Old South Syllabus

The Old South - Syllabus

The syllabus for this course is available in various formats:

MSWord | HTML (see below) | pdf

These files will contain the syllabus as written on the first day of class. You should be aware that the syllabus may be modified during the semester. These modifications will be posted on the announcements page and will also be announced clearly in class.

Some class materials are not included in the syllabus, including important assignment instructions and handouts. They are located on the course info page and can be downloaded there.

The Old South AMH 4402
Spring Semester 2005
Professor S. Hadden
Office: Bellamy 409 Class: Bellamy 030
Office Hours: MW 12:15-1:15 or by appointment Class Hours: MWF 1:25-2:15
Means of contact: 644-9519, shadden@mailer.fsu.edu,
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~shadden/courses/south/

Course Objectives: This course examines the history of the Old South, focusing on the period from 1800 to 1861. The lectures and readings cover a variety of topics, including myths and facts about southern society and culture, slavery and the strengthening of southern distinctiveness, and political events that eventually led to the creation of a separate (short-lived) southern nation in 1861.

Required Texts: The readings for this course will include
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, 1619-1877 (omit ch.7)
James Carson, Searching for the Bright Path
Drew Faust, James Henry Hammond and the Old South
James Miller, South by Southwest
Deborah Gray White, Ar’n’t I a Woman?
Paul Finkelman, Defending Slavery
Mitchell Snay, Gospel of Disunion
John McCardell, The Idea of a Southern Nation (skim the first half of chapter 5, read all the rest)

All books are on reserve at Strozier and are available for purchase at the bookstores. You will read only the first part of Kolchin, but the other texts will be read in their entirety. I will provide study questions to focus your reading—look for these on the class website.

Recommended Text: Students are encouraged to consider purchasing Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History (5 th edition), which has marvelous advice for writing and annotating a history research paper. This book is also available at the bookstores.

Grade Components: Midterm 30%, Short Paper 10%, Research Paper 30%, Final Exam 30%
You must complete all elements of the course to receive a passing grade.
My grade scale is as follows: 93-100 = A, 90-92 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82 = B-, 77-79 = C+, 73-76 = C, 70-72 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 63-66 = D, 60-62 = D-, and less than 60 = F.

Exams: There will be one midterm, on Wednesday March 2 during regular class hours, covering the lectures to date, plus the first 5 books on the reading list. The final exam will cover the entire course, including all readings. According to the registrar, our final exam is scheduled for Friday April 29 at 10am. Both exams will be essay format, with some short answer questions drawn from the readings. The midterm will count 30% and the final will count 30% of the total course grade. You will need to bring exam bluebooks for both tests. Makeup exams can only be provided for absences documented and excused either in advance or in a timely fashion (e.g., approved school activities, illness). You must make every effort to contact me prior to the regularly scheduled exam; students who have taken makeup exams from me in the past note that they are more difficult than the regularly scheduled exams. The final exam cannot be rescheduled from the time and date given by the registrar.

Short Paper: There will be a short (5 page minimum) paper due on Friday February 18 in class. You will write on an assigned subject related to our reading. This paper will help you give course readings close attention, and will provide an opportunity for me to give you feedback about your written work prior to the research paper.

Research Paper: Students will complete a paper (10-12 pages exclusive of annotation) which will be due on Monday April 18 in class. You will write on a topic of your own choice, in consultation with me. I will suggest possible topics and hand out instructions on this assignment later (preliminary directions are already on the website). You will need to have selected your topic and begun research by the time of our paper consultations, which will be held during the tenth and eleventh week of term, although students who are ready for consultations earlier may schedule them at any point earlier in the semester. All topics must be approved prior to submission. The paper will constitute 30% of the course grade. You are responsible for maintaining a copy of your paper after its original submission (make a duplicate at the time you turn it in). All papers will also be electronically submitted to plagiarism.org, an internet clearinghouse that works to prevent fraud in paper composition. In fairness to students who hand in their papers on time, late papers will be assessed a penalty for each day the paper is late.

Honor Code: Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in The Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook. Persons violating the Honor Code in any assignment or exam in this class will receive a minimum penalty of a grade of zero (0) for the assignment in question, and may receive an "F" for the course at the instructor's option.

Special Note: Students with disabilities should follow these steps: 1) provide documentation of your disability to the Student Disability Resource Center (108 Student Services Building; 644-9566); 2) no later than the first week of classes, bring a statement to the professor from the Student Disability Resource Center indicating that you have registered with them. At that time we will discuss any accomodations necessary for your successful participation in the course.

Please note that on weeks 1 and 2 our class will not meet on Friday. During March 7-11 class will not meet (Spring Break).

Reading and Assignment Schedule:

Week One (January 5): Kolchin (all except chapter 7)

Week Two (January 10-12): Begin Carson Note: No class on Friday January 14

Week Three (January 19-21): Finish Carson Note : No class on Monday January 17

Week Four (January 24-28): Begin Hammond

Week Five (January 31-February 4): Finish Hammond

Week Six (February 7-11): Miller

Week Seven (February 14-18): Short paper due on February 18

Week Eight (February 21-25): White

Week Nine (February 28-March 4): Midterm on March 2

Spring Break (March 7-11)

Week Ten (March 14-18): Finkelman. Research paper consultations this week

Week Eleven (March 21-25): Research paper consultations this week

Week Twelve (March 28-April 1): Snay

Week Thirteen (April 4-8): Begin McCardell

Week Fourteen (April 11-15)

Week Fifteen (April 18-22): Finish McCardell. Research paper due Monday April 18

Lectures will cover the following topics:
            Settlement
                        Native Americans, populations
                        background on white and black settlement
                        origins of slavery

            The Problem of Southern Identity
                        myths of the South
                        elements of Southern culture

            Slavery and Southern Society
                        cotton's dominant effect on the South
                        social groups: planters, yeomen, poor whites, free blacks, slaves
                        slavery: revolts, families, religion

            The South as a Conscious Minority, 1820-1840
                        states' rights theory
                        nullification
                        pro-slavery ideas

            The Road to Secession
                        politics of the 1820s, 30s, 40s, 50s
                        expansion to the west & compromises of 1820, 1850
                        Kansas-Nebraska Act
                        Lincoln and the Success of Republicanism: the Election of 1860

Sally Hadden
401 Bellamy Bldg.
Dept. of History
Florida State University
Tallahassee FL 32306-2200