The Jews in America
Prof. Lee Shai Weissbach
Fall, 2009
Class meetings: Thursday evenings, 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. in Gottschalk Hall 202
Office: 103-C Gottschalk Hall
Phone: 852-3755
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
E-mail: weissbach@louisville.edu
Course Goals, Requirements, and Grading Policy
Studying the past provides an essential frame of reference for interpreting the present. Daily events make it clear that dealing with current social, religious and political problems must be based on a firm understanding of the historical record. It is essential to realize that the past is an active force in the present, and that both reconstructing and interpreting the past are complex matters. In light of these considerations, this course will introduce students to the history of the Jews in America since the eighteenth century. This course will not only provide a basic historical overview but it will also consider the ways that American Jewish history has been studied and interpreted. In addition, this course will consider some general issues of methodology in the discipline of History.
Undergraduate students in this course will be required to write one “reaction essay” and one book review, to take one examination, and to prepare a research paper of about eight to ten pages in length. A brief oral presentation based on the research paper will be shared with the class at the end of the term. Graduate students in the course will be expected to do all the work required of undergraduates and to submit two additional short essays based on course assignments. This course carries WR credit.
The examination in this course will come toward the end of the semester and will be composed of identification and essay questions. There will be some element of choice on the exam. If a student misses the exam for a legitimate reason (e.g., hospitalization, death in the immediate family), a make‑up exam will be scheduled after consultation between the student and the instructor.
The research papers required of students will be ones in which they write about a specific American Jewish individual. More specific information about the nature of the paper will be given during the early part of the term and the paper will be due near the end of the semester. More information about book reviews and reaction essays will be provided in the early weeks of the course as well. Student writing assignments will be marked with comments and recommendations for improvement in writing skills. Students will be allowed to resubmit their paper proposals after revision if they wish to have their grades reconsidered. Students also will be asked to submit the first two pages of their research papers in advance of the paper due date so that they may revise their papers on the basis of the instructor’s comments.
Much of this course will be conducted as a colloquium, so students will be expected to come to class on a regular basis and to prepare for and participate in discussions of the assigned reading material. Occasional in-class quizzes may be administered to determine if students have prepared for class participation. Auditors in this course will be expected to come to class on a regular basis as well, so that they, too, may contribute to class discussions.
For undergraduates, the book review and the reaction essay will each count for 10 percent of the final grade in the course, while the exam will count for 25 percent and the research paper proposal will count for 10 per cent. The two-page research paper preliminary submission will count for 5 percent of the final grade, and the research paper itself will count for 30 percent. Class participation (including performance on quizzes and the quality of the oral presentation at the end of the term) will count for 10 percent.
For graduate students, the book review will count for 10 percent of the course grade and the exam will count for 20 percent. The three reaction essays will count for 5 percent each. The research paper proposal will count for 10 percent of the final grade, and the two-page research paper preliminary submission will count for 5 percent. The research paper itself will count for 30 percent. Class participation (including performance on quizzes and the quality of the oral presentation at the end of the term) will count for 10 percent. Because graduate students are more experienced in their university studies, their work will be judged by somewhat more rigorous standards than that of undergraduates.
The instructor reserves the right to adjust final course grades slightly on the basis of aggregate class performance and to assign plus and minus grades in borderline cases.
In general, however, the following grading scale will be used: