NOTE WELL: Below is the syllabus from the last time this course was taught. While some
of the readings will change, the structure of the course will remain largely, though not
necessarily entirely, the same.
COLLOQUIUM: WRITING THE CIVIL WAR
Department of History
College of Arts and Sciences
New York University
HIST-UA.670
Spring 2014
Professor Martha Hodes
martha.hodes@nyu.edu, x8-8612
The American Civil War punctuated the nineteenth century and transformed the nation. This
colloquium requires no prior knowledge, only an interest in the war’s causes, experiences,
consequences, and legacies. We will proceed from two premises: first, that slavery and race were
central to the war; and second, that the war and its aftermath remain central to the trajectory of
modern U. S. history. As scholars, readers, and writers, we will consider and evaluate a variety
of works that treat social, cultural, political, and intellectual history. Around the seminar table,
we will discuss such topics as argument, evidence, interpretation, analysis, point of view, and
narrative. During the semester, students will produce a number of short essays related to the
endeavor of “writing the Civil War.”
During this 150th anniversary of the Civil War, taking place between 2011 and 2015, the war and
its legacies are everywhere. At various junctures, we will evaluate treatments of the Civil War in
the present-day media, stemming from the sesquicentennial.
Readings
The following books are available at NYU Bookstore, 726 Broadway, and on reserve at Bobst
Library. Recommended for the purchase of used books are Strand Bookstore, Broadway@12th
St., <powells.com>, and Advanced Book Exchange, <abe.com>.
Louis P. Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History (2011)
Steven Hahn, The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom (2009)
Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the
Civil War (2001)
James M. McPherson, What They Fought For, 1861-1865 (1994)
David W. Blight, A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom (2007)
E. L. Doctorow, The March (2005)
Mark S. Schantz, Awaiting the Heavenly Country: The Civil War and America’s Culture of
Death (2008)
Jason Phillips, Diehard Rebels: The Confederate Culture of Invincibility (2007)
Nicholas Lemann, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War (2006)
Claude A. Clegg, Troubled Ground: A Tale of Murder, Lynching, and Reckoning in the New
South (2010)
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You may also wish to familiarize yourself with the New York Times Civil War blog, “Disunion,”
and the Washington Post Civil War blog, “A House Divided,” both running for the duration of
the sesquicentennial, 2011-2015.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: You are responsible for this information.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
*You are expected to attend every class meeting and to arrive on time. If an absence is absolutely
unavoidable, you must contact the professor beforehand.
*You are expected to have completed all reading assignments with care and to engage actively
and intelligently in our discussions.
*Because we are a seminar-style class, I prefer that laptops remain closed for the duration.
*NO ringing or buzzing phones, texting, tweeting, or internet-surfing during class.
COMMUNICATION
*Students are expected to check email daily for updates and further information about course
assignments. If you have questions that are not already answered on the syllabus or the course
website, you may contact the professor via email.
WRITTEN WORK
Academic integrity
Plagiarism, including borrowing, pasting, paraphrasing, or otherwise appropriating from the
internet without deliberate and specific attribution, will be grounds for a failing grade and
reporting to departmental and university authorities. You are fully responsible for the College’s
policies on plagiarism, which can be found at: http://cas.nyu.edu/page/ug.academicintegrity;
click on the “Plagiarism Policy” tab on the course website.
Due dates
*The nature of the seminar depends upon every student meeting every deadline.
*NO extensions will be granted.
Form
For all written work:
*Observe word-length requirements. Word-count does not include citations.
*Double-space, using 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins.
For essays:
*Use correct citation format; click on the “Citation Form” tab on the course website.
*Number your pages.
*Double-sided printing is encouraged
Submission Procedures
Submit your work electronically via the course website before class and hand in a hard copy, in
person, at the beginning of class on the due date. The print and electronic versions must be
exactly the same.
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Assignments: See p. 2 for important information about all written work.
Reflective inquiries for each class in which reading is due. 250-300 words (1 page).
These are to be substantive, coherent, and inquisitive reflections related directly to the week’s
reading, responding to the prompt: What would you like to know more about, and why? Do not
pose factual questions, but rather strive for analytic and interpretive inquiries. Be sure to include
the “why” part of the prompt, and be sure to put your own voice into your contribution. At the
start of seminar, in order to launch our discussion, students will present their reflections
conversationally and succinctly.
Weekly inquiries will be graded check, check-plus, check-minus.
Due weeks #2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13. No extensions.
Four short essays. 750-1500 words (3-5 pages).
Assignments are given under specified weeks.
All essays will receive two grades: one for form (grammar and style) and one for content (ideas).
Each will count equally in the overall grade for that assignment.
Due weeks #4, 7, 10, 14. No extensions.
GRADING
Course grades will be calculated as follows:
participation, including weekly reflections and all presentations……….....…......40%
essays......................................................................................................................60% (15% each)
You must hand in all written assignments in order to pass the course.
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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Week #1. Logistics, Inquiries, Expectations
Week #2. Thinking About the Civil War
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
Louis P. Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History (2011), all.
James M. McPherson, “What’s the Matter With History?” in McPherson, Drawn with the Sword:
Reflections on the American Civil War (1996), 231-53.
Drew Gilpin Faust, “Telling War Stories: Reflections of a Civil War Historian,” Jefferson
Lecture in the Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities (2011), 1-9.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?” The Atlantic, Special
Commemorative Issue: The Civil War (2011-12), 142-46.
Barbara Franco, “Planned Commemorations: Unexpected Consequences,” Journal of the Civil
War Era 1 (Sept. 2011): 444-49.
Week #3. Slavery and Politics
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
Steven Hahn, The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom (2009), 1-114.
Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the
Civil War (2001), all.
Week #4. Critical review of a Civil War website
Due: Essay A, accompanied by class presentation. No extensions.
750-1500 words (3-5 pages).
Search for and select a website related to the question of the causes of the Civil War, and clear
your selection with the professor. First describe the website and its contents and explain why it is
of interest to you. Then evaluate the website contents as an educated consumer of information.
*Title your essay to reflect its content.
*No additional research is necessary or expected, but if you consult any other sources, you must
cite them properly.
*Follow “Form” and “Submission Procedures,” p. 2.
*Additional information: Place the website title and address, and your most recent date of access,
at the top of the first page, below your essay title; this should be a live link on your electronic
submission.
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Week #5. Motivations
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
James M. McPherson, What They Fought For, 1861-1865 (1994), all.
Edward L. Ayers, “Worrying About the Civil War” and “What Caused the Civil War?” in Ayers,
What Caused the Civil War?: Reflections on the South and Southern History (2005), 103-44.
Week #6. Emancipation
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
David W. Blight, A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom (2007), 1-89, 128-62;
with care, skim 90-127.
Week #7. Working with a primary source
Due: Essay B, accompanied by class presentation. No extensions.
750-1500 words (3-5 pages).
Go to the “Primary Sources” page of <civilwar.org>, posted on the course website. Search for
and select a short primary-source document, and clear your selection with the professor. First
describe the document, including date, form, author, and subject, and explain why this document
is of interest to you. Then compose and craft two specific questions that this source can begin to
answer, and offer a tentative interpretive answer for each question. Finally, offer an evaluation of
the source’s limitations.
*Title your essay to reflect its content.
*No additional research is necessary or expected, but if you consult any other sources, you must
cite them properly.
*Follow “Form” and “Submission Procedures,” p. 2.
*Additional information: Place the full document citation (including date of document), website
title and address, and your most recent date of access at the top of the first page, below your
essay title; this should be a live link on your electronic submission. Attach a printed and
marked-up copy of the document to your paper.
Spring break. No class.
Week #8. In the War (1)
Reading
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
E. L. Doctorow, The March (2005), all.
Week #9. In the War (2)
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Mark S. Schantz, Awaiting the Heavenly Country: The Civil War and America’s Culture of
Death (2008), all.
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Week #10. Working with an archival collection
Due: Essay C, accompanied by class presentation. No extensions.
750-1500 words (3-5 pages).
Select one of the Library of Congress finding aids posted on the course website. First explain
why this finding aid is of interest to you. Then write a narrative of a research plan for using this
finding aid to write a research paper related to the Civil War. What questions are prompted by
the inventory listings? Which archival materials most intrigue you, and why? What do you hope
to find?
*Title your essay to reflect its content.
*No additional research is necessary or expected, but if you consult any other sources, you must
cite them properly.
*Follow “Form” and “Submission Procedures,” p. 2.
*Additional information: Place the finding aid title, website address, and your most recent date
of access at the top of the first page, below your essay title; this should be a live link on your
electronic submission. Attach a printed and marked-up copy of the finding aid to your paper.
Week #11. Victory and Defeat
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
Jason Phillips, Diehard Rebels: The Confederate Culture of Invincibility (2007), all.
Week #12. Reconstructing the Nation
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
Nicholas Lemann, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War (2006), all.
Week #13. Legacies and Memories
Due: Reflective inquiries (250-300 words, 1 page).
Reading
Claude A. Clegg, Troubled Ground: A Tale of Murder, Lynching, and Reckoning in the New
South (2010), all.
Ernest J. Gaines, “Old Jack,” Callaloo 24 (2001): 69-70.
Week #14. Writing the Civil War
Due: Essay D, accompanied by class presentation. No extensions.
750-1500 words (3-5 pages).
Craft an original, tightly focused subject of inquiry related to the era of the American Civil War
about which you would like to write a book, and clear your idea with the professor. First describe
your topic and indicate why you have selected it. Then offer your vision for the book by
describing 1) the protagonist(s), 2) the time period to be covered, 3) the questions to be posed, 4)
the narrative arc, and 5) three hypothetical or actual primary source documents, or collections of
documents, that you would hope to find in order to research the book. Finally, discuss the ways
in which your imagined work would illuminate the era of the American Civil War or its legacies.
*Title your essay to reflect is content.
*All consulted sources must be cited properly.
*Follow “Form” and “Submission Procedures,” p. 2.
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