HISTORY OF GEORGIA

(History 5474-01 for Graduate Students)

Instructor: Cita Cook Fall Semester 2005

Office: 3210 TLC (678-839-6037) email: ccook@westga.edu

Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 2:00-4:30; other times, by appointment

Class Meetings: Monday, 5:30-8:00, 204 Pafford

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will learn basic developments in the history of Georgia, from precolonial times to the present. In their essays, exams, discussions, and other work, they will demonstrate the ability to analyze the impact of different environmental, economic, political, social, and cultural forces as well as what different individuals and groups, did to affect Georgia’s history, what problems they faced, how they tried to overcome those problems, and how this varied for people in different circumstances. Graduate students will also demonstrate in discussions and written assignments the ability to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of how different scholars have researched and discussed the history of Georgia.

TEXTBOOKS

Kenneth Coleman, ed., A History of Georgia, Second Edition, University of Georgia Press

Thomas A. Scott, ed., Cornerstones of Georgia History: Documents That Formed the State, University of Georgia Press

Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green, The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents,

Bedford Books, Second Edition

Melissa Fay Greene, Praying for Sheetrock, any edition

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

I. Class Attendance, Participation, and Short Assignments - 10% of the semester grade

A. Class Attendance: The typical class will involve a combination of lecture, discussion, and occasional videotapes. Some of the information and ideas of the course will be presented or explained only in class, so you should take some notes during the lectures. Regular attendance is required. If you have to miss a class, you are responsible for discussing with me whether it is excused and for arranging to get any handouts, to find out what was covered in class, and to make up any missed assignments. You should average at least twelve hours of study a week of the class (four hours for every hour in class). If you are doing this and still feel confused or overwhelmed, it is a good idea to make an appointment to meet with me or to discuss your concerns by telephone. Too often instructors find out too late about problems that could have been solved fairly easily with earlier notification.

We shall set aside a special time each week when the graduate students will meet with me as a group to evaluate the articles assigned only to you and to discuss your special projects. You are required to make at least two appointments (which can be by phone) during the semester to discuss your special project with me. At least one meeting should be within the first two weeks of the semester and at least one within the first two weeks after the midterm exam.

B. Weekly Reading and Comment Sheets: Each assignment will include a list of study questions and identifications to indicate what you should be learning from the reading and what you need to study for the tests. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER THE STUDY QUESTIONS IN WRITING and I do not have time to correct attempts to do so. If you are not sure of the answer to any of the questions, please ask about them in class and/or in your weekly comments. The assignment sheets will include a list of the basic developments in American history that you need to know to understand the reading. If they are unfamiliar to you, refer to any basic text in American history and only then, if necessary, ask about them.

The class discussions, including the separate discussions with only graduate students, will be conducted on the assumption that everyone has read all of the reading assigned for that day. Ask any questions or say what you had trouble understanding, but always be prepared to present some kind of reaction to the reading.

Everyone is required to hand in a Comment Sheet at least once a week, indicating briefly what you consider the most significant points in the reading, any thoughts you have about the material covered in the reading and in class, and/or any questions you have, including any positive or negative reactions to the reading or class. Always give your sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the essays assigned only to graduate students as well as any questions or other thoughts you have about them. Prospective teachers may add thoughts on how you might teach the material we have covered that week. Although the comment sheets will not be graded, THE CREDIT YOU RECEIVE FOR PARTICIPATION WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER OR NOT YOUR COMMENTS SHEETS SHOW THAT YOU HAVE DONE THE READING AND EVALUATED THE GRADUATE STUDENT ARTICLES. They will be handed back so you can receive feedback from me and use them for review.

C. Short Assignments: There will be a few graded homework assignments of 1-2 pages.

II. Extra Credit Points

You can receive up to three extra credit points for your final semester grade by writing reports on activities that teach you more about the history such as approved movies, lectures, or museum exhibits, but only about activities you have done this semester. There will be a special sheet listing some recommended extra credit activities and explaining what needs to be done to gain the credit. I reserve the right to determine if any report is or is not worthy of extra credit.

III. Essays - 45% of the semester grade

Two essays (typed, unless you have special permission) will be assigned on the books by Perdue and Green (4-7 pages, due October 3, and counting 15%) and Greene (2-3 pages, due December 5, and counting 5%). You will receive a handout with specific directions at least two weeks before each essay is due. The second essay will be shorter and involve less analysis because it will be due at the same time as a longer review essay.

You will also write a 12-15 page review essay of several articles and books on a particular topic (due December 5 and counting 25%). You will receive a handout of extra directions for it. Each student should, by the third week, discuss with me the particular focus you wish to take for the review essay and hand in progress reports at several points during the semester. With special permission, students working toward a Master’s degree in Education may include some lesson plan material as part of this assignment.

Every spring the History Department awards the Elizabeth L. Parker Prize for the best paper on the history of Georgia, with an award of $100. Students who wish to submit a paper for this award may choose to substitute for the review essay a research paper of 15-30 pages based on an approved list of at least four primary and four secondary sources, one of which must be a journal article. Students earning an A or B on this paper will also receive some extra credit toward the semester grade. Anyone wishing to do such a paper should make an appointment within the first two weeks of the semester to discuss a possible topic and to be given more specifics of the requirements set by the contest.

IV. In Class Essay - 5% of the semester grade

On September 19, you will answer an essay question using any books or notes that you wish. This is to give you a chance to gain feedback on the kinds of essay questions that will be asked on the (closed book) exams.

V. Exams - 40% of the semester grade

There will be a midterm (on October 17) and a final examination (on December 12) based on both the reading and the class lectures, with each counting 20%. The final exam will include some choice between questions covering the whole semester and questions covering just the second half of the semester. The exams will not require any specific information that was not covered in the study questions, but you may have to think about the information in a new way. Each test will involve a combination of identifications and essay questions of varying lengths. If you miss a test because of a validated excuse and prior permission of the instructor, you are responsible for arranging a time to make it up.

VI. Academic Honesty

All work handed in at the State University of West Georgia should reflect only the work of an individual student. This does not mean that students should not study together, only that they need to work alone when doing the final version of an assignment. Any use of the ideas, information, or words of anyone else, including paraphrasing of the words and ideas, without crediting them is plagiarism and is a crime. A direct quote of the words (even only a few words) of someone else must be in quotation marks as well as have a note of its source. Any clear evidence of plagiarism or any other kind of cheating on a test or any other graded assignment will result in a permanent zero for that assignment (after consultation with the student). See the section on Academic Honesty in the Catalog or Uncatalog.

SCHEDULE

This schedule is tentative, but no due date will be earlier than the ones included here. Pay attention to the weekly assignment sheets and class announcements for any changes, as well as for the details of what you are expected to read.

August 22 - Introduction

1. August 29 - Precolonial Georgia; European Explorations and Early Settlements

NO SCHOOL ON LABOR DAY HOLIDAY, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

2. September 12 - Colony of Georgia (1733-1750)

3. September 19 - Georgia in the American Revolution and the Early Republic (1750-1800)

IN CLASS OPEN BOOK ESSAY

4. September 26 - Removal of Creeks and Cherokees (1800-1840)

5. October 3 - Antebellum Georgia and Secession (1820-1861)

ESSAY DUE ON PERDUE AND GREEN’S BOOK

6. October 10 - Civil War (1861-1865)

October 17 - MIDTERM EXAM

7. October 24 - Reconstruction and Redemption (1865-1879)

8. October 31 - The New South and Populism (1880-1900)

9. November 7 - Progressivism

10. November 14- The Twenties and Thirties

11. November 21 - The Forties and Fifties

12. November 28 - Civil Rights Movement

13. December 5 - Modern Georgia

REVIEW ESSAY DUE (and commentary on Greene)

December 12 - FINAL EXAM