History for History Teachers: The U.S.-1865 to the Present
HIST(ESOC) 4112
3 hours
History for History Teachers: The U.S.-1865 to the Present
Analytical Thinking
Communication
Critical Thinking
Course Description
Introduces secondary social studies education students to modern
U.S. history, with emphasis on how to teach history content,
concepts, and methods to students at the middle school, high
school, and introductory college levels.
Athena Title
History for History Teachers
Non-Traditional Format
This course is restricted to undergraduate and graduate students
in the secondary social studies education program or middle
grades education program with an emphasis in social studies, and
history graduate students. It is open to history majors with
instructor approval.
Prerequisite
One HIST course
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about how to teach modern U.S. history by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of the United States shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward race and civil rights, religion and morality, and immigration and imperialism, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.
Topical Outline
1. Approaches to history (introduction to historiography, methodological approaches, reading analytically)
2. Introduction to research methods (database searches, interpreting primary sources, rules of evidence, citations, bibliographies, effective notetaking)
3. Readings, discussions, and lectures on the topic of the course
4. Reconstruction
5. Yankee Leviathan and politics divided
6. Immigrants, urbanization, and capitalism unbound
7. Reform of all kinds
8. Imperialism and world war
9. Culture class and the roots of depression
10. Yankee Leviathan and World War II
11. Civil rights, anti-gay wrongs, and the Cold War
12. Democratic Leviathan and politics divided
13. Leviathan unmanned (feminism, the hostage crisis, and deindustrialization)
Remaining classes will be devoted to exams and discussions of research projects.
Assignments: In addition to participating in class discussion and exams, students will write short research papers.
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
