• Explore California History from the perspective of a researcher (if you are a History Major) or as an educator (if you are in the Social Science Education Track).
• Analyze the major themes and issues in California history and the historical forces that shaped them.
• Reflect upon the most effective ways to make California history accessible, interesting, and relevant.

1. Geographical, cultural, ethnic, and geological diversity are primary ingredients in California's history.
2. Interaction, assimilation, and conflict among racial and socioeconomic groups has shaped California's history.
3. Since statehood, Californians have manipulated their environment in order to extract resources, build more complex economies, and attract and support larger populations.
4. California's lack of water is perhaps the central fact of its existence - and various water policies have all depended on the manipulation of this scarce resource.
5. California is a place of the extreme, the unusual, and the spectacular.
6. In geographical terms, California is a very old place; in socio-political terms, California is a relatively new place.
7. The real history of California is complex and filled with stories of both success and failure, power and oppression, interaction and conflict, extraordinary and ordinary individuals, environmental conservation and destruction.
8. California's society is most accurately characterized by persistent inequality, attempts by certain groups to subordinate others, and inter-group tensions between those in power and those courageous Californians who have resisted social, economic, and political oppression.

Teaching Assistant: We are fortunate to have Samantha Keogh working with us this semester. Samantha is a history major who has done extremely well in California history and will be able to provide many types of assistance as the semester proceeds. You may contact Samantha at samthekeogh@gmail.com.

• Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi, Wherever There's a Fight: How ruanaway slaves, suffragists, immigrants, strikers, and poets shaped civil liberties in California. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2009.
• Various online primary and secondary documents as noted in the Course Outline below.
• Library Oncores readings:  Many documents that are required are noted in the Course Outline below and are available through the Library's Oncores  program.  Each of the primary documents is listed below in the course outline.  To learn how to use and access Oncores readings, go to http://library.humboldt.edu/circulation/oncores_accessing.html. To directly access the Oncores readings for this course, simply go to http://oncores.humboldt.edu/cgi-bin/oncores.cgi?crn=41075 and click on the article you wish to read or download.

Web Site. My web site is available to assist you throughout the course at http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle.  When you get to the home page, click on "History 383 " where you will find several choices: Course Syllabus, Announcements, Discussion Guides for class meetings.

Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory. If you miss 3 classes, your final grade in the class will drop a full grade. If you miss 5 classes, your final grade will drop two full grades. If you miss 7 classes, your final grade will drop three full grades. More than 8 absences will result in failure.

Required Assignments: The following will be completed throughout the semester: cold call reading reviews, written reading reviews, a social justice research project; participation in the Campus Dialog on Race, and a final examination.  For a list of all course requirements and due dates, click here. All assignments are listed in red on the course syllabus. Please note: You will only get credit for all of the following assignments IF you attend the entire class on the day the assignments are due.

• "Cold Call" Reading Reviews (200 total points or 20 points each for 10 reviews ). You will be assigned a total of 20 primary and secondary readings throughout the semester - each of which is available online, through Oncores, or from Wherever There's A Fight. On the 20 days that you have required reading, I will pose questions directly related to the reading to 1/3 or more of all students who are present. Questions will be broad-based and will require analytical thinking. Additionally, at least one question will always address new academic language that you learned in the reading. To prepare you for the class "cold call," you should think about the following for each of the required readings:
  • What are the 3-5 ideas/themes/topics that you believe are most important to understand in the reading.
  • What are 5-10 new academic language words or phrases you encountered in the reading. You must be able to define them and explain how and why they are important to understand the article's content.
  • What questions remain after you completed the reading.
• Because I will be cold calling - not asking for volunteers - you must be ready to engage in a collegial discussion about the required reading. You may use any of your notes about the reading to help you formulate your answers. You will be called upon A MINIMUM OF 10 TIMES THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. If you are called upon more than 10 times, you will earn extra credit points for your answers. The following point system will be used to determine the score for the answers:
• 20 points if you engage intellectually in the conversation by addressing the specifics of the question and if your response indicates a deep understanding of the reading assignment;
• 18 points if you engage intellectually in the conversation by addressing most of the specifics of the question and if your response indicates a solid understanding of the reading assignment.
• 14 points if you engage in the conversation by addressing some of the specifics of the question and if your response indicates an average understanding of the reading assignment.
• 0 points if you cannot engage in the conversation, are unable to address the specifics of he question and you have little to no understanding of the reading assignment.

 

• Written Reading Review (20 total points or 20 points each for 2 written reading reviews). Once during the semester, you will complete a typewritten explanation of what you read or watched. The reviews will be due on October 4th . Please refer to the Course Outline below for the content of this review.

 

• Civil Rights/Social Justice Research Project (100 points). Each of you will pick a person or topic related to the struggle for civil rights and social justice in California between 1950-2000. You must then conduct research on your subject and use your findings to create a visual, electronic story that you will present to a small group of your classmates. Following are the steps for completing this project:
  • Selecting a person or topic. Pick a person or topic of great interest to you - something about the struggle for social justice that you would enjoy researching and learning about during the research project.
  • Conducting the research. Find at least 2 primary documents and 2 secondary documents that will inform your understanding of the person or topic.
  • Completing the Preliminary Research Design. After you read your documents, complete the required research design that you can access by clicking here. (20 points)
  • Designing the presentation. Once you have finished your research, begin to think about how you can design a visual, electronic presentation that will highlight the story you want to tell. You must address the following six components in your presentation:
    • An introduction that explains how and why you selected the person or topic for your tour.
    • A detailed and historical explanation of how and why your person or topic was/is involved in the struggle for social justice in California. This will be the central focus - the heart of your presentation.
    • An explanation of how and why the life of the person or the events related to your topic relate to one or more of the course themes.
    • A final analysis and conclusion that addresses what you discovered about California history in the process of your research, how the focus of your research may have changed as your research continued, and what you believe are the most important things about your research that your classmates should understand.
    • Visual and written information that is interesting and creative.
    • You will submit your presentation electronically on December 4th. (50 points)
  • Sharing your presentation. Put your presentation together using your choice of computer technologies - powerpoint, youtube video, short movie, etc. You may be as creative as you wish with your mode of presentation. Please be sure to include all of your historical information in any powerpoint, video, movie, etc when you turn in your final project. On the day the presentation is due - December 4th - you will each share your presentation with a small group of your classmates - between 5-6. Each group will select the best presentation and the person who is selected will then share his/her project with the whole class on December 6th.
  • Written portion. You will each write a paper that is a maximum of four double-spaced, typewritten, grammatically correct pages that must include the following four components:
    • A brief explanation of your topic and why you chose it.
    • A summary of what you expected to find about your topic when you began your research compared with what you actually discovered after you completed your research.
    • A discussion of your sources, emphasizing which sources - primary and secondary - you found to be most helpful in the course of your research and why.
    • A discussion of how your research findings illustrated at least two of the overall course themes.
    • A conclusion emphasizing how your research contributed to a better understanding social justice issues in California.
    • A bibliography of all your sources.
    • You will submit your paper in class on December 4th. (30 points)

     

• Final Exam (100 points). On Tuesday, December 11th from 12:40-14:30, you will come to class prepared to take your final exam which consists of two components:
  • Written component. Ten days before the exam, you will receive 4 essay questions. Each will address one or more of the course discussions and will require the use of specific examples from classroom discussion notes and required reading materials. You must take notes on each question and turn in your typewritten notes - in any format that helps you study - on the day of the exam.
  • Oral component. For the oral component, the class will be divided into four small groups, each of which will work together for 15 minutes i to produce a collective answer to a one of the four questions. Each group will then take 5-7 minutes to present their answer to the class. The remainder of the class will engage in a dialog with the oral presenters about each of the questions and will complete a required evaluation form for the oral presentations.
  • Each exam will be assessed as follows:
    • 80% of your grade - or 80 points - will be based upon your written notes and the quality of examples used from the classroom and reading materials.
    • 10% of your grade - or 10 points - will be based upon the dialog in which you engage during the presentations of the other groups.
    • 10% of your grade - or 10 points - will be based on the evaluation form you complete during and after the oral presentations.
  • There will be no make-ups for this exam. You must be present on the day it is given to receive your grade.
• Dialog on Race (40 points). During the weeks of October 29-November 9, HSU will be involved in the 14th Annual Campus Dialog on Race. You must be involved in at least three capacities:
  • Viewing the Wherever There's a Fight library display and completing the required assignment (30 points) which is due on October 30th and can be accessed by clicking here.
  • Attending the discussion with the authors of Wherever There's a Fight - Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi - which will be held on November 2nd from 5-7pm OR attending any other major event, such as viewing the film Precious Knowledge on Friday, November 9th at 7pm in the Goodwin Forum. For those of you who are not able to attend either, you must attend another DOR event. To determine which event you might be interested in attending, go to the schedule at http://www.humboldt.edu/dialogue/.
  • Completing the Dialog on Race assessment form (10 points) which can be accessed by clicking here and which is due on Tuesday, November 15th. Another option would be to enroll in Ethnic Studies 480 - the 1 unit course that Dr. Wurlig Bao teaches in conjunction with the Dialog on Race.
  • Please note that if you completed a fourth DOR event, you will receive 10 points of extra credit.

• PLEASE NOTE - If you are a History Major or a History Major - Social Science Education Track student, keep all your work for this class with my comments on them for inclusion in your final portfolio for the History Department.

Grades. It is possible to accumulate 460 points for this semester's class. Points and grades will be earned as follows:

• 460 - 410 points = A
• 419 - 370 points = B
• 369 - 320 points = C
• 319 - 270 points = D
• 269 and below points = F

******* COURSE OUTLINE *******

Introduction: California - Land of Mythology and Diversity (August 21).

Unit I: Colonizing California (August 23 and 28, September 1, 6, and 8)

• 8/23 - The Original Californians . The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Elinson and Yogi, "Introduction" (pp 1-6) and "Epilogue" (pp 453-429)
    • 8/23 - First Reading Review
• 8/28-8/30 - The Discovery, Exploration, and Founding of Spanish California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 8/30 : Guadalupe Vallejo, "Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California," (1890) at http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist2/rancho.html.
    • 8/30 - Second Reading Review
• 9/4- 9/6 - Mexican Occupation and American Conquest . The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 9/4: Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, Chapter 13, "Trading at Monterey" at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DanTwoy.html (click on Chapter 13).
    • 9/4 - Third Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 9/8: The Chronicle, "The Foremothers Tell of Olden Times," (1900) at http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/foremoms.html.
    • 9/6 - Fourth Reading Review

• 9/11-9/13 - The California Gold Rush: Causes and Consequences. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 9/11: Rudolfo Acuna, "California Lost: America for Anglo-Americans" in Occupied America on Oncores
    • 9/11 - Fifth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 9/13: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 2, "In a Strange Land: The Rights of Immigrants."
    • 9/13 - Sixth Reading Review
• 9/18 - 9/20 The Intricate Web of State and National Politics: 1850-1860. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • NO Required Reading
• 9/25 - Entrepreneurial Politics and Economics: The Transcontinental Railroad and Its Consequences for California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here
  • Required Reading: “Central Pacific Railroad: Building the Central Pacific – A Narrative History” available on Oncores.
    • 9/25- Seventh Reading Review
    • 9/25 - Preliminary Research Design due.
  • Recommended: Albert S. Evans, "A Cruise on the Barbary Coast," 1871 at http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/evans.html; Interview with Dr. Donald Fixico about the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on the American Indians at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/sfeature/sf_interview.html; and "The Story of the Central Pacific. The Rise of the Big Four: Huntington, Stanford, Crocker, and Hopkins" by W. F. Bailey in The Pacific Monthly (January & February, 1908) at http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Bailey_CPRR_1908.html; and "Eastward to Promontory" by Rebecca Cooper Winter at http://cprr.org/Museum/Eastward.html#Construction%20of%20the%20CPRR
• 9/27 - Americanization. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Bret Harte, "Indiscriminate Massacre... 1860" at http://gorhistory.com/hist383/BretHarte.html and Elison and Yogi, Ch. 1, "Staking Our Claim: The Law in California"
    • 9/27 - Eighth Reading Review.
• 10/2 - The Consequences of Progress. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
• Required Reading: Andrew S. Isenberg, "Capitalizing on Nature: Innovation and Production in the Redwood Forests" in Mining California: An Ecological History on Oncores, the discussion guides for today's topic, and video "The Big Trees"AND Required Reading: California Master Plan for Higher Education, "Preface" at http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9c6008sn;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00007&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=calisphere and Chapter 1 (pages 1-15) at http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9c6008sn;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=chap1&toc.depth=1&toc.id=chap1&brand=calisphere
  • 10/2 - Ninth Reading Review of Isenberg AND the discussion guides for today's topic available at http://gorhistory.com/hist383/Consequences.html. You must watch the video clip "The Big Trees" on the website. Please note - there will be no lecture/discussion on this topic; rather, we will spend the final hour of class on the cold/call reading reviews of Isenberg, "The Big Trees" video, and the discussion guides.
  • 10/2 - Submit a 3x5 card with the following: 3-5 most important things you learned from the California Master Plan article and 3-5 questions you had after reading the material.
• Recommended: Podcast, Gary Noy "Environmental History of the Sierra Nevada" (75 minutes) at http://www.sierranevadavirtualmuseum.com/indexflash.html. (Click on"Sierracasts" at the top right-hand side of the screen. Then, click on Gary Noy in the left margin.)

• 10/4 -Higher Education in California. Guest Speaker, Rob Christiansen. No discussion guides for today.
• 10/9-10/11 - Labor, Reform, Industry, and Politics. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 10/9: James J. Rawls and Walton Bean, "Labor and Capital" in California: An Interpretive History on Oncores
    • 10/9 - Tenth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 10/11: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 3, "An Injury to All: the Rights of Workers."
    • 10/11 - Eleventh Reading Review
• 10/16 - Californians and Civil Liberties. No discussion guides for today.
  • Required Reading for 10/16: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 4,"Under Color of Law: The Fight for Racial Equality;" and Ch. 5, "Holding Up Half the Sky: The Rights of Women; and Ch. 6, "The Right Not to Remain Silent."
    • 10/16 - Twelfth Reading Review
• 10/18-10/23 - California within the National Framework: The Great Depression and World War II. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 10/18 : Kevin Starr, "War and Peace: Garrison State and Suburban Growth" in California on Oncores; and Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 7, "Mightier than the Sword."
    • 10/18 - Thirteenth Reading Review
  • Required Reading for 10/23: Elinson and Yogi, Ch. 12, "Behind Barbed Wire: WWII Removal and Incarceration."
    • 10/23 - Fourteenth Reading Review
• 10/25-10/30 - Case Study of California Growth: Southern California and Los Angeles. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Viewing for 10/30: Watch the videotape of the Rodney King Beating at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTCOaOjGBA8
• 11/1-11/6 - California Water - Political and economic policies related to a scarce resource. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 11/6: "Contemporary Issues Related to California's Water" at http://gorhistory.com/hist383/WaterProblems.html
    • 11/6 - Fifteenth Reading Review
• 11/8- The Entertainment and Theme Park Industries. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here
  • Required Reading: Kevin Starr, "Stories and Dreams: The Movies Come to Southern California" in Inventing the Dream on Oncores.
    • 11/8 - Sixteenth Reading Review
    • 11/8 - Assignment - Submit no more than a 1-page paper with two lists:
      1. Strengths in the discussion of water policy that helped you understand California's historical and contemporary water crisis.
      2. Weaknesses in the discussion and any questions you still had when the discussion was over.
      3. Extra credit - any suggestions for improvement, change, etc.
• 11/13 - Chicano Power in California. No discussion guides for today and no required reading.

• 11/15 - Campus Turmoil . The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required viewing: Berkeley in the Sixties (documentary)
    • 11/15 - Seventeenth Reading Review
• 11/27 - Red Power in California. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading for 11/29 : Read the "Background," "The Landing," and "The Occupation" at under the "Reclaiming Native Land" section accessible on the Alcatraz is Not An Island website at http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/nativeland.html and listen to and read the 7 short interviews of those who were at Alcatraz at http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/people.html. (All can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate subtitle in the left-hand margin of the website.) .
    • 11/29 - Eighteenth Reading Review
• 11/28- Brown, Reagan, and Brown: California Governors. The discussion guides can be found by clicking here.
  • Required Reading: Richard B. Rice, William A. Bullough, Richard J. Orsi, "Eras of Limits: Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, and After" in The Elusive Eden on Oncores.
    • 12/4 - Nineteenth Reading Review
• 12/4 - Social Justice Research Presentations
• 12/6 - Social Justice Research Presentations

Tuesday, December 11th from 12:40-14:30 - Final Examination

*********************************************************************

This course meets the five major skills that the History Department believes historians need and that history majors should develop as they progress through the major: writing, research, critical thinking, historiography and methodology, and oral presentation.

• Writing. Each assignment requires the use of writing skills. The journal entries on the required course reading and the two lesson plans requires multiple types of academic writing.
• Research. The two lesson plans require extensive research involving both primary and secondary sources, the application of such research to a middle or high school history course, and a chronological understanding of the chosen topic.
• Critical thinking. You will be asked to use critical thinking when completing every course requirement, as well as during the Socratic discussions that take place during every class period.
• Historiography and methodology. You will gain a better understanding of what historians actually do by learning in our first unit of study how historians agree and disagree about causes and consequences of historical topics. You will also discuss various teaching methodologies that will help students understand the relevance of history to their lives, as well as how interesting and exciting history can be.
• Oral presentation. You will be required to give an oral presentation of both of your lesson plan to a group of your peers.

• Academic Honesty. Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity. For HSU's definitions of academic honesty and cheating, as well as the consequences of and appeal process for being accused of cheating, see http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/academic_honesty.php
• Add/Drop policy: Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for dropping or adding classes found at http://www.humboldt.edu/~reg/regulations/schedadjust.html
• Emergency evacuation: The evacuation plan for the classroom, which is posted on the orange signs, can be accessed at http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/campus_emergency_preparedness.php
• During an emergency, information can be found campus conditions at: 826-INFO or online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~humboldt/emergency.
• Attendance and disruptive behavior: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior found at http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/attendance_behavior.php