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West Valley College Spring 2006

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA
History 20 (3 units)
Sec. 41359 (T/Th 12:30-1:55), Room SS 52

Tim Kelly, Ph.D.
Office Hours:  M/W 10:15-10:45, 2:00-2:30; 
                         T/Th 11:45-12:15 and by appt.
Ph: (408) 741-2546		 Office SSH1
http://timmer.org/
Tim Kelly's e-mail

WELCOME!!!

From its origins, California has been both a state of mind and place.  Early Spanish explorers heard stories of a mystical and wondrous land of gold that held both promise and peril to those brave enough to seek it out.  For millions of individuals both inside and out of California, the Golden State still holds that mythical allure.  Over the next 15 weeks, we will discuss why that is and what makes California so unique (if, in fact, it is unique).  Despite drought, earthquakes, floods, recession, power shortages, and expensive real estate, millions of people from all over the world settle in California every year.  How has the state dealt with this growth politically, socially, and economically?

This course will examine California geographic regions, the Native Americans of California, discovery, institutions of Spanish California, developments in the Mexican period, the early American period, economic foundations of the state, political growth and institutions of American California, race and California history in the 20th Century, and state and local government. 

Required Texts

bulletEdward Chang and Russell Leong, Los Angeles - Struggles Toward Multiethnic Community (University of Washington Press, 1994)
bulletJames Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Farewell to Manzanar
bulletRobert Jackson and Edward Castillo, Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization:  The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians (University of New Mexico Press, 1995)
bulletJames Rawls and Walton Bean, California:  An Interpretive History, 8th Ed. (McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2003)

Additional reading materials and study guides are online at http://timmer.org.  Click on HISTORY 20B from the Home Page and the "Readings" icon on the 20B page.  It is highly recommended that you print these articles/documents/short passages out ASAP in case of periodic and unforeseen downtime of the web page.  You are responsible to have each of these readings completed by their assigned day on the syllabus.  Study Questions are for your personal use and need not be turned in to the instructor.

For a better understanding of the topics covered in this class, you should read a daily newspaper.  The San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Los Angeles Times are all good resources.  The California History journal and the Pacific Historical Review are also both useful resources.  Your success in this class depends on the initiative you put into it!

General Class Policies

  1. Cell phones and beepers must be turned off in the classroom.
  2. Save this syllabus as evidence for transfer to a four-year institution.
  3. Class participation and COMPLETING THE ASSIGNED READING by the beginning of each topic are essential to passing this course.
  4. Unless otherwise stated, late work is marked down 1/3 of a grade for each day that it is handed in late after the end of class when it is due.
  5. Tutoring is available at no charge at Tutorial Services.  It is provided by qualified, trained, students who have been recommended by the faculty.  Contact Tutorial Services in the Library Building or call 741-2038.
  6. Quizzes may be administered by the Instructor without warning if he feels students are not keeping up with the readings.  Incorrect answers will be deducted from a student's overall participation grade.
  7. Plagiarism/cheating will result in automatic failures for the course and offenders will be referred to the CSSO for disciplinary action.  Familiarize yourself with the campus policy on cheating detailed in the College Catalog under Student Conduct Code, 5.8.19 Policy on Cheating.  (You will find examples of what plagiarism is and how to avoid it at http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html)
  8. West Valley College makes reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. College materials will be available in alternate formats (Braille, audio, electronic format, or large print) upon request.  Please contact the Disability and Educational Support Program at (408) 741-2010 (voice) or (408) 741-2658 (TTY) for assistance.

Credit/No Credit Option

Students wishing to take this class with the Credit/No Credit grade option must inform the instructor in writing no later than the end of the SIXTH WEEK .  Requests for this option WILL NOT be accepted after that time.  See the WVC Catalog under "Academic Regulations and Standards" for more information about this option.

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and punctuality is required and roll will be taken at the beginning of the class.  Tardy students will receive a 1 point reduction from their total grade for each tardy.  More than one absence will constitute a reduction of 2 points for each additional absence.

Web Page

A class web page can be found for History 20 at http://timmer.org.  This page contains the syllabus, lecture outlines, PowerPoint lectures, online readings, study questions, and an extensive collection of links covering the topics we discuss in class.  This web page serves as a supplement to the lectures and in-class discussions, not as a substitute.  NOTE:  As a budget saving measure, lecture outlines will NOT be passed out in class.  STUDENTS SHOULD PRINT OUT THE OUTLINES BEFORE LECTURE.

Course Requirements Grading Policy:  Grades are awarded on a Standard Scale:
1.  Gold Rush Homework
2.  Maps/Handouts
2.  One 4-5 page paper
3.  Midterm Exam
4.  Final Exam
5.  Two Quizzes
6.  Participation		 (100 pts)
(50 pts total)
(150 pts)
(250 pts)
(350 pts)
(50 pts)
(50 pts)		 A
B
C
D
F		 900 - 1000
800 - 899
700 - 799
600 - 699
599 and below

Dates to Remember

Feb. 9:
Feb. 10:
Feb. 14:
Feb. 16:
Feb. 16:
Feb. 23:		 Map Assignment #1 Due
Last Day to Add
Map Assignment #2 Due
QUIZ #1
Last Day to Drop w/out a "W"
Gold Rush Letter Due		 Mar. 16:
April 18:
Nov 16:
April 28:
May 11:
May 23:		 MIDTERM
 Paper Due   
QUIZ #2
Last Day to Drop w/a "W"
State Government Assignment Due
FINAL EXAM

FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE:  TUESDAY, MAY 23, 11:50-1:50 pm

 

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1

1/31
2/2		 Introduction:  The California Dream
California's Native Americans (Also, be prepared to Discuss Online Houston reading)

Readings:  R&B (Rawls and Bean), Ch 1-4;  ONLINE:  Houston, "The Place Called California"


Week 2

2/7
 2/9

2/10

 Catch-up and Discussion
The Colonization and Missionization of Alta California (MAP ASSIGNMENT #1 DUE)

LAST DAY TO ADD

Readings:  Jackson and Castillo, pp. 3-87;  ONLINE:  Selections from The Way We Lived by Malcolm Margolin


Week 3

2/14
2/16

2/16

 Discussion (Have Jackson and Castillo completed!)  and QUIZ #1 (MAP ASSIGNMENT #2 DUE)
Mexican California and American Acquisition 

LAST DAY TO DROP W/OUT A "W"

Readings:  Jackson and Castillo, pp. 88-111; R&B, Ch 5-7


Week 4

2/21
 2/23		 The Whole World Rushed In:  The California Gold Rush (GOLD RUSH LETTER DUE)
American Statehood and Turmoil

Readings:  R&B, Ch 8-10; ONLINE:  Clapp, Dame Shirley;  Dana, Two Years Before the Mast


Week 5

2/28
3/2		 Racial Oppression in California
The Octopus:  Railroad Monopoly in California

Readings:  R&B, Chs 11-15; 18 ONLINE:  Sacramento Union Editorial; Borthwick, Three Years In California; Norris, The Octopus (selection); Huntington, Congressional Testimony;


Week 6

3/7
3/9		 The Indispensable Enemy:  Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement
Economic Turmoil:  The Conflict Between Capital and Labor

Readings:  R&B, Chs 16, 19; ONLINE:   Cross, Denis Kearney; Sienkiewicz, Appraises Chinese Labor; AFL. Opposes Chinese Immigration


Week 7

3/14
3/16 		Catch-up and Discussion
MIDTERM

Readings:  Use this time to study the past assigned readings. 


Week 8

3/21
3/23		 The Rise and Fall of Progressivism
Southern California and the Water Wars

Readings:  R&B, Chs 20-24; ONLINE: Gullett, Women Progressives and Immigrant Women; May, Hollywood and the California Dream

SPRING BREAK 3/27 - 4/1

Week 9

4/4
4/6		 Discussion and FILM:  Cadillac Desert
California and the Great Depression

Readings:  R&B, Ch 25; Houston, Chs 1-11


Week 10

4/11
4/13		 California and World War II
Discussion and Catch-up

Readings:  R&B, Ch 27 ; Houston, Chs. 12-22; ONLINE:  Internment Documents


Week 11

4/18
4/18
4/20		 Postwar California:  Growth and Cold War Politics, 1945-1965
FAREWELL TO MANZANAR PAPER DUE
 Politics and Protest:  California in the 1960s and 1970s

Readings:  R&B, Chs  28, 29, 31


Week 12

4/25
4/27

4/28		 FILM:  Berkeley in the Sixties
Discussion and QUIZ #2

LAST DAY TO DROP w/a "W"

Readings:   R&B, Chs 26, 32; ONLINE:  Savio, Defending the Free Speech Movement; Reagan, Denouncing the Morality Gap; Seale, Black Panther Party; Manifesto of the Chicano Movement; Declaration of the AAPA; Rorabaugh, Berkeley in the 1960s


Week 13

5/2
5/4		 Silicon Valley:  Boom and Bust
The Environment and Quality of Life

Readings:  R&B, Ch 34, 35;  ONLINE:  Helft, Silicon Valley's Future; Chang and Leong, Preface, pp. 1-86; 


Week 14

5/9-11
5/11
 California's Racial Divide:  Los Angeles as a Case Study
State Government Assignment Due

Readings:  R&B, Ch 30; Chang and Leong, pp. 109-112, 149-163; ONLINE:  Rieff, Los Angeles, Capital of the Third World; Yu, Korean Perspective of the LA Riots; Buchanan, Condemning the Barbarism of the Mob


Week 15

5/16
5/19		 The Recall and Beyond:  Contemporary Issues in State Politics
Catch-up and Discussion

Readings:  R&B, Chs 33, 36 ONLINE:  Steptoe, Who is the Real Arnold?"; Folmar, Schwarzenegger's Climb Back

FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE:  TUESDAY, MAY 23, 11:50-1:50 pm

Suggested Readings in California History