Senior Seminar: Going to
War in American History
History
4990-001 (#81426) Dr.
Reagan
1:25-4:30
Wednesday Fall 2010
HH
108 HH 109
Instructor Information:
Office: Henderson
Hall 109
Office Hours: 11-12 MF, 1-1:30 W and by appointment
Telephone: 372-3342 (office), 372-3332 (message), 528-3998 (home)
E-mail: preagan@tntech.edu
Professional experience of Dr. Reagan: http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/cvpdr.html
Course Requirements:
Course web
site (work in progress): http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/499syl.html
This course
is expected to provide students, usually senior History majors, the opportunity
to demonstrate reading, research, analytical, and writing skills learned in
various history classes. As a capstone experience, this class will allow
students to use these acquired skills in the form of seminar class discussion
and the writing of an extensive research paper centered on the topic of the
particular seminar offering for the semester.
1 Class
attendance and active participation
(100 points)
2. Oral presentation of at least
one book to start weekly class discussion
3. Five of (eight possible) three-five
page papers on weekly readings (all books except Guibert and
Bacevich eligible) due at start of class time (5@20=100 points)
4 Final thirty-page research paper
on a topic chosen in consultation with and approval of the instructor. The
paper should be based on primary and secondary sources identified and approved
by the instructor and using weekly readings and research over the
semester. (200 points)
5. Final Grade based on total points
earned:
A = 360-400 points
B = 320-359 points
C = 280-319 points
D = 240-279 points
F = below 240 points
6.
Plagiarism of an assignment—representing someone
else’s work as your own—will result in failure for the entire course at a minimum. To pass course,
all requirements must be met on time and in full.
History 4990 Page
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Disability Accommodations:
Students with
a disability requiring accommodations should contact the Office of Disability
Services (ODS) (http://www.tntech.edu/disability/). An Accommodation Request
(AR) should be completed as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the
first week of classes. The ODS is located in the University Center, Room 112,
telephone 372-6119.
Required Books:
Guibert, Emmanuel. Alan’s War: The
Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, trans. Kathryn Pulver. New York: First Second,
2008. ISBN # 978-1-59643-096-9.
Bruce D. Porter, “The Warfare State,” American
Heritage 45, no. 4 (July/August 1994)
Richard Kohn, “The Social History of the American
Soldier: A Review and Prospectus for Research,” American Historical Review
86 (June 1981): 553-567.
Grenier, John. The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier,
1607-1814. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN #
978-0521-73263-5.
James Kirby Martin and Mark Edward Lender,
A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789,
second edition. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2006 ISBN
#978-0-88295-239-0.
Manning, Chandra. What This Cruel War Was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the
Civil War. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, 2008. ISBN #
978-0-307-27732-9.
Laskin, David. The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to
the Great War. New York: Harper, 2010. ISBN # 978-0-06-123333-3.
Rose, Kenneth. Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of
Americans in World War II. New York: Routledge, 2008. ISBN # 0-415-95677-3.
Zelizer, Julian E. Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National
Security—From World War II to the War on Terrorism. New York: Basic Books,
2010. ISBN # 978-0-465-01507-8.
Stone, Geoffrey R. War and Liberty: An American Dilemma: 1790 to the Present.
New York: W. W. Norton, 2007. ISBN # 978-0-393-33004-5.
Wills, Garry. Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and
the National Security State. New York: Penguin Press, 2010. ISBN #
978-1-59420-240-7.
Bacevich, Andrew J. Washington Rules: America’s Path to
Permanent War. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2010. ISBN #
978-0-8050-9141-0.
History 4990 Page
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Course Themes:
1. Americans changing views and attitudes about
military forces and war
2. Changes in national policy, military strategy,
and public opinion
3.
Civil-military relations (constitutional,
legal, political, and diplomatic)
4. Social and cultural history of American
soldiers and veterans
5. Political, social, and economic changes on
the home front during wars
6. Impact of military interventions on civil
liberties during wartime
7. Foreign policy, military force, and changing
Reading Assignments with Discussion Schedule:
Readings
should be completed in time for class discussion of each work.
Assignment: Bring an active interest and intellectual curiosity
to the subject
September
1--Course Syllabus and Responsibilities and film, “Operation Homecoming”
Assignment: Guibert, Alan’s
War, all
September
8—The Human Face of American War
September
14—Constitution Day: Professor Dana Young, “The Role of Political Satire,” 5 p.m.,
Derryberry Hall Auditorium followed by The Highlands Gubernatorial Debate
between Democratic candidate Mike McWherter and Republican candidate Bill
Haslam, 7 p.m., Wattenbarger Auditorium
Assignment: Bruce D. Porter, “The Warfare State,” American
Heritage 45, no. 4 (July/August 1994) and Richard Kohn, “The
Social History of the American Soldier: A Review and Prospectus for Research,” American
Historical Review 86 (June 1981): 553-567.
September
15-- War and the Military Experience in American History
Assignment: Grenier, The First Way of War, all
September
22—War in the Colonial Period: An Age of Free Security?
Assignment: Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, all
September
29—Creating an American Military Tradition
Assignment: Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over, all
September
29—War for National Union and the Question of Slavery
Assignment: Laskin, The Long Way Home, all
October
6—The Golden Door: Immigrant Americans and the Great War
Assignment: Rose, Myth and the Greatest Generation,
all
October
13—“The Good War”: America and Modern, Total War
History 4990 Page
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Assignment:
Zelizer, Arsenal of Democracy, pp. 1-177
October
20—Creating the National Security State: From Truman to Kennedy
Assignment: Zelizer, Arsenal of Democracy, pp. 178-385
October
27—Modern Presidents and American Wars: From Vietnam to Iraq, I
Assignment:
Zelizer, Arsenal of Democracy, pp. 386-507
November
3--Terrorism in a Post-Cold War World: America Responds
Assignment: Stone, War and Liberty: An American Dilemma: 1790
to the Present, all
November
10—Civil Liberties and American Wars
Assignment:
Start thinking, writing, and revising final paper and film: “Why We Fight”
November
17—Discussion: WWIV, GWOT, or the Long War?
Assignment: Work on final paper
November
24—Work on final paper
Assignment: Wills, Bomb Power: the Modern Presidency and the
National Security State
December
1—Nuclear Weapons and the Presidency: “Let’s Drop the Big One Now”?
Assignment: Bacevich, Washington Rules: America’s Path
to Permanent War, all
December
8—Our Times: American Military Power and the Land of Dreams
Assignment:
Prepare final paper in both printed and electronic formats
December
10--Final twenty-five-page paper due in Dr. Reagan’s office
In
both printed and electronic formats
Helpful Reference Works and
Bibliographies (in order of priority):
Prucha, Francis Paul. Handbook for Research in American History: A
Guide to Bibliographies and Other Reference Works.
Fritze, Ronald H., Brian E. Coutts. Reference Sources in History: An
Introductory Guide, Second Edition, 334.
Norton, Mary Beth, ed. The American Historical Association’s Guide
to Historical Literature, Third Edition, 2 Vols.
Bradford, James C., ed. International Encyclopedia of Military
History, 2 vols. New York: Routledge, 2006. TTU Ref D25.A2 I58 2006
History 4990 Page
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Bradford, James C., ed. A Companion to
American Military History, 2 vols.
Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 978-1405161497
Holmes, Richard, ed. The Oxford Companion to Military History.
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001. TTU Ref D25.A2 O94 2001
Chambers, John Whiteclay, II, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. TTU E181.O94 1999
Cayton, Mary Kupiece and Elliott J.
Gorn. Encyclopedia of American Social
History, 3 Vols., 2,653.
Cook, Bernard A., ed. Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia
From Antiquity to the Present, 2 Vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006. TTU Ref U24 .W69 2006
Higham, Robin and Donald J. Mrozek, eds. A Guide to the
Sources of
Hogan, Michael J. and Thomas G.
Paterson, eds. Explaining the History of
American Foreign Relations.
Hogan, Michael J. America in the World: The Historiography of
US Foreign Relations Since 1941. New York: Cambridge University Press,
1996.
________, ed. The Ambiguous Legacy: U. S. Foreign Relations in the American Century. New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. TTU E744 .A475 1999
Beisner, Robert L., ed. American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A
Guide to the Literature, 2 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003.
Hynes, Samuel. The Soldier’s Tale: Bearing Witness To Modern War.
Jessup, John E., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Military:
Studies of the History, Traditions, Policies, Institutions, and Roles of the
Armed Forces in War and Peace, 3 Vols., 2, 255. New York: Macmillan,
1994. TTU Ref UA23 .E56 1994
Jessup, John E. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
1945-1996.
Karsten, Peter, ed. Encyclopedia
of War and American Society, 3 Vols.
Kennedy, Paul M. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers:
Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000.
History 4990 Page
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Kutler, Stanley
I., Robert Dallek. Encyclopedia of
the
Messenger, Charles, ed. Reader’s Guide to Military History.
Parker, Geoffrey, ed. The
Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford History of Modern War. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2000. TTU U39 .O956 2000eb [available as an
electronic book]
Paret, Peter, and Felix Gilbert
Gordon A. Craig, eds. Makers of Modern
Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. Princeton:
Resch, John P., ed. Americans at War: Society, Culture, and the
Homefront, 4 Vols. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2005. TTU Ref E181 .A453
2005
Schulzinger, Robert D., ed. A Companion to American Foreign Relations.
Useful Web Sites for the Course:
The Society for Military History
Military History
http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/military.html
United States History
http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/usa.html
Preparing
to Write a Research Paper
http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/library.html
Libraries
and Archives
http://iweb.tntech.edu/preagan/libs.html
Selecting Sources for Military
History Research Papers