9 credit hour learning community examining the World War II era and relating it to present cultural, political, and economic realities.

Monday, Wednesday & Friday
9:05 - 12:10 p.m.

Course Equivalents

INTRODUCTION

World War II ended in 1945, but is still in the news. This course offers the opportunity to examine both the war, a war which defined many of our present cultural, political and economic realities, and the present era, a period still struggling to put to rest many of the legacies from events that ended over fifty years ago.

By focusing on both era, this course offers an opportunity to examine global conditions during and after the war and to make connections to and comparisons with current conditions. The classroom environment will allow all students to recreate the war years and empowering them to become active participants in the learning process by expanding interactive activities to include technology in both presentation and research.

e-CAMPUS - BLACKBOARD

This class will also us Blackboard as an instructional tool. Additional class information and syllabus can be found under the Social Science/History folder.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Home Front USA, America During World War II, by Allan Winkler

The United States at War, 1941-1945, by Gary R. Hess

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War, ed. by Akira Iriye

America Views the Holcaust, 1933-1945, ed by Robert H. Abzug

What Did Internment of Japanese Americans Mean?, ed by Alice Yang Murray

The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (selected portions)

Other materials for his course will be gathered by the students, and some will be held in reserve in the LRC. A list of web links for selected sites will be provided to each student..

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

This Learning Community will focus on the World War II (1941 - 45), primarily in terms of United States involvement. We will examine both the causes and the consequences of the conflict. The War influenced all segments of American life in some very unexpected ways and continues to affect us today. The class design will help present day students to experience some of what their predecessors endured. This course seeks to give the student the opportunity to interpret the early twentieth century and events leading to World War II, to make connections with the present, and to form some opinions about the future.

ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly Letters
Each week you will be required to send the class a Vmail letter. The subject matter will reflect the topic for the week as described in your class calendar, and must be written from your "alter ego's" point of view. In other words how would he or she describe what was going on in their lives during that time period. You may address the letter to anyone your "alter ego" could have known. Those of you in "combat zones" will have to get very creative in your letter writing so as not to compromise "national wartime security."

The letters are due every Friday. You must post your letter via the Blackboard student Email feature. See the Weekly Letter Topic and Date Calendar in the syllabus.

Biography
At the start of the semester each of you will select a biographical sketch of a person who could have lived in the United States in December of 1941. The choice will be made by a random drawing. You must then "complete" the "life" drawn. Each biography will contain a brief description of the person, including sex, age, some home town information, occupation if relevant, family connections, and other information to get you started. It is your assignment to bring that "life" "up to date."

To complete the biography you must fashion historical possibilities for your "alter ego's" life before December 1941 and after September 1945. The finished biography can either detail your person's life or one of his descendants. You must include significant political and historical events which could have affected your persona. The information gathered to complete the biography can and will be used in classroom discussions and for writing the "weekly letters."

The biography must be typed and double-spaced and must include a complete bibliography listing your sources. You must consult at least ten outside sources with thirty percent of these from internet research. Use information gathered from individual research, assigned readings, class lectures, and guest speakers to bring your person from December 1941 to December 2001. You should also be able to find several "experts" who lived through the era. Talk to them; listen to them; share their experiences with other members of the class if their information fits someone else's biography.

The biographies will not be accepted late, except in unusual circumstances, and only with the advance approval of either instructor. They must be typed double spaced and will organized using standard English grammar. The Center for Independent Study (CIS) room M216 is available to help you perfect your paper, but not to write it for you. We further encourage you to develop word-processing skills if you do not already have them. The student computer lab is a possible source of help. See the class calendar for the due dates.

Scrap Book
All students will be required to keep a "scrap book". Think of it as an "illustrated wartime journal." The scrap book can contain class hand-outs such as the 'newspapers,' your weekly 'letters' and other memorabilia such as photos. The scrap book can be kept in a 3-ring binder. In addition to weekly "letters" and photos, the scrap book can contain any other material you feel important. In addition you will use the BlackBoard student personal web page as part of your scrap book. You can post material and images you feel tell us about your character. The scrap books will be reviewed periodically. See Class Calendar for due date.

Writings related to Novels and Short Stories
A series of short writings related to the class Novels and Short Stories will be assigned when each work is read and discussed in class.

Interview with a Survivor
Each of you must interview someone who was alive during the World War II years and was old enough at the time to remember events of the era. (Someone at least 60 years old today) The person interviewed could have lived anywhere, it need not be an American.

You may ask any question which interests you, but the completed interview must contain the answers to the following four questions:

1. What do you remember about the War?
2. What event is most vivid in your memory? Why?
3. Looking back over the last 50+ years -- do you think of W.W.II as a "Good War"?
4. What do the young people of today need to learn that you learned because you lived during the War?

Your completed interview must be presented in ESSAY FORM, TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED, using clear and concise standard English grammar, Length: 750 - 1000 words. See Class Calendar for Due Date.

The Monograph
The final class writing project will be the production of a class Monograph. This publication will contain some of the "survivor" interviews and related student biographical writings. The English instructor will assist the students in layout and publication design using PageMaker and related software. The monograph will be published both electronically on our webpage and in hard copy.

Small Group Projects
During the semester you will have the opportunity to complete two small group projects designed to help you experience everyday life during the war years. More detailed information about this assignment with specific criteria will be provided during the semester. The two small presentations are 1. A Bond Rally, and 2. An USO show. More detailed descriptions of these two presentations will be provided for the students. See class calendar for due dates.

Final Group Victory Celebrations
December 10, and 12 2001 are your V-E and V-J Days. Students will plan their won celebrations, in lieu of a final exam. The class will be divided into "Theaters of Operations" by the 8th week of class. Each "theater" group is responsible for organizing a group presentation which celebrates the end of the war in Europe and in the Pacific, and which reflect the possibilities and realities for the fifty years which followed. The presentations may include music, art work, film (you can use video), and dance. Anything goes; be creative.

Service Learning
This learning community is a global studies class and has a service learning component. You may complete your service learning hours volunteering for organizations that deal with any of the issues related to your character and America's experience in World War II. You must complete at least 15 hours of service, and the reflection activity.

You must register with the service learning office (C274) by September 28, 2001. The service learning coordinator has the list of approved sites: American Red Cross, VA Hospital, Senior Citizen Centers, Holocaust Center, Nursing Homes and the USO.

You must complete your hours by November 28, 2001 and return the evaluation, time sheet and 750-word reflection essay to the service learning office by the first week in December.

Your 750-word reflection essay must describe your volunteer service related to your character and his/her experience during World War II.

Summary of Specific class requirements:

1. All students: Compose weekly Vmail letters describing events of the era in the character of your "alter ego." Posted to the student email on the class Blackboard page. DUE DATE: EVERY FRIDAY
2. All students: Complete the biography of the person whose life you drew at the beginning of the course. This must by typed, double spaced and written in clear and concise English. complete the biography using class notes and individual research. For this exercise you are encouraged to explore points of connection between your research, class lectures, information from speakers, and media presentations as well as your own observations an experiences. DUE DATE NOVEMBER 19, 2001
3. All students: Maintain a class "scrap book". Information in the book can be used by you in classroom discussions and as background for your completed biography and does not have to be typed. However, the scrape books will be collected and reviewed approximately every two weeks. FINAL DUE DATE NOVEMBER 26, 2001
4. All students: Complete an interview assignment. Interview a person who lived during the war years and remembers them. Typed and double spaced DUE DATE OCTOBER 12, 2001
5. All students: Contribute to content, design and publication of class Monograph. DUE DATE: FINAL COPY READY FOR PUBLICATION BY FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER.
6. All students: Participate in small group projects as assigned. DUE DATE: SEE CLASS CALENDAR
7. All students: Actively participate in group victory celebrations to be held during final exam time DECEMBER 10 & 12, 2001
8. All students: Complete service learning activity. DUE DATE: FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

This is a participatory program in which learning takes place as we think, create, and share ideas prompted by experiences, lectures, films, guest speakers, and books. Attendance is essential. Excessive class absence will result in grade point penalties. Arriving late or leaving early may also affect your attendance points. Remember this is war time.

Students are expected to attend all classes and are fully responsible for their OWn attendance. WITHDRAWAL from this course IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT. The official drop date is NOVEMBER 14, 2001. If a student stops attending WITHOUT WITHDRAWING by this date, he/she will receive a "F" for the courses.

Remember that all letters are due on the Friday of the week. They must be submitted as Vmail via the Blackboard student email site. The topics for the letters correspond to the class discussion topic for the week - see the class calendar for the weekly topics.

With the exception of the military people, who may have to disguise their letters, each letter should be addressed to someone and signed with your character' name. Your email address will provide your real name for grading purposes.

World War II & 50 Years Later
Grade Sheet

Grading Scale

Grades will be determined according to points earned, according to the following scale:

KEEP THIS SHEET IN YOUR SCRAP BOOK

World War II
Class Time Line

Author: Becky Driscoll
E-Mail: bdriscoll@dcccd.edu