What can the social and political ferment of the Sixties teach us about the issues of the present day? Do the ideals of 1960s radicals still ring true? Why did passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965 lead to racial unrest rather than reconciliation, and how does this history resonate in the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter? Why did foundational American beliefs like freedom of speech place idealists at odds with mainstream American society, and what lessons does the campus free speech movement of the 1960s have for student activists today?

The semester will be divided into two phases:

Phase 1: Key Topics in 1960s America

• Week 1: Getting Oriented
• Week 2: The Civil Rights Movement
• Week 3: The New Left
• Week 4: Women’s Rights
• Weeks 5-6: Historical Project—Gathering Evidence
• Weeks 7-8: Historical Project—Presenting Findings
  • In-Class Presentation
  • Essay

Phase 2: Key Issues in 2021 America

• Weeks 9-12: Topics T.B.D.
• Weeks 13-14: Political Project—Presenting Findings
  • In-Class Presentation
  • Essay

By enrolling in this course, you have joined a community of scholars and activists, defined by a shared interest in the culture of activism during the 1960s and what they teach us about the politics of the present day.

As scholars, we will work to achieve a deeper understanding of America both in the 1960s and today, each contributing discoveries and insights that combine to form a greater whole. As citizens of this course, we will strive to create a space where differences of opinion lead to discussion and understanding, not acrimony or silence.

As professor, my job is to provide you with an introduction to key topics from the 1960s and to key issues of the present day. As student scholars, your job is to build on that foundation through research and fieldwork, bringing your findings back to present them in class. This course’s radical proposition: ¼ of what you learn will come from me, ¼ from your fellow students, and fully ½ from your own discoveries doing research in historical archives and volunteering with activist political organizations.

• The Professor is responsible for introducing each mini-unit topic and for preparing a list of required and recommended scholarly readings.
• Students are responsible for research into primary sources, collecting instances and choosing which ones to present and discuss in class.
• Collectively, we form a “Think Tank.” Scholars working on projects within larger communities tend to produce a higher quality of research, because their work is inspired and enlivened by the discoveries of others. You will share findings with others by posting your research findings as HW and as finished projects on the course website.
• Attendance & Absences: to facilitate the interchange of ideas, it’s vital that you miss as few classes as possible. Any absences beyond 3 will be penalized on the final grade. Allowance will be made for major illness and religious observances.
• Assignment Completion & Late Work: all assignments will be turned in through the course website. Late work will be penalized, unless cleared with the professor beforehand.
• Electronics: bring your laptop to class so you can access your writing and other course materials as needed. Keep your laptop closed at all other times. Keep your phone in your bag or pocket.

University Policy on Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, like the misrepresentation of data, are grave offenses in this course, at Kilachand, at BU, and in the wider world of historical research. Incidents of academic dishonesty violate the trust of the scholarly community, and formal charges will be pursed through the Office of the Kilachand College Dean.

• Plagiarism includes but is not limited to (1) copying or restating the work or ideas of another person in oral or written work performed for course credit without citing the appropriate source or (2) collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging his or her contribution.
• Misrepresentation or falsification of data includes but is not limited to (1) citing authors that do not exist, (2) citing interviews that never took place, and (3) citing field work that was not completed.

http://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code/ 
http://www.bu.edu/academics/khc/policies/academic-standards/

Accommodations

Students needing academic accommodations must contact the Office for Disability Services (353-3658). Note that this course has no timed exams.

Other Resources

• My Office Hours, MWF 11-12
  College of General Studies
  CGS 319A
  871 Commonwealth Ave
• Educational Resource Center
  One-on-one peer tutoring, study skills help, and writing assistance.
  100 Bay State Road, 5th Floor
  (617) 353-7077
  www.bu.edu/erc
• Writing Center
  You can use the Writing Center on a walk-in basis for one-on-one writing assistance. In addition, if you are currently enrolled in a WR course you can reserve an appointment.
  100 Bay State Road, 3rd Floor
 (617) 358-1500
  www.bu.edu/writingprogram/the-writing-center/

Grade weights, rather than percentages.

• Homework (graded for timely completion, not quality). 10
• Participation during discussion (graded as simple ratio of daily participation). 10
• Volunteer work “on the barricades” for a local organization, evaluated through periodic in-class reports and an end-of-term written account. 10
• In-Class Presentation on a topic in 1960s politics, society, or culture. 15
• In-Class Presentation on an issue from 2019 politics, society, or culture. 15
• Essay on a key individual, key event, social trend, or
  cultural phenomenon from 1960s America, drawing on primary sources to complicate prior scholarship on the period. 20
• Essay on an issue from 2019 politics, society, or culture, examined in relation to history. 20

Van Gosse, The Movements of the New Left, 1950-1975: A Brief History with Documents. Bedford St. Martins, 2005. Available at the BU Bookstore.

This course will address the following HUB areas:

Historical Consciousness

• Students will read a variety of scholarly books and articles on topics such as the Vietnam war, the antiwar movement, the Civil Rights Act, presidential politics, and second-wave feminism. Students will work to complicate the understanding provided by prior scholars through the discovery and analysis of primary sources (news articles, advertisements, songs, and the like). Students will use both secondary and primary sources to construct historical narratives about the social trends and political ideologies of 1960s America.
• Students will gather primary sources into collections of 10-30, vetting their provenance, organizing them into meaningful bodies of evidence, noting trends and exceptions, and interpreting their significance in relation to the historical context.
• In considering the cultural impact of the 1960s, students will weigh present-day accounts of the decade not only against the evidence of primary sources, but against accounts formulated during and immediately after that era, both in mainstream news accounts and within activist groups.

Individual in Community

• Students will explore the multiple mindsets of 1960s America, from the liberal consensus of the mainstream to Goldwater conservatives, Black Power radicals, campus antiwar protesters, and the feminist sisterhood. They will consider how these ideologies inform the politics of the present day—including students’ own beliefs and ideals.
• Students will read and respond to the ideas of commentators and activists in connection with pressing social and political issues like Black Lives Matter, sexual harassment, transgender rights, and what free speech means in the context of a college campus. Students will engage with these communities through internet activism, attending meetings and writing editorial responses. Students will also meet with BU faculty and alumni who attended college in the 1960s and early 70s, instantiating the multi-generational community that is BU.

Critical Thinking

• Students will assemble bodies of evidence (collections of 10-30 primary sources), using them as basis for inductive generalizations about what groups of people (both in the past and in the present) fear, hate, admire, and aspire to achieve.
• Students will assess the conclusions of prior scholars using evidence they gather.
• Students will discuss and critique arguments made by social critics and activists from the 1960s and the present day, noting emotional appeals, the use of evidence (if any), and the validity of historical analogies.
• Through class discussion and in their written work, students will question their own beliefs and assumptions.
• In connection with the vital issue of free speech, students will think critically about the limits of civic discourse and critical thinking: are there words and ideas that cannot be entertained?