HIS3713: The Growth of Domestic Terrorism in the United States

Course Syllabus

Catalog Description

“A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia. (David McCullough)

The United States has seen the rise of domestic terrorism since the founding of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1860’s. With the development of the World Wide Web, terrorists have been able to recruit members and disperse information with greater ease. Participants will become familiar with the issues of domestic terrorism and how terrorists use the Internet to spread their beliefs.

The Internet has also become a tool for students of history to research domestic terrorism and other topics from the past in order to understand the present and prepare for the future. Participants will practice how to use the Internet for digital historical research and evaluation techniques for web resources. Participants will prepare a lesson plan to teach their students how to research history on the Internet using new guidelines.

Goals: Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify various acts of domestic terrorism and their impact on society.

2. Understand the main concepts of terrorism and the psychology of the terrorist mind.

3. Analyze past events and determine solutions for combating future acts of terrorism in the United States.

4. Evaluate methods of historical research on the Internet.

5. Differentiate between historical fact and historical interpretation on Web resources.

6. To apply a blog and/or wiki to student’s historical research.

7. Prepare a lesson plan to familiarize students with the use of the Internet as a legitimate tool for historical inquiry and to encourage students to think critically in making assumptions based on an understanding of the past.