What's a Hoosier? This course will survey the history of Indiana from
beginnings to the present and suggest a variety of possible answers to
that question. The course has three parts, arranged in rough chronological
order: part one, the frontier-pioneer era to 1850; part two, the era of
transition, 1850-1920; and part three, the modern era, 1920-1997

Throughout we will devote primary attention to change, to understand the
people of Indiana as they moved from a rural, agricultural, frontier
society to a more urban, industrial, and "cosmopolitan" society. Equally
important, the course will explore the continuity of traditions in Indiana
and consider those themes that still make the state distinctive. Specific
issues studied include pioneer settlement, the Civil War, ethnic
neighborhoods, the Ku Klux Klan, the Indiana automobile industry, the
politics of public education, and, perhaps, basketball.

The core reading will be James H. Madison, The Indiana Way: A State
History, supplemented by additional books and essays on particular issues.
Grades are based on blue book examinations and short out-of-class papers.