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HISTORY 473: CALIFORNIA HISTORY
Fall 2005
Dr. Sarah Schrank
T TH 12:30-1:45
LA1-301
Office: FO2-204
Office Hours: T 2:00-4:00/ TH 3:00-4:00
Phone/Voicemail: 985.2293
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a chronological and thematic history of California since the annexation of the American Southwest in 1848. Conquest, labor, race, ethnicity, immigration and cultural and political revolt are key topics as we trace California’s history through the end of the twentieth century. A recurring theme is the place of California in the American popular imagination. From fantasies of gold-lined streets to produce labels depicting orange groves, from dreams of Hollywood celebrity to visions of sun-drenched beaches, from post-cards of snow-capped mountains to hippie communes, California has spent over 150 years as an imagined paradise for diverse people across the United States and around the world. Such images promised a sunshine utopia while labor struggles, strained race relations, and corrupt land-use ensured a noir reality for many people living in poverty, fearing deportation or jail and, ultimately, unable to fulfil the California/American dream of middle class life. At the same time, California is home to millions from diverse ethnic, cultural, and political backgrounds who have made new identities for themselves, and in the process, new imagery and a new regional history. We will explore the multitudinous images of California in their social and historical contexts.
REQUIRED TEXTS are available for purchase at the CSULB 49ers bookstore:
- Rawls and Bean, California: An Interpretative History, eighth edition McGraw-Hill: 2003.
- Helen Hunt Jackson, Ramona Signet Classic: 2002 (Original publication 1884).
- Kirse Granat May, Golden State, Golden Youth: The California Image in American Popular Culture, 1955-1966 University of North Carolina Press: 2002
- Oscar Zeta Acosta, Revolt of the Cockroach People Vintage: 1989
- TC Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain Penguin: 1995
ASSESSMENT
Attendance and Classroom Participation : 10
Reader Report: 25
Midterm Examination #1: 20
Midterm Examination #2: 20
Take-Home Final Examination: 25
Total:100
In order to earn a passing grade for the course, students must consistently attend class meetings and complete ALL of the written assignments.
*The History Department now requires majors to move through a sequence of courses that begins with History 301, is followed by History 302, and culminates in a senior seminar (History 499) that matches one of the areas of concentration they have chosen for the major. History 499 must be taken in the student's last semester of work or after 18 units of upper-division work in the major. Those 18 units must include at least 6 units, that is, two courses, in the concentration of the History 499 being taken. Students in History 499 are required to assemble a portfolio that contains their work in their upper-division history courses. This portfolio is designed to enable students to show development in the major and mastery of key analytical, mechanical, and presentation skills. As part of this process, history majors (or prospective history majors) should save all work from upper-division history courses for eventual inclusion in this portfolio. For portfolio guidelines, see For questions and/or advising about the portfolio, contact Dr. Sharlene Sayegh.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
ClassroomStandards
Pagers and cellular phones should be either turned off or switched to “silent” mode during the duration of the class meetings.
Attendance and Participation: I expect students to attend every class meeting and to be prepared to engage the themes/topics scheduled every week. If an absence is unavoidable because of a family or medical emergency, please let me know in person and provide appropriate documentation ie: doctor’s note. Students are responsible for all materials in the texts, lectures (including film screenings), and discussions.
Plagiarism and Cheating: Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated and will result in an “F” grade and possible further disciplinary action. The university guidelines define plagiarism in cases where “you use the ideas or work of another person or group as if they were your own without giving credit to the other person or group.”
Skills in Oral and Written Communication and Critical Analyses
Oral Communication: To promote the development of oral communication skills, the class combines lectures with question/answer format and provides opportunities for classroom discussions.
Midterm and Final Examinations: To develop skills in written communication and critical analyses, the two midterm examinations will be in-class blue-book tests and the final examination will be a take-home essay of approximately eight (8) pages, using the readings, lectures, and films to substantiate arguments.
Reader Reports: One of your assignments for the semester is a reader report in which you examine one of the course texts (apart from the textbook) You are to write a 4 to 6 page synthesis of the book you have chosen to analyze, identifying key themes, articulating contrasting points of view, and examining the author’s main argument or thesis. An excellent reader report will place the reading within a broader historical context---either provided through lectures or in other course readings. Reader reports’ due dates are scheduled within the syllabus. You may choose whichever books you wish understanding you are responsible for having the paper turned in on the established due date.
All written work should be typed, double-spaced, with reasonable font size (12-point is generally accepted) and 1” margins. Only hard copies of all written assignments will be accepted. Disks and email attachments are not acceptable.
Make-ups for written work will be granted ONLY for extraordinary and verifiable reasons. Late papers will not be accepted.
Campus Resource: The Writer’s Resource Lab is open to all students. The lab is located in the Language Arts Building (LAB), the website is accessible through the CSULB webpage.
GUIDELINES FOR READER REPORTS, MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS
A. FORMAT
No cover page is necessary—provide your name and other information on the left-hand side of the first page of your exams.
Use 12 font and one (1) inch margins. Paginate your essay and staple the papers together.
B. CONTENT
Your papers will be graded based on: a clear articulation of a thesis, effective use of evidence (from the lectures, required readings and film screenings) to support your thesis, analytical critique of the materials, the development and organization (including writing clarity and cohesiveness) of the essay.
Construct a thesis with an argument (NOT a linear narrative) and provide specific examples from the lectures, readings, and screenings to substantiate your own analyses.
Your paper should have a title, an introduction, a thesis, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.
C. CITATION
You are not required to conduct additional research. The required reading materials for the course should provide you with sufficient information to complete the midterm and final examination essays and the reader reports.
Be sure to acknowledge the source of information. You do NOT need to provide citations for lecture materials, but you DO need to cite the examples from the readings and film screenings. When you paraphrase or quote directly, provide the author’s surname, the title of the book or article, and page number within a set of parenthesis after the sentence. Titles of books should be italicized or underlined, titles of articles should be indicated by a set of apostrophes. For example:
As Gerald Nash argues, “World War II left an indelible imprint on the economy of the American West.” (Major Problems, 309). OR Some have argued that “World War II left an indelible imprint in the economy of the American West” (Nash, Major Problems, 309).
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Withdrawal from the Course: This course follows standard university withdrawal policies. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the proper procedures to officially drop the course from the Registrar’s records. If you do not withdraw officially and simply stop attending class, you will receive an “F.”
Religious Observances: Pursuant to the California Education Code, if you will miss any class meetings or assignment deadlines because of religious reasons, you need to notify me within the first two weeks of the semester. Arrangements will be made so that you can make up work, without penalty, at a time that does not violate your religious creed. Please note that CSULB guidelines state that “if you [the student] does not notify an instructor of religious observances during the first week that you are enrolled, that instructor is not required to attempt to adjust the class schedule or to attempt to allow you to make up a test or exam.” If you have further questions about this policy, please see me.
“Shared Community”: Discriminatory statements of any kind negate the education process and will not be tolerated. This course strictly adheres to the university’s “Principles of Shared Community,” which states that “members of the CSULB community have the right to work and learn in an environment free of discrimination….CSULB is committed to creating a community in which a diverse population can learn, live, and work in an atmosphere of tolerance, civility, and respect for the rights and sensibilities of each individual, without regard to economic status, ethnic background, political views, or other personal characteristics or beliefs.”
Students with Disabilities: I will make every effort for reasonable accommodation of the needs of students with disabilities. Please discuss your request with me within the first two weeks of the semester and/or with the Office of Disabled Student Services in Brotman Hall 270.
SCHEDULE OF WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week I
August 30: Introduction to California History
September 1: The Spanish Period to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters One to Four, pp. 1-57.
Ramona, pp. pp. v-xviii, pp. 1-59.
Week II
September 6: Ramona and the Spanish Fantasy Past
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters Five to Seven, pp. 58-96.
Ramona, pp.59-163.
September 8: The Gold Rush
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Eight to Ten, pp. 97-140.
Ramona, pp. 163-373.
Week III
September 13: Chinese Immigration and Labor
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Eleven to Thirteen, pp. 141-178.
September 15: Chinese Prostitution, Images of Chinatown, and Victorian Womanhood
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters Fourteen to Fifteen, pp. 179-200.
DUE SEPTEMBER 15th: Ramona reader report
Week IV
September 20: Citrus, Water, and the Rise of Southern California
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Sixteen to Eighteen, pp. 201-241.
September 22: Water Politics and Los Angeles, film “CadillacDesert”
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters Twenty-three to Twenty-Four, pp. 296-324.
Week V
September 27: Midterm Review and Class Discussion
September 29: Midterm Exam #1
Week VI
October 4: Hollywood, Evangelicals, and Sister Aimee McPherson
October 6: Okies, Arkies, and the Dust Bowl Migration to California
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Twenty-five to Twenty-Six, pp.325-353.
Week VII
October 11: Depression-Era Imagery and the California Popular Imagination
Film: “We Have a Plan”
October 13: World War II and Race Relations in California
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters Twenty-Seven to Twenty-Eight, pp. 354-385.
Week VIII
October 18: The Zoot Suit Riots and the Sleepy Lagoon Defense League
October 20: Class Discussion and Midterm Review
Week IX
October 25: Midterm Exam #2
October 27: Baby Boom, Suburbia and Disneyland
Reading:Kirse Granat May, Chapters One to Three, pp. 1-66.
Week X
November 1:California in the Era of the Cold War
Reading: Kirse Granat May, Chapters Four to Six, pp. 67-134.
November 3: CLASS CANCELED
Week XI
November 8: VeniceBeach, the Beats, and the California Underground
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Twenty-Nine to Thirty-Two, pp.386-456.
November 10: The New Left, and the Student Movement,Film:“Berkeley in the Sixties”
Reading:Kirse Granat May, Chapters Seven to Nine, pp. 135-192.
Week XII
November 15: California’s Counterculture, Film: “Berkeley in the Sixties, part II”
Reading:Oscar ZetaAcosta, pp. 5-104.
November 17: The UFW and the Chicano Movement, Film: “Struggle in the Fields”
Reading:Oscar ZetaAcosta, pp. 105-197.
DUE NOVEMBER 15th:Kirse Granat May Reader Report Due
Week XIII
November 22: Performing Youth Cultures, Films: “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” “ChicanoPark”
Reading: Oscar ZetaAcosta, pp. 198-262.
November 24: CLASS CANCELED---THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week XIV
November 29: Reagan, the New Conservatism, and the Tax Revolt-The 1970s and 1980s
Reading:Rawls and Bean, Chapters Thirty-Three to Thirty-Four, pp. 457-505.
T.C. Boyle, pp.3-79.
December 1: California in the 1980s and 1990s
Reading: Rawls and Bean, Chapters Thirty-Five to Thirty-Six, pp. 506-553.
T.C.Boyle, pp. 98-239.
DUE NOVEMBER 29th: Oscar Zeta Acosta Reader Report Due
Week XV
December 6: Prop 187, Immigration Policy, and The Tortilla Curtain
Reading:T.C.Boyle, 240-355.
December 8: Conclusion and Examination Review
DECEMBER 8th: FINAL EXAMS HANDED OUT IN CLASS
DECEMBER 8th: T.C. Boyle Reader Report Due
FINAL EXAMINATIONS DUE IN MY OFFICE F02-204
12:30-2:30, Tuesday December 13, 2005
TOPICS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT PROFESSOR’S DISCRETION