The 1960's
Erica J. Seifert
ejx2@cisunix.unh.edu
Office: Mondays, Wednesdays 2:30-3:30
Course Description:
This course will explore the culturally, socially, and politically turbulent
decade of the 1960s. Students
will be asked to closely examine the decade’s artifacts, from music and
movies to speeches and
sermons, in order to increase historical knowledge and improve critical thinking
skills. The course will
focus on key events, including (but certainly not limited to) the Freedom Rides,
the Vietnam War, the
Summer of Love, the Chicago Democratic Convention, and the decade-ending blowout,
Woodstock.
By the end of the summer students will understand how the decade contributed
to our national
historical imagination and will be able to answer the question: "Are you
on the bus?"
Course Objectives:
- Students will learn to analyze the primary sources of America’s past.
They will be challenged to interpret the words and images of the 1960s
- Students will learn to analyze and interpret the ideas that fueled the
decade of the 1960s
- Students will learn to incorporate and interpret multiple sources, including
fiction and film, in their analysis
- Students will learn to think critically about secondary sources in history
Expectations:
Students are expected, above all, to show respect for themselves, their classmates,
and their instructor.
This means that the “no discount” policy will be adhered to
at all times. The class space must be a
comfortable space for all students. Moreover, students must work to cooperate
in group projects and
try to learn from one another.
Students are also expected to prepare for every class meeting by completing
their work in a manner
that reflects their very best effort.
Assessment:
* Homework: 20% * Participation: 20% * Quizzes: 15%
* Midterm Paper: 15% * Final Project and Presentation: 30%
Assignments:
• Students will be required to submit typed nightly homework assignments,
based on their
primary source packet. In these written assignments, students will answer
the questions: 1.
What is this document? 2. What is the author saying? 3. What is the historical
significance of
this document?
• Midterm papers are due Tuesday, July 11. For Midterm papers, students
will analyze a series
of documents about the Free Speech Movement. Students will compose a thoughtful
essay
exploring each document and discussing the collection of documents as a
whole.
• Final projects are due Thursday, July 27. For final projects, each student
will choose one
object from the decade of the 1960s and compose a review article about the
object. See
handout for details.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
Week 1 (June 27, June 29) Civil Rights Movement
- Tuesday: Introduction
Discuss expectations, assignments, assessment, and evaluation
Assign Midterm paper
- Thursday: Civil Rights and past as precedent
Civil Rights homework due
Week 2 (July 4, July 6) Vietnam and the New Left
- Tuesday: The Vietnam War
(Short Class)
- Thursday: The New Left
Read the Port Huron Statement
Week 3 (July 11) The Counterculture
- Tuesday: The Beats and the emergence of a counterculture, The Merry Pranksters,
the Diggers, and the Summer of 1967 Midterm paper due
Week 4 (July 18, July 20) 1968-1969: The Breakdown of Consensus
- Tuesday: Assassinations, SDS, Mobe, Yippie! and Chicago ‘68
Assign final Project
- Thursday: Woodstock, the rise of radicalism: underground, radical feminism,
and black nationalism
(Short Class)
Week 5 (July 25, July 27) The End of Consensus
- Tuesday: radicalism
Work on final project
- Thursday: the New Right and the Rise of Richard Nixon
Work on final project
Week 6 (Aug 1, Aug 3) The Morning After the ‘60s
- Tuesday: Altamont, Watergate, and the end of the 1960s.
Presentations
Final projects due
- Thursday: Presentations and Conclusion