"AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY, 1607-PRESENT"
HIST 2120-090 -as of 1/06/04
PROFESSOR: Dr. James K. Hogue
Department of History Tel: 704-547-4823 (Work)
137 Garinger Hall email: jhogue@uncc.edu
Spring Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to examine the patterns of change and continuity in American warfare over more than 200 years. We will do that by examining the institutional evolution of the United States Army in overview, and in detail, by scrutinizing five very different campaigns across a two century span of American history: Trenton/Princeton (1776-77); Antietam (1862); Normandy (1944); Desert Storm (1991); and Mogadishu (1993).
COURSE FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES: This course cannot hope to make you an expert in American military history in one semester. Instead, it seeks to develop an introductory background which will provide: 1) a general foundation on the major themes in the historical development and professionalization of the American military at war; and 2) a more in-depth understanding of five particular American battles in four different eras.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS: In addition to adhering to the provisions of the University honor code, all students in this class are expected to 1) attend class, 2) perform the assigned readings, 3) strive to improve their writing and, 4) strive to improve their critical reasoning skills. Meeting these expectations almost invariably results in a better grade.
CLASS RULES:
• Attendance is mandatory for all classes in this course. Please sit in the same seat after the first class to facilitate the administration of the class.
• Because class will begin precisely at the announced time, all students wishing to attend class must be in their seats at that time.
• Eating or drinking anything is not allowed in class.
• Disruptions of a class as large as this one, besides being rude and inconsiderate of other students and the instructor, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. If you are unsure of whether some behavior is disruptive, you probably should not be doing it.
The following are the prescribed texts for this course:
Millett and Maslowski, For the Common Defense (appears as M&M in the syllabus)
John Keegan, The Face of Battle
Richard M. Ketchum, The Winter Soldiers
James McPherson, Antietam
Stephen Ambrose, D-Day
Rick Atkinson, Crusade
Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down
COURSE OUTLINE:
WEEK SUBJECT READING ASSIGNMENT
1. Jan. 13 INTRODUCTION Keegan, Ch. 1-2
The Origins of Modern Warfare M&M, Intro
2. Jan. 20 I. TRENTON-Background Keegan, Ch. 3
The Rise of European Limited Warfare Ketchum, Ch. I-III
and American Military Exceptionalism M&M, Ch. 1-2.
3. Jan. 27 II. TRENTON Ketchum, Ch. IV
The American Revolution as Military Struggle M&M, Ch. 3
4. Feb. 3 III. TRENTON Ketchum, Ch. V-VI
The Campaign, the Battle, and Its Legacy
5. Feb. 10 I. ANTIETAM M&M, Ch. 4-5
The Military Background of the American Civil War
6. Feb. 17 II. ANTIETAM McPherson, Intro., Ch. 1-2
The Impact of Campaigns up to September 1862 M&M, Ch. 6
7. Feb. 24 III. ANTIETAM McPherson, Ch. 3-5
The Campaign, the Battle, and Its Legacy M&M, Ch. 7-8
8. Mar. 2 I. NORMANDY M&M, Ch. 9-12
World War I & II and the Global Crisis Keegan, Ch. 4
in Military Affairs
9. Mar. 9 SPRING BREAK: NO CLASSES
10. Mar. 16 II. NORMANDY Ambrose, Ch. 1-16
The Campaign : Problems of "The Second Front" M&M, Ch. 13
11. Mar. 23 III. NORMANDY Ambrose, Ch. 17-32
The Battle and the Legacy M&M, Ch. 14
12. Mar. 30 I. DESERT STORM-Background Keegan, Conclusion
The Problem of Limited War in the Nuclear Age M&M, Ch. 15-17
13. Apr. 6 II. DESERT STORM Atkinson, Prologue-Ch. I
Military Problems of Global Geopolitics M&M, Ch. 18
14. Apr. 13 III. DESERT STORM Atkinson, Ch. II-III
The Campaign, the Battle, and the Legacy
15. Apr. 20 I. MOGADISHU Bowden, Ch. I-II
Pax Americana? The New Interventionism
16. Apr. 27 II. MOGADISHU Bowden, Ch. III-IV+ Afterword
Who's to Blame?
17. May 4 COURSE CONCLUSION Review Keegan, Ch. 5
The Future of American Warfare? M&M, Epilogue
Evaluation:
• In lieu of a mid-term examination, students will write weekly in-class essays to ensure that they have kept abreast of the readings and are improving their writing and analytical skills. Students should be prepared to write an essay every week. The average of the best ten essays will count as the overall weekly essay grade. There are no makeups for weekly essays. Therefore, attendance is essential to do well in the course.
• There will be only one examination-the final, which will be an open note and open book examination based upon a choice of essay questions. The final examination will be a comprehensive in nature, covering all of the material in the course. Students may consult any works they desire in completing the examination, but they must complete the essays without discussion with others in or outside of the class.
Final Exam:
The take-home final examination will be handed out at the last class, Tuesday, May 4, 2004. Additional instructions will appear on the final exam sheet. The final is due at the final exam period, May 11, 2004 at 7:00 PM. Late exams will be penalized one letter grade per day thereafter. The exam must be delivered by hand. It cannot be faxed, mailed, or e-mailed.
The graded requirements will be weighted as follows:
Weekly essays 50%
Final 50%
Total 100%