History of Higher and Postsecondary Education

You are expected to participate in class discussion in a thoughtful manner based on a considered reading of the required materials.

You are also expected to respond to the class readings. For each class, please bring a one - two page typed paper with your comments, suggestions, thoughts, and questions on the assigned readings. I am especially interested in your critiques of the analysis and conclusions of various readings. These responses will be fodder for class discussion.

In addition, please prepare a four - five page book review of your choice of texts on the research university. You will be asked to discuss the book in class, paying particular attention to how the text illuminates various criticisms of the research university model. (The texts for review are listed toward the end of this web page.)

You are to choose one (or two closely related) primary source document(s) and provide a 5 - 7 page analysis of the document. Such analysis would include: a) placing the document in the appropriate historical context both within higher education and the larger society; b) describing the event or issue which was the catalyst for the document; c) discussing the actual text of the document; d) discussing the salient characteristics of the author or authors and what biases may be reflected in the document; and e) evaluating the significance of the document for the era in which it was produced. You may select a primary source document required for the course or one of your own choosing with instructor approval. You are encouraged to select a document which will also be used in your final research paper. There are also several collections of primary source documents available that may prove useful. See the beginning of the attached bibliography for a few examples.

Hint: For ideas about possible topics and the types of primary sources available at the Bentley Library, see the handout, "University of Michigan History, lite" for Session 10.

You should select a topic of research that reflects one or more of the larger themes of the course and your interests. You may choose a particular question at one institution (e.g. the history of African American Students at the University of Michigan), a group of institutions (e. g. the community college movement in New York City), or a more national theme (e.g. the struggle to include Sociology in the curriculum). You may also choose to research the contributions of an individual. There are numerous possibilities. There are two restrictions. One: Your topic must be an event/contribution, etc. prior to 1970. Two: Your research sources must include appropriate primary documents and you are encouraged to choose a research site where access to libraries and archives is feasible. The expected length of the paper is 25 - 30 pages.

Often students are nervous about researching and writing in an historical mode for the first time (or the first time in a long time!). If so, there are a few "guides" you might find helpful. However, you probably needn't worry. The most important skills in "doing" history are the standard academic abilities required in all your work Ñthorough research and good writing. I am sure you will be fine.

In addition to my assurance, I do have two hints for novice historians. There is a tendency to write history in the passive voice and save the resolution for the end. Resist these tendencies; inform the reader of where youÕre headed. A good historical essay is not a mystery novel with a surprise denouement. In terms of writing in the passive voice, just imagine if Eric Clapton had written, "The Sheriff Was Shot by Me."

All work is due at the beginning on class of the due date. Late papers (those without prior approval by the instructor) will be penalized.

1. Go to http://www.oberlin.edu/~EOG/, which is a history of Oberlin College, sometime before Session 8 (February 23) on the history of African American students in higher education.
2. Find out something about Oberlin college pertaining to the history of African American students or women students and early integrated coeducation that you neither knew before taking this class nor learned from the assigned readings.
3. Come to class prepared to share what you learned and comment on this format for learning history.

All students should read one of the following texts by Session 7 (February 16):

• Barrow, Clyde W. Universities and the Capitalist State: Corporate Liberalism and the Reconstruction of American Higher Education, 1894-1928. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990.
• Bledstein, Burton J. The Culture of Professionalism: The Middle Class and the Development of Higher Education in America. New York: W. W. Norton, 1976.
• Geiger, Roger L., Research and Relevant Knowledge: American Research Universities Since WWII. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
• Geiger, Roger L., To Advance Knowledge: the Growth of American Research Universities, 1900-1940. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
• Graham, Hugh D. and Nancy Diamond. The Rise of the American Research Universities: Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.
• Marsden, George M. The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
• Reuben, Julie A. The Making of a Modern University: Intellectual Transformation and the Marginalization of Morality. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996.
• Veysey, Laurence R. The Emergence of the American University. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.