HSTAA 465 The Sixties in America Fall 2023
Mondays & Wednesdays 3:30-5:20PM
Room: Dempsey Hall 102
Instructor: Nathan E Roberts Email: ner3@uw.edu
Office: Smith Hall 113A Office Hours: Tues 2-3, Wed 1-2, and by appointment
Course Description and Goals
This course examines U.S. society, culture, and politics between the mid-1950s and 1975 - “the long 1960s.” The course is divided into three chronological units: 1) the post-WWII period through 1963, 2) 1963-1968, and 3) 1968 through 1975 within which we will explore the course’s major themes: post-1945 consumerism, the Cold War and the Vietnam War, civil rights and social movements, political parties and ideological shifts, environmental and economic changes and concerns, and the diverse counterculture.
The nature of this course poses an intellectual query: what does a focus on this one decade teach us about U.S. history? The course addresses this question with a central claim. Post-WWII economic and social changes in America suggested that the United States was on the verge of making its original mythology of an exceptional nation into a modern reality. Part of this realization of a modern America included the need to fight the Cold War abroad, most significantly in Vietnam, and demands for social change and civil rights at home. The clash between the hopes for the 1960s and the realities of economic and social change both at home and abroad opened many rifts in American life. These fractures of the 1960s challenged the notion of twentieth century modernity and produced the foundations of a deeply divided American society.
By completing the course requirements, students will learn 1) how to think historically about late twentieth century U.S. history, 2) how to analyze both primary and secondary sources as core elements of historical study, 3) how to use research methods and investigative techniques employed by historians and social scientists, and 4) how to synthesize information and present analysis.
Required Readings
- William J. Rorabaugh, Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties (2002).
- Peter Braunstein and Michael William Doyle, eds., Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s & ‘70s (2002).
The course will include several other required readings, but these will be shorter pieces that are available on our course’s Canvas website. In addition, the course will use a number of other sources including film, television, music, and other visual arts. You will be required to access these through Canvas.
Organization of Classes
Both Monday and Wednesday sessions will be in person unless circumstances require otherwise. Both days will include lecture material and Q&A over the previous week’s readings. See the class schedule for readings and Canvas for the specific pdf files. Note-taking will be an essential skill in this course because you may, and should, use your notes on exams.
Assignments & Grading
Participation 15%
2 Short Papers (each about 800 words) 30% (15% each)
Longer Paper (about 3,000 words) 25%
Midterm & Final Exam 30% (15% each)
Participation
Student participation in this course will be possible mostly online using Canvas discussion boards. I will post discussion questions for us to all consider, and these questions will relate to the week’s assigned readings. Please feel free to respond to my questions and engage in discussion with others in the course. Also, please use the discussion boards to post your own questions and comments as well. Please keep the discussion focused on the course’s topics, materials, and subjects. Grades will be based upon 1) how substantive, useful, and generative your comments and questions are, and 2) how well grounded they are to the sources. Each week’s discussions will be open on Monday and closed by Saturday evening of that week. The discussion board posts and discussions will have specified time frames within which you must participate. Once the time frame is passed, the board will be closed and there will not be other opportunities to participate in that specific discussion.
2 Short Papers
During the quarter, each student will write two short argumentative essays that analyze primary sources from the course’s three chronological periods. The 1960s presents us with an abundance of primary sources and you will be able to choose from a variety of topics. In addition, you should use the assigned secondary sources, including lectures, to help frame your argument, establish context, and examine counter-arguments. The primary sources will all be available on the Canvas “modules” page. The papers should be about 800 words and include references and college-level prose. We will go over additional specific writing expectations in class.
The Longer Paper
The longer paper, which should be no more than 3,300 words not including footnotes, is similar to the shorter papers but allows for a more in-depth investigation into certain topics. It is an argumentative essay based upon an examination of primary and secondary sources. The sources should be drawn all or in part from the sources that I provided during the course. If you choose, you may also include some sources from your own research, but about half of the paper’s sources should come from the ones that I provided.
The longer paper requires both a rough draft and a final draft. The rough draft should be a minimum of 1,500 words, worth 10% of your grade, and due at the end of week 7. The final draft is a minimum of 2,200 words and a maximum of 3,300 words (roughly 8-12 double-spaced pages - citations not included), worth 15% of your grade, and due at the end of the course. All due dates are on the Canvas calendar and on the class schedule below.
Midterm & Final Exams
The Canvas-based midterm and final exams are each worth 50 points. The exam topics will be drawn from my lectures, our readings and other sources such as videos, and our Canvas discussion board. The exams will include multiple choice, fill in the blank, and matching-type questions as well as short answers. The exams will be based in Canvas and timed. You should take goo notes in class so that you can use those notes on the two exams.
Late Policy
Exams have clear and specific due dates. You will not be allowed to retake them or to take them late unless you have made arrangements with me ahead of time. Be sure that you have a dedicated place to take these tests and to avoid interruption. If you have a conflict and can not take the exams when they are scheduled (see the Canvas calendar and class schedule below), you MUST contact me at least one week ahead of time with this conflict in order to reschedule. If you are taking one of these tests and experience some type of equipment malfunction, you MUST let me know as soon as possible via email and we can arrange a make-up exam. There are no make-up exams for poor performance or for simply missing the test. If you need to miss an exam because of an extenuating circumstance, I require official documentation from police, doctor, hospital…to make up the exam.
For the course’s papers, each degrades by .5 on the 4.0 scale each day that they are turned in late.
Online discussion posts can not be turned in late or made up.
Additional Policies:
Plagiarism
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct, and ultimately it devalues both the person who engages in it and the broader learning environment in this course and the university. True intellectual work requires the free, open, and honest exchange of ideas.
The Committee on Academic Conduct in the College of Arts and Sciences has defined plagiarism in the following way:
• Using another writer's words without proper citation.
• Using another writer's ideas without proper citation.
• Citing your source but reproducing the exact words of a printed source without quotation marks; or, borrowing the structure of another author's phrases or sentences without crediting the author from whom it came.
• Borrowing all or part of another student's paper or using someone else's outline to write your own paper.
• Using a paper writing "service" or having a friend write the paper for you.
The obligation to properly cite the work of others applies to internet, oral, and written sources. The key to avoiding plagiarism is to show clearly where your own thinking ends and someone else’s begins. For additional resources on avoiding plagiarism and appropriately citing various types of sources, please see the link on the course website.
It is my sincere hope that no one in this course will be tempted to plagiarize any portion a paper assignment. To avoid the possibility of that temptation, you are urged to begin your assignment early, ask questions about anything you are unsure of, and ask for any kind of help that you need.
If plagiarism is discovered, it will be treated very seriously. A paper in which significant portions have been plagiarized will be forwarded to the Dean’s representative on Academic Misconduct. If plagiarism is confirmed, the student will receive a 0 for the assignment, and may also receive a failing grade in the course.
UW History Department Policies:
Plagiarism and Incompletes
Plagiarism is defined as the use of creations, ideas or words of publicly available work without formally acknowledging the author or source through appropriate use of quotation marks, references, and the like. Along with the University of Washington, the History Department takes plagiarism very seriously. Plagiarism may lead to disciplinary action by the University against the student who submitted the work. Any student who is uncertain whether his or her use of the work of others constitutes plagiarism should consult the course instructor for guidance before submitting coursework.
An incomplete is given only when the student has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work until within two weeks of the end of the quarter and has furnished proof satisfactory to the instructor that the work cannot be completed because of illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control.
Grading Procedures
Except in case of error, no instructor may change a grade that he or she has turned in to the Registrar. Grades cannot be changed after a degree has been granted.
Grade Appeal Procedure
A student who believes he or she has been improperly graded must first discuss the matter with the instructor. If the student is not satisfied with the instructor's explanation, the student, no later than ten days after his or her discussion with the instructor, may submit a written appeal to the Chair of the History Department with a copy of the appeal also sent to the instructor. Within 10 calendar days, the Chair consults with the instructor to ensure that the evaluation of the student's performance has not been arbitrary or capricious. Should the Chair believe the instructor's conduct to be arbitrary or capricious and the instructor declines to revise the grade, the Chair, with the approval of the voting members of his or her faculty, shall appoint an appropriate member, or members, of the faculty of the History Department to evaluate the performance of the student and assign a grade. The Dean and Provost should be informed of this action. Once a student submits a written appeal, this document and all subsequent actions on this appeal are recorded in written form for deposit in a History Department file.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is defined as the use of one’s authority or power, either explicitly or implicitly, to coerce another into unwanted sexual relations or to punish another for his or her refusal to engage in sexual acts. It is also defined as the creation by a member of the University community of an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or educational environment through verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
If you are being harassed, seek help—the earlier the better. You may speak with your instructor, your teaching assistant, History Undergraduate Advising, the Department’s Director of Academic Services (Smith 315A) or the Chair of the Department (Smith 308). In addition, the Office of the Ombud (206 543-6028) is a University resource for all students, faculty and staff. Community Standards and Student Conduct Office (cssc@uw.edu) is a resource for students.
Equal Opportunity
The University of Washington reaffirms its policy of equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran. This policy applies to all programs and facilities, including, but not limited to, admissions, educational programs, employment, and patient and hospital services.
Religious Accommodations
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
Access and Accommodations
Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Department of History Diversity Committee
The Department of History Diversity Committee initiates and facilitates an ongoing conversation about diversity, proposes measures to address institutional disparities, and also serves as a confidential resource for students, staff, and faculty who have concerns related to climate and diversity. Any member of the department's learning and working community may contact the committee with concerns and questions. https://history.washington.edu/diversity-resources
Standards of Conduct and Academic Integrity: (see WAC 478-121-020)
The following abilities and behavioral expectations complement the UW Student Conduct Code. All students need to demonstrate the following behaviors and abilities: Communication: All students must communicate effectively with other students, faculty, staff, and other professionals within the Department of History. Students must attempt to express ideas and feelings clearly and demonstrate a willingness and ability to give and receive feedback. All students must be able to reason, analyze, integrate, synthesize, and evaluate in the context of the class. Students must be able to evaluate and apply information and engage in critical thinking in the classroom and professional setting. Behavioral/Emotional: Students must demonstrate the emotional maturity required for the adequate utilization of intellectual abilities, the exercise of sound judgment, and the timely completion of responsibilities in the class. Further, students must be able to maintain mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, and other professionals while engaging in the class and within the History Department. Students must have the emotional stability to function effectively in the classroom. Students must be able and willing to examine and change behaviors when they interfere with productive individual or team relationships. Problematic behavior documented: Problematic behavior will be documented by the Department and if deemed appropriate forwarded on to Community Standards and Student Conduct. If a pattern of behavior or a single, serious lapse in the behavioral expectations becomes evident, the steps below will be followed so that the student is appraised of a warning indicating that the student’s continuation in the class and/or major is in jeopardy. The student’s instructor and/or appropriate program advisor or teaching assistant will document, either verbally or in writing, the concerning behavior and notify the student that they are receiving a warning. Notification of the warning will be forwarded on to the Chair of the Department and Student Conduct and Community Standards via email or in hard copy. The warning identifies what the concerning behavior was and that any further disruptions or concerning incidents will result in the student being asked to leave the class. When incidents occur that represent a significant impact to the program or its participants, students may be asked to leave immediately without prior warning.
Safety and Evacuation
Evacuation routes are posted throughout the building. In case of a fire, please evacuate and go to the evacuation assembly point, locations of which are posted on building walls. In case of a power outage or earthquake, please stay where you are and, for the latter, protect your head and neck. Students with disabilities which could impair evacuation should notify the instructor early in the quarter so accommodations can be made.
Concerns about a course, an instructor, or a teaching assistant
Instructors
If you have any concerns about the course or the instructor in charge of the course, please see the instructor about these concerns as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or not satisfied with the response that you receive, contact the History Department’s Director of Academic Services, Tracy Maschman Morrissey, in Smith 315A. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive from Tracy, make an appointment with the Assistant to the Chair in Smith 308B to speak with the Chair.
TAs
If you have any concerns about the teaching assistant, please see them about these concerns as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the teaching assistant or not satisfied with the response that you receive, contact the instructor in charge of the course. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may follow the procedure previously outlined, or contact the Graduate School in G-1 Communications.
CLASS SCHEDULE
This schedule might still change a little before class begins, but it is generally accurate.
WEEK 1
**Begin Reading: Rorabaugh, Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties: Introduction and Chapter 1; Document Collection #1 on Canvas. Reading due Mon Oct 2 by class time.
Wed Sept 27
- Introductions & the Syllabus
- Lecture 1: The 1960s: A Crisis of National Unity
Sat Sept 30
- First Discussion post due on Canvas by 11:59PM on Sat Sept 30.
WEEK 2
**Begin Reading Rorabaugh: Chapters 2-4. Also read Document Collection #2. Reading due Wed Oct 11 by class time.
Mon Oct 2
- Discussion of Rorabaugh and Document Collection #1
- Lecture 2: Last Shots, First Shots: The Early Cold War
- Lecture 3: The Ongoing Struggle for Civil Rights
Wed Oct 4
- Instructions on Papers, Exams
- Lecture 4: Prosperity, Conformity, and the Rise of Suburbs
Sat Oct 7
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Oct 7.
WEEK 3
**Begin Reading: Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties - chapters 5, 6, and the Conclusion as well as Document Collection #3. Reading due Mon Oct 16 by class time.
Mon Oct 9
- Discussion of Rorabaugh and Document Collection #2
- Lecture 5: Critique, Discontent, and Alternatives
Wed Oct 11
- Lecture 6: Kennedy and Cold War Liberalism
Sat Oct 14
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Oct 14.
Sun Oct 15
**1st Short Paper Due on Canvas by 11:59PM**
WEEK 4
**Begin Reading: Document Collection #4. Imagine Nation: Young, Braunstein and Doyle, "Foreward" & "Introduction," Farber, “The Intoxicated State/Illegal Nation: Drugs in the Sixties Counterculture,” and Rossinow, “The Revolution is About Our Lives: The New Left’s Counterculture.” Watch Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin on UW Libraries as an evideo.
Reading due Mon Oct 23 by class time.
Mon Oct 16
- Discussion of Rorabaugh and Document Collection #3
- Lecture 7: Civil Rights in Policy & Activism: 1963-1965
Wed Oct 18
- Lecture 8: The Great Society
Sat Oct 21
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Oct 21.
WEEK 5
**Begin Reading: Documents #5. Imagine Nation: Onkey, “Voodoo Child: Jimi Hendrix and the Politics of Race in the Sixties.” Watch Buckley/Baldwin Debate linked on the Modules Page.
Reading and video due on Mon Oct 30 by class time.
Mon Oct 23
- Discussion of Document Collection #4
- Lecture 9: In Country: Vietnam, 1964-65
- Lecture 10: The Rise of Black Power
Wed Oct 25 **Midterm on Canvas - NO IN-CLASS MEETING**
Sat Oct 28
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Oct 28.
WEEK 6
**Begin Reading: Document Collection # 6. Imagine Nation: Peter Braunstein, “Forever Young: Insurgent Youth and the Sixties Culture of Rejuvenation” and Doyle, “Staging the Revolution: Guerrilla Theater as a Countercultural Practice, 1965-1968.”
Reading due on Mon Nov 6 by class time.
Mon Oct 30
- Discussion of Assigned Documents
- Lecture 11: The New Left and a New Right
- Lecture 12: Counterculture, Subculture, and “Dropping Out”
Wed Nov 1
- Lecture 13: In Country: Vietnam, 1966-67
- Lecture 14: 1968 part 1 - “Things Fall Apart…”
Sat Nov 4
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Nov 4.
Sun Nov 5
**2nd Short Paper Due on Canvas by 11:59PM**
WEEK 7
**Begin Reading: Document Collection #7. Imagine Nation: Michals, “From ‘Consciousness Expansion’ to ‘Consciousness Raising’: Feminism and the Countercultural Politics of the Self” and McRuer, “Gay Gatherings: Reimagining the Counterculture.”
Reading due on Mon Nov 13 by class time.
Mon Nov 6
- Discussion of Assigned Readings
- Lecture 15: 1968 part 2 - “…The Centre Cannot Hold”
- Lecture 16: Sexual Revolution
Wed Nov 8
- Lecture 17: Cultural Production: Music, Literature, Film…
Sat Nov 11
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Nov 11.
WEEK 8
Begin Reading: Document Collection #7. Imagine Nation: Miller, “The Sixties Era Communes.”
Reading due on Mon Nov 20 by class time.
Mon Nov 13
- Discussion of Assigned Readings
- Lecture 18: Nixon’s Turn at Home and Abroad
- Lecture 19: “They’re Selling Hippie Wigs in Woolworth’s, Man”
Wed Nov 15
- Lecture 20: New Environmentalism
Fri Nov 17
**Rough Draft of Longer Paper Due by 11:59PM on Canvas**
Sat Nov 18
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Nov 18.
WEEK 9
**Begin Reading: Document Collection #8 and watch Hearts and Minds (1974). Imagine Nation: Deloria, “Counterculture Indians and the New Age” and Kirk, “‘Machines of Loving Grace’: Alternative Technology, Environment, and the Counterculture.” Reading and video due Mon Nov 27 by class time.
Mon Nov 20
- Discussion of Assigned Readings
- Lecture 21: Out of the Quagmire: The End of the Vietnam War
Wed Nov 22
- Lecture 22: Fallout in the 1970s
- Discuss Final Exam
**************THANKSGIVING BREAK*************
Sat Nov 25
- Canvas Discussion due by 11:59PM on Sat Nov 25.
WEEK 10
Mon Nov 27
- Discussion of Assigned Readings and Hearts and Minds.
- Left open for finishing course lectures.
Wed Nov 29
- Lecture 23: Conclusion - The Uncomfortable End of American Exceptionalism
Fri Dec 1st
**Final Draft of Longer Paper Due by 11:59PM on Canvas**
FINALS WEEK Final Exam: Thursday DEC 14
- The online Canvas-based exam will be available from 10:20AM until 4:20PM