Course Description
Biographies and autobiographies to explore a variety of themes and issues in American history. Emphases will differ depending on instructor: focus may be nineteenth century, twentieth century, women, race, southern autobiography, etc.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Extra readings and papers will be expected of graduate students in the class.
Athena Title
American Lives
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about biographies in American 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 American Lives shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward class and environment, race and religion, and gender and sexuality, 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
- Slave Narratives
- Civil War Memoirs
- Emancipation and Reconstruction
- Black Women in the Jim Crow South
- Black Men in the Jim Crow South
- White Southerners in the Jim Crow South
- Civil Rights Memoir
- Environmental Memoir
- Appalachian Memoir
- Southern Jewish Memoir
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.
