To explain the "international students only" course:
State law in Texas requires that all undergraduates in public
universities (with the exception of military cadets) take the two-semester US
survey sequence. Texas A&M has a sizable international student population
(non-US citizen students). As the typical survey class at A&M contains 150-250
students, A&M offers a 30-45 student section of each survey class (HIST 105
and HIST 106; US to 1877 and since 1877 respectively) each semester that
is open only to the international students.
I am currently the instructor for the HIST 106 section (since 1877).
Because A&M draws its international students from a wide range of national-
ities, these courses are far from homogenous. Of my 32 students, roughly a
third are from Japan and a third are from Mexico. The rest are primarily from
elsewhere in Latin America, although I have two Europeans, a Singaporean, two
Kuwaitis, and two Indians. English skills and familiarity with the US (let
alone US history) vary widely among the students. Additionally, US immigra-
tion law tends to ensure that many of the students are from fairly privileged
backgrounds. This all tends to create unique difficulties in explaining
US history.
I'm more than happy to share my experiences, but I'd also like to hear
suggestions from the list as to how I might improve my approach to the class.
Let me add that I have lived abroad for a fair portion of my life (Ethiopia,
Okinawa, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic
of Germany) and try to draw on that experience as much as possible (I regret I
never lived in Latin America given the composition of the class).
This is the first time I've taught the class, so everything is an
experiment at this point. The students are required to take two midterm
examinations (written short answers, each exam worth 25% of the overall grade),
write two reaction papers to specific assigned readings (2-3 pages in length,
each worth 10% of the overall grade), and a written final exam worth 30% (I am
toying with the idea of a take-home exam to avoid the pressure of time and
allow for a more substantive essay format). Required readings are Harold
Livesay's biography of Samuel Gompers (AFL leader), John Morton Blum's _The
Progressive Presidents_ (short bios of TR, Wilson, FDR, and LBJ), Michael
C. C. Adams' _The Best War Ever_ (WWII), and Maya Angelou's _I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings_. I have recommended Brinkley's _Unfinished Nation_ as a
basic textbook, but I expect them to rely on the monographs and the lectures
for most of the material. I have organized the course around the theme of
the American Dream, specifically contrasting the myth and the reality.
Racism, economic opportunity, industrialization, the rise of big business
and the concomitant rise of big labor and big government, and the ascension
of the United States to world power status are all important subthemes.
I have encountered two specific problems so far. First, the Asian
students in particular seem to have difficulty analyzing the material. They
can identify specific events, people, and concepts, but they can't quite
expound on their significance regarding the themes of the course. As they tend
to have the worst English skills, this might be a factor. Still, I'd like
some suggestions as to how to help them synthesize the material into more
abstract thoughts. Second, a few students (two Japanese and one Venezuelan)
still have not quite grasped the concept of the American Dream (broadly
defined by me as the Jeffersonian ideal that "all men are created equal" and
have the right to, among other things, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness," i.e. - wealth ; as well as the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.
that one day, all will be "judged by the content of their character"). I'd
like some suggestions as to how I might better convey the concept of the
American Dream to these (and future) students.
Closing on a more positive note, I'd like to point out that this course
has certainly helped me both as an instructor and a historian. My students
make certain connections that the average US student doesn't (especially
regarding immigration and foreign policy). They also enjoy the "oddities
of American culture", as one of them put it -- things like Prohibition (they
thought Carrie Nation was a scream), American naivete (they can't believe
Teapot Dome was a big scandal), and the Scopes Monkey Trial. After dealing
with the typical Aggie (Texas A&M student) who is a conservative, Republican,
Bible-thumpin', gun-totin' good ol' boy Texan, the international students
are a welcome change of pace.
Dave Snyder
hokie@tamu.edu
Co-Moderator, H-Mac