The University of Texas at Arlington Instructor: Dr

The University of Texas at Arlington Instructor: Dr. Allen Repko

HIST 3349 Email:

Summer II, 2004______Office: UH #209 Phone: 817-272-2338

HISTORY OF AMERICAN FOREIGN RELATIONS,

1913-PRESENT

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The purpose of this course is to explain how the United States became the world’s sole superpower. The integrative theme of the course is America’s quest for an open world system and the belief that the world will be safer if democracy spreads and economies are organized on free market principles. This concept is reflected, for example, in the “Open Door Notes,” Wilson’s Fourteen Points, Roosevelt’s United Nations, George H. W. Bush’s “New World Order, Clinton’s focus on globalization, and George W. Bush’s “War on Terrorism.”

We will also examine various macro developments (such as the rise of expansionist states, economic depression, antithetical ideologies, and religious movements that have shaped American foreign policy at certain critical junctures. We will also examine why the United States found itself at war with Germany in two world wars, why America’s pre-WWI relationship with Japan turned sour and led ultimately to Pearl Harbor, why and how the United States fought and won the “Cold War” against the Soviet Empire, and how we now find ourselves involved in a global “War Against Terrorism.” Answering the latter question requires that we devote considerable attention to the origins of America’s involvement in the Middle East, our special relationship with Saudi Arabia and Israel, our quest for oil, and our inattention to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism prior to 911.

COURSE FORMAT:

There will be a combination of lecture and discussion of assigned material, and will include video clips of significant events and personalities. There will be a research paper dealing with U.S. policy on the Middle East.

COURSE WEBSITE:

Regularly consult my website at www.uta.edu/faculty/repko for course syllabus/calendar, Policy Paper Scoring Guide, lecture outlines, and other important information.

COURSE FEATURES:

· Introduces students to key terms, concepts, and interpretative “schools” relating to the field of the history of American foreign policy.

· Examines how key foreign policy decisions were made in various administrations and the significance of those decisions. For example, the Kennedy administration’s decision to intervene in Vietnam, Ronald Reagan’s decision to inject U.S. Marines in Lebanon and then delay their withdrawal, and George Bush’s decision to go to war against Iraq.

· Teaches how to critically analyze diplomatic texts.

· Teaches how to research, organize, and write a research paper.

· Teaches how to analyze a current foreign policy issue in its global and historical context.

REQUIRED READINGS:

· Walter LaFeber, The American Age: U.S. Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad,

Volume 2: Since 1896. Second edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994.

· Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror. New York: Random House, 2002.

· Various assigned articles

COURSE GRADE & GRADING SCALE:

There are 300 possible points to be earned as follows:

ACTIVITY / POINTS
QUIZZES / 25
MID-TERM / 50
PROSPECTUS FOR PAPER / 25
PAPER / 100
FINAL / 50
TOTAL POINTS: / 300

The grading scale is as follows:

A=90-100 = 270-300 pts C=70-79 = 210-239 pts B=80-89 = 240-269 pts D=60-69 = 180-209 pts

Incompletes (X) will not be given unless the student demonstrates extreme need.

Consistent attendance is essential as we are covering 16 weeks of material in five weeks.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

Testing will be a combination of objective questions, essay, and short response. The quizzes are designed to test the student’s understanding of the assigned readings and lectures. Make-up opportunities for missed quizzes are limited to valid reasons as defined under “Missed exams.”

Missed exams can be made up with the Instructor’s permission and at his convenience. Only those students who have compelling reasons for missing an exam are entitled to a make-up exam. Nervousness, lack of preparation, forgetting the time of the exam, having other exams, vacations, a friend’s wedding, etc, are not compelling excuses. Make-up exams must be taken within a week of the scheduled exam. If a student, due to illness or accident, is unable to take an exam at the appointed time, the student must call or email the instructor concerning this prior to the exam.

Assignments will not be accepted after the due date unless (1) the student has informed the Instructor beforehand (if only minutes beforehand) that the assignment will be late, and (2) there is a compelling reason (such as sickness, death in the immediate family, auto accident) for the assignment being late.

The lecture notes, assigned readings, and assigned articles will be discussed in class.

The Research Paper:

Choose one of the following topics:

Topic #1: “Should the U.S. bring democracy to the Middle East?”

Topic #2: “Should the U.S. change its policy towards Israel?”

Topic #3: “Should Jerusalem be made an international city?”

The paper is due at the beginning of class on the due date specified in the “Course Calendar” (below). No late papers will be accepted unless prior arrangements are made with the Instructor beforehand who will establish an alternate due date. See the “Scoring Guide” for the paper on my website at www.uta.edu/faculty/repko. Click on HIST 3349 folder.

Academic dishonesty is completely unacceptable at the University of Texas at Arlington and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such an act.” (Regents’ Rules and regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22.)

NOTE: Academic dishonesty includes using Internet-based material and passing it off as your own work is plagiarism and is unacceptable.

Americans with Disabilities: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and the letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference to Public Law 93112-Rehabilitiation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of the new federal legislation entitled “Americans with Disabilities Act – (ADA),” pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunity enjoyed by all citizens.

As a faculty member I am required by law to provide “reasonable accommodation” to students with disabilities so as to not discriminate on the basis of that disability. It is the student’s responsibility to inform faculty at the beginning of the semester/summer session of their requirement(s) and to provide authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. If you require an accommodation based on a disability, I would like to meet with you in the privacy of my office during the first week of the semester to insure that you are appropriately accommodated.

COURSE CALENDAR FOR HIST 3349

WEEK 1

DATE CLASS TOPIC

7/7W / 1A / AMERICA LOOKS OUTWARD, 1865-1898
1B / OPENING THE DOOR IN THE FAR EAST: AMERICAN FAR EASTERN POLICY TO 1900
Assignment for next class: LaFeber, chp 7
Sacred Terror: Preface
7/8TR / 2A / THEODORE ROOSEVELT: THE DIPLOMACY OF REALISM
Discussion of LaFeber, chp 7
2B / ROOSEVELT & TAFT’S LATIN AMERICA POLICY, 1901-1913
Assignment for next class: LaFeber, chs 8, 9
Sacred Terror: ch 1

WEEK 2

7/12M / 2C / DOOR OPEN: ROOSEVELT & TAFT’S FAR EASTERN POLICY, 1901-1913
Discussion of LaFeber, chp 8; Sacred Terror, ch 1
3A / WILSON AND THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1919
Discussion of LaFeber, chp 9
Assignment for next class: LaFeber, ch 10; Sacred Terror, ch 2

CENSUS DATE JULY 13

7/13T / 3B / WILSON’S QUEST FOR AN OPEN WORLD: VERSAILLES, 1919
Discussion: LaFeber, ch 10; Sacred Terror, ch 2
QUIZ #1: Sacred Terror: Preface, chps 1-2
4 / OIL, THE OPEN DOOR, AND THE MIDDLE EAST, 1919-1939
Assignment: Sacred Terror, ch 3; LaFeber, ch 11
7/14W / 5A / REPUBLICAN FAR EASTERN POLICY, 1921-1933
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 3; LaFeber, chp 11
5B / THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE COLLAPSE OF WORLD ORDER, 1929-1933
Assignment: Sacred Terror, chp 4; LaFeber, chp 12;
7/15TR / 6A / FDR: FROM NEUTRALITY TO BELLIGERENT, 1934-1941: PT 1
Discussion: LaFeber, chp 12
QUIZ #2: Sacred Terror: chs 3-4
6B / FDR: FROM NEUTRALITY TO BELLIGERENT, 1934-1941: PT 2
Assignment: Sacred Terror, chp 5; LaFeber, chs 13,14

WEEK 3

7/19M / 7A / GRAND STRATEGY IN WORLD WAR II, 1941-1945: EUROPE
Discussion of LaFeber, chps 13,14
7B / GRAND STRATEGY IN WORLD WAR II, 1941-1945: FAR EAST
Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 6; LaFeber, chs 13 & 14
7/20T /

/ Truman Fights the Cold War, 1945-1947
QUIZ #3: Sacred Terror: chs 5-6

Discussion of LaFeber, chs 13 & 14

Assigment for next class: MID-TERM EXAM (ESSAY PORTION)
7/21W / MID-TERM EXAM (objective portion; covers Units 1A-7B; LaFeber, chs 7-13 (lasts 45 min)
9 / OIL & THE MIDDLE EAST, 1945-1950
Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 7; LaFeber, chs 15 & 16
7/22TR / 10A / EISENHOWER-DULLES FOREIGN POLICY, 1953-1960
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 7; LaFeber, chs 15 & 16
10B /

OPENING THE DOOR WIDER IN THE MIDDLE EAST, “FIFTY-FIFTY,” THE SUEZ CRISIS, AND THE SECOND ARAB-ISRAELI WAR, 1956

Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 8; LaFeber, ch 17

WEEK 4

7/26M / 11 / JOHN F. KENNEDY & “NEW FRONTIERS” IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, 1961-1963
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 8; LaFeber, ch 17
QUIZ #4: Sacred Terror: chs 7-8
/

12A

/ LYNDON B. JOHNSON: KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN IN VIETNAM
7/27T / 12B / THE BIRTH OF OPEC AND THE THIRD ARAB-ISRAELI WAR, JUNE 1967
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 9; LaFeber, ch 18
OPEN
Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 10
7/28W / 13A / NIXON-KISSINGER FOREIGN POLICY, 1969-1973
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 10
QUIZ #5: Sacred Terror: chs 9-10
13B / THE OIL WEAPON AND THE FOURTH ARAB-ISRAELI WAR (YOM KIPPUR), 1973
Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 11; LaFeber, ch 19
7/29TR / 14A / CARTER, THE COLD WAR & THE SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN, 1977-1981
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 11; LaFeber, ch 19
14B / CARTER, OPEC, AND THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION
Assignment for next class: Sacred Terror, ch 12; LaFeber, ch 20

WEEK 5

8/2M /

LAST DAY TO DROP A COURSE

8/2M / 15A / THE REAGAN ERA, 1981-1989
Discussion of Sacred Terror, ch 12; LaFeber, ch 20
15B / THE REAGAN ERA: VIDEO
Assignment for next class: Articles #1, #2 (downloadable from my website)
8/3T / 16A / THE END OF THE COLD WAR: GEORGE H. W. BUSH, 1989-1993
Discussion of Articles #1, #2
QUIZ #6: Articles #1, #2
16B / KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: OIL, THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, AND THE FIRST GULF WAR, 1991
Assignment for next class: Articles #3, #4 (downloadable from my website)
8/4W / 17A / CLINTON FOREIGN POLICY, 1993-2001 (Pt 1)
Discussion of Articles #3, #4
QUIZ #7: Articles #3, #4
17B / CLINTON FOREIGN POLICY, 1993-2001 (Pt 2)
8/5TR /

17C

/ CLINTON & THE MIDDLE EAST
18A / GEORGE W. BUSH & THE WAR ON TERRORISM

WEEK 6

8/9M /

LAST DAY OF CLASSES

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE BY 4:30 THURSDAY

FINAL EXAM ON AUGUST 10: 8-10

Copyrighted 6/03/04: AFR

LIST OF ESSAYS

DOC #

/ AUTHOR & TITLE
#1 / Bernard Lewis, “What Went Wrong?” The Atlantic Monthly, January 2002
Thomas L. Friedman, “Arabs at the Crossroads,” New York Times, July 3, 2002
#2 / Robert D. Kaplan, “Looking the World in the Eye,” The Atlantic Monthly, December 2001
#3 / Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, “American Primacy in Perspective,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2002
#4 / Ruel Marc Gerecht, “The Necessity of Fear,” The Atlantic Monthly, December 28, 2001
#5 / Benjamin Scharz and Christopher Lane, “A New Grand Strategy,” The Atlantic Monthly, January 2002
#6 / Michael Hirsh, “Bush and the World,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2002.
#7 / Kenneth M. Pollack, “Spies, Lies, and Weapons: What Went Wrong, The Atlantic Online, January/February, 2004.
#8 / Colin Powell, “A Strategy of Partnerships,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2004.