HIST 586
The Old South
Harry Watson
This course will explore life and events in the U.S. South from the colonial period to the end of the Civil War. We will begin with the question "What is the South?" and will pursue the way the South created itself over time, through the moment when the southern states tried and failed to establish their political independence.
Political events will be an important part of the course, for the decisions of political leaders (for war or peace, for example) have enormous impact on the lives of everyone else. At the same time, political decisions grow out of the needs and experience of ordinary people. In the case of the Old South, political history and historical identity grow directly out of the experience of a unique American society based on human slavery and racial inequality, among other things. We will therefore be paying close attention to the experience of whites, blacks, and Native Americans, and men and women of all social classes.
This is a course for advanced undergraduates. There are no formal prerequisites, but students who have had some previous background in History 21, History 66, AF-AM 40, or the equivalent, will probably feel more comfortable with the material. The workload is designed for students who can commit themselves to an intensive exploration of the subject. Much of the reading will consist of primary sources from the southern past, and students will be expected to participate in discussion sections to analyze this material.
There will be two lectures and one discussion section every week. Lectures will normally be on Mondays and Wednesdays and discussion sections will meet on Fridays. Course requirements include two papers (about 5 pages) on the reading assignments (20 percent each), a midterm test (20 percent), participation in discussion sections (10 percent), and a final exam (30 percent). The exams will be in essay form, and the final exam is cumulative.
We will distribute four paper topics early in the semester; students must write on one topic before the midterm and another topic after it. Each paper is due in class on the day we discuss its topic. If you choose to write three short papers, we will drop the lowest grade in computing your final average.