Course
Description

Examination of selected topics in U.S., European, or Third World history through films and readings accompanied by lectures and discussion.

Methods of Course Instruction

This course is being taught completely via the internet. All course materials and assignments are provided through the Blackboard site for this course (Blackboard can be accessed through the “front door” to Ohio University). Your interaction with me will be primarily through e-mail, although I will be available to talk by phone. The course material will be transmitted by assigned readings, watching films, streaming video mini-lectures, and discussion board interaction. All of your coursework will be submitted electronically through direct e-mail (castle@ohio.edu).   

This is a ten week course. You may work at your own pace; in the sense that you may work ahead, but there are strict deadlines for the submission of assigned work (meaning you can not wait and do the work at the end of the ten weeks). Online courses are notorious for the high number of failing grades and withdrawals among those who begin such a course. You must be highly motivated and be capable of self-direction in order to succeed in such a format. Please view mini-lecture one – Introduction for more on this topic.

I will try to answer e-mails and messages promptly. I am open to all questions. This syllabus contains all of the information needed to take the course (and must be read carefully), but please e-mail or call me if you have general questions related to the course material, clarification of historical information, and/or course protocols. I will do everything I can to help you succeed, but ultimately you will be responsible for your own success or failure.

History 330 is a flexible course that can focus on different aspects of history. It is the decision of the instructor as what area of “history through film” will be the focus of the course. The focus I have chosen is understanding modern American history through documentary film. All of the films selected for this course are documentary films that examine different aspects of modern US history. The subject matter of the each film falls into one of four general categories – fulfilling the promise of equality; competitive capitalism and the issue of opportunity; American foreign policy and the Cold War; and American culture and the concept of freedom of expression. I have selected films that I believe will expose the viewer to aspects of American history and specific issues that are sometimes ignored and/or little known. If there is an overall theme to the subject matter, it might be disparity between the ideals of America and the harsher realities of American society. As documentaries, these films often convey a strong point of view (POV) regarding the subject matter. The intention of the documentarian is to provoke thought and reaction, as well as (in most cases) argue a particular political position/point. Please note: There are many documentary films that I could have chosen for this course. I have selected documentary films that I feel are well-made, critically praised, and focus on important issues related to modern American history. Students should be aware that some of the films selected for this course contains graphic violence and language, and, in some cases, drug references, nudity and sexual content.   

Each student will write eight analysis papers (based on eight films and accompanying essays). Each paper will be worth 9% of the overall course grade (total = 72%). There will a written final paper summarizing the eight films viewed, major issues and overall themes. The final paper will be worth 15% of the overall course grade. The final 13% of the course grade will be based on participation in on-line discussion through the course Blackboard site.

The seventeen documentary films available for this course (and their respective categories) are:

1 – Fulfilling the Promise of Equality

• The Scottsboro Boys; An American Tragedy (African American segregation, injustice)

• A Time for Burning (integration issues in the 1960s)

• Beyond Barbed Wire (Japanese internment during WWII)

• Farmingville (immigrant tensions in suburban America)

2 – Competitive Capitalism and the Issue of Opportunity

• Harlan County USA (study of a coal mining strike in 1970s)
• Harvest of Shame (farm workers in the 1950s/1960s)
• Iraq for Sale (an examination of corporate greed in the Iraq war)
• It was a Wonderful Life (study of six homeless women)
  

3 – American Foreign Policy and the Cold War

• The Atomic Café (Cold War, nuclear war tensions in 1950s)

• Point of Order or The McCarthy Years (anti-communist hysteria, civil liberty in 1950s)

• Hearts and Minds (the Vietnam War)

• The Weather Underground (radical anti-war protestors)

4 – American Culture and the Concept of Freedom of Expression

• Woodstock (music and “hippie” festival in 1969)

• Trekkies (examination of rabid Star Trek fans)

• Blood in the Face (the American neo-Nazi movement)

• The War at Home (University of Wisconsin anti-war protests in the 1960s)

1. Students must select two films from each of the four categories;
2. Students must a total of eight different films;
3. There is no required order for viewing films, students can select and view films in any order.

Materials

Required

Text(s)
There are no textbooks required for this course; however, there is required reading. All of the reading material for this course is available on Blackboard in the form of PDF files. Students are expected to access the reading assignments, open them, and read them online or print them out to read.

Exams
Requirements

No exams