Course Syllabus

HIST 2710 United States History from 1877

Course Description

This course covers the development of the United States from 1877 to the present, to include Industrialism, the Last Frontier, the Progressive Era, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and New Deal, World War II, the Cold War Era, the Civil Rights Movement, and Contemporary America. HIST 2710, taken in conjunction with HIST 2700, will satisfy the American Institutions requirement established by the Utah State Legislature.

Justification

HIST 2710, taken together with HIST 2700, satisfies the American Institutions (AI) requirement established by the Utah Legislature and USHE. HIST 2710 provides a foundation for understanding the history of America. This course is equivalent to HIST 2710 at all USHE institutions.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. After completing this course, students are prepared to recognize and appreciate the diversity of ideas that constitute American history. Students read and discuss a variety of primary sources to understand these ideas from a variety of perspectives. Class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments will ask students to consider how—in a variety of contexts—American institutions influenced US history from 1877 to the present.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. After completing this course, students are prepared to work competently with a
   variety of media sources as they engage in analysis of American history. Students read, watch, and listen to a variety of primary media and are assessed, in discussion and written response, on content. Class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments are designed to elicit constructive and critical responses.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Upon the successful completion of this course, students will understand various disciplines such as history, economics, social issues, gender issues, and political knowledge. Assessment will be measured through classroom discussions and written assignments
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students must demonstrate an understanding of cultural and historical influence to some degree in every class discussion, written assignment, and exam. Understanding "America" and its history requires reasoning analytically, critically, and creatively about multiple factors.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of primary source documents, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the origins, development, and current dynamics of the political, social, and economic system of United States. Class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate viewpoints of historical figures and modern scholars. Through the study of primary source documents, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the origins, development, and current dynamics of the political, social, and economic system of United States. Class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate viewpoints of historical figures and modern scholars.
2. Explain and use historically, politically, and economically relevant information. Through reading primary and secondary sources, students will understand how to evaluate and use historically relevant information to make and critique arguments about American history. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to use historically relevant information in class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments.
3. Communicate effectively about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States. Students will be able to communicate knowledge, analysis, and critiques of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States, with a special emphasis on history. Student abilities in this area will be demonstrated in class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments.
4. Engage a diversity of viewpoints in a constructive manner that contributes to a dialogue about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States. By engaging a range of sources, students will understand multiple viewpoints about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States, with a particular emphasis on history. Students will be able to discuss these viewpoints in historical context and be able to articulate connections to contemporary issues. Class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to make their own contribution to the dialogue about the history of the United States.
5. Use historical, political, and economic methods to come to an understanding of the United States that integrates those viewpoints. Students will be introduced to the methods of History. Through reading and analyzing historical, political, and/or economic primary and secondary sources, students will use these methods to come to an understanding of the United States that integrates diverse viewpoints. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to use historical methods in the context of US history through class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments.

Course Content

Through lecture, readings, multimedia, class discussion, exams, and written assignments, this course traditionally follows a chronological path, analyzing how politics, culture, and societal factors shaped the history of the United States of America from the end of Reconstruction to possibly as late as the present. The course takes broad purview of American history, looking at larger transformations across time, while also more closely examining how individuals and groups caused and responded to these larger changes. Aspects of cultural differences are often missed in high school instruction. This class aims to, among other things, account for those deficiencies and provide an increased understanding of peoples and places in America. Both primary and secondary source reading assignments are intended to present a more complete picture of early American history. Possible topics include: the American Frontier; industrialization; American politics in the Gilded Age; the Imperial Age; the Progressive Era; World War I; the Roaring Twenties; the Great Depression and the New Deal; World War II; the Fair Deal and Containment; the Civil Rights Movement; the Vietnam Era; conservative America; contemporary America. These concepts explain the various culture that existed during periods of America as well as modern America.