Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

American Journalism: Past and Present (Online)

HIST 4770-30I

Course: HIST 4770-30I
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: HSOC
CRN: 11204

Course Description

This course seeks to understand the historical origins of the modern, media-dominated culture of the United States. Topics covered include invention of the printing press, pamphlets of the American Revolution, Abolitionist newspapers, Yellow Journalism, political cartooning, muckrakers, war correspondents, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the Digital Revolution. (Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Prerequisite(s): HIST 1700 - Prerequisite Min. Grade: D-

Required Texts

Required texts will be provided by the instructor.

Christopher B. Daly, Covering America: A Narrative History of a Nation's Journalism. 2nd edition. University of Massachusetts Press: Amherst, MA: 2018.  (ISBN-10:  9781625342980)


Joseph M. Adelman, Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the News, 1763-1789. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 2019. (ISBN-10: 1421439905)

Excerpts from Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and his Apologia

Excerpts from Thomas Paine's Common Sense and James Chalmers Plain Truth and Charles Inglis Deceiver Unmask'd

Michelle Orihel, Essay on Pamphlets and Pamphleteering

Sample Newspapers from the American Revolution

David Walker, An Appeal to the Colored Peoples of the World

The “Sound of an Extra”: Representing Civil War
Newsboys by Pen and in Print
By Ronald J. Zboray and Mary Saracino Zboray

John Steinbeck, Harvest Gypsies

Maria Godoy, How Dorothea Lange Taught Us To See Hunger And Humanity

Excerpts from World War II War Correspondents, Ernie Pyle





Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes will be provided by the instructor.
--Students will be able to identify and understand better the main issues, themes, events, and historical actors shaping the history of American journalism. In doing so, they will gain a better understanding of the historical contexts that shape the modern American media.

-- Class discussions and written assignments will further help students to hone the habits of critical thinking, reading, and writing.

Course Requirements

Course requirements will be provided by the instructor

Weekly assignments, discussions: 50
Monograph Preview Assignment: 20
Final Essay Exam: 30

Course Outline

Course outline will be provided by the instructor.
Week 1:  Introductions
Week 2: The First Media Revolution -- the Printing Press
Week 3: Colonial Printing-- Benjamin Franklin and Beyond
Week 4:  Revolutionary Pamphleteering
Week 5: Tweeting 1776: A Pamphlet War on Independence
Week 6:  Reading and Understanding a Historical Monograph
Week 7:  Catch up on American Revolution/ Monograph Preview Assignment Due
Week 8:  Communications Revolution of the 19th Century
Week 9: Print Culture and Abolitionism
Week 10:  Origins of Modern American Journalism
Week 11:  Newsboys in History and Film
Week 12: Reporting the Great Depression
Week 13:  War Correspondents: Reporting World War II
Week 14: Post-War Journalism

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work will be provided by the instructor.COURSE COMPONENTS, PROCEDURES, POLICIES 


 
WEEKLY WORK

The course is organized into weekly modules. You have ONE WEEK to complete each module. The modules will be completed in sequence.


Weekly assignments will always be due by Friday at 5pm, but there will always be a grace period until Sunday at 11:59pm in which I accept assignments without penalty. However, no late assignments will be accepted AFTER Sunday.


Note that I do not open up weekly assignments early and I do not allow for make up work.  


 
General Warning:    I do NOT allow for the completion of last-minute assignments during or at the end of the semester because that is neither an effective way for you to learn nor is it practical for me to grade and assess all of your assignments at the end. Instead, you must keep up with the course work on a weekly basis. If you run into problems such as a serious illness or a family crisis that interfere with your ability to keep up with your work, let me know immediately and we can work something out for a week or two. Do not wait to contact me. Missing beyond a week or two of modules is not advisable. 

HOWEVER, you can miss participation in FOUR of the Weekly Discussions or Individual Assignments  (that's about a week of work) without penalty to your final grade. This covers all reasons from illness to accident to forgetfulness to fatigue to anything you want. Note that this does NOT apply to the two journal article analyses. 


      • If you miss more than FOUR Discussion Board questions and have a legitimate reason for missing the deadlines like major illness or family crisis, then, we will make arrangements for late work to be submitted. This is only warranted in serious situations. Documentation will be required. 
      • Most important, let me know as early as possible if this situation ever applies to you. I will work with you. Again, missing beyond one week even for a legitimate reason is not advisable. In my experience, students do not end up doing well in the course under such circumstances.  

Attendance Policy

Attendance policy will be provided by the instructor.This course is online asynchronous, so there is no attendance policy. However, there are regular, weekly deadlines which students are expected to meet, and indeed, completing the course in this way will result in the best learning experience for the student, which each week's readings and activities building on the last one's.

 

Course Fees

 

Course Fees

 Program Fees for courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences: $4/ credit hour 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.