the following factors: 1) how completely and well are all of the formal specifications above met? 2) how clear and coherent are the two forms of the report? 3) how accurately, thoughtfully, and insightfully is the chosen article understood, engaged, and related to progressive reform?

C. A BOOK COMPARISON ESSAY will constitute 25% of the course grade.

1. The comparison essay is due by midnight of Mon., Nov. 26.
2. The essay should critically compare Twenty Years at Hull-House and The Jungle, focusing either on the topic of religion or of gender.  In other words, what do we learn about progressive reform in regard to religion or to gender from comparing these two books of the Progressive era?
3. The report should be 4-5 pp. (1000-1500 words), typed, double spaced, with a header containing the student’s name, the due date, e-address, and an essay title.
4. Submit the paper via Synapse: i.e., save your paper in a Microsoft Word file; then log onto Synapse; click on this course; click on “assignments”; click on “paper”; locate your Word file and submit (Synapse will automatically send your paper through Turnitin.com).
5. The factors for evaluating this assignment will include at least the following: a) how well does the essay meet the formal specifications? b) how well does the essay reflect familiarity (breadth, depth, and accuracy) with each book? c) how thoroughly and insightfully are the books analyzed and evaluated in relation to progressive reform? and d) how well written is the essay (organization, clarity, cogency)?

D. CLASS PARTICIPATION will constitute 10% of the course grade.

1. Class participation is a portion of the grade based on the instructor’s estimation of the integrity of each student’s timely engagement with the course material and the classroom environment.
2. Part of the material on which this portion of the grade will be based will be various brief written assignments (e.g., developing questions about or reflecting on course material).  A record of the assignments and their general sufficiency will be kept (i.e., pass/not pass).
3. Another part of the material on which this portion of the grade will be based will be an assessment of the overall consistency and quality of each student's attentiveness and involvement in the course.  Attentiveness and involvement include discussion, listening, and note-taking.  Talkativeness is not the standard, though, any more than is silence.  Rather, the goal for each student is an overall consistent engagement with the material of the course in class, which, while allowing for differences in personalities and variety in class sessions, could by a reasonable observer at the end of the course be deemed, if exceptional, "excellent" or at least "good."
4. When appropriate, the instructor is prepared to be flexible with occasional student scheduling problems, but the instructor must be consulted.  “Exceptions” are not an entitlement.

COURSE MISCELLANY:

1. Late Written Assignments

1. All assignments are due in class or by class time as stated in the syllabus or announced in class (papers are due before midnight of the specified day).
2. Exceptions for illness, approved field trips, regularly scheduled games or performances, or other reasons outside the control of the student can be made, but it is up to the student to petition the instructor for such legitimate exceptions.
3. If an assignment is handed in late and without a legitimate exception, it will normally receive a penalty of at least one full grade down from whatever score the work merits apart from the penalty.  If an assignment is over a week late, it will be penalized by a markdown of at least two full grades.

2. Academic Honesty

1. It is expected that all reading and written work done in and for the course will be done with integrity.  That is, reading and writing as assigned is to be done with honest single-mindedness by each student, without undue reliance on others to do the work and without deceit about the work's timeliness, authorship, and sources.  Integrity of this sort is not easy or convenient; it does not provide shortcuts or guarantee "As."  Yet it is the best path to growth in wisdom, and wisdom is the fruit of education most to be savored.
2. Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism, as defined in the Student and Faculty Handbooks.
3. Cheating in exams, plagiarizing in papers, and other forms of academic dishonesty, will, when duly determined, lead to a "0" score for the assignment involved and the filing of a report with the Academic Dean (VPAA), per the Student and Faculty Handbooks.

3. Grading

1. We the faculty of the History Department do not believe that "grade inflation" is good for you. Jesus admonishes us to "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'" (Mt. 5:37); in other words, let grades have integrity as indicators of knowledge and/or competence for a given assignment or course.
2. Therefore, an A=excellent or outstanding work; B=good work (more than adequate but not excellent); C=sufficient work (the assignment or the course’s requirements have been met, but not with any remarkable quality); D=insufficient work (does not fully meet the assignment); F=failing work.
3. Grades for assignments and for the course as a whole are based on a 100% scale, as follows:

A = 90-100

B = 80-89

C = 70-79

D = 60-69

F = 0-59

4. Within the 100% scale for letter grades, + and - will be given on the following scale (exceptions: no A+ or F + or F-):

+ = x7-x9

- = x0-x2

5. Remember--grades are NOT a measure of your personal worth; that is already established by God! Grades are measures of the quality of your work for a given assignment and/or course--nothing more and nothing less.

4. Advice for Doing Well in History Courses

A. READING

• This course is about texts and contexts of the Western past.  That is, this course is about attentively reading various primary and secondary texts and thinking about the settings--context--for the relevant pasts.  Thus, reading is central to this course.
• There are three important things you should do with the reading: Read it all; take notes on it so that you can use it; and draw on all of it that may be relevant for each course assignment.
• Reading for history courses is not so much about memorizing data, but about seeing the structure, the argument, and the supporting evidence in a reading, and to also think critically about context (e.g., authorship, audience, developments taking place, etc.).  Mark and take notes on these things as you read.  The time you take on making notes as you read will save you time later when you go back to look for material for your writing assignments.
• We will engage some of the reading in class, but, there is not enough in-class time to go over all the reading.  Pay attention to discussions.  What reading we do go over in class will have to provide you with models for how to deal with all that we cannot deal with directly.  If there is something in the reading you wish to ask about or discuss, please do not hesitate to raise your question or make your observation.

B. WRITING

• Writing is the primary method by which you will show me that you have read the assigned material and not only considered it thoughtfully, but also considered in-class discussions, films, and other materials.
• Since this is a history course, grammar, spelling, syntax, and other such things that might well be graded in a writing course are not the focus in your writing here.  Nonetheless, the better you are at writing a clearly worded, coherently ordered essay with an introduction, a thesis or claim, several main points (with supporting evidence from the reading and other course materials), and a summary conclusion, the better the historical substance of your writing will stand out.  For help with writing, please don't hesitate to see history tutors in the Writing/Academic Support Services Center (VP127).

C. THE PACE OF THE CLASS

• This course may seem "slow" in terms of assignments, but do not take the slowness for lack of rigor in how the main assignments will be graded.
• As the past itself took time, so this course about the past has to let some things unfold before there can be meaningful interaction with course material.  Writing about the reading means on has to do the reading before one can write about it.  And, the reading and writing are cumulative, that is, you will continue to draw up earlier reading in the latter part of the course.  One implication of this is that more than 50% of the course grade will come with assignments in the second half of the class.
• So, plan ahead!  All the major due dates are in the syllabus, and the reading assignments are there as well.  A good habit to cultivate is to read ahead, especially for materials that will be the focus of class discussion.

D. TIME IN AND OUT OF CLASS

• The old wisdom still stands: "you reap what you sow" (Gal. 6:7b).  Sooner or later, what one puts into something is usually directly related to what one receives, whether one is engaging in farming, music, sports, drama, or studying.
• As noted above, reading is central to this class--and reading takes time.  A rule of thumb for humanities courses (history, literature, philosophy, religion) is that spending 2 hours on the class in addition to every hour in class usually brings better fruit than spending less than that.  That is, for a 3-hour-a-week course, an average of 6 hours per week on the class is a reasonable goal if you wish to do well in the class.
• If you signed up for this course, I expect you to be in class.  I hope that you are interested in the course (or that I can awaken interest in you for the course), and that you will thus want to come.  I will try hard not to waste your time.  Apart from this, someone is paying lots of money for you to attend here, and presumably you (and whoever else is involved) are interested in getting your money's worth from your investment.  And, the less you are in class, the more you miss opportunities for understanding the course material: discussions; concepts explained; themes noted; issues to ponder; connections to make; additional material presented; explanations of assignments or other things; etc.  On the one hand, I do not formally take class attendance.  On the other hand, if you are often absent, I do tend to notice.  If you are absent a lot, and with no legitimate explanation, then when it comes time for me to total up your work for a course grade, I will have little to no reason to give you any benefit of the doubt.

E. STUDY ADVICE 

• Rule of thumb: If you wish to do well in history classes, generally plan on two hours of outside work for every in-class hour. Much reading and some writing is involved, and this takes time to do adequately, let alone well.
• Spirituality: Approach your studies with a prayerful attitude. Pray for discipline, for attentiveness, for discernment and understanding. Christ is Lord of all of life, so he is Lord of our learning. Give him the glory with the mind he has given you. We don't think of playing an instrument or playing basketball without practice; why would anyone think that glorifying God with our minds takes any less time--any less prayer and disciplined action?
• Reading: READ ATTENTIVELY AND INTELLIGENTLY. For history courses, the point of reading is to gain information AND to put that information within some context, or thesis, or pattern. Your goal in reading for a history course is to watch for all the cues the author gives you as to 1) what facts are more important than others and 2) how the facts are marshaled into larger patterns that "tell a story" or "make a point."
• Taking notes is always relevant—in and on your reading, on lectures, on discussions, on videos.  (If you have a photographic memory or already know all the material, then of course taking notes would be pointless . . .)
• Further Help: You should be able to handle this course with sufficient time and attention. After all, hundreds of other students have. However, if you run into problems, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP: me, my student assistant, folks in the Writing Center.