Will Scott

United States History, 1100–1865

AMST 101D

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to United States history from the 12th century to the mid-19th century. Students will gain a more developed understanding of American history by examining the interactions among diverse cultures and people; the formation and use of power structures and institutions throughout the colonial, Revolutionary and antebellum eras; and the processes behind the "Americanization" of the North American continent. Central to this course is a comparison between two interpretations of American history: a Whiggish, or great American history, and the more conflict-centered Progressive interpretation. Not only will students gain a general knowledge of this time period, they also will understand the ways in which the past can be contextualized. Students are expected to understand both the factual basis of American history as well as the general interpretive frameworks underlying historical arguments. This counts toward the history requirement for the major. This course is the same as HIST 101D. This course must be taken as HIST 101D to count for the social science requirement. No prerequisite.

IS: Race and Flood Control

AMST 493

Individual study is an exceptional opportunity available to junior or senior majors who find that the ordinary course offerings at Kenyon do not meet their needs for the major. Individual study may be taken only for 0.5 units of credit. Students must have the prior approval of the department chair in order to apply to enroll in an individual study. The student must present a detailed reading list and syllabus, including a schedule of assignments/projects and due dates, to the American studies faculty member with whom they choose to work. The faculty member who agrees to supervise and direct the individual study will confirm the syllabus and schedule in writing to the director of the program. The student project must culminate in a public presentation. The overall evaluation is a combination of student self-evaluation and faculty assessment of the student’s performance, both of which will be reported to the department chair along with the final grade assigned in the course. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline.

United States History, 1100–1865

HIST 101D

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to United States history from the 12th century to the mid-19th century. Students will gain a more developed understanding of American history by examining the interactions among diverse cultures and people; the formation and use of power structures and institutions throughout the colonial, Revolutionary and antebellum eras; and the processes behind the "Americanization" of the North American continent. Central to this course is a comparison between two interpretations of American history; a Whiggish, or great American history, and the more conflict-centered Progressive interpretation. Not only will students gain a general knowledge of this time period, but they also will understand the ways in which the past can be contextualized. Students are expected to understand both the factual basis of American history as well as the general interpretive frameworks underlying historical arguments. This counts toward the premodern requirement for the major and minor. This course is the same as AMST 101D. This course must be taken as HIST 101D to count towards the social science requirement. No prerequisite.

The Making of the Contemporary World

HIST 190

The Russian Revolution began in 1917; the First World War ended in 1918. The two decades between these events and the 1939 invasion of Poland which began the second World War witnessed transformative change around the globe, and set in motion forces which continue to shape the world we live in today. Colonial domination in Asia and Africa faced new tides of resistance in the international and communist movements. Women, some newly emboldened by the English suffragette movement, pushed back in myriad ways against the conventions and invested interests that denied them access to public life. Spectacular developments in science, art, music and fashion accompanied spectacular failures in political economy around the globe. Recession, depression, and the rise of fascism in the 1930s were not merely American or central European experiences. This seminar will explore some of the many threads in the vivid fabric of the interwar world, threads which may not appear so distant to us as the second decade of the twenty-first century unfolds. \nThe two seminar sections will meet jointly once a week for lectures or films, and separately once a week for discussion of primary-source readings. In addition to the rich historical material that the course addresses, students will begin to learn the basic skills of the historian: asking questions, finding and analyzing relevant documents or primary sources, and identifying different kinds of interpretations of those sources. Open to first-year students only.\n

History of the South, 1607-Present

HIST 210

The course will examine the American South from Jamestown to the present. Lectures and discussions will focus on the South's distinctive development within the American nation, the region's biracial character, and the formation of a shared African/European culture. Students will look at the political events that shaped the region, its economy, the regional differences within the South and changes that have taken place over the last four centuries.

Jazz Age: 1900-1930

HIST 316

Gilded Age America: 1877-1900

HIST 317

This seminar will examine the formation of a multiracial, urban America following the Civil War and Reconstruction. Topics addressed will be urbanization, economic integration, immigration, the conquest of the West, the New South, late Victorian culture and the Spanish-American War. Fulfills history major and minor advanced seminar and premodern requirements. This course fulfills the advanced seminar, Americas/Europe, and modern requirements for the major. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

American Revolution

HIST 400

This seminar will look at the formation of the American republic. It will look at the prerevolutionary causes of the conflict, the revolution itself, the establishment of a new nation and the writing and ratification of the federal Constitution. The course will focus on political and constitutional issues but also will address social change, Native Americans, women and slavery. This counts toward the premodern requirement for the major and minor. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

Fight for the Great Lakes, 1492-1815

HIST 426

This course will examine the contest among the various cultural groups for control of the Great Lakes region of North America from the days of Jacques Cartier’s first voyage in 1534 to the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States of America. Native peoples, French and British settlers, and even African slaves played important roles in creating commercial, Native, imperial, and national borderlands within the geographic boundaries of the Great Lakes. From the storied voyageurs who explored vast stretches of the Iroquoian and Algonquian worlds to the British and American warships vying for supremacy on Lake Erie, the cultural and political boundaries of the Great Lakes were in continual flux and under constant negotiation. In order to understand this Great Lakes borderland, we will look at the power differentials among the various groups, the patterns of cooperation or noncooperation they adopted, the sources of various cultural misunderstandings, and the strategies for coping that they adopted. This counts toward the premodern requirement for the major and minor.

Senior Seminar

HIST 490

The goal of this course is to give each history major the experience of a sustained, independent research project, including formulating a historical question, considering methods, devising a research strategy, locating and critically evaluating primary and secondary sources, placing evidence in context, shaping an interpretation and presenting documented results. Research topics will be selected by students in consultation with the instructor. Classes will involve student presentations on various stages of their work and mutual critiques, as well as discussions of issues of common interest, such as methods and bibliography. Open only to senior history majors. This counts toward the senior research seminar requirement for the major. Prerequisite: HIST 387.