HISTORY  3349:   U.S.  DIPLOMATIC   HISTORY   SINCE  1913

 

Professor:        Joyce S. Goldberg                     

Semester:         Spring 2013

Location:         UH 016

Office:           University Hall 330

Open Off. Hrs:    T-TH: 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Appt. Off. Hrs:   T-TH: 8:00-10:00 a.m.                 

Email:            goldberg@uta.edu 

 

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REQUIRED  READING

 

Howard Jones (HJ)        Crucible of Power (Vol II, since 1897)

 

Erez Manela (EM)         The Wilsonian Moment

 

Mark A. Stoler (MAS)     Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt=s Foreign Policies

 

Nicholas Thompson (NT)   The Hawk and the Dove

 

Stephen G. Rabe (SGR)    U.S. intervention in British Guiana, a Cold War Story

 

Robert D. Dean (RDD)     Imperial Brotherhood

 

Mary L. Dudziak (MLD)    Cold War Civil Rights                         

 

 

 

COURSE  OBJECTIVES AND OBJECTIVES

 

This reading-intense undergraduate course surveys U.S. foreign relations from the eve of the First World War and into the Cold War. It examines how U.S. policymakers and non-elites, government agencies and non-governmental organizations, and others participated in, influenced, and reacted within the world community.  It analyzes why and how individuals and groups devised policies to identify and define, manage and protect, extend and impose U.S. interests abroad.  It is a study of people, ideas, issues, goals, and the social and cultural forces that helped shape U.S. policymakers and the conduct of foreign relations since 1913.  Along with recounting and analyzing human and national behavior and the complex environmental milieu that produced them, this course is designed to suggest broad conceptual ways of thinking about the U.S. role in the world, suggest the value of skepticism over triumphalism, and provide an evidence-based history of U.S. diplomacy.

 

STUDENT COMPETENCIES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

a) Students will enhance cognitive skills by reading critically, constructing   independent arguments using hard historical evidence, and asserting ideas persuasively in grammatically sound form.

 

b) Students will be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, evaluating how diplomatic historians use each, and assessing how interpretations have changed over time.

 

c) Students will recognize the relationship between history and memory by investigating the cultural debates that have influenced Ahistorical memory.@

 

 

COURSE  REQUIREMENTS

 

**TO PASS THIS COURSE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ALL ASSIGNMENTS. Students who do not will automatically fail. Merely complying with all requirements, however, does not guarantee a passing grade.**

 

There will be SIX multiple-choice reading quizzes requiring scantrons. The best FIVE (provided you take all six) will be worth five percent each of the final grade (you cannot drop a zero).  There will be THREE takehome exams (typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, one-inch margins, etc.), each worth twenty-five percent of the final grade.

 

The rubric I use for grading essays is:

 

1) relevance (how well each essay answers the specific question);      

 

2) comprehensiveness (how much relevant material is included);

 

3) analysis (how well ideas are developed);

 

4) documentation (how well evidence is provided for each major argument);

 

5) logic (do conclusions follow logically from premises);

 

6) clarity (how well the author communicates).

 

 

Makeup quizzes (NOT MULTIPLE CHOICE) will take place at the convenience of the instructor. I do not accept extra-credit work nor grant incompletes.  Students are solely responsible for initiating procedures to withdraw from the course.  I will neither report nor discuss grades by email. Lectures are not available online.  Some videos are, but responsibility for finding them rests with students.  

 

 

GRADE DEFINITIONS   (These are of my own making)

 

A (90-100):   Displays an excellent, thorough, factual and conceptual understanding of the material while also expressing evidence-based opinions; clear, organized, thoughtful, well-written, persuasive.  Has a clear and well-conceived thesis statement that guides the essay.

 

B (80-89):  Displays a good factual and conceptual understanding of the material with a good ability to communicate evidence-based opinions and ideas; logical and generally persuasive. Has a reasonably clear and thoughtful thesis statement that endeavors to guide the essay.

 

C (70-79):   Displays merely a basic understanding of the factual and conceptual material; presentation may be unclear or disorganized and not completely persuasive. Thesis statement is confused or ambiguous and its relationship to the essay is only tenuous.

 

D (60-69): Displays only a slight or minimal grasp of basic ideas and concepts; disorganized, poor communication skills, and poor development of  ideas.  Unconvincing command of the historical material.  Has only a vague thesis statement perhaps unrelated to the essay=s focus or merely repeats or restates the question.

 

F (59 and below): Incomplete, unclear, or inaccurate presentation of major themes, facts, and concepts.  Poor communication of ideas.  Writer demonstrates poor command of the historical material. Has no or a completely unacceptable thesis statement.

 

ACADEMIC  DISHONESTY

 

Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  Any student caught in an act of scholastic dishonesty (cheating, collusion, plagiarism, taking an exam for another person, submitting another person=s work as one=s own, etc.) or conspiring to or attempting to commit such an act will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures.     (See Student Handbook)

All students in this course are expected to adhere to the UTA Honor Code:

I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT Arlington's tradition of academic integrity, a tradition that values hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.

I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group collaborations, and I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will follow the highest standards of integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.

STUDENTS  WITH DISABILITIES

I am committed to the Americans with Disabilities Act and will assure that disabled students are appropriately accommodated in my class.  If you require an accommodation based on a disability, you are required to provide appropriate documentation through the Office of Students with Disabilities.      (See Student Handbook)

 

CLASSROOM  DECORUM

While I prefer an atmosphere of informality and good humor, common courtesies and mature behavior are expected at all times.  Rudeness and incivility are unacceptable. Students should attend all classes, although no records will be kept.  You will be neither penalized nor rewarded for your attendance, but you are completely responsible for all work transacted during class.  You are expected to arrive on time and remain for the duration of the class.  All cell phones or other electronic gadgets must be place on silent mode.  No text messaging or wearing of ear buds will be permitted during class.  No recording technology, laptops, or other electronic devices are permitted without the instructor=s permission.  Those given permission must sign a pledge not to connect to the internet, answer email, play games, etc.  Newspaper reading, sleeping, or other disruptive behaviors are unacceptable.  Eating and drinking, in moderation, are permitted, but please use common sense.

 

READING  ASSIGNMENTS  AND  DISCUSSION  TOPICS (due the date listed)

 

In case of inclement weather or school closings for any reason, you are expected to remain current with the syllabus, including all quizzes and exams.

 

T-Jan. 15th:            

Course Introduction
 U.S. foreign relations on the eve of war

 

TH-Jan. 17th:           

Woodrow Wilson and the politics of morality
HJ: pp. 57-70
EM: pp. ix-xii (to the break); pp. 3-13

 

T-Jan. 22nd:           

War and the problem of U.S. neutrality
HJ: pp. 70-87
EM: pp. 16-53

 

TH-Jan. 24th:           

U.S. national security and victory
HJ: pp. 91-100

EM: pp. 56-97                          

 

T-Jan. 29th:           

Failure in Paris; Failure of Wilsonian idealism
HJ: pp. 100-116
EM: pp. 99-135

**QUIZ #1**

 

TH-Jan. 31st:                                               

Alternatives to collective security

HJ: pp. 121-133

EM: pp. 138-175

 

T-Feb. 5th:                                     

Independent internationalism

HJ: pp. 133-136

EM: pp. 177-213

 

TH-Feb. 7th:                                                

The new order in Asia

HJ: pp. 136-141

EM: pp. 215-225

T-Feb. 12th:                                                 

New Deal drift and inconsistency

HJ: pp. 145-155

MAS: pp. 1-3; pp. 5-15; pp. 113-122

**QUIZ #2**

 

TH-Feb. 14th:

Neutrality, appeasement, & risks of war

HJ: pp. 155-170

MAS: pp. 15-28; pp. 125-137

**Exam #1 Due**

(Late papers will be penalized one grade per day)

SAMPLE ANSWERS

 

T-Feb. 19th:                                                 

March toward war

HJ: pp. 175-189

MAS: pp. 28-52; pp. 137-147

 

TH-Feb. 21st:            

Unneutrality short of war

HJ: pp. 189-200

MAS: pp. 52-59; pp. 145-164

 

T-Feb. 26th:                                                   

The challenges of global war

HJ: pp. 203-208

MAS: pp. 59-79; pp. 164-169 

TH-Feb. 28th:                                             

Roosevelt, Churchill, & Stalin=s competing postwar visions

HJ: pp. 208-223

MAS: pp. 79-88; pp. 169-181

**QUIZ #3**

 

T-Mr. 5th:                         

Coalition diplomacy falls apart

HJ: pp. 223-236

NT: Prologue; Chs. 1, 2

(MOVIE: "America and the Holocaust")                                                                                                   

 

TH-Mr. 7th:                                  

The troubled alliance

HJ: pp. 227-237
NT:Chs.3,4                                                                                                                                                          

(MOVIE: "The Atomic Bomb")

 

T-Mr. 19th:                                 

Onset of the cold war

HJ: pp. 241-262

NT: Ch. 5

RDD: Introduction

MLD: Introduction

(MOVIE: "The Cold War")


TH-Mr. 21st:                                               

Transitioning from quid pro quo to containment

HJ: pp. 262-268

NT: Ch. 6

RDD: Ch. 1

MLD: pp. 18-29                     

 

T-Mr. 26th:                                                  

From Mr. X to NSC-68

HJ: pp. 277-283

NT: Ch. 7
RDD: Ch. 2                

SGR: Introduction

MLD: pp. 29-46

**QUIZ #4**

 

 

TH-Mr. 28th:                                              

Globalized & militarized containment

HJ: pp. 283-298

NT: Ch. 8

RDD: Ch. 3

SGR: pp. 13-31

MLD: pp. 47-56

**EXAM #2 Due**

(Late papers will be penalized one grade per day)      

 

T-Apr. 2nd:                                                   

Dilemmas in the developing world

HJ: pp. 303-319

NT: Ch. 9

RDD: Ch. 4

SGR: pp. 31-46

MLD: pp. 56-67

 

TH-Apr. 4th:           

Eisenhower redefines national security

HJ: pp. 319-329

NT: Ch. 10

RDD: Ch. 5

SGR: pp. 47-58

MLD: Ch. 3

 

T-Apr. 9th:                                                    

Eisenhower's "New Look"
HJ: pp. 329-337

NT: Ch. 11

RDD: Ch. 6

SGR: pp. 58-73

MLD: Ch. 4

 

TH-Apr. 11th:                                            

Kennedy/Johnson and "Flexible Response"

HJ: pp. 343-372

NT: Ch. 12

RDD: Ch. 7

SGR: pp. Ch. 3

MDD: Ch. 5

 

T-Apr.16th:

Lyndon Johnson's war of choice

HJ: pp. 379-399

NT: Ch. 13
RDD:Ch.8;Afterword                                                     

SGR: Ch. 4

MLD: pp. 203-214

**QUIZ #5**

 

TH-Apr. 18th:                                            

LBJ, All the Way

HJ: pp. 399-411

NT: Ch. 14

SGR: Ch. 5; Conclusion

MLD: pp. 314-231

 

T-Apr. 23rd:                                                 

Containment in collapse

HJ: pp. 417-428

NT: Ch. 13

MLD: pp. 231-254

 

TH-Apr. 25th:                                            

Vietnamization through Detente

HJ: pp. 428-439

NT: Ch. 14, 15

 

T-Apr. 30th:             

The Nixon-Kissinger era

HJ: pp. 439-450

NT: Ch. 16

 

TH-May 2nd:                                  

Human rights complicates containment

HJ: pp. 455-481

NT: Ch. 17; Epilogue
**QUIZ #6**

 

** EXAM #3**

 

DUE TUESDAY, MAY 7TH

 

BETWEEN 9:00 AND 1:30 P.M.  

 

IN MY OFFICE  (UH330)