ENG4546 ¨C Educating Americans ¨C The History of Education in the USA

Course content

The public school is a place not just for learning how to read and write, but a place where children and teenagers are socialized into what it means to be American. Indeed, the public school is a place where the very nature of the nation is defined and redefined, and it is where American democracy is formed. At the same time, the public school is a place where the public and the private meet, and where individual and community values often clash over how and what children should be taught, what America should be about, and what kinds of children should be taught together. The public school, then, is vital for understanding what American democratic values are, what they have meant, and how they are contested and debated.

This course takes battles over American education as a starting point to examine key cultural and political fault lines in American history. Engaging with primary material such as textbooks, court cases, newsletters, radio programs, and other historic documents, the course will challenge students to think critically about the role of the public school in a democratic society.

The course will explore how issues such as race, religion, and culture wars in the context of the American school system.

Learning outcome

After completing this course, you will:

• Have acquired insight into historical and political developments in the history of American education and how they relate to broader American history;
• Have gained the skills to develop and write research papers at MA level;
• Know how democratic ideas and ideals have been formed, challenged, and reimagined in American schools

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester?register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.

Teaching

Seminars, 2?hours per week for 10 weeks.?20 hours in all.

Obligatory activities:

• Two obligatory assignments (one in-class oral presentation of some of the assigned readings and a draft of the term paper). Both assignments must be approved by the course teacher for the student to be able to take the exam.?Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements.?Information about?guidelines for obligatory activities.
• It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course, you have to attend 6 of 10 seminars.?The requirement is absolute.

The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.

If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.

If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.

In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for?special needs accomodations.

All obligatory activities must be approved for you to sit the exam.?All obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester.?Approved obligatory attendance and assignments?are only valid the semester you attend the course.

Examination

The form of assessment is a term paper of approximately 10 pages (1.5 line spacing, font size 12, standard margins; 2000-2300 characters per page; excluding references and bibliography).

You decide the topic of the term paper together with?the lecturer. You?will turn in a draft paper for feedback.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.

Resit an examination

A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.

If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline, this will be counted as an examination attempt.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.