History
412: Contemporary United States, 1973 to
Fall 2007: Tu & Thursday, 4:40-5:55 p.m.
Dr.
Lattie Coor Bldg. – History Department -- Room 4547
Office Hours:
wendy.plotkin@asu.edu
Version 3 (November 19, 2007)-Links corrected
I.
Overview of Themes of Course
II. Objectives and Approach
of Course
III. Books
IV. Assignments and Contributions to Course Grade
V. Weekly Schedule of Class Meetings
& Reading Assignments
I. Overview of Themes of Course
In this course, we will examine the United States from 1973 to the present, during a period in which it experienced a decline in its international status and standing both as an economic giant and the world's preeminent power. It did not lose its position of preeminence, but the prosperity, respect, and dominance that it had enjoyed since the end of World War II were challenged by a variety of forces, including globalization, the rise of competitors in industry and technology, the digital and communications revolution, the energy crisis, the combined economic woes of inflation and unemployment, and the failure of its massive military power to stem the tide of Communist revolutions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
This was also an era in which American politics and political ideology turned increasingly conservative, after a 35 year period of New Deal liberalism. Since the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s, an ideology of liberalism had dominated American politics in which the federal government was seen as a positive force in American life. The New Deal under Roosevelt (1933-1945), Harry Truman's Fair Deal (1945-52), John F. Kennedy's New Frontier (1960-63), and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society (1964-68) all aimed at reducing poverty, increasing economic security (especially for the elderly), promoting civil rights for racial minorities and women, and enhancing the quality of American life. These presidents established the Social Security and Medicare programs, subsidized the arts and humanities, developed regulations protecting the consumer and the environment, and attempted to revitalize the city and beautify the landscape. The moderate Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, although stepping back from the expansion of federal programs, accepted Social Security and other programs attacked by the Republicans of the 1930s and 1940s, and created the largest federal program in U.S. history -- the interstate highway program.
By the late 1960s and the early 1970s, however, many Americans were concerned about rising taxes, especially as the U.S. economy began to weaken. Drawing on examples of federal programs that had fallen into disfavor, they argued that the private sector was better able to address the issues that the government had taken on, and was more accountable.. They emphasized the benefits of competition and flexibility that derived from a private, deregulated environment, and pushed for a "devolution" of federal programs to the state and local governments, and of the privatization of governmental offices such as the Post Office.
A social agenda also underlay much of the resistance to a strong federal presence in American life. Many white Americans, both in the North and South, resisted the federal government's involvement in promoting racial integration and developing affirmative action programs for minorities in education and employment, asserting that this was "reverse racism" and injurious to the notion of merit. Some argued that these programs worked to the detriment of those they claimed to assist, and were supported by a small class of African-American conservatives, of whom Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and economist Thomas Sowell were the most well known. Many Americans also were concerned about the liberalization of American culture, and the new norms for dating, sexual relations, and family life, which they saw as destroying the moral fabric of the nation.
With the election of Richard M. Nixon in 1968, the federal government became increasingly responsive to this "Silent Majority," although Nixon himself alienated many conservative Republicans by his support for a variety of social and regulatory programs in his first term. Even Democratic presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton embraced a more conservative philosophy than their Democratic predecessors, arguing that the days of "big" government had to end. Old style Democratic liberals such as Hubert Humphrey, Edward Kennedy, and Walter Mondale found themselves increasingly disagreeing with their party's choices for president and these presidents' policy agendas -- a split that affected the Democratic party's ability to win elections. The debate about the role of government in the life of the citizenry, one that was at the core of the separation of the colonies from Great Britain two hundred years before, in 1776, dominated this period, and Americans at all levels, from the talk radio shows to the "think tanks", engaged (and still engage) in fierce verbal, and, at times, violent, battles. Religion increasingly played a role in American politics, as a new breed of evangelical Christians, enraged by Roe v. Wade and other judicial decisions that banned prayer in public places, entered the tough turf of elective politics to ensure that the nation conformed to Christian standards. Partly because of the intense emotions and convictions involved, but also because of the complexity of the issues, the search for objective answers to the points of disagreement took a backseat to the assertions that each side had the sole truth.
Foreign policy also saw innovation and retrenchment during these years. New approaches were tested in the ongoing Cold War with the Soviet Union. Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger experimented with détente, an attempt to work with the Soviet Union on arms control and trade so as to reduce the threat of nuclear war and allow both nations to devote more resources to domestic needs. Many Republicans and Democrats in Congress, however, resisted this approach, arguing that the U.S. could not trust the Soviet Union in arms negotiations, and should do whatever was possible to bring down the USSR. Presidents Ford and Carter both backed away from détente, although not totally rejecting it -- and, in 1979, President Carter completed the process of recognizing the People's Republic of China that Richard Nixon had begun in 1972 with his trip to Asia. With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, détente was dismissed as an example of weakness, and a massive arms buildup ensued. Unbenownst to U.S. intelligence, however, the Soviet Union was crumbling from within, and with the ascension of a reformer, Mikhael Gorbachev, as the leader of the Communist party, the Soviet Union embraced reform. Reagan and Gorbachev began to feel each other out about the possibility of returning to arms negotiations, and succeeded in reducing Intermediate Nuclear Forces. However, Gorbachev proved unable to control the pace of change, and the momentum moved from his agenda for a more open and experimental Communist nation to the democratic forces that sought the dissolution of the USSR and the control of teh Communist party. . Boris Yeltsin, a leader representing the forces of democracy and nationalism, called for an end to Communist control over Russia, and a separation of it from the other socialist republics that Lenin had fashioned into the USSR after the Revolution. Thus, the USSR came to an end in 1991, and Boris Yeltsin replaced Gorbachev as the leader of the new Russia. President George H. W. Bush and his successors had to figure out how to deal with the new situation, including a Russia no longer controlled by strong hand of the Communist Party, and at the mercy of those who wished to profit from the privatization of the nation. By 2000, Yeltsin himself lost control, and the authoritarian leader who replaced him, Vladimir Putin, presented a new set of challenges to Presidents Clinton and Bush.
With the attention of the U.S. focused on the USSR and its actions across the globe, including its invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, a new set of forces began to impact the international balance. These were forces that U.S. foreign policymakers, for the most part, barely grasped. Radical political Islam, a minority ideology from the 1920s on, succeeded at overthrowing a U.S.-supported regime in Iran in 1979, and was strengthened by the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan, in which it and the U.S. (covertly) fought on the same side. However, after the war ended, a portion of this new movement turned against the U.S. and aimed its weapons against the presence of the U.S. in the Middle East. As the U.S. presence in the Middle East expanded as a result of the growing threat of Iraq, this new movement increased its attacks against the U.S., and began to plan for a spectacular attack on the mainland in 2001.
II.Objectives & Approach of Course
Teaching Methods
& Objectives
This course will combine
traditional and more recent approaches to disseminating information, including
books and articles in print and electronic form, websites, videotapes, on-line
discussions, and on-line and in-person consultation with the professor.
Students will be expected to acquire a knowledge and understanding of the
major events, issues, and trends of the era, and of the theoretical and philosophical
debates that dominated it. Because this is not a required course
for history majors, I am not including instruction on conducting historical
research in relationship to writing a paper.
Lectures will be accompanied by Powerpoint
presentations in most instances. Your physical
presence in class is important to offer your unique experience and perspective
on the period. In a class of this nature, which explores relatively recent
events that occurred within the lifetimes of the students and their families
and friends, each of you has an unusually important contribution to make to
an understanding of the era. In addition, regardless of your occupational
goals or interests, each of you also occupies the role of citizen or resident
of the
Student Skills in
E-Mail & MyASU
As a result of this approach,
at the start of the class, you must have a basic competency in using e-mail
(including sending attachments). By the second week of the course, you
will be expected to be fully able to use MyASU via a Web Browser to obtain
class materials, take on-line exams,, and participate in occasional on-line
discussions. After the second week, lack of understanding
of how to use MyASU will not be accepted as an excuse for failure to complete
assignments and take exams.
Student Home
Pages
You will be asked to
create MyASU “home” pages which will include information about your major
areas of study, vocational and avocational interests (optional), geographical
backgrounds, and special interests within the period studied in the class.
Written Skills
In all of your assignments,
you will be expected to show an ability to communicate their ideas and information
effectively in written English. Poor English skills will detract from
the grade of an assignment. You should seek assistance from the
o consult the Writing Skills section of the Blackboard;
o use the spell checker on your word processor;
o consult a print or on-line 10th Edition of the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (http://www.asu.edu/lib/resources/db/webster.htm ) if you are a poor speller
If you can afford it, I highly recommend that you subscribe to the 11th Edition of the Webster Collegiate Dictionary (for $14.95 annually), at at http://www.merriam-webster.com/premium/ (also allows a 14 day trial). Among the advantages I found over the library’s on-line edition was the additional 10,000 new words (e.g. “DVD”, “date rape drug,” “dot-com,” “Gulf-War Syndrome,” “USB,” and “webcam” added between 1992 and 1996) -- although as most of these are scientific, this alone would not justify purchasing the new edition. In addition, there is a fairly comprehensive “style guide” (a grammar reference), voice pronunciations of all words, a browsable dictionary, the ability to use an Advanced Search, and (best of all) a “dictionary bar” that allows fast access from your browser.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will be penalized. To understand what plagiarism is, I will
ask you to read “Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It”
(Indiana University WWW Site, http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html) and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State
University,” Procedures for Pursuing Charges of Academic Dishonesty,” at http://clas.asu.edu/facultystaff/classroomresources/dishonestyprocedures.htm
Academic Etiquette
Please arrive
on time, and do not depart for another class early, as this is disruptive
to your classmates and the instructor. Consistent with professional
practice, the proper manner to address a faculty member who is an Assistant,
Associate, or full professor is with the title “Dr.” or “Professor.”
If students prefer to be addressed as “Mr.”, “Ms”, or other title, they should
inform the instructor, who will otherwise address them by their first
names. Please do not engage in private conversations in class, nor engage
in other activities such as reading the newspaper. Eating in class is
not allowed.
Fascinating study of the domestic politics, culture, and social issues of the 1970s, including an analysis of the rise of the religious right and the election of Ronald Reagan.
IV. Assignments & Contribution to Course Grade
Students will be asked to do the following work for this class to assist them in assimilating and understanding the information:
Assignments (25%) : The Home Page is one of these, and others will be announced throughout the semester. These will be short assignments that give you a chance to demonstrate your reading and writing skills, so that any problems can be identified prior to the midterm exam.
Mid-Term Exam (30%): This will be a take home essay exam of 5 broad questions relating to the themes and information in the first half of the semester. These questions will be posted early in the semester so that you can begin preparing your answers long before the deadline.
Final Exam (30%): This will be a take home exam of 3 broad questions relating to the themes and information in the second half of the semester. These questions will be posted early in the second half of the semester so that you can begin preparing your answers long before the deadline .It will be due the day of the final, at midnight.
Attendance
& Quality of Class Participation (demonstrating knowledge of reading)
(15%) : You
are expected to read the material prior to coming to class, and to be able
to answer questions about the material during the lectures. You are also invited
to ask questions during the lecture, although only a certain amount of discussion
can proceed in the course of the class due to the need to present the information.
Questions that are answered in the readings are not encouraged, and will be
a sign that the reading has not been done.
The final grade
will be determined by adding the points according to the following scale:
A+
97% and above
A
93%-96%
A-
90%-92%
B+
87%-89%
B
83%-86%
B-
80%-82%
C+
77%-79%
C 70%-76%
D
63%-69%
D- 60%-62%
E
Less than 60%
V. Weekly Schedule of Class Meetings & Assignments
Week One: Introduction and Culture of the 1970s
(Tu)
Assignment #1 Due by Saturday, August 25 at Midnight. (5 Points): Home Pages
1)
Go to MyASU from
ASU Home Page
2) Sign In, Click on My Courses, Click on History 412, Click
on “My Home Page” button
3)
Under “Intro Message”, describe in good grammar that is correctly
spelled and punctuated the following: your major, year in school,
previous history courses, occupational plans, place of birth, changes in geographic
location over the years, where you would like to live in the future, and avocations
(hobbies). Please cover all of these areas!
(Th) August 23, 2006: The Changing
Demographics of the United States
Reading: Massey,
Douglas. "The New Immigration and Ethnicity in the
United States," in Population and Development Review 21
(Sept, 1995), 631-652. (Entire article)
Turegin,
Adnan. "Review Essay: Canadian and U.S. Immigration Policies: Divergence
within Convergence," in Canadian Journal of Sociology Online
(March-April, 2007), 1-5 (Read only 1-3, relating to the review of Becoming
A Citizen). AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.cjsonline.ca/pdf/immigration.pdf
(For further info): See U.S. Census Bureau. Profile of the Foreign Born Population in the United States, 2000. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2001. (77 pages) Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓
Week Two: Culture and Society in the 1970s and After (Ideological
& Geographical Trends After the Sixties)
(Tu)
August 28, 2007:
Reading:
a) Schulman, The Seventies, Chapter
3: "Plugging in": Seeking and Finding in the Seventies (23 pages)
b) Lyrics of "Born to Be Wild" ( at http://www.steppenwolf.com/lyr/brntbwld.html
)
c)
WWW site of Grey
Panthers (at http://www.graypanthers.org/
) -- browse the "Issues" section
d) Maggie Kuhn's New
York Times
obituary (April 23, 1995)
e)
History of Whole Earth Catalog at: http://www.wholeearthmag.com/about.html
(For
further info): Roger Ebert's 2004 review of Easy Rider (1969): http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041024/REVIEWS08/410240301
(Th)
August 30, 2007:
Reading:
a)
Schulman, The Seventies, Chapter 4: The Rise of the Sunbelt and the
"Reddening" of America
(16 pages)
b) Lyrics of "Southern Man" (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/southernman.html
) and "Sweet Home, Alabama" (http://www.lyricsdomain.com/12/lynyrd_skynyrd/sweet_home_alabama.html
)
(For
further info): "Lynyrd Skinner and Neil Young" at http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lynyrd.htm
Interesting discussion of the relationship between the two sets of musicians
and their songs, with links to Youtube performances of each.
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓
Week Three: Culture and Society in the 1970s and After (Gender &
Sexuality)
(Tu)
September 4, 2007: Women's, Men's and Gay Liberation: The
Struggle over Traditional Values
Reading:
a) Schulman, The Seventies, Chapter 7: Battle of the Sexes:
Women, Men, and Family (30 pages)
b) The "About Us" section of Ms. Magazine
WWW site, at: http://www.msmagazine.com/about.asp
(Th)
September 6, 2007: Roe v. Wade (1973) and the Struggle
over Abortion
Reading:
a) Reagan, Leslie J. When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine,
and Law in the United States, 1867-1973. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1997. Chapter 8: Radicalization of Reform (19 pages), available at:
http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft967nb5z5&chunk.id=d0e4663&doc.view=print
This
article gives a good overview of the forces in the forty years prior to Roe
v. Wade that garnered support for ending the rigid state prohibitions
against abortion that had been enacted in the period from 1840-1900. Focus
on the main *forces* rather than the individual details -- who
grew to favor liberalization of abortion regulation in the United States,
and why? What was the difference between
the "reform" and "radical" views
of abortion regulation? Note the differences among those who supported an
easing of abortion regulation on the issue of the degree to which
abortion should be allowed, and who should decide.
b) Listen to Professor Jerry Goldman's 12 minute Roe
v. Wade podcast: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_18/podcast/
c) Read each of the one page summaries of the following Supreme
Court abortion cases at the Oyez Project and note that changing Supreme Court
stance on abortion rights.
Roe
v. Wade (1973):
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_18/(Instituted trimester
scheme)
Akron
v. Akron Center For Reproductive Health (1979):
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1982/1982_81_746/ (City Council of
Akron: Various regulations)
Webster
v. Reproductive Health Services (1989): http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1988/1988_88_605/
(Missouri State Legislature -- Provision of public abortions; requirements
for abortion counseling & viability testing )
Planned
Parenthood v. Casey (1992):
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1991/1991_91_744
Pennsylvania State Legislature -- Informed Consent & 24 Hour Waiting
Law)
Gonzales
v. Planned Parenthood (2007): http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_05_1382/
(U.S. Congress -- Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2000 )
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓
Week Four: Culture
and Society in the 1970s and After (Race)
(Tu) September 11, 2007:: The Changing Racial Landscape:
From Integrationism to Cultural Nationalism
b)
Encyclopedia Britannica: "August Wilson"
c)
Encyclopedia of Television: Essays on "The Jeffersons" at http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/J/htmlJ/jeffersonst/jeffersonst.htm;
"The Cosby Show" at http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/cosbyshowt/cosbyshowt.htm
(For
further info): Essay on "Racism, Ethnicity, and Television" in the
Encyclopedia of Television, at http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/racismethni/racismethni.htm
(n.b. This is a very high level theoretical essay that may be difficult to
understand).
(Th) September 13, 2007:
The Changing Racial Landscape:
Reading:
a) Schulman, Chapter
2, “
b)
c)Read
the one page summaries on each of the following Supreme Court affirmative
action cases at the Oyez Project, and note the changing stance of the Supreme
Court :
Regents
of the University of California v. Bakke (1978, Higher education admissions)
at http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1977/1977_76_811/
(Education -- split decision)
Fullilove v. Klutznick (1979, Federal government contracts for business)
at http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1979/1979_78_1007/
Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education (1985, Employment layoffs) at
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1985/1985_84_1340/
Grutter
v. Bollinger (2003, Higher education admissions) at http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_02_241/
(For
further info): "The Soulfulness of Black and Brown Folk" at http://drclas.fas.harvard.edu/revista/articles/view/573
(n.b. Parts of this essay are fairly complex, but much of
it is easier to understand)
Parents
Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007)
at http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_05_908/
and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (2007) at http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_05_915/
Both of these cases involve voluntary plans to bus students from one school
to another to promote racial diversity.
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓
Week Five: Gerald Ford & Domestic Policy: "I'm a Ford,
Not a Lincoln"
(Tu) September 18, 2007: Watergate, the Ford Presidency, and
the Pardon
Reading:
a) Schulman, Chapter 1, "Down to the Nut-Cutting: The Nixon
Presidency and American Public Life," 42-52.
b) Biographical
part of Ford's biography available at Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum (
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/fordbiop.asp
) (Several paragraphs)
c) View "Interactive
Feature: Gerald Ford and His Times," available from the New York
Times WWW site at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/gerald_rudolph_jr_ford/index.html?8qa.
It is about 45 minutes in length. You may have to register for
the on-line New York Times to view this -- registration is free.
Leave yourself enough time to work through any problems with registering.
(For
further info): "The Watergate Story" (Washington Post)
at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/
New
York Times obituary on Gerald R. Ford (December
27, 2006) -- 16 pages
Encyclopedia
Britannica entry on Gerald R. Ford, at http://search.eb.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/eb/article-9034843
(Th) September 20, 2007: The Energy Crisis (and a Weak Economy)
Reading:
a) Merrill, The Oil Crisis of 1973-1974. Introduction
(1-28) and Documents (31-124) [Long]
b)
Domestic
policy parts of Ford's biography available at Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum
( http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/fordbiop.asp
)
c)
Short New York Times articles about Ford's economic policy:
"Ford's 'New Direction'"
January 16, 1975 and "Once More,
the Economy" (December 5, 1976) (Don't worry about the details
of his policy, which we will discuss in the lecture -- focus on he assessments
of his policies).
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Six: Gerald Ford & Foreign Policy: The Post-Vietnam
Era, the End of Détente, and the Middle East
(Tu)
September 25, 2007: The End(s) of the Vietnam War & the Mayaguez
Incident
Reading:
a) "Paris Peace in Nine Chapters," Time
Magazine, February 5, 1973 (5 pages)
b)
Chapter 9, "The Running," 131-141, in John Robert Greene, The
Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995..
Copies will be distributed.
(For further info.):
Foreign policy
parts of Ford's biography available at Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum (
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/fordbiop.asp
) (1-2 paragraphs)
Portion
of Encyclopedia Britannica essay on Vietnam policy during Ford's
administration, at http://search.eb.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/eb/article-234639
(About 1 page), including the multimedia presentations (a couple of minutes).
"The
End of a Thirty Years' War," Time Magazine, May 12, 1975.(5
pages)
(Th)
September 27, 2007: The End of Détente
with the USSR and a Standoff in The Middle East
Reading:
a) Chapter 8, "Reassessment," 117-129 and Chapter
10, "Let's Look Ferocious," 143-155, in John Robert Greene, The
Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Copies will be distributed.
b)
Entry on "Arab-Israeli Wars" (up through 1975) in Encyclopedia
Britannica, at http://search.eb.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/eb/article-9008143
(1-2 pages)
c)
Entry on "Israel" (Page 1 only) in Encyclopedia Britannica,
at http://search.eb.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/eb/article-9106444
c)
Text of Helsinki Accords, at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/osce/basics/finact75.htm
e)
James M. Naughton, "Ford Bids Nations Live
Up to Spirit of Helsinki Pact," New York Times, August 2,
1975 (Read up until paragraph beginning "Even as the three-day meeting..."
and begin again at "President Nicholas Ceausescu" through end of
article.
(For
further info.): "The Human Rights Movement, 1969-1979," http://www.aip.org/history/sakharov/humrt.htm
Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn (Biographical entry in "Contemporary
Authors Online", an excellent resource on historical figures, available
at http://www.asu.edu/lib/resources/db/litrescr.htm
)
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Seven: Jimmy Carter: The Struggle for the Soul of the
Democratic Party
(Tu)
October 2, 2007: Energy,
Economic and Environmental Woes
Read one of the following (copies will be distributed)
c)
Susan M. Hartmann, "Feminism, Public Policy, and the Carter Administration,"
in Gary M. Fink and Hugh Davis Graham, The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices
in the Post-New Deal Era (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998),
224-243 (Copies will be made available). OR
c)
Hugh Davis Graham, "Civil Rights Policy in the Carter Presidency,"
in Gary M. Fink and Hugh Davis Graham, The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices
in the Post-New Deal Era (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998),
202-223.( Copies will be made available).
(For
further info): Chapters on the Economy, Trade Policies, Welfare Reform, Urban
Policy, Energy Policy, and Environmental Policy in Gary M. Fink and Hugh Davis
Graham, The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices in the Post-New Deal Era
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998), [Contact Dr. Plotkin by
e-mail if you are interested in obtaining copies of chapters on any of these
topics.]
(Th)
October 4, 2007: The
Rise of the Religious Right & the Tax Revolt
Reading:
a) Schulman, The Seventies,
Chapter 8, “The Minutemen are Turning in Their Graves: The New Right and the
Tax Revolt,” 193-217
b)
Richard Viguerie, "The New Right: We're Ready to Lead," at http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS316/mbase/docs/viguerie.html
(May take a long time to load)
c)
Robert Ajemian, "Jerry Falwell Spreads the Word,"
Time, September 2, 1985.
d)
Adam Clymer, "California Referendum on Taxes Symptom
of a Nationwide Revolt," New York Times, June 4, 1978
(For further info): Moral Majority Timeline, at Moral
Majority WWW site, at http://www.moralmajority.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=29
Christian
Broadcasting Network history, at CBN WWW site, at http://www.cbn.com/about/
Linda
Greenhouse, "Justices Affirm Law in
California Restricting Property Tax Increases," New York Times,
June 19, 1992.
Edmund L. Andrews, "The Curse of California's
Proposition 13," New York Times, June 17, 1988.
"1978 Proposition 13" in David F. Burg, A World History
of Tax Rebellions: An Encyclopedia of Tax Rebels, Revolts, and Riots from
Antiquity to the Present (New York: Routledge, 2003), 415-420.
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓
Week
Eight: Jimmy Carter: "Morality, Reason, and Power"
(Tu) October 9, 2007: Human
Rights, the Panama Canal Treaty, SALT II, and Africa
Reading:
a) William Stueck, "Placing Jimmy Carter's Foreign Policy,"
in Gary M. Fink & Hugh Davis Graham, ed. The Carter Presidency: Policy
Choices in the Post-New Deal Era, 244-253 (Up to "Although
few Americans..."). Copies will be distributed.
b)
"The Dissidents v. Moscow,"
Time, February 21, 1977
(Th)
October 11, 2007: Central America,
Iran, Israel, China, and Afghanistan
b)
"The Iranian Hostage Crisis, November 1979 - January 1981,"
The American Experience, at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/peopleevents/e_hostage.html
c)
Hamilton Jordan, Entry for November 6, 1979 (16-29)
in Crisis: The True Story of the Unforgettable Year in the White House
(Berkley Books: 1982).
d)
"The Camp David Accords After 25 Years," at Jimmy Carter Library
and Museum, at http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/campdavid25/campdavid25_thirteendays.phtml
e)
Fox Butterfield, "U.S. and China Mark Resumption
of Ties in Peking Ceremony," New York Times, January 2,
1979
(For
further info): "The Hostage Crisis in Iran" at Jimmy Carter Library
and Museum, at http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/hostages.phtml
(includes list and diaries of hostages)
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Nine: President Ronald Reagan and the Conservative Ascendancy
(Tu)
October 16, 2007: Reagonomics, Deregulation, and the Culture of the Yuppies
a)
Schulman, The Seventies, Chapter 9, "The Reagan Culmination,"
218-219; 229-257.
b)
Merrill, The Oil Crisis of 1973-1974, 129-133
(For
further info): John W. Sloan, "The Economic Costs of Reagan Mythology,"
in Longley, ed. Deconstructing Reagan, 41-69
(Th)
October 18, 2007: Reagan and the Conservative Social Agenda
Reading:
Jeremy D. Mayer, "Reagan and Race: Prophet
of Color Blindness, Baiter of the Backlash," in Deconstructing Reagan,
70-89.
Kyle
Longley, "When Character was King? Ronald Reagan and the Issues of Ethics
and Morality," in Deconstructing Reagan, 90-119.
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Ten: President Ronald Reagan and the Beginning of the End
of the Cold War
(Tu)
October 23, 2007: Reagan, Gorbachev, and Arms Control
Reading: Schulman, The Seventies, Chapter 9, "The Reagan
Culmination," 221-229.
Michael
Schaller, "Reagan and the Cold War," in Deconstructing
Reagan, 3-18; 30-40.
(Th) October 25, 2007: Reagan and the Iran-Contra
Affair
Reading:
a) Michael Schaller, "Reagan and the Cold War,"
in Deconstructing Reagan, 19-30
b)
Executive Summary, Report of the Independent Counsel on the Iran-Contra Affair,
at http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
(For further info):
Reagan (American Experience DVD -- on reserve at Hayden Library)
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Eleven : President George H. W. Bush: To the Republican Center in Domestic
Policy
(Tu)
October 30, 2007: "It's the Economy, Stupid"
b)
Merrill, The Oil Crisis of 1973-1974, 134-139.
c)
"Americans With Disabilities Act," Equal Employment Opportunity
Council, at http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html
d)
"NAFTA" in Encyclopedia Britannica, at
http://search.eb.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/eb/article-9002251
e)
Robert Pastor, "North American's Second
Decade," Foreign Affairs, Jan./Feb. 2004
(Th)
November 1, 2007: Ongoing
Culture Wars
"Clarence
Thomas," at Oyez, at http://www.oyez.org/justices/clarence_thomas/
" Rodney
King reluctant symbol of police brutality," CNN-Law, March 3, 2001, at
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/03/02/beating.anniversity.king.02
"OFFICIAL
NEGLIGENCE: Lou Cannon dissects the Rodney King case and the LA riots,"
Online News Hour Forum, April 7, 1998, at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/authors_corner/jan-june98/cannon_4-7.html#change
"Flag
Burning and Other Acts Deemed Disrespectful of American Symbols," at
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/flagburning.htm
U.S.
Supreme decisions in Texas v. Johnson (1989), at http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/texasvjohnson.html
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Twelve: President George H. W. Bush: The End of the Cold
War and the Beginning of the Post-Cold War Era
(Tu)
November 6: The Changing World System & the President's Response
b)
BBC On This Day: June 4, 1989, "Massacre in Tiananmen Square," at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/4/newsid_2496000/2496277.stm
c)
Additional article or WWW site on the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
& the demise of the USSR will be assigned.
d)
"A Transcript of Bush's Address on the
Decision to Use Force in Panama," New York Times, December
21, 1989, A19.
(For
further info:) National Public Radio: "Noriega Set for Release -- But
Where?" at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12193713
Thomas L. Friedman, "Panama
Shooting Condemned by U.S.," New York Times, December 18,
1989, A7
Andrew
Rosenthal, "16 Americans Dead,"
New York Times, December 21, 1989, A1,
Larry
Rohter, "As Word Spreads in Panama, Thousands
Turn out to Cheer," New York Times, January 4, 1990, p.
1
(Th)
November 8:
Not "The End of History": Saddam Hussein
and the Rising Threat from Iraq
: Reading: Greene,
The Presidency of George H. W. Bush, Chapter 8, Desert Shield, 109-128
and Chapter 9, Desert Storm, 129-140. (Will be distributed).
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓
Week Thirteen: William Clinton: To the Democratic Center in
Domestic Policy
(Tu) November 13: First Term Blues: The Economy, NAFTA, Gays in the
Military, and Health Care
b) Merrill, The
Oil Crisis of 1973-1974, 140-148
(For
further info): Britannica Online: Roger A. Pielke, Jr., "The
Kyoto Protocol: What Next?" (in Britannica Book of the Year 2006)
(Th) November 15: Second Term Roller Coaster: Welfare Reform
& the Lewinsky Affair
Reading:
a) Berman, From the Center to the Edge, 72-126
b)"The Trial of O.J. Simpson," at Famous American Trials, at
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/simpson.htm
Additional
readings or WWW sites may be assigned.
▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓
Week
Fourteen: William Clinton: The Changing Global Landscape and the
Emergence of Political Islam as a Global Force
(Tu) November 20:Nationalism and Ethnocentrism Resurgent
(For
further info):
Steven Erlanger, "Did U.S. Bombs Help or Hinder?," New York
Times, December 25, 2000.
Peter
Ronayne, "Genocide in Kosovo," Human Rights Review,
Jul-Sep., 2004, Vol. 5 Issue 4, 57-71.
Samantha
Power, "Bystanders to Genocide," in The Atlantic Monthly (September,
2001), at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200109/power-genocide
(Th) November 22 (Thanksgiving -- No Class):
Reading:
Bergen,
Holy War, Inc. 1-224.
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Fifteen: George W. Bush: The Conservative Fulfillment
(Tu) November 27: The Contested Election of 2000
(Th) November 29: The Bush Domestic Agenda and
Performance
Reading:
a) Joshua Green, "The Rove Presidency, Atlantic
Monthly, September, 2007 (11 pages)
b)
Conspiracy of Fools (WWW site about Kurt Eichenwald's 2004 account of
the Enron Scandal), at http://www.randomhouse.com/broadway/conspiracyoffools/index.html (Read all 4 excerpts)
c)
Merrill, The Oil Crisis of 1973-1974, 149-157.
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week Sixteen: George W. Bush: 9/11 and the Rise of the
Vulcans
(Tu) December 4:
Reading:
“Final
Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY” (http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Exec.pdf
) (31 pages)
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓
Week
Seventeen : The Axis of Evil
(Tu)
December 11 (4:40-6:30
p.m.): The Axis of Evil (Iraq, Iran and North Korea)
Readings:
To be assigned.