United States History

1. Who Returns (Rely mainly upon Ronald Glasser, Wounded: Vietnam-Iraq, pp. 9-10; 141-44; 13-24; 27-105, and any additionally relevant articles/commentary).

?Despite the growing sophistication of our battlefield medicine and the new body armor, the orthopedic wards at Walter Reed are becoming filled with numbers of amputees not seen since the Civil War… Today?s survivors are more damaged ? and damaged in more and different ways than anyone had expected ? nor had ever seen before.?

– OR –

2. Who Will Stand/What Is Owed (Rely mainly upon Peter Marin, ?What the Vietnam Vets Can Teach Us,? in Grace Sevy, ed., The American Experience in Vietnam, pp. 75-85, and Ronald Glasser, Wounded: Vietnam-Iraq, pp. 115-140, and any additionally relevant articles/commentary).

Prop.: ?There is a moral seriousness among many veterans of the U.S. wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan that puts to shame the carelessness and evasions of American life. And in the United States of Inattention, such seriousness must still struggle to be heard. After all, as of 2006, according to one Army surgeon, America was a place where no one with a lawn service knew or wrote to anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan??

*Please employ the Endnote citation system, otherwise known as ?The Chicago Method.? For more on this consult Google.
In order to orient yourself and your paper, it is important to recognize that you are writing to an imaginary Reader (not the instructor). Such a person is bright, interested in what you have to say, but knows next to nothing of your subject. Thus, you must strive for clear paragraphs, sentences, and supporting examples. Your role, then, is as an intermediary between your Reader on one side and your Sources on the other. Standing thus in the middle, you should understand that both you and your Reader are best served by constructing your sentences, well and often, around such phrases as, for example: ?American intellectuals,? according to Peter Marin, ?exhibit both ignorance and….;? Now more than ever, writes Ronald Glasser, America?s veterans are?, and so forth.

Discussion 1
Write: Based on your textbook and the required article, address the following items:
Explain at least three reasons for the rise of conservatism in the last part of the 20th century.
Explain at least one way in which the rise of conservatism had a positive or negative impact for a specific group of Americans.
Then, select an issue that you feel is important today. How does a knowledge of history help us gain a better understanding of this issue?
Discussion 2
Write: This discussion forum is an opportunity for you to explore topics that interest you, share critical insights and questions that you are working with, share your struggles and triumphs, and discuss difficulties that may have arisen this week, hopefully finding solutions. Your initial post should describe your experiences in the course this past week, prompting further discussion. You should address at least two of the following questions:
What struck you in particular as you explored the course materials this week?
What insights have you had?
What have you been struggling with?
What questions have come up for you at this point?
Do you have any helpful tips that you’ve picked up in this course or in a past course?
Do you have questions about the assignment that your classmates might be able to help with? (If you have a question for the instructor, be sure to contact your instructor through email or in the Ask Your Instructor Forum).