History Practicum – “Aspects of The Cold War in Europe and the United States, 1946-1989”

HIS3942

T/R – Periods: 5-6,6 (Flint 117)

Spring, 2017

Dr. George Esenwein
204 Flint Hall,
History, UF
e-mail:
tel: 352-273-3369
website:
TA: TBA

The History Practicum -- Course Objectives and format of the class

This class is designed as a primer in historical practices and modes of analyses. By taking this course, students will learn how historians go about studying the past and answering questions relating to topics that are being studied. To achieve these goals, students will be expected to acquire the requisite skills needed for conducting historical research, analysis, and writing.

Course work will be divided into two complementary parts. One part consists of anin-depth examination of a specific historical theme: “Aspects of the Cold War in Europe and the United States, 1946-1949.” For nearly fifty years after the end of the Second World War (1945) the Cold War dominated international relations. The “war” itself did not assume the forms of a conventional conflict. Rather it was a period of tense ideological, cultural, political, and economic antagonisms between two mutually opposing ruling systems. On the one side stood the anti-communist nations led by the United States. On the other were the Soviet Union and the communist regimes under its influence and control. While not offering a comprehensive survey of the Cold War era, this course will focus on key aspects of this decades long rivalry in an attempt to answer questions like: Why did the Cold War begin? How were the boundaries or “front-lines” of this conflict established? In what ways did the Cold War manifest itself in the cultural, political, and economic policies and practices of both sides?

The other major component of the course will be concerned with acquiring the research, analytical, and writing skills needed to answer the central questions we will be addressing in the class lectures and discussions. To this end, we will spend some of our class time developing the research strategies and practices needed to succeed in this and other university-level history classes. Since this course is meant to introduce the student to the practices and perspectives found in discipline of history, attention will also be paid to the “art” of reading and interpreting both primary (original documents, films, oral testimonies) and secondary (scholarly monographs, etc.) sources.

Required Texts (Available in paperback editions at UF Bookstore):

The Cold War. Edited by J.M. Hanhimaki and Odd Arne Westad. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Carole K. Fink, Cold War: An International History, Westview Press, 2014.

Richard Marius. A Short Guide to Writing about History. 8TH Edition (or earlier). Pearson, 2011.

Attendance and Participation:-

This is a “hands-on” course which requires each student to play an active role in class discussions and research and writing workshops. In the former case, students will be expected to engage in meaningful discussions and debates relating to the assigned readings for each topic covered in the formal lectures. Class interactions of this sort – designed as “Discussion” in the Course Schedule -- will be used to determine a significant part of the grade you will receive for this course (see below). Participation in research and writing “labs” is also mandatory. Thus a class assignment which involves a supervisedtrip to the library to conduct research on a historical topic(s) covered in that week’s lectures will be regarded as “class-time”.

For all the reasons stated above, attendance is mandatory for this class. Unexcused absences will carry a penalty: Final grades will be deducted one letter for two unexcused absences and two letters for three or more unexcused absences. Students who have to miss class due to illness or a serious personal crisis should notify the instructor as soon as possible and provide documentation to verify the nature of the emergency. Early booking of tickets for trips (Spring break, etc.) will not count as an excused absence.

Course Grading Rubric/Scale:-

Class participation = 25%

Weekly writing/research assignments/quizzes = 20%

Mid-Term = 15%

Final = 15%

Research project/annotated bibliography = 25%

Grading Scale:-

A = 93-100 / C = 73-76
A = 90-92 / C- = 70-72
B+ = 89-87 / D+ = 67-69
B = 83-86 / D = 64-66
B- = 80-82 / D- = 60-63
C + = 77-79 / F = Below 59

Course Schedule:-

Week I

5 JanuaryWhat is history? History and historical schools. How to do well in history courses.

Week II

10 JanuaryThe Cold War and its place in contemporary history

12 JanuaryDiscussion -- Contested narratives: What makes a topic controversial? What impact does this have on historical writing?

Week III

17 JanuaryLecture --The Ideological Origins of the Cold War in Europe and the U.S.

19 JanuaryLecture -- Cold War events in post-war Europe (1946-1949): Greek Civil War; the Iron Curtain and a divided Europe.

Week IV

24 JanuaryDiscussion – Who started the Cold War? Why was the Berlin Airlift a key event in the development of the C.W.? Significance of the Marshall Plan and NATO.

26 JanuaryLecture --The Cold War beyond Europe (1950-1956): Conflicts and crises in Asia (Korean War) and the Americas.

Week V

31 JanuaryDiscussion – Why and how the Cold War developed into a global affair.

2 FebruaryLecture -- Cold War as a cultural divide: Contrasting music, literature, art, and lifestyles.

Week VI

7 FebruaryDiscussion – Fear and loathing of capitalism and communism; The significance of McCarthyism.

9 FebruaryLecture -- The Two “Europes”: The Integration of Western and Eastern European countries.

Week VII

14 FebruaryDiscussion: Varieties of Cold War documents: Eye-witness accounts, newspapers, films, government files.

16 FebruaryLecture-- Review for Midterm; Formulating a research topic.

Readings for Part I.:- Carole K. Fink, Cold War: An International History, Chapters 1-3; The Cold War. Edited by J.M. Hanhimaki and Odd Arne Westad.Chapters 1-4, 6, 9-10, 13.Richard Marius. A Short Guide to Writing about History, Chapters 1-4.

Week VIII

21 FebruaryMid-term Exam.

23 FebruaryResearch Lab/Using the Library and accessing history documents through electronic databases.

Cold War: Part II.

Week IX

28 FebruaryDiscussion-- Periodization of the Cold War: Identifying Cold War historical junctures.

2 MarchLecture-- Cold War crises and conflicts: Berlin Wall (1961), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), Vietnam (1954-1973).

Week X

Spring Break – 4-11 March

Week XI

14 MarchDiscussion – Scholarly apparatuses: Preparing footnotes and bibliographies.

16 MarchLecture—Neither “East” nor “West”:Cultural opposition to the Cold War in the 1960s.

Week XII

21 MarchDiscussion -- Cultural responses to Cold War tensions.

23 MarchLecture—The Rise and Decline of Détente, 1960s-1970s.

Week XII

28 MarchDiscussion --Evaluating government vs. popular responses – films, literature, social movements -- to Cold War issues.

30 MarchLecture-- The“Second” Cold War, 1980s

Week XIV

4 AprilDiscussion -- Why we cannotpredict history.

6 AprilLecture-- The End of the Cold War?

Research project/annotated bibliography due.

Readings for Part II.:-Carole K. Fink, Cold War: An International History, Chapters 4-9;The Cold War. Edited by J.M. Hanhimaki and Odd Arne Westad. Chapters 7, 15-19. Richard Marius. A Short Guide to Writing about History, Chapters 5-8.

Week XV

11 AprilDiscussion --Cold War legacies; Pros- and cons- of a Cold War.

13 AprilLecture—Review for final exam.

Week XVI

18 April Final Exam.

Addendum to Syllabus

Code of Conduct/Make-up exam policies for History Practicum

UF faculty are now being asked to provide written guidelines relating to (1) student conduct in the classroom and (2) make-up examinations. Most of these can be deduced by exercising common sense. But to avoid any misunderstandings , students enrolled in the courses listed above should take note of the following:

Code of Conduct:

(1) Cell phones must be turned off throughout the class period.

(2) Students are asked not to talk, read papers, surf the internet, and otherwise distract the class from the lectures/class discussion.

(3) Students coming in after the lecture has begun should not interrupt the professor and/or students by walking in front of classroom, re-arranging desks to gain access to seating, etc. Latecomers should therefore take a seat at the back or wherever it is possible without disturbing others.

(4) Anyone who arrives more than ten minutes after class has begun will be counted absent unless he/she has the prior approval of the instructor.

(5) Intellectual honesty: any student caught plagiarizing the written work of others and/or cheating on an exam will automatically fail the course.

Make-up exams/Late Papers:

(1) Apart from illness, family emergencies (immediate family only), and exceptional circumstances (to be determined by the instructor), exams will have to be taken on the assigned day. The scheduling of permitted make-up exams will be at the discretion of the instructor.

2) All written assignments – term papers and the like – are due on the day assigned in the syllabus and/or as announced by the instructor during class. Papers must be handed into the instructor on the due date in a hard-copy format. (That is, do not send your paper as an e-mail attachment etc.) No late papers will be accepted for any reason(s).

Below is the web-link to the UF honor code all are expected to uphold in this class:

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