San José State University
American Studies Program/Department of Humanities
AMS1A: American Civilization to 1865
[Seminar – Section 21] Spring 2017
Instructor:
Ari Nathan Cushner
Office Location:
CL 414N
Telephone:
(408) 924-1391 [please use email]
Email:
[email protected]
Office Hours:
Tu/Th, 12:00-1:00, or by appointment
Class Days/Time:
TTh 3:00-4:15
Classroom:
ENG 403
Prerequisites:
Concurrent enrollment in AMS1A Section 20 (Lecture)
Course Description
This seminar explores “American Civilization” from the pre-Columbian age to 1865. It
examines the creation of American culture(s) and society during the colonial period; the
founding of the United States; the expansion of the republic; and the Civil War era.
Course themes include contact and conquest; race and slavery; politics and democracy;
capitalism, class, and economy; ethnic difference and diversity; gender and sexuality;
aesthetic expression; conflict and social change.
Learning Goals
Students will acquire knowledge and develop skills through dialogue, debate, and
critical analysis of texts (fiction and non-fiction literature) as well as other cultural
artifacts. Success is dependent on completing each day’s assigned reading while being
prepared to engage in discussion and other activities. This Seminar serves in part as a
space to further interpret concepts and events discussed in the AMS1A Lecture and
reading assignments; but it is a separate 3-unit course and must be treated accordingly.
Required Texts
William Wells Brown. Clotel or, The President’s Daughter [1853]. New York: Penguin
Publishing, 2003. ISBN: 9780142437728
Miguel Leon-Portilla, ed. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico.
Boston: Beacon Books, 2007. ISBN: 9780807055007
Herman Melville. Moby Dick, or The Whale [1851]. New York: Penguin Publishing, 2001.
ISBN: 9780142000083
Other readings available as PDFs or links on Canvas (see Modules for each assignment)
AMS1A: American Civilization to 1865 (Seminar, Section 21), Sp 2017, Cushner
1
Classroom Protocol
Civility: Come to class on time, having read and being ready to participate. Students are
expected to arrive promptly and not leave early, except in the case of a pre-approved
arrangement or emergency. Be ready to not sit passively or quietly, as you will be
expected to interact with your classmates and instructor regularly during discussions
and activities. Respectful disagreements, when expressed with civility, are healthy; speech
and/or behavior that is in any way hateful, hurtful, or disrespectful will not be tolerated.
Technology: Don’t plan to stare your screen; students are expected to bring paper copies of all
assigned readings to class. There will be no electronic devices allowed in the classroom
without instructor approval. No laptops, except for designated in-class activities. Turn
cell phones off at the beginning of class and stow them in your bags. This means that you
should obtain copies of the actual books rather than downloaded electronic versions; readings
distributed as PDFs or url links should be printed and brought to class (if costs are prohibitive,
sharing copies of paper print-outs is acceptable).
General Standards
Each assignment will have specific requirements, about which you will learn more as the
semester progresses. Otherwise, the following general standards apply:
Students producing “A” (90-100%) work demonstrate mastery of the material, i.e.,
working knowledge of key information, the ability to apply and use knowledge gained
in class critically. Those doing “C” (70-79%) work demonstrate an acceptable level of
retention with a lower level of familiarity of key concepts and facts, and may struggle to
apply or use their knowledge; there is room for improvement, but are doing well
enough. A “B” (80-89%) student falls somewhere in between. Those producing “D” or
“F” work have serious problems with accuracy, skills, retention, and application.
Assignments & Grades
[60%] Literary Analyses
• Literary Essay # 1 (due April 7) = 150 points
• Literary Essay #2 (due May 18) = 200 points
[20%] Material Culture Essay (due March 8)
[20%] Seminar Participation (more info to come: see Canvas for details)
Late Policy
If you cannot complete an assignment on time, you have a two-week grace period,
during which you may turn in the assignment for a one-grade reduction. After the twoweek grace period, the assignment will no longer be accepted.
Academic Integrity
Students must be aware of the SJSU Academic Integrity Policy, available online.
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State
University and the University’s integrity policy, require you to be honest in all your
academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the
office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development: plagiarism is never acceptable.
AMS1A: American Civilization to 1865 (Seminar, Section 21), Sp 2017, Cushner
2
American Studies 1A Seminar [Section 21]
Cushner: Spring 2017
WEEK
DATE
TOPICS & READINGS
ASSIGNMENTS
Week 0
1/26
Introductions & Seminar Syllabus
1/31
Indigenous People & Spanish Colonialism
Read: Miguel Leon-Portilla, ed, The Broken Spears: The Aztec
Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Ch. 2, 5, & 7
2/2
The Broken Spears, Ch. 8-9 & 11
2/7
The Broken Spears, Ch. 13-15
The Puritan Worldview in Violent Conflict with Indigenous
Americans!
Read: Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God,
Preface (PDF); and First through Twelfth Remove (PDF)
Week 1
Week 2
2/9
Week 3
2/14
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, cont.: Thirteenth through
Twentieth Remove (PDF)
2/16
Inside a Founder’s Mind!
Read: Franklin, selections TBA, from The Autobiography of Benjamin
Franklin, (PDF)
2/21
Combined Seminar #1: Introduction to Material Culture!
Read: Karen Halttunen, A Companion to American Cultural History,
[Lecture textbook] Ch. 20: Garrison, “Material Cultures”
Week 4
2/23
Week 5
2/28
3/2
European Immigration & American Identities!
Read: Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, Ch. III “What Is an
American,” from Letters from an American Farmer (PDF)
Crèvecoeur, Ch. IX “Description of Charles-Town,” from Letters
from an American Farmer (PDF), cont.
Summative Writing #1 [No Class]
Week 6
3/7
Material Culture
Essay
Topic Available
American Transcendentalism: Nature, Identity, & Independence
Read: Henry David Thoreau, Walden, pp. 1-35
Material Culture
Essay
Due 3/8
Walden, cont. (PDF)
3/9
Week 7
3/14
Combined Seminar #2: Introduction to the Novel as an Art Form:
Whaling, Capitalism, and Americanness
Listen: NPR, “‘Why Read Moby-Dick?’: A Passionate Defense Of
The 'American Bible’”(url on Canvas)
U.S. Founding
Documents Quiz
Available
3/13-3/17
AMS1A: American Civilization to 1865 (Seminar, Section 21), Sp 2017, Cushner
3
3/16
Thoreau, Walden pp. 76-94, 280-98
3/21
Read: Herman Melville, Moby Dick pp. 1-104
3/23
Melville, Moby Dick pp. 105-208
Literary Essay #1
Topics Available
on 3/20
Week 8
3/273-31
Spring Break
Week 9
4/4
Melville, Moby Dick pp. 209-312
4/6
Melville, Moby Dick pp. 313-416
4/11
Melville, Moby Dick pp. 416-520
Literary Essay #1
Due 4/7
Week 10
4/13
Summative Writing #2 [No Class]
Week 11
4/18
Melville, Moby Dick pp. 521-624
4/20
Early American Feminist Critique!
Read: Margaret Fuller, "The Great Lawsuit" (PDF)
4/25
Combined Seminar #3: Introduction to Visual Culture
Read: Halttunen, A Companion to American Cultural History, [Lecture
textbook], Ch. 19: Promey, “Situating Visual Cultures”
Week 12
4/27
African American Lives vs. the Nation
Read: William Wells Brown, Clotel: or, The President’s Daughter, Ch.
I-X (pp. 43-100)
5/2
Brown, Clotel, Ch. XI-XXI (pp. 101-160)
5/4
Brown, Clotel, Ch. XXII-XXIX (pp. 161-210)
5/9
Melancholia, Neuresthenia, and the American Middle Class!
Read: Emily Dickenson, selected poems (See Modules or Pages on
Canvas
5/11
An American Prophet?!
Read: Walt Whitman, selected poems (See Modules or Pages on
Canvas)
5/16
Whitman, selected poems, cont. (Canvas)
Visual Culture
Essay
Topics Available
Week 13
Visual Culture
Essay Due
Week 14
Literary Essay #2
Topics Available
Week 15
Exam Week
Literary Essay #2 !
Due by 5:00pm
18 May 2017
AMS1A: American Civilization to 1865 (Seminar, Section 21), Sp 2017, Cushner
4