Designing College CW course

I have been given the "green light" from the college where I teach to develop a course on the ACW. Since this forum seems to be a repository of ACW experts, thought I would solicit opinions on a few things if I may.

Below is a "rough cut" of where I am heading...appreciate any feedback...

Week 1 - Setting The Stage: America's Path to Civil War - This lesson will go over the actual causes of the Civil War such as controversies surrounding Federalism, states' rights, debates over expansionism, effects of modernization, the status of the economy, and the feelings of sectionalism.
Week 2 - Fort Sumter and the Beginning of War - The war begins and both sides finalize their divisions by appointing a president, forming an army, and fighting the first battle (Bull Run).
Week 3 - A Tale of Two Leaders: President Lincoln and President Davis - This lesson investigates the political background of both men as well as their methods of leading the war.
Week 4 - The War Goes West and the Guerilla Campaign – This lesson looks at early battle successes for the Confederacy as in initial battles of 1861. The rise of Bushwhackers, Redlegs and Quantrill's Raiders. Battle of Wilson' Creek, Battle of Hemp Bale, Battle of Ball's Bluff and many other battles that took place during this first year.
Week 5 - 1862: A Pivotal Year (Antietam/Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation) - This lesson will review the major and bloody battles of this year with emphasis on Antietam and how that spurred Lincoln to issue his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
Week 6 - Napoleon's Legacy on Civil War Leadership - This lesson explores how Napoleonic warfare influenced the battlefield ethos of both Union and Confederate generals, particularly Lee and Grant. Seminal battles like Chancellorsville, the Wilderness Campaign and Cold Harbor will be used as a backdrop.
Week 7 - Christ in the Camp - This lesson explores the Camp Meeting Revivals and how the war fostered a spirit of evangelistic fervor, resulting in hundreds/thousands of conversions to Christ.
Week 8 - Civil War Technology - This lesson will cover topics such as civil war terminology, technology, battle names, life of a soldier and medicine. Particular attention will be given to the advent of the rifled musket, ironclad warships, the use fortifications, Civil War uniforms, rations, battlefield surgery, Clara Barton, etc.
Week 9 - Turning Point: Gettysburg - This lesson will cover the events leading to this decisive battle and how things changed for the Confederacy after Gettysburg.
Week 10 - The Civil War Home Front - This lesson will explore how the war affected non-combatants, as well as societal changes resulting from a "house divided."
Week 11 - African Americans in the Civil War - This lesson will explore slavery and how the war affected African Americans, the underground railroad, black troops in uniform, i.e. the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, etc.
Week 12 - The War in Popular Culture - This lesson will explore how the Civil War has become the most written about and dramatized conflict in American history. Additionally, we will look at how the CW has been portrayed in various thematic elements, i.e. plays, movies, reenactment organizations, etc.
Week 13 - Teaching the Civil War - This lesson will compare & contrast the current methods used to teach the Civil War in secondary academia. Attention will be given to the "Race, Class, Gender" paradigm versus the “military history” paradigm as interpretive filters for teaching on the CW. A review of quality/relevant textbooks and the use of digital/primary sources/games/videos/ as part of interactive curricula will also be included.
Week 14 - Reconstruction and Post-War Effects - This lesson will explore the after-effects of the war. Particular attention will be given to reconstruction efforts, the rise of the KKK, Jim Crow and the Freedmen's Bureau.

Primary Course Textbook(s): America's Great War by Brooks D. Simpson and/or The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War by David J. Eicher. Secondary Course Textbooks: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo, Civil War Weapons and Equipment by Russ A. Pritchard and A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy by Anne Sarah Rubin.

A can of worms just got opened.
 
Your syllabus looks good. I imagine you'll tweak it quite a bit as time goes by. As a suggestion, I've found that a history class is more fun (for me as well as the little darlin's) if it incorporates period illustrations, artwork, literature, music, sermons, extracts from the Official Records, etc. Very few people have read Uncle Tom's Cabin, for example, and a few excepts can generate some interesting discussions. Also while preparing for the class, if you're not too familiar with tactics and terminology, take a look at Hattaway and Jones, How the North Won. Appendix A uses examples from military history to demonstrate tactical, operational, and strategic concepts. I don't recommend spending too much time on individual battles as it's easy to get bogged down in operations.
 
Week 8 - Civil War Technology - This lesson will cover topics such as civil war terminology, technology, battle names, life of a soldier and medicine. Particular attention will be given to the advent of the rifled musket, ironclad warships, the use fortifications, Civil War uniforms, rations, battlefield surgery, Clara Barton, etc.
Please promise that you stick to facts about the rifle musket... and not the usual (american) myths.
It was not a revolutionary new weapon, it had been in use for 12+ years. The civil war was not he first war where it was used at a large scale, (Crimea or The Franco-Austrian war in 1859) It did not have any real effect on how the infantry fighting was done.
 
Thanks for your response.
As I mentioned, keep us posted. As one who always loved history, I certainly appreciate what you are doing.
thank you...will do...
i see on your sig block that you have relatives who fought in the Ohio Inf. I am from Ohio and both my gr.gr.gr. grandfathers were in Ohio regts. The 10th Ohio Cav. and 174th OVI.
 
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Yes, it was..
The 1860s saw increased religious diversity, particularly with large numbers of Catholics in the Union army. You might want to examine Lincoln making priests into official army chaplains for the first time, and later classifying rabbis as ministers of the Christian religion so that they could also serve as chaplains.
 
thank you...will do...
i see on your sig block that you have relatives who fought in the Ohio Inf. I am from Ohio and both my gr.gr.gr. grandfathers were in Ohio regts. The 10th Ohio Cav. and 174th OVI.
Thanks for your response.
Small world. We also appear to share Scots ancestry, though mine is not McDuff....
 
Antebellum:
McPherson's Battle Cry has a fast moving and very readable section on the rapid changes, social, economic and technological in the antebellum period.

Lot of folks have different ideas of what the turning point of the war is. My take.

The Seven Days: With the failure of the Peninsula Campaign, the war would be extended and even more transformative: this is the basis for the Emancipation Proclamation. Also R.E.Lee takes command of the soon to be named Army of Northern Virginia.

Antietam: The British came as close to recognizing the CSA(or at least offering to mediate) as they would in the war. EP issued in aftermath(although the battle was more of the occasion, not the cause of the EP).

Gettysburg

Lincoln winning re-election.

Religion
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is overtly religious. I'm assured by them that know better than me, its quite Calvinist.

Best of luck!
 
Antebellum:
McPherson's Battle Cry has a fast moving and very readable section on the rapid changes, social, economic and technological in the antebellum period.

Lot of folks have different ideas of what the turning point of the war is. My take.

The Seven Days: With the failure of the Peninsula Campaign, the war would be extended and even more transformative: this is the basis for the Emancipation Proclamation. Also R.E.Lee takes command of the soon to be named Army of Northern Virginia.

Antietam: The British came as close to recognizing the CSA(or at least offering to mediate) as they would in the war. EP issued in aftermath(although the battle was more of the occasion, not the cause of the EP).

Gettysburg

Lincoln winning re-election.

Religion
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is overtly religious. I'm assured by them that know better than me, its quite Calvinist.

Best of luck!

I agree that it is problematic to focus on Gettysburg as the turning point. I personally would prefer Antietam as the military turning point of the War, but really don't think focusing on any single battle is the best way to go.

Maybe better to re-organize this lecture on the theme "How the Union armies won the War"
 
I would alter title of last lesson. Initially made me think of other things than the list of items you mention.

More current secondary reading/supplemental reading for rookies: Confederates in the Attic.
 
Your syllabus looks good. I imagine you'll tweak it quite a bit as time goes by. As a suggestion, I've found that a history class is more fun (for me as well as the little darlin's) if it incorporates period illustrations, artwork, literature, music, sermons, extracts from the Official Records, etc. Very few people have read Uncle Tom's Cabin, for example, and a few excepts can generate some interesting discussions. Also while preparing for the class, if you're not too familiar with tactics and terminology, take a look at Hattaway and Jones, How the North Won. Appendix A uses examples from military history to demonstrate tactical, operational, and strategic concepts. I don't recommend spending too much time on individual battles as it's easy to get bogged down in operations.
Yes, I plan to include video clips, primary source archives, some uniform/equipment items (repro), etc.
 
I would alter title of last lesson. Initially made me think of other things than the list of items you mention.

More current secondary reading/supplemental reading for rookies: Confederates in the Attic.
I read Confederates in the Attic for a CW course during my BA degree. Excellent read.
 
it is pretty widespread. i teach a class every semester on WWII, and that is also a monumentally diverse subject. wanted to try to hit as much as i could with a "30,000 foot" view. thanks for your comments

Based on your descriptions, I would love to take those classes if I were a college student!
 
May I suggest that you consider a segment on money and the war, that is how the war was financed, with the effects of inflation and the decision by the US to issue a fiat paper currency and creating a national banking system. That may prove a chore for both the instructor and the students as I find this aspect of the Civil War to be the most neglected aspect of fighting the war. Until you and your students understand this, much of the rest of the war will not make a great deal of sense. Not glamorous, not exciting, not glorious, but essential.
 
There is so much to cover in such a short time frame. If I were a student at your college, I would want to take your class. I'm an American Studies major at West Chester University of PA and the only class we have on the subject is Civil War & Reconstruction, but it's a 500 level course. Undergraduate students are allowed to take it with an advisor's permission though.
 
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