History 01:512:242 World War II Fall 2014 Course Syllabus
Section 01 Instructor: Richard Grippaldi, Ph.D.
Mondays & Thursdays 10:55am – 12:15pm Office: Van Dyck 001 (College Ave) Hickman Hall 127 (Cook / Douglass) Office Hours: 12:50 – 1:50 pm Mondays & Email: [email protected] Thursdays, and by appointment Course Description: This is a study of the causes, course, and aftermath of World War II, with particular emphasis on the place of American culture and foreign policy within world politics.
In addition to discussing American grand strategy and the course of the war in both Europe and the Pacific, the class will consider topics such as the United States’
mobilization for war; roles of women and minority groups in the war effort; the use of submarine and strategic air warfare; and the use of nuclear weapons against Japan. Special Permission Numbers: There are two sections of this course this semester, both taught by the same instructor. The enrollment capacity of this section is tied directly to the number of desks in the classroom. When the section closes, there will be no desks available for additional students. DO NOT ASK FOR A SPECIAL PERMISSION NUMBER.
Course Readings: The following books are required. These can be purchased from the campus bookstore, or special ordered from your local bookstore or Internet bookseller. Murray, Williamson, and Allan R. Millett. A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2000. ISBN 9780674006805 Overy, Richard. Why the Allies Won. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996. ISBN
9780393316193
Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed, at Peleliu and Okinawa. New York: Random House, 2007. ISBN 9780891419198
Walker, J. Samuel. Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, revised ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. ISBN 9780807856079
The instructor also may make additional readings and documents available from the course Sakai site.
Course Requirements: Students will complete a mid-term examination, worth 22%; a final examination, worth 28%; two short papers, each worth 10%; and a course project, worth 20%. Class attendance and participation will determine the remaining 10%.
The grading breakdown, therefore, is: Exams 50% Short Papers 20% Course Project 20% Attendance 8% Participation 2% Total 100%
Examinations: Each student will take a mid-term and a final examination. The midterm will take place in class on October 23. The final will be given at a date, time and place to be determined. Both examinations will cover readings, lectures, and discussion material. On the midterm, students will answer five identifications and two essay questions; on the final, ten identifications and two essay questions. The instructor will provide an
identification term study guide at least two classes before each exam.
Students will not be allowed to make up missed examinations unless a) their absence would otherwise be excused (see “Class Attendance and Participation,” below) or b) they arrange with the instructor for a make-up examination in advance of their absence. Short Papers: In each short paper, you will answer the posed question using evidence from readings, discussions, and lecture. The purpose of these assignments is to display your ability to dissect historical works and offer complex interpretations of their meanings.
All late papers will be penalized ten points for each class late, up to a maximum lateness penalty of fifty points. That said, any points earned on a late paper will help your final grade more than a zero. Except by prior arrangement between the student and the instructor, the instructor will not accept assignments e-mailed to him.
Short Paper #1 due September 29. Length: 3 – 5 pages. Which person or institution should bear the primary responsibility for the ineffective American defense of the Hawaiian Islands in December 1941? (Note: while the instructor is open to arguments that blame Franklin Roosevelt, the vast sea of “Pearl Harbor conspiracy” literature produced over the past seventy years has failed to convince him of its correctness.) Short Paper #2 due November 17. Length: 3 – 5 pages. Was the fall 1944 invasion of the Palau Islands justified?
Each paper will be evaluated in six separate categories: Mechanics (10 points), Thesis (25 points), Argument & Organization (20 points), Evidence (20 points), Citations (10
points), and Proofreading (15 points). For more details on the instructor’s expectations and tips on writing, see the “Writing a History Paper” handout posted on the course Sakai site.
Course Project: The use of nuclear weapons against Japan remains one of the most controversial aspects of American participation in World War II. The course project is designed to educate students on the options American defense officials considered in trying to compel the Japanese to surrender.
The course project has two parts. Each student will write a four- to six-page paper on one of the five options (invasion, blockade, conventional bombing, negotiated surrender, or atomic bombing). The paper is worth 75 percent of the project grade (15 percent of the course grade).
On December 1, the instructor will break the class into groups. Each student will brief other members of the group on her or his option. The group will then recommend one of the presented options and briefly explain their decision in writing. The group portion of the project is worth 25 percent of the project grade (5 percent of the course grade). The course project is explained in greater detail in the “Course Project Instructions” handout on the course Sakai site.
Class Attendance and Participation: Attendance is mandatory. The instructor believes you will benefit from exposure to lectures and class discussions. Unexcused absences will hurt your attendance grade.
Excused absences will not lower your attendance grade. These include but are not limited to religious observances; being under a doctor’s care; attending the funeral of a loved one; performing military service; or travelling as a member of a university-sponsored group. You should inform the instructor about absences as soon as possible, and where available provide documentation when you return to class.
The readings for each unit are listed on the course schedule. While the instructor
encourages you to complete all of the readings before a unit begins, he will tell you what must be read for the next lecture. He will regularly set aside time for discussion of course material and/or student questions. Students that demonstrate a firm grasp of the readings and course issues will earn the highest participation grades. The instructor’s definition of “class participation” includes relevant discussions by e-mail, before or after class, or during office hours.
The attendance grade is calculated simply:
([Lectures attended + excused absences] / total number of lectures) x 8
The 2 percent allotted to participation is based entirely on the instructor’s judgment. Academic Integrity Statement: Academic integrity is essential to the success of the educational enterprise and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses against the academic community. Violations of academic integrity include but are not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, denying others access to information or
material, and facilitating others’ violations of academic integrity. The instructor assumes students will familiarize themselves with the policies and information posted by Rutgers at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/ at the earliest opportunity.
Disability Services Statement: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Section 508 of the Disabilities Act of 1998; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008. These mandate that reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students with disabilities and accessibility of online information. If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination
accommodation, please contact the instructor early in the semester so that he can provide or facilitate in providing accommodations you may need. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services, the designated office on campus to provide services and administer exams with accommodations for students with disabilities. The Office of Disability Services is located in Lucy Stone Hall, Livingston Campus, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Suite A145, phone number 848-445-6800. The instructor looks forward to talking with you soon to learn how he may be helpful in enhancing your academic success in this course.
Pet Peeves: On top of his general expectations that you will treat him, your classmates, and your work with respect, the instructor asks you to avoid these two particularly irritating behaviors.
1) Using your cell phones or smartphones during lectures or class discussions. When the instructor sees you texting, or sees you staring at your lap intently for no obvious reason, he tends to believe you are not paying attention to him or your classmates. You will see the instructor turn off his cell phone before lecture begins. You should do the same. 2) Ignoring directions. The instructor assumes you are competent enough to follow directions precisely and responsible enough to suffer the consequences of not doing so. No one will ever be reprimanded for asking where to find the directions for an
assignment, or for asking for clarification of those directions.
Contacting the Instructor: After final grades are submitted, the instructor will not allow students to raise their course grade via additional assignments or alternative assessments of course knowledge. You may ask the instructor about your course standing at any time during the semester. If you are dissatisfied with the grades you have earned, it is upon you to contact the instructor for advice or help towards improving.
E-mail is the best way to contact the instructor. He checks for messages at least twice daily. He will acknowledge receipt of your message with a reply. If you do not receive a reply within 24 hours, you should assume the instructor has not received your message and write again. There are two sections of this course this semester, so please include “WWII sec. 01” in your subject line. E-mails sent without a subject will be ignored.
In addition to his office hours, the instructor will usually be available immediately before and after class to interact with students. If you would like to discuss matters with the instructor but are not available at those times, he encourages you to make an appointment to talk at a time which is convenient for you.
Course Schedule
Note that the instructor reserves the right to change the schedule, readings, and assignments.
Unit I – Course Introduction and Concepts – September 4 Readings: Murray & Millett, preface; Overy, preface, ch. 1
Unit II – American Military and Foreign Policy, 1919 – 1939 – September 8, 11 & 15 Readings: Murray & Millett, ch. 1 – 2, ch. 7 (pp. 143 – 64), appendices 1 – 3
Unit III – Coming of War, 1939 – 1941 – September 18, 22 & 25
Readings: Murray & Millett, ch. 3 – 6, ch. 7 (pp. 164 – 68), ch. 8 (pp. 169 – 81) Unit IV – Military and Economic Mobilization – September 29 & October 2 Readings: Murray & Millett, ch. 19; Overy, ch. 6 – 9
Short Paper #1 due September 29 Unit V – 1942 – October 6 & 9
(Wake and the Philippines, Arcadia Conference, Coral Sea & Midway, Guadalcanal, Invasion of North Africa)
Readings: Murray & Millett ch. 8 (pp. 181 – 95), ch. 9 (pp. 196 – 201, 210 – 15), ch. 11 (pp. 262 – 302); Overy ch. 3
Unit VI – Strategic Use of Bombers and Submarines – October 13 & 16
(Battle of the Atlantic, Combined Bomber Offensive, Submarine Warfare in the Pacific) Readings: Murray & Millett ch. 9 (pp. 223 – 27), ch. 10, ch. 12, ch. 13 (pp. 348 – 53); Overy ch. 2, ch. 4
Make-up / Midterm Review Day – October 20 MIDTERM EXAMINATION – October 23 Unit VII – 1943 – October 27 & 30
(Strategic Conferences, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sicily, Italy [August 1943 – end of war], Tarawa)
Readings: Murray & Millett ch. 9 (pp. 201 – 9, 215 – 23, 227 – 33), ch. 11 (pp. 302 – 3), ch. 13 (pp. 336 – 46), ch. 14 (pp. 374 – 95)
Unit VIII – Maintaining the War Effort – November 3 & 6
Unit IX – 1944 – November 10, 13 & 17
(Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, Normandy, Race to the German Border, Peleliu, Leyte)
Readings: Murray & Millett, ch. 13 (pp. 346 – 8, 353 – 73), ch. 14 (pp. 395 – 410), ch. 15; Overy, ch. 5; Sledge, Part I
Short Paper #2 due November 17 Unit X – 1945 – November 20, 24 & 25
(Luzon, Battle of the Bulge, Yalta, Iwo Jima, the German collapse, Okinawa, strategic bombing of Japan)
Readings: Murray & Millett ch. 16 – 17, ch. 18 (pp. 509 – 16); Sledge, Part II NOTE: November 25 is a TUESDAY. The university is closed for Thanksgiving on November 27.
Unit XI – Course Project: Ending the Pacific War – December 1 Readings: Murray & Millett ch. 18 (pp. 516 – 26); all of Walker Written component of Course Project due December 1
Unit XII – War’s Aftermath – December 4
Readings: Murray & Millett, ch. 20 & epilogue; Overy, ch. 10 & epilogue Unit XIII – Course Conclusion – December 8
Readings: Murray & Millett, epilogue; Overy, epilogue Final Exam Review – December 8
