COURSE OBJECTIVE: This course will acquaint the student with the basic facts of United States participation in World War II using a textbook, classroom exposition, outside readings, computer-assisted instruction, and audio-visual techniques. Although the coverage of the material is comprehensive, there will be an emphasis on political, constitutional, military, and economic history.
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of the political, military, and social history of World War II.
 

COURSE RATIONALE: This course offers the student the opportunity to examine in depth the U.S role in World War II.  It provides interested students the ability to examine "The Greatest Generation" and the world they shaped and provides an elective for History majors and other transfer curriculum students.
 

COURSE METHODOLOGY: This is a lecture course with opportunity for student discussion.
 

COMMON COURSE OBJECTIVES:http://www.austincc.edu/history
 

TEXTBOOK: Robert Leckie. Delivered From Evil.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. The material in Delivered From Evil is to be read and studied according to the attached schedule.

2. Punctual and regular attendance is required.  Any student accumulating three (3) or more UNEXCUSED absences MAY be dropped from this course.  This is at the discretion of the instructor.

3. The quality and quantity of the work done by the student determines his/her final grade:

  For the grade of "A", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 90 or above AND write two analytical book reviews (at least one of which must be graded "EXCELLENT" and the other "ACCEPTABLE") AND pass the course map test.

 For the grade of "B", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 80 or above AND write one analytical book review (which must be graded at least "ACCEPTABLE") AND pass the course map test.

 For the grade of "C", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 70 or above AND pass the course map test.

 For the grade of "F", the student who fails to take all four unit exams or who fails to maintain an overall average of 70 on these four unit exams or who fails the course map test or who commits any act of scholastic dishonesty will earn the grade of "F".

 For the grade of "I", the student must have a medical excuse certified by a physician. Otherwise there will be NO Incompletes.
 
 

UNIT EXAMS: Each of the four unit exams may be taken twice.  The first time will be in class on the day mentioned in the attached semester schedule.  If the student wishes to retest, they may take the exam one more time in the Testing Center.  However, there are two restrictions on the retest: first,  the HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE ON THE RETEST IS 70 and second,  THIS RETEST MUST BE TAKEN WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE TIME THE UNIT EXAM IS GIVEN IN CLASS. The higher of the two grades will be the one recorded for the student for that unit exam.  (If a student misses the unit exam in class for good cause- as determined by the instructor- they may then take the unit exam in the Testing Center for the first time with no restrictions on the grade.) CAUTION: STUDENTS TAKING OR RETAKING UNIT EXAMS IN THE TESTING CENTER SHOULD RETAIN THE TESTING CENTER "FEEDBACK" SHEET AND PRESENT IT TO THE INSTRUCTOR AT THE NEXT CLASS MEETING.
   The unit exams consist of multiple-choice questions covering the textbook material and classroom exposition as highlighted by the learning objectives issued for each chapter.
 
 

 AL'S SPECIAL DISPENSATION: If I have scheduled my unit exam on the same day on which you are already taking one or more exams, you may take my exam a day or two earlier or later (in the Testing Center), PROVIDED THAT YOU TELL ME BEFORE THE EXAM DAY.

MAP TEST: Because World War II history is shaped and influenced by the geography of the conflict, it is imperative that the student knows the basic facts of World War II geography.  Therefore the student will be required to pass a geography map test.  This test will require the student to locate on an outline map of the world twenty of the features named on the attached list.  A passing score is 80. The test will be taken in the classroom on an outline map provided with Unit Exam #1.  This map test must be passed by the mid-semester point.
 
 

COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION:This is entirely voluntary.  All of the learning objectives for this course have been programmed in the accompanying internet computer tutorial found at http://www.austincc.edu/purcell.  Further instructions on the use of this material as one means of learning course material will be provided during an in-class demonstration period at the beginning of each semester.  I wish to make two important points concerning computer-assisted instruction: first, this is completely voluntary- the student is NOT required to use computer-assisted instruction, however experience has shown those students who do use it tend to score higher on the unit exams and second, computer-assisted instruction supplements but DOES NOT REPLACE  CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.  Even if students use computer-assisted instruction, they must still attend class.
 
 

ANALYTICAL BOOK REVIEWS:
Rationale: This analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States participation in World War II.

The purpose of this review is twofold: first, to acquaint the student with a classic volume of historical scholarship and second, to allow the student to think critically about an important facet of American history and then to organize your thoughts in clear, cogent prose.  You should not view this simply as a hurdle which you must overcome in order to earn a grade of "A" or "B" in this course, but rather approach it as an opportunity to expand your creativity in thinking and writing, two very important aspects of any individual's necessary life skills.  Therefore, be advised that I consider this a VERY important aspect of this course and your reviews will be read and graded VERY carefully.

Form: Each book review will be approximately 1500 words long, although this is a general guideline and not an absolute requirement.  The main objective of this analytical book review should be to comprehensively cover the three sections of the following book review outline:
 Part I: This is a brief outline of the contents of the book.  In the space of one or two paragraphs you should be able to convey the parameters of the book's contents.  DO NOT simply reproduce the book's table of contents.
 Part II: Here is the place for a careful summary of the author's thesis.   The thesis is the primary idea the author is trying to prove and convince the reader to accept.  You must first identify the thesis and then show how the author either substantiates or fails to substantiate this thesis.  This will undoubtedly take you a page or two to do a good job.
 Part III: This is the most important part of your book review.  Here is where you describe your reaction to the book.  Some of the questions you must answer include: Do you agree or disagree with the book's conclusions?  Why?  Did the book support or contradict what you read in your textbook on the same subject? (You MUST quote some of the relevant passages from both books.)  Did you detect any biases on the part of the author?  What was the author's background and why did he or she write the book?  How in your opinion could the book have been improved?  You must be specific and keep in mind there are NO perfect books.  Did you enjoy reading the book? Why or why not?  Would you recommend it to others?

Grading: The book reviews will be graded "EXCELLENT", "ACCEPTED", or "NOT ACCEPTED". The second book review, required only of those seeking the grade of "A", must be graded "EXCELLENT".   The first book review, required of those seeking the grades of "A" and "B", must be at least  "ACCEPTED".  Any "NOT ACCEPTED" books will be returned to the student to be rewritten.
 

Due Dates: The first analytical book review is due at mid-semester. This is required for those seeking a "B" or "A" in the course.
The second analytical book review is due one week before the end of the semester. This is required only of those seeking the grade of "A" in the course.

Books: The following books may be read for the analytical book review.  If you wish to substitute another book for one of these, YOU MUST RECEIVE THE INSTRUCTOR'S PRIOR APPROVAL.  All of the following books are found on the shelves of the RGC Library.

John Armor & Peter Wright. Manzanai
David Brinkley. Washington Goes to War
Larry Collins & Dominique La Pierre. Is Paris Burning?
John Costello. Virtue Under Fire
Roger Daniels. Concentration Camps: North America
Herbert Feis. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II
Herbert Feis. Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
David Fisher. The War Magician
Mitsuo Fuchida & Masatake Okumiya. Midway
Edwin Hoyt. To the Marianas
Saburo Ienaga. The Pacific War
Thomas James. Exile Within: The Schooling of Japanese-Americans
Lee Kennett. For the Duration
William Leary. We Shall Return
Graham Lyons. The Russian View of the Second World War
Roger Manvell. Films and the Second World War
Raul Morin. Among the Valiant: Mexican-Americans in World War II
Samuel Eliot Morison. The Two Ocean War
Gordon Prange et al. At Dawn We Slept
Gordon Prange et al.  December 7, 1941
Gordon Prange et al. Miracle At Midway
Bill Ross. Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor
Harrison Salisbury. The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad
Bradley Smith. The Shadow Warriors
Ronald Spector. Eagle Against the Sun
Richard Wheeler. A Special Valor: The U.S. Marines & the Pacific War
F.W. Winterbotham. The Ultra Secret
John Winton. War in the Pacific
Earl Ziemke. Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East
 
 
 
 

ADDITIONAL BOOKS FOR BOOK REVIEW: There are many other excellent books written on subjects concerning World War II that are not in the ACC LRC at RGC.  You may find them at the Austin Public Library or at one of the UT Libraries.  If a particular subject or topic mentioned in the textbook appeals to you, check the textbook bibliography and then see if the book is in one of these libraries.  If you select a book not on the list on this syllabus, please show me the book BEFORE you begin to read it.

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Date	Classroom Activity	Textbook Chapters
Jan 17	Introduction
Jan 19	Legacy of WWI
Jan 24	Rise of Hitler
Jan 26	Attack on Poland	11, 12
Jan 31	Blitzkrieg in the West	13-16
Feb 2	Dunkirk	17
Feb 7	Battle of Britain & Atlantic War	21
Feb 9	Southeastern Europe	22
Feb 14	Africa	23-26
Feb 16	Russia in 1941	27, 32
Feb 21	Russia in 1941	29-31, 33, 34
Feb 23	UNIT EXAM #1
Feb 28	Pearl Harbor	35, 37-41
Mar 2	Philippines	42, 44
Mar 7	North Africa	45-47
Mar 9	Coral Sea & Midway	48
Mar 14 & 16	SPRING BREAK
Mar 21	Guadalcanal	49-52
Mar 23	UNIT EXAM #2
Mar 28	USSR in 1942	53
Mar 30	Operation Torch & Africa	53, 61, 64-66
Apr 4	Atlantic War & Sicily	66, 67
Apr 6	Italy	67, 82
Apr 11	Pacific 1943 & Tarawa	70, 71, 74
Apr 13	UNIT EXAM #3
Apr 18	D-Day Preparation	88
Apr 20	Normandy	89, 90
Apr 25	Normandy Breakout
Apr 27	Siapan	92-94
May 2	War in France/Battle of Bulge	112-113
May 4	War in France, V-E Day	123-126
May 9	Iwo Jima-Okinawa	119-122, 128-132
May 11	UNIT EXAM #4

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