GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE PROPOSAL

  WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

  AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS

 

 

Area:   AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS (AI)

                                                           

Date:   _____8/22/2011_________________________

 

College: ___Business and Economics__________________________                   

 

Department:    ___Economics____________________

 

Catalog  Abbreviation: __Econ AI1740_______________

 

Catalog Title: ___Economic History of the United States_

 

Course Number: _Econ 1740____________________         

Credit Hours: __3___

 

Substantive: ______                                                  

New: ______                                                    

Revised: ______

Renewal __X___

Effective Date ____________

 

Course description as you want it to appear in the catalog:

 

            A critical study of the history of  the American Economy, significant events, fundamental  principles of a market economy, interactions between government and the market economy, and the evolution of  fundamental economic institutions.

  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS (AI) GENERAL EDUCATION MISSION STATEMENT

 

The mission of Weber State’s American Institutions (AI) requirement is to adhere to the Utah State Code, specifically 53B-16-103(b) which reads: "A student shall demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States prior to receiving a bachelor’s degree or teaching credential."  The overarching goal of this requirement is to have all students gain the basic knowledge necessary for informed and responsible citizenship.

 

AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

A student completing an American Institutions general education course should be able to demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the following core objectives.

 

Provide a justification of how the proposed course prepares students to successfully demonstrate competency in EACH of the core objectives.  Cite specific lecture topics, written assignments, and/or lab projects and explain how they address each of the core competencies. Refer to your attached syllabus as needed.

 

It is important to note that different instructors emphasize different historical events, but all instructors meet the following four objectives with these common elements.

 

Objective 1: The significant political, economic, and social changes in American history.

 

Justification: the following two events drove fundamental political, economic, and social changes in American history; the industrial revolution following the Civil War and the Great Depression beginning in 1929.  The industrial revolution accelerated the transformation of the economy from agriculture to the world’s largest industrial economy by the twentieth century. This important transition to mass production heralded the realization of American dream in its material sense. Perhaps the singular most visible example of this transition was Henry Ford’s River Rouge factory in Detroit which produced the Model T, the most widely owned automobile in history.  The social changes that cheap mobility impacted include changing roles of women and the development of suburbs.  It also changed the relationship of government to business through the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Great Depression marked the transition of the US economy to a mixed economy, in which the federal government assumed a stabilization role.  Other major changes include government insurance programs such as social security and Federal Housing Administration.

 

Sample of lecture topics:

·         Industrial Concentration: “I like a little competition but I like cooperation better”

·         The Keynesian approach: Aggregate demand (AD) and AD management defined

·         Creation of welfare state – The New Deal

·         The Roaring 20’s: Consumer durables, easy credit, and speculation

 

Sample exam questions:

·         Describe the rise of “white-collar” workers during the Industrial Revolution and the purpose they served.

·         How and why did the invention and mass marketing of consumer durables alter the available roles of women in society?  

·         What is a modern liberal welfare state guided by classical liberal ideology?  How does it lead to institutional drift?

 

 

Objective 2: The major principles of American civilization, including the concepts of popular sovereignty, liberty, and equality.

 

Justification:

 

The western historical roots of a market economy are found in part in the Protestant Reformation that strengthened the concepts of individualism, free will/agency, self-responsibility, logic, and democracy in our social, political, and economic institutions.  Along with the decline of communalism/feudalism and the rise of individualism, the idea of class differences and inequalities are also explored.  Important evolutions explored include increased social acceptance of commerce, class distinctions based on economic status, and the spontaneous order of the market system.  The role of the Naturalist point of view – that the source of government is the will and consent of the people rather than divine ordination – is explored in within the context of the founding documents of the U.S. 

 

Sample of lecture topics:

·         The Protestant Reformation and the “Protestant Work Ethic”

·         The Enlightenment:  Adam Smith, John Locke, David Hume

·         The Naturalists and the development of the US Constitution

 

Sample exam questions:

Why was the Protestant Reformation important?

a)      It elevated the concept of individualism relative to the role of the institution

b)      It planted the seeds of democratic participation by the layperson

c)      It planted the seed that accumulation of individual wealth is socially acceptable

d)     It promoted attributes such as thrift, hard work, personal responsibility, and dedication as socially desirable

e)      Since man could know of God directly, new knowledge, inquiry, and discovery need not be sacrilegious

f)       all of the above

 

Adam Smith argued that the expectation of profits from improving one's________________ rests on private property rights. (fill in the blank)

a)      social position

b)      stock of capital

c)      position in government

d)     family size


Objective 3: The institutions and practices of the government provided for in the United States Constitution.

Justification:

 

Some of the important economic provisions of the Constitution include powers granted to the Federal government to tax, the sole right to mint coins and regulate coinage, the right to regulate Interstate Commerce, the power to regulate foreign commerce, the Fifth Amendment protection of private property, establishment of uniform bankruptcy laws, and the responsibility of Congress to provide for the general welfare of its citizens.

 

Sample of lecture topics:

 

·         The use of the 14th amendment to grant “corporations personhood”

·         The Embargo Act of 1807, prices, and the seeds of industrialization

·         Returning the international gold standard, the ugly side of deflation, hard times on the farm, and the birth of the 4th branch of government.

 

Sample exam questions:

 

·         What does Howard Zinn/Charles Beard propose is the purpose behind the Constitution and Declaration of Independence?  What evidence do they offer?

·         Compared to other Western nations, by 1900 the U.S. had bankruptcy laws that were fairly easy on the debtor. What hypothesis explains this difference?

·         Discuss the economic and political arguments for and against the creation of the First and Second National Banks.

 

 

Objective 4: The basic workings and evolution of a market economy in the United States.

 

Justification:

 

The notion of the “invisible hand” famously asserts that the self-interested actions of the individual frequently promotes social benefits more effectively than when the individual intends to do so.  A less understood implication is the concept of a spontaneous organization of economic activity, a revolutionary idea given the success of mercantilism during this period.  The classic concept of self-regulating markets soon faced unanticipated challenges from economies of scale, industrial concentration, business cycles, and financial panics.  Invention and innovation driven by market forces also posed challenges to social traditions and values. As the market economy deepened and these challenges became more acute, the role of the US government in economic activity evolved in tandem in an effort to redress these issues.  Early examples include the development of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and Prohibition.  Later examples include the Federal Reserve Banking system, the Glass-Steagall Act (and its later repeal), and the Full Employment Act of 1946. 

 

Sample of lecture topics:

·         The financial panic of 1907 and the Federal Reserve Bank Act

·         The New Deal and the G. I. Bill of Rights; the emergence of the welfare state

·         Prohibition and unintended consequences: the market is not so easily controlled

 

Sample exam questions:

·         List two similarities and/or differences between the economy of the inter-war period (period between WWI and WWII) and the economy of the immediate post WWII period.

·         Explain how stocks become overvalued by describing at least two ways it has happened in the past.  What role does this play in the business cycle?  How has this altered the role of government in the economy?

 

 

 

 

 

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING

 

1.   Has this proposal been discussed with and approved by the department? Yes

 

 

 

2.   List those general education courses in other departments with similar subject matter and explain how this course differs.

 

Pols 1100 – American National Government

Hist 1700 – American Civilization

 

The emphasis in EC 1740 (U.S. Economic History) is on economic growth in the U.S. and the evolution of U.S. economic institutions. 

 

3.   If the proposed new general education course affects course requirements or enrollments in other departments, list the departments and programs involved and attach comments from each.

 

N/A

 

 

 

4.   Attach a syllabus of the course.  Include the number of contact hours per week and the format of these hours (e.g., lecture, lab, field trip, etc.).

 

 

New Courses Only:

 

5.   Discuss how you will assess student learning outcomes associated with this course

 

N/A

 

 

 

 

Current General Education Courses and Existing Courses Seeking General Education Status:

 

6.   Discuss how you have assessed the applicable or identified student learning outcomes associated with this course.

 

 

Sample 1:  Exam questions:  see above under “Objectives”

 

Sample 2:  Written assignment

 

Semester research paper:

Each student is required to write a research paper on some topic of interest that can be synthesized with the economic history or the theory of economic history of the US.  The paper topic must be approved by the instructor who will discuss issues related to student papers at any time.  Students choose a topic they find interesting.  The art of the research paper is to take that topic and connect it to the readings and class notes – this is what is considered original thought (not opinion).   

 

Sample 3:  Short written assignment

 

Proposition #3 of the economic principles of reasoning states “incentives matter”.  Webster defines an incentive as “inciting, stimulative, a motive”.  This all sounds straightforward until it actually comes down to applying proposition 3.  Humans sometimes respond to incentives in anticipated ways, and this can lead to undesirable consequences. Let’s consider an example found on page 287 of your text. For various reasons, political, economic, and military, the Federal government wanted to expand the transcontinental railroad system as quickly as possible.  Yet private investors were often reluctant to invest because of the dual financial risk of high building (capital) costs and uncertain demand.  To address this problem, the federal government created a program under which Union Pacific, Central Pacific, and other transcontinentals were given cash subsidies or subsidized loans based on the miles of track completed. This seems straight forward, build a mile of track and receive a subsidy.  Unfortunately, astute businessmen saw that under this program, the real profits were in construction rather than operating the railroad once built.  Several railroad officials sold their direct ownership interests and formed affiliated construction companies. To maximize profit, the best response to the cash subsidy program was to build track as fast as possible.  One dire result was that track was often of poor quality. This worsened the financial situation of the railroads due to high maintenance costs and unreliable service.

 

Note: After this problem became apparent, the government changed the subsidy to a land grant system.  Railroads were given alternate sections of land on either side of the track (1 mile long) varying in depth from 6 to 40 miles.  The RR could best increase the value of a land grant by building good quality track. The alternative section provision was made in the expectation that the government would share in the increased land values that would result from the new transportation facilities.

 

The required elements of your assignment are:  1. Describe an incentive you have encountered, included in this description is the purpose of the incentive,  2.  Describe an unintended consequence of the incentive, something that the designers of the incentive failed to anticipate and that imposes an unanticipated cost, 3.  For full credit, tell me how you would revise the incentive.  Please, no papers on the cash for clunkers program, or on publicly funded relief programs. 

 

  

 

7.   How has this assessment information been used to improve student learning?

 

Thus far, assessment has been used by individual instructors to improve student learning on an instructor-by-instructor basis. Every EC 1740 class includes both testing and written components. 

For example, one instructor has students turn in “pieces” of the research paper (ex:  abstract, annotated references, and outline) as steps in the writing process.  Students receive feedback on each component and an indication of their individual progress without the use of grades.  No coordinated department-wide effort or coordination with other AI courses in other departments is in process, other than efforts on the part of the Gen Ed Committee to establish a breadth/width committee specifically for AI designated courses.

 

The complexity of our economic institutions and their relationships with political and social institutions precludes focus on just a few selected events and interpretations.  Hence, our considerations and admiration for academic freedom as well pedagogical styles deliberately limits a singular syllabus, assessment instruments, and content beyond the above basic objectives.  Given these considerations, there is broad agreement among instructors about the appropriateness of the general objectives for AI and a dedication to student development and the lessons of history.