Course Description
Course covers Georgia's past from pre-history to the present, emphasizing themes of race, class, and modernization. The course gives special emphasis to the lives of everyday Georgians and coverage of the Georgia Constitution, making constant reference to U.S. history to show how Georgia was like or unlike other places.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional research and/or paper(s) are normally required for graduate level coursework.
Athena Title
History of Georgia
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course will be a general survey of the history of the State of Georgia in the context of the history of the United States. The scope will be from prehistoric times to the present. Students will be expected to gain a greater knowledge of significant people, places, and events that form Georgia’s history, including the development of the Georgia Constitution A principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which past societies and peoples have defined the relationships between community and individual needs and goals, and between ethical norms and decision-making. In general, students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
Precolonial and European Encounters Colonial Georgia Revolutionary War and New Nation Georgia Constitution and U.S. Constitution Expansion and Removal of Creeks and Cherokees Antebellum and Road to War Georgia and the Civil War Reconstruction and Redemption New South and Populism The 1920s to the New Deal World War II Era Post War and 1950s Civil Rights Movement Modern Georgia and the World
Syllabus