Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Carla Gerona
CV Honors: Survey of American History
History 1301 Sec 010
TR 12:30-1:45 PM, JO 4.614
Office hours: T: 2-3 or by appointment. Jo 5.612
Phone: (972)-883-6354
E-mail cgerona@utdallas.edu
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:
This is an introduction to the study of American history from the beginnings through the
American Civil War – or the foundational period of U.S. history. This course will focus
on the ways in which different peoples came together to create America. We will begin
with Native America and look at early encounters with Europeans and Africans. Then we
will explore the ways in which early Americans built colonies, provinces, and eventually,
the independent United States. Next we turn to developments and problems in the first
half of the 1800s, concluding with a study of the Civil War.
Our approach to history will be based on critical thinking; we will work with primary and
secondary sources and learn to interpret distinct and sometimes conflicting sources. The
study of history also gives you an opportunity to develop essential skills that will be
useful wherever you go: reading, listening, writing, and communicating effectively. I
hope that you will enjoy getting to know our founding mothers and fathers; our ancestors
were amazing people -- and you will see that they did not always share one way of
thinking!
REQUIRED TEXTS:
• American Passages: A History of the United States Brief Second Edition
• Alfred P. Young, Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental
Soldier
• Anthony F.C. Wallace, Jefferson and the Indians: The Tragic Fate of the First
Americans
• Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from America's Unfinished Civil
War
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA:
COURSE SCHEDULE
R Aug 18
Introduction
T Aug 23
Reading: American Passages (hereafter AP), Chapter 1: Contact, Conflict, and Exchange
R Aug 25
Reading: AP, Chapter 2, Colonization of North America
T Aug 30
Reading: AP, Chapter 3, Crisis and Change
R Sept 1
Presentations
T Sept 6
Reading: AP, Chapter 4, The Expansion of Colonial British America
R Sept 8
Test 1
T Sept 13
Reading AP, Chapter 5, Wars for Independence
R Sept 15
Reading: Masquerade, 1-164
T Sept 20
Reading: Masquerade, 164-320
R Sept 22
Reading AP, Chapter 6, Toward a More Perfect Union
T Sept 27
Reading, AP, Chapter 7, The Federalist Republic
R Sept 29
Reading AP, Chapter 8, The New Republic Faces a New Century
T Oct 4
No class
R Oct 6
Test 2
T Oct 11
Reading: Jefferson and the Indians, 1-161.
R Oct 13
Reading: Jefferson and the Indians, 161-338.
T Oct 18
Reading: AP, Chapter 9, Exploded Boundaries
R Oct 20
Reading: AP, Chapter 10, The Years of Andrew Jackson
T Oct 25
Reading: AP, Chapter 11, Panic and Boom
R Oct 27
Presentations
T Nov 1
Reading AP, Chapter 12, Expansion and Reaction
R Nov 3
Test 3
T Nov 8
Reading: AP Chapter 13, Broken Bonds
R Nov 10
Reading: AP, Chapter 14, Descent into War
T Nov 15
Reading: AP, Chapter 15, Blood and Freedom
R Nov 17
Reading: Confederates in the Attic, 3-88,209-281,379-390 and any one other chapter of
your own choosing.
T Nov 22
No reading
Finals week
Dec 1
Test 4 (11:00 AM)