HIST 3712 - United States in Crisis: 1900-1945
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 01, CRN 41486,
Credit hours: 3
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
David Simonelli
Email: dsimonelli@ysu.edu
Course Description
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| COURSE READINGS |
The American Yawp, Volume II: After 1877. Stanford University Press (2022) https://www.americanyawp.com/ [accessed July 11, 2022].
Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime. New York: Penguin Random House, 1975. ISBN 978081297818
Zeitz, Joshua. Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern. New York: Penguin Random House, 2006. ISBN 9781400080540
Roth, Benjamin. The Great Depression: A Diary. James Ledbetter and Daniel B. Roth, editors. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. ISBN 9781586489014
Delmont, Matthew F. Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. New York: Penguin Random House, 2022. ISBN 9781984880390
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Day | Date | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue | 8/25 | Introduction | Introduction | |
| Thu | 8/27 | Industrial America | Industrial America | |
| Tue | 9/1 | Progressivism and Progressivre Politics | Progressivism and Progressive Politics | |
| Thu | 9/3 | African Americans and Women in the Age of Reform | African Americans and Women in the Age of Reform | |
| Tue | 9/8 | • Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime. New York: Penguin Random House, 1975. ISBN 978081297818 | Discussion: Doctorow book | DOCTOROW PAPER DUE |
| Thu | 9/10 | The US in the Age of Imperialism | ||
| Tue | 9/15 | The Great War: US Neutrality | ||
| Thu | 9/17 | The Great War: 1917-1918 | ||
| Tue | 9/22 | The Postwar Era, 1918-1924 | ||
| Thu | 9/24 | FIRST EXAMINATION | FIRST EXAMINATION | FIRST EXAMINATION |
| Tue | 9/29 | Fundamentalism in the 1920s | ||
| Thu | 10/1 | Modern Economics, Culture and Society | ||
| Tue | 10/6 | Zeitz, Joshua. Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern. New York: Penguin Random House, 2006. ISBN 9781400080540 | Discussion: Zeitz book | ZEITZ PAPER DUE |
| Thu | 10/8 | Prohibition 1920-1933 | ||
| Tue | 10/13 | The Political and Economic Causes of the Great Depression | ||
| Thu | 10/15 | FDR and the Depression: 1933-1934 | ||
| Tue | 10/20 | Roth, Benjamin. The Great Depression: A Diary. James Ledbetter and Daniel B. Roth, editors. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. ISBN 9781586489014 | Discussion: Roth book | ROTH PAPER DUE |
| Thu | 10/22 | The Permanent New Deal, 1934-1936 | ||
| Tue | 10/27 | Roosevelt’s Second Term 1936-1939 | ||
| Thu | 10/29 | Radicalism and Race in the 1930s | ||
| Tue | 11/3 | SECOND EXAMINATION | SECOND EXAMINATION | SECOND EXAMINATION |
| Thu | 11/5 | The United States and the World in the Interwar Era | ||
| Tue | 11/10 | America and the Global Crisis, 1931-1941 | ||
| Thu | 11/12 | The Second World War: The Home Front | ||
| Tue | 11/17 | The Second World War in Europe | ||
| Thu | 11/19 | Delmont, Matthew F. Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. New York: Penguin Random House, 2022. ISBN 9781984880390 | Discussion: Delmont book | DELMONT PAPER DUE |
| Tue | 11/24 | The Second World War in the Pacific | ||
| Thu | 11/26 | THANKSGIVING DAY | THANKSGIVING DAY | THANKSGIVING DAY |
| Tue | 12/1 | The US as a Superpower: The Beginning of the Cold War | ||
| Thu | 12/3 | The US in 1945 vs 1898 |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.