STETSONUNIVERSITY
Department of American Studies
Paul Jerome CroceFall 2008
Office Hours: MW 10-12 and TuTh 11:30-1AS 370-01 (CRN#: 3469)
Sampson 218TuTh 1-2:15
822-7533; lizabeth 319
War and Peace in American Culture
a Special Topics course in American Studies and an Ethical Decision-Making Course (an E Course)
Goals of the Course
This course will examine American culture through a special focus on the practices and policies of American military ventures and bids for peace from Native American warfare through the Civil War, American imperial outreach, the hot and cold wars of the twentieth century, and the contemporary “War on Terror.” Because the territory is so vast, we will take a page from General Douglas MacArthur’s strategy when fighting the Japanese in the Second World War: we will island hop through topics rather than try to cover every military engagement and every peace movement. The course will emphasize the question of characteristically American encounters with organized violence and the ways the past informs the present. As a result, the last few weeks will be devoted to the contemporary American global reach with its foreign policy of the pre-emptive strike and the anti-war reaction that it has fostered. Through your work with the books and other texts, library research, films, class projects, lectures, and discussion, emphasis will be placed on your development of thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Please fill out a card so I can begin to get to know your academic interests right away.
Course Requirements and Grading
--Attendance in class, involvement in discussions}20% of final grade
and projects, and journal entries}
--One Research Report20%
--Two Mid-Term Exams20% each
--Final exam20%
Extra Credit
-Attend campus and community events, write a journal-type entry, and report your experiences to class.
-Arrange to make a class presentation on your research report, especially if there is a connection to the day’s topic.
I assume academic honesty. It is simply part of life in a learning community. Anything less will be taken seriously at the department and university levels.
Students with special physical needs or learning disabilities should let me know and also contact Karen Cole in the AcademicResourceCenter, 101 CUB (822-7127; ).
There are many resources to help you do your best in this course and your whole college career. The AcademicResourceCenter can provide help with study skills, time management, and future planning; the WritingCenter can help with writing, thinking, and study skills.
Because you have the privilege of enrolling in a small class with an emphasis on enough interaction to help ensure that everyone understands the material, your attendance and participation are crucial, during all the class time and especially with presentations. In the course, there are many forms of participation, including careful listening, reviewing notes after class, and of course questions and discussion in class. More than three unexcused absences will be reported to the administration and will put your grade in jeopardy.
The journal is a place for you to capture your thoughts, practice writing, and prepare for class; in class, it can also be a place to write notes for projects and group work. The entries can serve as first drafts for papers; they can allow you to test out ideas you are exploring; they can be a platform for comments in class or starting points for discussion. I encourage you to write, even if only briefly, every time you do some work for the class (before or after class, after reading, or after a project or film). In addition to this general advice, you are required to have one journal entry prepared almost every week. Write a paragraph on one typed page in response to the class material of that day’s material and recent work. Please turn in 10 journal entries, which will be counted toward you attendance grade.
For the research report, I am asking you to read a book on one of the topicsthat we are covering together in class, or a related topic. As part of your research, also examine material related to the subject of the book, in particular,with some exceptions, at least one of each of these: book review of your book, encyclopedia entry, scholarly journal article, government documents, web pages, and audio or visual material. See the Schedule of Topics and Readingsbelow for due dates of steps on this report; the final research report, due Dec. 2 (or earlier!), should be 8-10 double-spaced pages.
The mid-term will be essay questions that ask you to analyze the material of the course. The final exam will also be in essay format; one part of it will be a "second mid-term" and the other will be comprehensive.
In grading oral and written work, I will emphasize your understanding of the material, the persuasiveness of your argument, and your clarity of presentation. I encourage you to print on used paper or on two sides and to turn in only your paper, stapled, without any folders or binders. Please see the writing handouts on the American Studies Web page.
American Studies Web Page: The department web page has many documents designed to help you do your best work in the course and in life in general. In particular, see the Learning By Doing page; at the link Work to Learn/Learn to Work ( go to the guides on learning in the classroom, on writing, on public speaking, and on grading. Then, at the Learn to Work section, there are also a few documents that reach beyond this course and may contribute to your future work: an overview of What Students Can Learn from American Studies and the American Bar Association’s Guide to Legal Education. The rest of the Learning by Doing page ( has information and links for a variety of internships and other experiential learning opportunities.
On Blackboard: This computerized bulletin board will be a place to post course information throughout the semester.
Books for Purchase
Gregory E. Dowd, A Spirited Resistance
Max Boot, The Savage Wars of Peace
James McPherson, What They Fought For
Robert Zieger, America’s Great War (recommended)
Michael Adams, Best War Ever
Elaine Tylor May, Homeward Bound (recommended)
George Herring, America's Longest War
Kenneth Pollack, The Threatening Storm (recommended)
On Reserve in Library
Lawrence LeShan, “Why We Love War, and what we can do to prevent it anyway,” Utne Reader (January-February 2003): 53-58 [summarizing the argument in LeShan’s The Psychology of War: Comprehending its Mystique and its Madness]
Charles DeBenedetti, samplings of The Peace Reform in America (pp. ix-xvii, 3-7, 16-21, 32-37, 56-61, 90-95, 118-123, 138-143, 164-169, 196-201)
Robert Zieger, ch. 2: “War, Peace, War,” ch. 3: “Mobilizing for War,” and ch. 8: “Questions for Americans” in America's Great War (pp. 27-84, 227-237, 240-243, and 248-249)
Elaine Tylor May, "War and Peace," in Homeward Bound (pp. 58-91 and 254-259)
Kenneth Pollack, Contents through Introduction: “The Problem of Iraq” and Conclusions: “Not Whether, but When” in The Threatening Storm (pp. xvi-xxxi, 410-27, 429-30, and 472-273)
George Soros, “The Bubble of American Supremacy,” Atlantic Monthly (December 2003): 63-66 (and the original magazine is in the library and available on line).
Resources on the web: Please see the Guide to Web-Based Readingson Blackboard, especially the crucial policy speeches by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, a report on war contracts by the Center for Public Integrity report, and an article by James Barber, “Democracy Cannot Coexist with Preventive War.”
Schedule of Topics and Readings
DateTopicsRequirements
Aug. 21Introductionsexploring topics
Aug. 26The Lure of WarLeShan, Boot, pp. xii-xx; and
DeBenedetti, pp. ix-7
Aug. 28Revolutionary WarsDowd, through ch. 3
Sep.2 Search for UnityDowd, chs. 4-6
DeBenedetti, pp. 16-21
Sep. 4Defeat and RenewalDowd, chs. 7-afterword
Submit research topics
Sep. 9 Learning How to ConquerBoot, part 1
DeBenedetti, pp. 32-37
Sep. 11War for UnionMcPherson, through ch. 1; Croce selection (Blackboard)
week of Sep. 15: the movie “Glory”
Sep. 16War to End SlaveryMcPherson, chs. 2-3
Submit sources for research project
Sep. 18Our Backyard, BloodiedBoot, chs. 5-6
DeBenedetti, pp. 56-61and 90-95
Sep. 23Great WarZieger, America’s Great War chs. 2, 3, and 8; and
DeBenedetti, pp. 118-23
Sep. 25Appetite for a Good War Adams, through ch. 4 and Boot, chs. 8-10
Sep. 30Expanding Powerfilm: The Perilous Fight
Midterm Exam
Oct. 2World TransformedAdams, chs. 5-6-afterword and
DeBenedetti, pp. 138-43
week of Oct. 6: the movie “Casablanca”
Oct. 7 Total Cold WarMay, Homeward Bound, pp. 58-91 and 254-259
Refine and revise research topics
Oct. 9 Columbus Day (observed)no class meeting
Oct. 14Sowing Dragon’s TeethHerring, through ch. 3
in Vietnam
Oct. 16EscalationHerring, chs. 4-6
Oct. 21Exit StrategiesHerring, ch. 7-end
Oct. 23War For What Purpose?film: TBA
Oct. 28Legacies of VietnamBoot, ch. 12-13 and DeBenedetti, pp. 164-69
Oct. 30Small WarsBoot, ch. 14 and a contemporary article
Updates on research
Nov. 4On the Demands of War Bush and Cheney Speeches(web)
Nov. 6ROTC officerssoldier articles
Nov. 11On theCall forPeaceSoros(reserve) andBarber(web)
Nov. 13Peace ActivistsDeBenedetti, pp. 196-201; Center for Public Integrity Report (web)
Nov. 18Contemporary History Unfoldingread five more contemporary articles
Nov. 20 At Peace—and Ready for WarBoot, ch. 15
Nov. 20 ** 7pm, Stetson Room: lecture by History Channel historian Steve Gillon: "It’s the 60s, Stupid."
Nov. 25A Case for Pre-emptive StrikePollack, Threatening Storm, intro and conclusion
Dec. 2contemporary newsreview
research report due
Dec. ___Aug. 21-Dec. 3final exam