Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Contact Information
- Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon (New York: Scribner, 2019 orig. 1941).
- Ronald Takaki, Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000).
- Studs Terkel, “The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (New York: New Press, 1984).
- Elie Wiesel, Night (New York: Hill and Wang, 1958).
This course will examine history of the United States during the Second World War, analyzing the broad array of social, cultural, political, economic, and military transformations unleashed by the conflict. This course will examine World War II from both the “top down” and “bottom up,” examining decisions made by political leaders, military officials, and foreign policymakers, while also giving attention to how the conflict transformed the lives of women, African Americans, Native Americans, workers, farmers, and other groups at the grassroots.
Tentative Course Schedule
Week 1
Class 1 (August 25): Introduction
Class 2 (August 27): American Society in the Early Twentieth Century
No Reading
Week 2
Class 3 (September 1): World War 1 and the Shadow of Versailles
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 1-28
Class 4 (September 3): The Great Depression and New Deal
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 28-50
Week 3
Class 5 (September 8): 1930s: Democracy in Decline
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 50-83
Class 6 (September 10): The Illusion of Isolationism Discussion and Quiz #1
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 87-110
Week 4
Class 7 (September 15): The Sudetenland Crisis, Nazi-Soviet Pact, and Invasion of Poland
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 110-145
Class 8 (September 17): The Fall of France
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 159-173
Week 5
Class 9 (September 22): The Battle of Britain and Hitler’s Empire
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 173-203
Class 10 (September 24): Lend Lease, Neutrality, and the Battle of the Atlantic Discussion and Quiz #2
Reading:
- Koestler, Darkness at Noon, 203-237
Week 6
Class 11 (September 29): Operation Barbarossa
Class 12 (October 1): Midterm #1
No Reading
Week 7
Class 13 (October 6): The Path to Pearl Harbor
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 3-21
Class 14 (October 8): The Arsenal of Democracy: Labor, Business, and Wartime Economy
Reading:
- Terkel, Good War, 19-37
Week 8
Class 15 (October 13): In-Service Professional Development Day-NO CLASS
Class 16 (October 15): Rosie the Riveter and American Women in Wartime Discussion and Quiz #3
Reading:
- Terkel, Good War, 108-134
Week 9
Class 17 (October 20): The Black Freedom Struggle and Double Victory
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 22-57
Class 18 (October 22): The Not So Good War: Japanese Internment and Homefront Havoc
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 58-110
Week 10
Class 19 (October 27): The War In the Pacific
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 110-36
Class 20 (October 29): The Second Front: North Africa and Italy Discussion & Quiz #4
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 137-164
Week 11
Class 21 (November 3): Casablanca
Class 22 (November 5): Midterm #2
Week 12
Class 23 (November 10): The Holocaust
Reading:
- Wiesel, Night, 3-28
Class 24 (November 12): Turning the Tide: The Battle of Stalingrad and Soviet Advance Discussion and Quiz #5
Reading:
- Wiesel, Night, 29-65
Week 13
Class 25 (November 17): Operation Overlord and D-Day
Reading:
- Wiesel, Night, 66-84
Class 26 (November 19): The Liberation of France, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Eastern Front Discussion and Quiz #6
Reading:
- Wiesel, Night, 85-120
Week 14
Class 27 (November 24): The Last Days of the Third Reich and Victory in Europe
Class 28 (November 26): No Class Thanksgiving Break
Week 15
Class 29 (December 1): The Surrender of Japan and the Atomic Bomb Debate
Reading:
- Takaki, Double Victory, 165-179
Class 30 (December 3): The Emergence of the Cold War
Reading:
- Terkel, Good War, 444-458
Week 16
Class 31 (December 8): Final Examination Review
Students are expected to actively participate in classroom activities and discussion. Most classes will consist of lectures covering a wide variety of historical content. There will also be a series of in class discussions that will focus on the assigned reading. (Discussion dates are listed on the course schedule.) Class participation will make up 10% of your overall grade.
In addition to classroom discussions, your engagement with assigned reading will be tested through a series of in class reading quizzes. The quiz dates are listed on the course schedule. Reading quizzes will make up 15% of your grade. For the purposes of discussion and quizzes, you should have the assigned reading completed by the Thursday session of each week.
Along with reading quizzes and class participation, grades will be determined by students’ performance on the midterms and final examination. Midterm #1 will be on October 1 and cover all material from Weeks 1-6. Midterm #2 will be on November 5 and cover all material from weeks 7-11. The midterms will include a combination of identification terms and essay questions.
The final examination will follow the same format, but will be cumulative, covering material from the entire course.
Grade Breakdown:
Participation (10%)
Reading Quizzes (15%)
Midterm #1 (20%)
Midterm #2 (20%)
Final Exam (35%)
Grading Scale:
A | 93.5 < | B+ | 87 < | C+ | 77 < | D | 60 < |
A- | 90 < | B | 83.5 < | C | 73.5 < | F | > 59.9 |
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| B- | 80 < | C- | 70 < |
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Instructor Course Policies
Students are allowed three unexcused absences over the course of the semester. If you are absent three or less times, there will be no impact on your final grade. If you have more than three unexcused absences, however, your participation grade will be lowered 5 percentage points for each additional unexcused absence. (For example: if your participation grade was 85/100 and you have 4 unexcused absences, your participation grade would be 80.) For an excused absence, you must alert me ahead of time that you will be missing class and have an acceptable reason as defined in the Wilmington College Student Handbook. See the current Student Handbook for the college's Attendance Policy, especially as it pertains to excused absences. Instructor reserves the right to place a cap on total penalties based on individual circumstances.
Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. See the current Student Handbook for the College’s Academic Integrity Policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, and the process for handling academic misconduct charges. Penalties for plagiarism or cheating in this class may range from an F on the assignment to an F in the class. In addition, all cases will be reported in writing to the Office of Academic Affairs. In the case of serious infractions, the Academic Standards and Appeals Committee may take further action.
Generative Artificial Intelligence
You are not permitted to use generative AI tools for any work in this course. This includes the use of popular tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, GitHub Co-Pilot, as well as all other tools built on generative AI technologies. Due to the nature of this course, work can only be fairly and accurately evaluated if student writing has NOT been assisted by generative AI. Use of generative AI for assignments in this course will be considered a violation of the College’s academic integrity policies. Assigned reading and corresponding written assignments in this course are designed to develop independent skills and thoughtful perspective through reflective technical writing. Use of AI undermines that work, its purpose, and ultimately any benefit that it could provide towards students’ learning experience. Therefore, the use of any generative AI to help with any assignments will be considered cheating/plagiarism and will be graded and handled accordingly.
Classroom Etiquette
Please arrive on time and refrain from packing up early, dozing off, walking out for non-emergency bathroom/drinking fountain visits, holding side-bar conversations, listening to electronic equipment, text-messaging, and checking cell phones. Students may be asked to leave class for these or other breaches of etiquette.
Americans with Disabilities Act
If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations, contact the Disability Services Director in Robinson Communication Center Room 114 or 937-481-2444.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |