H311: Postwar America II

Course Outline: We will spend several weeks on each of the following sections. Students should read ahead since time spent will vary.

I. Liberalism in Crisis: LBJ
reading: Chafe, pp.216-368; Chafe (Lives), LBJ chapter, Robert Kennedy chapter; Caputo, entire book; Isserman and Kazin, pp.103-259.
Topics covered: LBJ: roots and rise to power; the rise and fall of the Great Society; LBJ and Vietnam; the development of the counter-culture and student protest movements; Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement; the rise of Black Power.

II. “Bring Us Together:” Richard M. Nixon in the White House
reading: Chafe, pp.369-415; Chafe (Lives), Nixon chapter; Isserman and Kazin,pp.261-300; Schulman, pp.23-52.
Topics covered: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly;” the Nixon character; Nixon’s diplomacy—Vietnam, Russia, and China; Watergate.

III. The Anti-Imperial Presidents: Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
reading: Chafe, pp.416-454; Schulman, pp.53-189.
Topics covered: Ford and the Nixon pardon; the rise and fall of Jimmy Carter; the Iran Hostage Crisis.

IV. “Morning in America?: The 1980s”
reading: Chafe, pp.455-480, Chafe, (Lives), Reagan chapter; Schulman, pp.193-257.
Topics covered: the Reagan Presidency; economic boom times: costs and consequences; the Iran-Contra Affair; ending the Cold War.

V. Poppy in Power: The First Bush Presidency
reading: Chafe, pp.481-495.
Topics Covered: “That Vision Thing”; Gulf War I.

VI. Boomers in Power 1: The Clinton Years
reading: Chafe, pp.495-53;Chafe (Lives), the Clintons chapter.
Topics covered: the rise of Bill Clinton and the election of 1992; reinventing government; “Life: The Movie”—the impact of the media-tabloid culture; Monica, Bill, and Ken: The Impeachment.

VII. Boomers in Power II: The George W. Bush Years—The Return of the Imperial Presidency
reading: Chafe, pp.525-553.
Topics Covered: Fathers and Sons: 41 vs. 43; September 11, Iraq and Beyond.

Rules, Regulations, and Things That Drive Dr. May Crazy

EXAMINATIONS:The midterm exam will be given on Tuesday, October 19. Details on what will be covered will be given well in advance of the exam. The exam will count 30% of your final grade. No make-ups will be given except for extraordinary reasons, which must be documented in writing. ESSAY: You will write a brief (no longer than seven pages) essay on Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War which focuses on the question: What does Caputo’s Vietnam service tell us about the American experience in Vietnam and what lessons do you draw from that conflict? The essay is due on Tuesday, November 16 and counts 25% of your grade.
The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14 from 10:30-12:30 p.m. in KRB 205, and will count 40% of your grade. It will cover everything since the midterm exam. Again, no make-ups will be given as above. All exams are essay in form.

Class READINGS: Students are REQUIRED to read the assigned books. Questions on the exams cannot be fully answered without drawing on class readings. Repeating lecture material-even perfectly-will not earn a student a passing grade, without evidence that the reading has been done and incorporated into answers.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR: Students have the right to expect that their instructors present organized and-hopefully-interesting lectures. Professors have hopes and expectations too. Students are expected to arrive in class on time and for the rest of the hour to listen attentively and ask lively questions. Reading, texting, sleeping, chatting with friends, bolting for the door when a film is being shown, is NOT acceptable behavior. It will be dealt with according to the STUDENT HANDBOOK ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND BEHAVIOR. Students should obtain a copy and be familiar with its policies on behavior, cheating, and plagiarism because they will be followed in this course.

IF YOU FIND THESE POLICIES UNACCEPTABLE,
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.