History 338: Course Information

Introduction | Learning | Materials | Topics |Assignment Chart | Please |

Introduction
Baltimore. How best to learn about this fascinating city? Historians and social scientists can teach us much about time and place, and that will be the focus of this class.  But imagination, observation, and experience are also paths to a sort of truth. So we will read, discuss, and study -- and we will put our feet on the street.

The course will introduce you to the city's history from colonial times through the present, with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. We will

• Track changes in the economy and politics, in the physical environment, and in the lives of ordinary Baltimoreans.
• Study the methods and tools used by historians to uncover the truth (if one exists).
• Ponder the ways in which Baltimore's history reflects both national trends and its own particular mix of North and South, race, ethnicity, and class.

Top

Objectives and Learning

Learning Outcomes
Faculty are required to have what are known as “learning outcomes” on their syllabi, little lists that begin with certain verbs to show measurable objectives.  Here they are.  Upon completing this course, you will be able to

1. Demonstrate your knowledge of historical periods, persons, events, ideas, and themes in Baltimore. history colonial times to the present.
2. Demonstrate your understanding of how Baltimore history fits into the themes and patterns of U.S. history.
3. Read, interpret, verify, use, and document primary and secondary sources.
4. Articulate an understanding of the concepts of historical causation, conflict, and change over time.

Learning
The following may not all be measurable, but here’s what I hope you learn:
To feel pride in Baltimore’s accomplishments, compassion for its failings

To analyze the historical forces (economic, political, social) which have resulted in

• A city with neighborhoods that suffer next to neighborhoods that thrive
• A city that was the state’s greatest economic engine for almost two hundred years but now threatens to be its greatest economic liability
• A city that remains the state’s center for culture, education, government, healthcare, entertainment, and more.

To know why
a)  Baltimore is racially divided and predominately African American
b)  The city has a reputation for poverty, crime, and social ills
c)  “b” does not explain “a”  

To replace racial and class stereotypes with truths and to see first-hand that in every Baltimore neighborhood, citizens – black and white and brown – are working to lead decent lives, to provide for their children, to improve their neighborhoods, and to enjoy their lives.

To understand that

• The past relates to the present
• Change is inevitable
• People can make change happen through community involvement
• The health of the city is crucial to the health of the region (economically, culturally, socially)
• Those who work to improve city life are working for you, too
• Involvement in affairs of the city is worthwhile, right, and ultimately in everyone’s self-interest

To realize that good folks live in both city and suburb and that each need the other.  Although some find the city dirty, dangerous, and filled with strange people (compared with suburbs that are clean, safe, and familiar), others find the city real, exciting, and filled with life’s diversity (compared with suburbs that are sterile, boring, and  “cookie-cutter”).  Vive la difference!

Topics:

Class will consist of lecture, discussion of readings, student presentations, and an occasional film or speaker. Following are the semester's lecture topics. See the schedule for more detail.

1. Baltimore in Colonial and Revolutionary America: Plantation to Town
   (1608 - 1783)
   
2. Mobtown in the Early Republic: Nation Building, City Building
   (1783 - 1837)
   
3. Social Change, Reform, and Baltimore in Mid-Century America
   (1820 - 1860)
   
4. Baltimore during Sectional Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction
   (1830-1880)
   
5. Industialization, Immigration, the Gilded Age and the Progressives: Baltimore and the Factory, the Immigrant, the Activist, and Jim Crow
   (1880 - 1920)
   
6. Baltimore in National Crises: The Thrill of War and the Agony of Peace - Times Two (1914 - 1945)
   
7. Baltimore in Postwar America: Desegregation, Suburbanization and Deindustrialization - All Roads Lead Somewhere
   (1945-79)
   
8. Baltimore in the late 20th Century and Beyond: Crack the Sky - Decline and Renewal, Decay and Renaissance
   (1980 - Present)
   
9. And of the Future: To Believe or Not To Believe - Baltimore's Place in a Post-modern World.
   

Assignments

Please. . .  

Be prepared. Some days you may be asked to write about the reading at the beginning of class or to read your reading response aloud.  Some days you may have a quiz. You should always be prepared to discuss readings and topics aloud.


Be prompt.  Turn in all work on time.  Grades on late assignments will disappoint you (papers are devalued one letter grade per class period except in the case of documented absences for illness requiring a doctor's visit, a court appearance, or a death in the family).  But wait!  You do have one safety valve.  One assignment may be turned in one class period late.


Tests may be made up only with a documented excuse: from a physician, hospital, court, or other verifiable documentation


Be honest with yourself and with me about your attendance, class preparation, and assignments.  Document your papers correctly (plagiarism will result in failure of the course). Also, be candid.  Honest feedback will help me fit the course to your needs and desires.


Be open-minded.  Expect a lot.  Get involved.  Be curious.  Have fun, too!