HST 346

FA 2008

Dr. Janet R. Bednarek

Office: HM 464

Office Hours: M, W, 1-2:45 and by appt.

e-mail: Janet.Bednarek@notes.udayton.edu

webpage: academic.udayton.edu/JanetBednarek

TEXTS:

Corn, The Winged Gospel

Courtwright, Sky as Frontier

Clodfelter, The Limits of Airpower

Hansen, The Bird is on the Wing

Additional Readings (Jakab, Douhet, Mitchell, McCurdy, Pyne) on both electronic and regular reserve

Total Reading Requirement: app. 1075 pages; approximately 67-72 pages per week.

PURPOSE:

Develop an appreciation of the many influences of aviation and aviators (followed by aerospace and astronauts) on American society and culture.
Explore and develop a basic understanding of the growth and development of the aviation and aerospace industries in the United States.
Gain an understanding of the importance of the development of the air weapon.
Gain an understanding of the important developments in aviation technology and science.

This class is part of the Values, Technology and Society Cluster.

TESTS:

There will be two exams, a mid-term and a final exam. The mid-term will cover material presented in the first half of the class. The final exam will be a combination of in-class and take-home elements and primarily will cover material presented in the second half of the class. Study guides will be provided in advance of the exams.

Make-up policy:

As a general rule, no make-up tests will be allowed; see the department of history guidelines for more information and possible exceptions. Efforts will be made to accommodate athlete/band/cheerleader/other university sanctioned student events, previously scheduled. A note is required from the appropriate sponsoring program or department. Again, please refer to the History Department Guidelines for further information.

PAPERS:

You will be required to write ten two-page papers based on course readings. The format and requirements for these papers are described on a separate handout. Each paper will be worth 20 points for a total of 200 points. Late papers will not be accepted (see handout).

Total Page Requirements: 20 pages.

ATTENDANCE:

Attendance in the course is required. You will be allowed three unexcused absences. For every unexcused absence beyond those three, five points will be deducted from your final point total for the class. Frequent absences will adversely affect your final grade.

An attendance sheet will be passed out during each class. It is your responsibility to make sure that you sign in each day.

GRADE SCALE:

Tests Midterm 100

Final 150

Papers Readings 200

Total 450

Grade: Tests/Papers Total Grade: Tests/Papers Total

A+ 97-100 436-450 C+ 77-79 346-371

A 93-96 418-435 C 73-76 328-345

A- 90-92 405-417 C- 70-72 315-327

B+ 87-89 391-404 D+ 67-69 301-314

B 83-86 373-390 D 63-66 283-300

B- 80-82 360-372 D- 60-62 270-282

F 00-59 000-269

Absolutely no extra credit work will be allowed. Any academic dishonesty will result in a failure for the course. If in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, consult the student handbook. http://www.udayton.edu/~studev/studenthandbook

Course Schedule: Lecture Topics, Reading Assignments

WED 20 Aug Introduction

MON 25 Aug Pre-Flight: Chanute and Langley

Hansen, pp. 15-40

WED 27 Aug Why the Wright Brothers

Jakab, “Why Orville and Wilbur?” pp, 1-17

(Paper One Due)

MON 1 Sep Labor Day Holiday

WED 3 Sep America Greets the Airplane

Courtwright, pp. 5-37; Corn, pp. 3-27

MON 8 Sep The First World War: Origins of Strategic Bombing Theory

Douhet, Command of the Air, pp. 3-33; 251-290

(Paper Two Due)

WED 10 Sep Industry, Barnstormers, and Aviation Enthusiasm

Courtwright, pp. 38-55

Corn, pp. 29-70

MON 15 Sep Airmail and the Birth of the Airlines

Courtwright, pp. 56-69

WED 17 Sep Reinventing the Airplane

Hansen, pp. 41-81

(Paper Three Due)

MON 22 Sep Lindbergh

Courtwright, pp. 70-88

WED 24 Sep General Aviation, African Americans, and Women

Corn, pp. 71-90; 113-133.

(Paper Four Due)

MON 29 Sep US Government and the Promotion/Regulation of Aviation

Courtwright, pp. 91-109

Corn, pp. 91-111

WED 1 Oct Military Aviation, 1920s

Mitchell, Winged Defense (1925), pp. xi-xix, 3-26, 214-223

Mitchell, Skyways (1930), pp. 253-289

(Paper Five Due)

MON 6 Oct Military Aviation, 1930s

Mid-Term Exam Study Guide Distributed

WED 8 Oct Airpower and World War II

MON 13 Oct Mid-Term Exam

WED 15 Oct New Technologies: Rockets

MON 20 Oct Wings vs. Rockets, Manned vs. Unmanned

WED 22 Oct Space and the American Imagination

McCurdy, “Introduction: The Vision,” pp. 1-7; “Prelude: The Exploration Idea,” pp. 9-27; “Making Space Flight Seem Real,” pp. 29-51.

(Paper Six Due)

MON 27 Oct Evolving Historiography: The Space Race and Space as Frontier

Courtwright, pp. 172-192

WED 29 Oct New Technologies: Supersonic Flight and Jets

Pyne, “Seeking Newer Worlds,” pp. 5-35.

(Paper Seven Due)

MON 3 Nov Breaking the Sound Barrier

Hansen, pp. 82-109, 110-142

WED 5 Nov Military Aviation: World War II through Vietnam

Discussion: Clodfelter, pp. 1-115.

(Paper Eight A Due)

MON 10 Nov Military Aviation: Vietnam through the War on Terror

Discussion: Clodfelter, pp. 117-223.

(Paper Eight B Due)

WED 12 Nov Commercial Aviation: Technology

Hansen, 175-211

MON 17 Nov Commercial Aviation: Making Flight a Mass Experience

Courtwright, pp. 132-171

(Paper Nine Due)

WED 19 Nov Commercial Aviation: The Role of the Federal Government

MON 24 Nov The Aerospace Industry Since WWII

WED 26 Nov Thanksgiving Break

MON 1 Dec The SST and the Maturing of Aviation Technology

Hansen, pp. 143-174, 212-231

(Paper Ten Due)

Final Exam Study Guide Provided

WED 3 Dec The Significance of Air and Space in American History

Courtwright, 195-224

Corn, pp. 135-147

MON 8 Dec Feast of Immaculate Conception – no classes

WED 10 Dec Review of Final Assignment/Wrap Up

Final Exam: Mon, Dec 15, 4:30-6:20, HM 126.

NOTE: Due to extenuating circumstances the above class schedule may be subject to change.