HISTORY 431 THE AMERICAN

SOUTH

SYLLABUS REVIEW

Professor Kristalyn M. ShefvelandFall 2015

ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR My name is Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland and I am a specialist in Colonial and Native American History. I received my PhD in American History from the University of Mississippi in May 2010. My research interests include Colonial America, Native America, the Southeast, the Atlantic World and the British Empire. I am eager to learn about you and your specific interests in History.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to introduce students to the history and culture of the South. This class will serve as an introduction to the history of the colonial, antebellum, and New American South. Students will distinguish between myth and reality as they study a variety of topics, including slavery, politics, economics and the causes of the Civil War. The class will also focus on southern culture and daily life, including the role of women and a look at food, clothing and entertainment. In-class readings provided by the instructor will consist of various primary documents, short stories and poems from the South as well as relevant films, music, food, and other items of material history.

REQUIRED READINGS Steven C. Hahn, The Life and Times of Mary Musgrove (Gainesville: The University of Florida Press, 2012) ISBN: 9780813042213

W.J. Cash, Mind of the South (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1941) ISBN: 9780679736479

Lalita Tademy, Cane River (New York: Warner Books, 2001) ISBN: 9780446678452

W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Southern Past: Clash of Race and Memory (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005) ISBN: 9780674018761

SUGGESTED READING: Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz

COURSE QUESTIONS & OBJECTIVES

How has the concept of the South and the myth of the Lost Cause shaped the American experience?

In what ways has the South been romanticized in American popular folklore and culture?

What role has memory played in the creation of the Southern past?

How can we examine cultures and their experiences comparatively, when cultures are experienced as unique and distinctive?

How do legendary narratives shape our understanding of American history, American culture in the present, and the role of America in the world? In particular, in what ways is the South a shaping force in the ways that outsiders view the American experience?

GRADING SCALEA: 900 + points

B+: 870-899 points

B: 800 – 869 points

C+: 770-799 points

C: 700 – 769 points

D+: 670-699 points

D: 600 – 669 points

F: 000 – 599 points

COURSE WEBSITES

A course Blackboard page will be maintained throughout the semester. On it you will find the syllabus and the PowerPoints from each lecture as well as any additional course reading material and handouts relevant to the assignments. Any changes to the class schedule will be posted on the Blackboard page and it is your responsibility to keep up to date.

 

Additionally there will be a course website maintained at

http://www.kristalynshefveland.com/hist-431-the-american-south

 

(Additional Resources can be found at http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/wilson5.html and http://www.ibiblio.org/sostudies/jump.htm)

ASSIGNMENTS

DISCUSSION PAPERS (400PTS) For our monographs you are responsible for turning in a brief (5-7 pages, 100 points each) response essay based on your understanding of the reading material, class discussion, and lecture. These essays are not book reports but rather are an incorporation of class-discussion and analysis with your reading of the works in question. A series of questions will be developed in class that you will be endeavor to answer in your essay, thus engagement in class discussion is a necessary component. Essays should be double spaced with one-inch margins in 12 point, Times New Roman font. Citations for these brief essays should still be in Chicago Manual of Style format, either footnotes or endnotes, further directions on these assignments will be available on Blackboard.

CLASS PARTICIPATION (300 POINTS)

You can obtain participation points by completing assigned projects and discussion from class topics, regularly speaking in class, participating in dialogue on Blackboard, and/or by attending office hours or special events that I have announced in class will count towards the participation grade. The in-class assignments cannot be made up. You will get credit for completing the assignments and lose credit if you miss one. The assignments will include individual work and group work. Class attendance is essential for this course as in-class discussion and assignments will play a significant role in your course grade. Students should plan to be in class on time every day.

RESEARCH PROJECT (300 POINTS)

Do not use Wikipedia or any other unreliable internet sources for your exams or papers without permission from instructor (This does not include online databases such as JStor or Project Muse), please contact me regarding specific sources if you have concerns. This assignment requires you to produce a 15-20 page paper on a subject of the American West. YOU WILL FAIL THE ENTIRE PROJECT IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE EACH COMPONENT, i.e., A TOPIC PROPOSAL AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY MUST BE APPROVED AND A ROUGH DRAFT MUST BE SUBMITTED. ADDITIONALLY FAILURE TO PROVIDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE ROUGH DRAFT AND FINAL DRAFT WILL EQUAL A ZERO FOR THAT PART OF THE ASSIGNMENT. Topic Proposal (10): All topics must be approved before the project can begin,

further instructions will be communicated in class. Annotated Bibliography (40): A minimum of 10-12 sources is required. Further

instructions will be posted to Blackboard. Your bibliography and ALL of your citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html.

Research Paper (Rough Draft-50, Final Draft-100, Final Presentation-100) Your research paper will be on an approved topic of your choice on any aspect of the American South, broadly defined. You will be responsible for identifying sources, formulating a thesis, and providing evidence to prove your thesis. More specific guidelines for your research paper are available on Blackboard. ALL of your citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html.

IMPORTANT POLICIES AND

GUIDELINES

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism in particular, will not be tolerated.  Academic dishonesty is a reprehensible and grievous offense to the learning process and educational environment of all students.  As such, any occurrences will be punished to the full extent of department and university policy.  This shall include, but not be limited to: 1. No points for the assignment/exam, 2. Potential failure of the course.  The student will be required to sign an academic integrity report that will be submitted to the dean of students.  USI considers academic dishonesty (defined by the Dean of Students as cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference with another student’s work, or facilitating academic dishonesty) to be a serious misconduct and subject to disciplinary measures up to and including expulsion from the university. These infractions and the penalties are explained further at the Dean of Students’ website: http://www.usi.edu/media/3379739/Academic-Integrity-Policy-Interim-Fall-2014.pdf  It is your responsibility to read this and comply with its requirements.  Even in instances of informal resolution between student and instructor will be entered into the university’s Maxient system.

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES:   If you have a disability for which you may require academic accommodations for this class, please register with Disability Resources (DR) as soon as possible. Students who have or who receive an accommodation letter from DR are encouraged to meet privately with course faculty to discuss the provisions of those accommodations as early in the semester as possible. To qualify for accommodation assistance, students must first register to use the disability resources in DR, Orr Center Rm. 095, 812-464-1961 http://www.usi.edu/disabilities. To help ensure that accommodations will be available when needed, students are encouraged to meet with course faculty at least 7 days prior to the actual need for the accommodation.

USI POLICY ON SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND GENDER VIOLENCE:

USI is committed to creating and maintaining an educational and work environment free of all violence in which all members of the USI community are treated with respect and dignity. USI condemns all gender-based discrimination including sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment, and all other forms of non-consensual sexual activity. The USI Code of Conduct prohibits all forms of gender-based violence, harassment, and exploitation.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COURSE: If you complete the procedure for a Withdrawal from this class beginning with the first day of the term through Friday 10/23, you will receive a ‘W’ for the course.  If you complete the procedure for a Withdrawal between 8/24 and Friday 10/23, you will receive the grade ‘W’ if you are passing with a D or above at the time you drop the course. However, if you are failing at the time you drop the course, you will receive a grade of ‘F.’ It is in keeping with University policy that students who withdraw from a class after the Friday of the ninth week of the term and have a failing grade in the class at time of withdrawal will receive an F, not a W.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY In the case of inclement weather please check your USI e-mail every day. In case of inclement weather or if I must cancel the class due to other reasons, I will send an e-mail to all students in the class and post a notice on the Blackboard web site no later than 2 hours before the class is scheduled to meet.  Please sign up for the USI text message system in order to get the most up-to-date information about university closings due to weather.

COURSE EVALUATIONS

Course evaluations are administered near the end of the semester. They are an integral part of the teaching and learning process.  At the University of Southern Indiana, course evaluations are used for many purposes.  These purposes include curriculum and assignment review, course structure changes, changes in instructional delivery as well as the university’s evaluation of, and continuous improvement efforts for, faculty and faculty development initiatives.  Please complete the course evaluations for this course with care, thought and attention toward the improvement of the class, the faculty and the university community overall.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS In this class, I highly suggest the Chicago Manual of Style for citations as it is the standard for historical research. A brief guide is available on Blackboard for your use.

Do your very best to take care of all necessary business (phone calls, text messages, calls of nature, whatever) before class begins. If you absolutely must leave class, take your books and notebooks with you and do not return. Contact me later to explain your decision to leave class early. In addition, no laptops are to be used in this classroom.

 

Students should plan to be in class, on time every day. Habitual tardiness is both rude and unprofessional. By the same token, wait until I have signaled that the class is over before you begin closing your notebooks and gathering your belongings to make a hasty rush to the exist. In return, I promise to never keep the class after the designated time.

READING AND ASSIGNMENT

SCHEDULE