Introduction to Political History
Hist. 150c6, Section 1
Offered by the Department of History, University of Arizona
Spring semester, 2019
Tuesday and Thursday, 3:30-4:45pm
Location: Education 353
Instructor:
David N. Gibbs, Professor of History
Office: Chavez 338
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 8:30-10:00am
Tel: 621-5416
Graduate Teaching Assistant:
Reed Battles, reedbattles@email.arizona.edu
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday; 2-3pm, Chavez 422
Robert McMicken, rmcmicken@email.arizona.edu
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday; 11-12, Chavez 422
URL for Syllabus:
https://dgibbs.faculty.arizona.edu/content/hist-150c6-section-1-fall-2019
** Class Announcements **
Students should check the above site regularly.
This class will focus on persuasion and propaganda, and their role in political history. The course will have four components: First, it will examine the role of propaganda in totalitarian regimes, notably in the Soviet Union. Second, we will examine more "modern" forms of propaganda, as it appears in political advertising, speeches, and newspapers in the United States and other western democracies. Third, we will study the use of logical political arguments, and how these differ from propagandistic arguments. Fourth, this course aims to improve basic skills, especially the incorporation of logical thought and analysis into the writing of student papers.
The overall purpose of this course is to provide training on how to recognize political propaganda, and how to distinguish propaganda from reasoned, logical political arguments.
NOTE:
This class contains offensive material. If this is a problem for you, then you should select a different class.
Students with Disabilities
I am happy to arrange the exams in any reasonable way that is consistent with the student's needs, in cooperation with the UA Disability Resource Center. It is the student's responsibility to find out what the Center requires, to fill out the forms, and to undertake the necessary "foot work" for special arrangements. The student is responsible to make sure that all deadlines are met.
Exams
There will be three midterm exams and an optional final. If you opt not to take the final, then each of the three midterms will be worth one third of your final grade. The grades are apportioned as follows:
Midterm 1 (in-class) 20 percent;
Midterm 2 (take-home paper) 20 percent;
Midterm 3 (in-class) 20 percent;
Final (optional, take-home paper) 40 percent.
Note that for Midterm 2: Students who are dissatisfied with their grade have the option of revising their papers within one week of having the original paper returned to them; for students who revise, their second midterm grades will be an average of the first and second drafts of their paper.
Students must take the exams on the scheduled dates. Please look at the syllabus and make sure that the exam dates are open for you. If you have an engagement scheduled for one of the required dates -- if you have a wedding or a sports event, for example -- then you should take another class. The following circumstances constitute legitimate reasons to miss an exam: illness, death in family, religious holiday, or mandatory military service. Students who present such reasons must be prepared to present documentation, such as a note from a doctor, clergy, or commanding officer.
On the take-home exams, the clarity and conciseness of the writing style will count toward your grade. The class teaching assistant can help you draft your papers. You can also seek writing assistance at the UA Writing Center.
When turning in the take-home exams, students should attach copies of the first page of all research materials that were used in preparing the papers. Students should also keep copies of papers on their computers. The reason for these requirements is to dissuade plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. If I have any doubts about a student paper, I may ask the student to produce a computer disk and research materials. For further information on the issue of plagiarism, see the UA History Department's Policy on Academic Dishonesty.
Attendance
Note that I do not take attendance, and students are free to miss classes if they wish (they may not miss exams). However, I can guarantee that missing classes repeatedly will significantly lower your grade. Students who miss classes for any reason should ask other students for relevant notes, relating to materials covered on the missed days.
Readings
The following readings are required and may be purchased at the University Book Store:
Frank Boardman, Nancy Cavender, and Howard Kahane, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life, Thirteenth edition. New York: Cengage, 2017.
George Orwell, 1984. New York: Signet, 1950.
Several articles listed below are available through electronic databases, as indicated below. Other materials are available through D2L.
I may make small changes in the reading list -- with advance notice -- during the course of the semester.
Week of August 26
Introduction to class
No readings.
Week of September 2
Logical Reasoning: What is an Argument?
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chaps. 1, 2.
Week of September 9
Logical Fallacies I
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chap. 3.
Week of September 16
Logical Fallacies II
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chap. 4.
Week of September 23
Logical Fallacies III
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chap. 5.
Week of September 30
Analyzing Arguments
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chaps. 6, 8.
Week of October 7
Review of Fallacies
No readings.
First (in class) midterm exam: October 10.
Week of October 14
Writing Essays
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chap. 9.
Recommended:
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, Appendix ("More on Cogent Reasoning").
Second (take-home) midterm exam: Handed out October 17; due October 31.
Week of October 21
What is Propaganda?
"How to Detect Propaganda," Propaganda Analysis, November 1937. Available through D2L.
"Some ABCs of Propaganda Analysis," Propaganda Analysis, December 1937. Available through D2L.
Recommended:
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chap. 7.
Week of October 28
Propaganda in U.S. Politics
Boardman, Cavender, and Kahane, Logic, chaps. 10, 11.
"How to Analyze Newspapers," Propaganda Analysis, January 1938. Available through D2L.
Week of November 4
Propaganda and War
David N. Gibbs, "Spying, Secrecy, and the University: The CIA is Back on Campus," Counterpunch, April 7, 2003. For full text, click here.
Week of November 11
The Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," in George Orwell: A Collection of Essays (Garden City, NY: Doubleday-Anchor, 1954). For full text, click here.
Week of November 18
The Era of Joseph Stalin
Orwell, 1984. Read the whole book.
Week of November 25
The End of Communism and the New Cold War
Thomas L. Friedman, "Foreign Affairs: Now a Word from X," New York Times, May 2, 1998. For full text, click here.
David Stuckler, Lawrence King, and Martin McKee, "Mass Privatization and the Post-Communist Mortality Crisis: a Cross National Analysis," The Lancet 373, no. 9661, 2009. Full text available through Science Direct.
November 28, no class.
Week of December 2
Review for Third Midterm
Third (in-class) midterm: December 5.
December 10
Last Day of Class.
Optional (take-home) final exam to be handed out in class; due on December 18. 5pm. Please place the papers in my mailbox, Chavez 415.
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REQUIRED BOILERPLATE
Course Objectives:
Understand more clearly issues of social status, and the effects of major institutions on individual experiences.
Demonstrate knowledge of the formal and informal structures and processes that make social systems, governments, and economies work.
Have an informed opinion about socio-cultural problems and issues, which can be expressed orally or in writing, and based on knowledge about social, political, economic, and philosophical theory.
Demonstrate a well-developed critical faculty for distinguishing among the various theoretical and ideological interpretations of world events as they are presented in the media.
Expected outcomes from the course:
Understand more clearly issues of social status, and the effects of major institutions on individual experiences.
Demonstrate knowledge of the formal and informal structures and processes that make social systems, governments, and economies work.
Have an informed opinion about socio-cultural problems and issues, which can be expressed orally or in writing, and based on knowledge about social, political, economic, and philosophical theory.
Demonstrate a well-developed critical faculty for distinguishing among the various theoretical and ideological interpretations of world events as they are presented in the media.
The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is available at: http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-ad….
The UA policy regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be accommodated where reasonable, http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.
Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean Designee) will be honored. See: https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/absences.
University policy regarding grades and grading systems is available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system.
Classroom behavior policy: Students are expected to behave themselves at all times.
Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination; see http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-ha…
Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-….
The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to oneself. See http://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-beh…