HIST 300A/HI 500: History of American Childhood
Fall 2009
Professor Rachel Goossen Class
meets M/W at 1:30 p.m.
in HC #307
Faculty Office:
Office phone: 785-670-1762
Office hours: Tues. & Thurs., 11:00 a..m. – 12:00 noon,
and by appointment
E-mail:
rachel.goossen@washburn.edu
I. COURSE OBJECTIVES
HI 300A/500 probes American history
from the perspectives of children and
youth. Students in the course “do history” by
--becoming
acquainted with a wide range of historical literature on children and
youth in American culture.
--considering evolving notions of childhood
from America’s colonial period to the
present;
--reflecting on identity
formation in a broad sense, encompassing social, cultural,
political, economic, and educational
influences;
--developing general education
skills, including reading intelligently, writing
effectively, and processing
information through synthesis and analysis.
II.
REQUIRED BOOKS AND
The New England Primer. Boston, 1777.
Lucy
Larcom, A New England Girlhood, Outlined
From Memory. Northeastern
University,
(first published in 1889).
David Nasaw, Children of the City: At Work
and at Play. Anchor Press/Doubleday,
1985.
Maya
Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Bantam Books, 1969.
Russell
Baker, Growing Up. Penguin Books, 1982.
Additional required readings will be
given as class handouts or placed on reserve in the library.
Students
need to be alert to the possibility of additional assignment and readings,
especially drawn from current events, throughout the semester.
III.
COURSE CONTENT
The course consists of reading and
writing assignments, lectures, discussions, guest presentations, films, and
students’ research and storytelling presentations.
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
In all aspects of
the course, students enrolled for HI 500 (graduate) credit will
be expected to perform at a high
level, and assessments of student work for
each of the course components will
reflect this higher standard. Students
enrolled in the course for HI 300
(undergraduate) credit will be assessed by
standards commensurate with other
upper-division undergraduate course offerings
in the Washburn University History
Department.
A.
Consultation with professor (10 points)
Each student will meet with the
professor early in the semester (in Henderson 311-D) for a brief conference to turn
in your film form for To Kill a
Mockingbird and to plan for a storytelling assignment. See below for more on this component of the
course.
B.
Storytelling
(20 points)
Each student is responsible for telling
the class one story on a historical theme related to children. You are limited only by your creativity in
the topic you choose or the way in which you tell the story. Storytelling segments can vary in length, but
we will generally plan on 10-15 minutes for each, and you should let the
professor know ahead of time if you’ll need a longer segment of class time.
Storytelling suggestions include:
a)
Stories related to childrearing
b)
Stories
from the childhoods of well-known Americans, such as Andrew Jackson, Frederick
Douglass, or Eleanor Roosevelt
c)
Stories
from your own family
d)
Stories
on the insights of children in cross-cultural settings (in or beyond the United
States)
e)
Stories
drawn through oral history gathering
f)
Stories
related to schools or educational settings
g)
Stories
involving a guest whom you invite to class to recount a story from his or her
own childhood
h)
Stories
related to an artifact or exhibit (i.e., from a museum you have visited or will
be visiting this semester, such as the Kansas State Historical
Society,
or the World War I Memorial Museum in Kansas City).
C.
Papers
(30 points & 30 points for a total of 60)
Two book review assignments, on David Nasaw’s Children of the City and Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, will be
due in class on September 28 and October 26, respectively. Additional information will be provided.
D.
Visit, followed by essay, on the Brown v.
Board National Historic Site (20
points)
We will take a field trip to the old Monroe School at 1515 S.E. Monroe
St. in Topeka.
Here a significant source for learning local, state, and national
aspects of the Civil
Rights Movement. Students will analyze
and discuss the site’s interpretation of
children’s experiences, and a final activity regarding this field trip will
be an open-
book, open-note in-class essay.
E.
Occasional
Writing Assignments. (20
points)
Students
will be asked to write reflective paragraphs in class over Russell Baker’s Growing Up, as well as over other
assigned readings.
F.
Attendance and Participation. (40
points)
Attendance will be
noted during each class period, and regular attendance is
expected of each
student. I appreciate knowing in advance
if you are planning to
be absent. Students are responsible for work missed
during any absences. Class
participation will
enter into the overall course evaluation.
In particular, quality
contribution to
discussions is a requirement for an “A” grade.
Come to class
prepared to raise
questions and to take part in discussions on the readings and
presentations.
G.
Final Exam.
(30 points).
The exam will cover major themes of the
course. Exam format will
include both objective and essay questions.
V.
GRADING SCALE:
Grading for the HI 300 course is
determined on a 200-point scale, with percentages of 90% A;
80% B; 70% C; 60%
D; 59% and below F
180--200 points
A
160–179 points
B
140--159 points
C
120-139 points
D
VI.
RESEARCH PAPER & GRADING SCALE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
All students taking the course HI 500
for graduate credit will choose an appropriate topic for a research paper, in
consultation with the professor.
Research papers will need to utilize both primary and secondary sources,
and show evidence of graduate-level scholarship. Additional information will be provided, and
students will be
expected to keep the professor updated
on progress throughout the semester.
Papers will be due on December 2.
(50 points) Grading
for the graduate course
will be on a 250-point scale, with
the research paper counting for 1/5 of the
overall grade.
VII. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Assigned readings should be completed prior
to in-class coverage of each topic. Use
the textbook to familiarize yourself with key themes, concepts, and factual
material, as a stimulus to discussions, and as an aid in preparing for exams.
Be attentive to announcements made
in class of changes in schedule or procedures, including additional
suggested or required readings. You
are responsible for acquainting yourself with any schedule changes and newly
assigned material.
If
you carry a cell phone, turn it off before entering the classroom. This is a matter of courtesy to the professor and
to your fellow students, since phones are intrusive and disruptive of class time. No
electronic handheld devices will be permitted in this class
because of
the distractions they cause. If you have
a special circumstance that you
wish to
discuss with the professor, please do so.
If
you have questions, problems, or have something you'd like to discuss, feel
free to contact the professor
before or after class, by email, or by phone.
You are welcome to
take
advantage of departmental tutoring assistance.
Student tutors work with
individuals; hours are posted
outside the History Dept. suite,
University
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disabilities must register with the office to be eligible for services. The office MUST have appropriate documentation
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need an accommodation this semester, please contact the Student Services Office
immediately.
Location: Student Services, Morgan Hall Room 135 (new location)
Phone: 785-670-1629 or TDD 785-670-1025
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Students
may voluntarily identify themselves to the instructor for a referral to the
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through the second week of class with no recorded grade. From the third through the eleventh week a
“W” is recorded for any dropped course.
Beginning with the start of the twelfth week, there are NO withdrawals,
and a grade will be assigned for the course.
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VIII.
COURSE SCHEDULE
WEEK 1---Aug. 17 & 19 Early
Conceptions of Childhood
Presentation
on conceptions of childhood in early modern Europe and in
the
American colonies
Read: The New England Primer, Anne Bradstreet’s
poem segment “Of the Four
Ages of Man”; excerpts from Ben
Franklin’s autobiography (handout)
.
WEEK 2---Aug. 24 & 26
Early Conceptions of Childhood
Presentation
on Mon., Aug 24 by on Rousseau’s and Darwin’s historical
perspectives
by Professor Tom Prasch
Assignment: View the film To Kill a Mockingbird outside of class. DVDs and/or videos are available at the
Topeka Public Library and local video stores.
A film form, as well as additional information, will be provided.
WEEK 3--- Aug. 31 & Sept. 2
Childhood in the Nineteenth Century
Mon.:
Individual conferences with Rachel Goossen in Henderson 311-D (see
sign-up
sheet for specific appointment times).
Be prepared to explain your idea
for
the storytelling assignment, as well as to turn in your completed Mockingbird
film
form.
Wed.:
All-class discussion of Lucy Larcom’s book
Read: A New England Girlhood (prior to Wednesday’s class)
WEEK 4 – Sept. 9 Childhood
in the Nineteenth Century (note: no class Mon., Sept. 7,
Labor Day)
Presentation on schooling movements and
child labor
Read: Nasaw’s Children of the City
WEEK 5--- Sept. 14 & 16 Childhood in the Nineteenth Century
Mon.,
Sept. 14 -- Presentation on the writings of Horatio Alger, by guest School
of
Business Prof. Bill Roach
Storytelling presentations
Read: Nasaw’s Children of the City
WEEK 6--- Sept. 21 & 23 Childhood
in the Nineteenth Century
Monday – film clip, “Orphan Train History”
Wednesday -- All-class discussion of Children of the City
Read: Nasaw’s Children of the City (prior to
Wednesday’s class)
WEEK 7--- Sept. 28 & 30 Childhood in the Nineteenth Century
Storytelling Presentations
Due in Class:
Paper on Children of the City,
Monday, Sept. 28
WEEK 8---Oct. 5 & 7 Childhood
in the Early Twentieth Century
Presentation on
Progressive Era reformers and children’s issues
WEEK 9---Oct. 12 & 14 Growing
up in Kansas
Presentation on Mon. Oct.
12 by English Prof. Margy Stewart on One
Time on
the Upper McDowell
Presentation
on Wed. Oct. 14. By Education Prof. Judy McConnell-Farmer
Read: Judith McConnell, “Kindergarten in Kansas: A View from the Beginning”
(handout).
WEEK 10 -- Oct. 19 & 21 Childhood in the Depression
All-class
discussion of Angelou’s book, Wed., Oct. 21
Read:
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings
WEEK 11— Oct. 26 & 28 Jewish
Immigration and A Biographical Tale
Mon, Oct. 26, Guest Speaker, Paula Doress-Worters, on
the life of Ernestine
Rose
Storytelling Presentations
Due in class Mon. Oct. 26: Paper on I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Read:
Russell Baker’s Growing Up
WEEK 12 – Nov. 2 & 4 Childhood
in the Depression
Wed. Nov. 4 -- All-class
discussion and in-class writing on Russell Baker’s
Growing Up
Read: Russell Baker’s Growing Up (prior to Wednesday’s class)
WEEK 13—Nov. 9 & 11 Childhood
During the Second World War
Presentation on American children of
military personnel and conscientious objectors
Storytelling Presentations
WEEK 14—Nov. 16 & 18 Children
and Youth in the Civil Rights Movement
Note: Field Trip to Brown v. Board of Ed. Nat’l.
Historic Site, 1515 S.E. Monroe
on Monday, Nov. 16 – meet there at 1:30 p.m.
. On Wed., Nov. 18, we will have an all-class
discussion of the visit, and an in-
class writing assignment.
WEEK 15— Nov. 23 Raising Children in the
Counter-Culture of the 1960s & ‘70s
Note: No class Wed. Nov. 25—Thanksgiving
Break
Presentation by Dept. of Sociology
& Anthropology instructor Dr. Susan Zuber-Chall
WEEK 16--- Nov. 30 & Dec. 2 Raising Children in The 21st
Century: Global Perspectives
Wed., Dec. 2 Presentation by Guest Stacey Beatty on International
Adoption (China & the U.S.)
FINAL
EXAM: Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 1:30 p.m.