WOH 4244  *  SYLLABUS 

   WORLD WAR II (AND THE UNITED STATES)

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Instructor:  Kenneth Osgood

Office:  HU 151

Office Hours: M & W, 12-1.

Phone:  297-2816

Home:  243-9377

Email:  kosgood@fau.edu

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

This course explores the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the American experience in World War II.  While this course addresses some aspects of the international dimensions of the war, it focuses predominantly on the American experience.  In addition to the diplomatic and military aspects of the war, the course traces the social and cultural history of the United States during the war years. 

 

After all, WWII was much more than just a military contest.  It embraced far more than the tank battles featured nightly on cable television’s Hitler Channel.  The war permanently altered the world balance of power; it ushered new and frightening weapons of mass destruction onto the world scene; it destroyed nations; and it ended empires.  The war also had a lasting impact on the social and cultural landscape.  Traditional ways of thinking about women and minorities were challenged by the war’s demands and its lofty ideals.  Wartime dislocations sowed the seeds of profound change in American race relations and gender divisions; while wartime propaganda and patriotic fervor left a deep impression on American popular culture.

 

In the next few months, we will investigate the origins of the war, study its great battles, and uncover its hideous atrocities.  We will ask questions about wartime diplomacy and we will search for the origins of the Cold War.  We will take a detailed look at the impact of the war on daily life at the home front—from the planting of “victory gardens” to the African-American quest for “Double Victory” (victory in the war and victory for civil rights at home.)  We will learn about Rosie the Riveter, the atomic bomb, the interment of Japanese-Americans, and wartime propaganda.  And we will even look at Hollywood, to see how the war affected the entertainment, values, perceptions, and ideas of a generation of Americans.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

 

This class is designed as a reading, writing, discussion, and lecture course. To do well, you must study the readings carefully, work diligently on writing assignments, participate actively in class discussion, and attend class regularly.

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

10/5:  Exam I                                                             

11/16: Exam II                                                                      

11/26:  Essay Due                                                    

12/12: Exam III (10:30-1:00)                                    

                                               

 

GRADE BREAKDOWN:

Exam I: 20%

Exam II:  25%

Exam III: 20%

Essay: 25%

Discussion: 10%

 

REQUIRED READING:

 

Dower, John W. War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.

 

Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The America People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

 

Koppes, Clayton R. and Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1987.

 

Winkler, Allan M. Home Front U.S.A.: America during World War II (Wheeling, Illinois: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2000).

 

Abzug, Robert H. America Views the Holocaust, 1933-1945: A Brief Documentary History (New York: Bedford, 1999).

 

CLASS DISCUSSION:

Although many of the class periods are devoted to lecture, the course involves periodic discussions as well.  It is essential that you complete all of the required reading by the time of the scheduled discussions.  Your participation will influence your final course grade!  (Quizzes may be given if readings not completed.)

 

ESSAY:

All students will write a mini-research paper (5-7 pages) on a topic pertaining to the course.  Information on the assignments will be on a separate handout and on the Internet. 

 

EXAMS:

This course includes three examinations.  These exams will include:  (1) "objective" sections testing your knowledge of the important developments covered in the course, (2) short answer questions, and (3) comprehensive essay questions addressing major course themes.  In your exam essays, you should not simply regurgitate facts and figures from lecture.  Exam essays, like most college essays, should develop solid thesis statements that support their arguments with evidence.  The exams are not cumulative.

 

 

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