Advanced Topics in U.S. History: “Commanders in the Pacific & Far East in World War II” A HIS 390 (8114), Spring 2016 Tu/Th 2:45-4:05 (SS-117) Instructor: Dr. H. Peter Krosby, Professor of History (SS-145G) Office hours: Tu & Th 9:00-10:00 & 12:00-1:00 E-mail: This course deals with the quality of military leadership during World War II in the Pacific, Far East and Southeast Asia, at various levels of command. While the emphasis will be on United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Forces commanders, British, Chinese, Australian and Soviet as well as Japanese commanders will also be covered. The course will be conducted as a seminar. Students will participate actively in class discussions and will take turns introducing them. Such introductions will be graded, but the grades have no value per se; they will be used merely to influence, up or down, the combined grades earned on the four written tests. In preparing for class discussions, it is essential that all readings be done by the dates listed. Readings The basic text in this course is Thomas W. Zeiler, Annihilation: A Global Military History of World War II (Oxford University Press, 2011), chapters 3, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, 23 and 25. All other will come from the Internet, a source of information rich in its comprehensive variety, if not always reliable. The articles you will read, mostly Wikipedia, are listed under the appropriate dates in the Schedule of Topics. Most biographical articles as well as some others go beyond the World War II period, but they should be read in full nonetheless. Research Paper A research paper on one commander, or a comparison of two or more, not necessarily covered in this course, is required. It is worth 20% of your course grade. A style manual for it – The Happy Footnoter – will be distributed, and you must follow it in every respect. That includes title page, typed double-spaced text, size 12 font, one-inch margins all around, and footnote and bibliography listing style. The optimum length is 8-10 pages. The paper should reflect your ability to present a well-reasoned argument, and to interpret and evaluate primary as well as secondary sources. The paper is due April 21.
Advanced Topics in U.S. History: “Commanders in the Pacific & Far East in World War II” A HIS 390 (8114), Spring 2016 Tu/Th 2:45-4:05 (SS-117) Instructor: Dr. H. Peter Krosby, Professor of History (SS-145G) Office hours: Tu & Th 9:00-10:00 & 12:00-1:00 E-mail: This course deals with the quality of military leadership during World War II in the Pacific, Far East and Southeast Asia, at various levels of command. While the emphasis will be on United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Forces commanders, British, Chinese, Australian and Soviet as well as Japanese commanders will also be covered. The course will be conducted as a seminar. Students will participate actively in class discussions and will take turns introducing them. Such introductions will be graded, but the grades have no value per se; they will be used merely to influence, up or down, the combined grades earned on the four written tests. In preparing for class discussions, it is essential that all readings be done by the dates listed. Readings The basic text in this course is Thomas W. Zeiler, Annihilation: A Global Military History of World War II (Oxford University Press, 2011), chapters 3, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, 23 and 25. All other will come from the Internet, a source of information rich in its comprehensive variety, if not always reliable. The articles you will read, mostly Wikipedia, are listed under the appropriate dates in the Schedule of Topics. Most biographical articles as well as some others go beyond the World War II period, but they should be read in full nonetheless. Research Paper A research paper on one commander, or a comparison of two or more, not necessarily covered in this course, is required. It is worth 20% of your course grade. A style manual for it – The Happy Footnoter – will be distributed, and you must follow it in every respect. That includes title page, typed double-spaced text, size 12 font, one-inch margins all around, and footnote and bibliography listing style. The optimum length is 8-10 pages. The paper should reflect your ability to present a well-reasoned argument, and to interpret and evaluate primary as well as secondary sources. The paper is due April 21.