361 History P. Ethington
268 Social Science Building 213-740-1669 Meets WPH 101 12:00-1:50 Mondays and Wednesdays Office Hours 2-3:00PM M+W and by appt. E-mail advisement encouraged: send me questions! [e-mail]
20TH-CENTURY U.S. HISTORY
--- --- --Overview and Learning Objectives This is a course about the main forces that have shaped U.S. history during the 20th century. Assigned reading/screening consists of a textbook, plus primary documents (newspapers and magazines) and historic film, radio and television records. By the end of this course students should be able to "interpret" artifacts (newspaper articles, popular entertainment, or even buildings) from any period of the 20th century, and they should be able to "explain" the origins and outcomes of the major crises that have shaped this nation in the last one hundred years. Their ability to do these things will be embodied in a history they will write throughout the course, of the United States in the 20th century. Required text (available at bookstore) Alan Brinkley and Ellen Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times, Since 1890 Required Reading: Newspapers and magazines from each decade of the 20th century (see below). Required Screening: Movies, radio and TV from the 20th century (see below) Explanation of Required Materials: In lieu of several books I could have assigned, I have decided that students will learn the most about U.S. history by learning to read and interpret the historic record, as it exists in the popular press and the most important mass media: movies, radio, and television. Students are required to read newspaper and magazines from each decade of the 20th century (beginning with the 1890s). They will then construct their own interpretive and narrative history of the century from these materials for their written requirements (see below)
Format of Class: This is a small "upper-division" course with a heavy emphasis on use and study of the mass media of the 20th century. Most Monday sessions will be devoted to a film, audio, or multimedia presentation. When there is time left after these presentations, we will discuss our reactions on that day. Otherwise, we will discuss the Monday screenings/presentations on Wednesdays, along with my weekly lecture. Writing Requirements: The ultimate written product for this class is a 20-25-page history of the 20th century, constructed from the evidence taken from the historical record (newspapers, magazines, movies, radio, and television). There are three cumulative due dates for this written product, a schedule designed to help you revise and improve your performance. The first third (7-8pp) will be due on 2/19, the second third (14-15pp) on 4/02, and the final paper (20-25pp) will be due at the time of the scheduled "final exam," 9 May, no later than 1:00pm. Grading: Your grade will primarily be a product of your participation in class (10%) and of your performance in the written requirements (90%). Participation: I expect full attendance and the ability to answer questions based on the readings if you are called upon. I call upon everyone randomly. (Participation = 10% of final grade). Writing Assignment 1: "History of the 20th Century, First Installment (1890-1929)" (20% of final grade). Due in class 2/19. Writing Assignment 2: "History of the 20th Century, Second Installment (1890-1959)" (30% of final grade). Due in class 4/02. Final Writing Assignment: "History of the 20th Century, (1890-2001)" (40% of final grade). Due 5/08 no later than 1:00pm. Style Requirements: Double space, 10-12 point font, 1" margins. Citations are made within the text--for example: (Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, p. 134) or (B&F, 134). Criteria for Grading Papers: 1) Citing specific facts, quotes, events, scenes. Students must show they have done the assigned readings and screenings by explicitly citing facts, quotes, or scenes to support their argument. Do not underestimate the importance of this criterion. Students must remember that the hard work of learning is not listening to lectures, but reading and taking notes on the reading. If you do not keep up with the reading, you will not follow the lectures anyway, and you will not do well in this course. In
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general, you should not cite readings not assigned in this course. There is no need to do so, and no extra credit will be given for such references. I do not prohibit an apt reference, but you are working with limited space, and substantial reference to readings not assigned for this course will displace needed references to assigned readings. The required screenings are equally important. We do not watch movies or listen to historic radio broadcasts for entertainment. Take notes during these screenings so that you can use the content in your written assignments. DO NOT MERELY REPEAT AND PARAPHRASE THE BRINKLEY AND FITZPATRICK TEXTBOOK IN YOUR OWN HISTORY. RELY ON THAT TEXTBOOK TO HELP YOU INTERPRET AND UNDERSTAND THE MASS MEDIA RESEARCH YOU HAVE DONE. YOUR STORY SHOULD CONSIST MAINLY OF THE STORIES, EVENTS, AND DEVELOPMENTS THAT YOU RESEARCHED. 2) Interpretive Storytelling. Because you are writing a history of the 20th century, you need to write in two modes: 1) as a storyteller, and 2) as an interpreter. Simply listing the "facts" is not sufficient. You must also interpret those facts. The ability to interpret the larger meaning of the historical facts you gain from your research the is primary learning objective of this course. Building an overarching interpretation into your story of the 20th century is almost identical to the traditional "thesis" of college essay writing. You need to decide what your "argument" is, and then make sure that the evidence you use supports that argument. Remember that a thesis is not the same as a theme. A thesis is a tendentious argument, which requires justification. A theme is just a series of similar topics strung throughout an essay, which do not necessarily lead to any argument. 3) Essays must be well written, grammatically and otherwise. 4) NOTE: Students will be able to revise the earlier installments of their "Histories" for each successive installment. The grade for each installment will be based on the ENTIRE text. This gives you the opportunity to learn from the comments on the previous installment, and to improve throughout the course.
LATE PAPERS MUST BE DATE/TIME STAMPED AT MAIN HISTORY OFFICE, SOS Bldg, First Floor. LATE PAPERS WILL BE MARKED DOWN ONE GRADE PER DAY LATE.
--- --- --NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE RESEARCH GUIDELINES Students are advised to do their newspaper and magazine research every week, but it is possible to distribute your workload differently, so long as you complete each of the assignments by the due date of each written assignment. Read at least two whole issues of a newspaper or magazine for each of the time periods assigned. Reading more issues is perfectly welcome. The more the better.
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Choose your date(s) on the basis of clues found in the Brinkley and Fitzpatrick textbook. Read for stories, events, developments that fall in each of the following areas, and make sure that you can discuss these different areas in class and in your written work:
1) Entertainment and Leisure 2) Society and Economy 3) Politics and Government Take notes and/or make photocopies. You will be using direct citations of fact and/or quotations in your written work. MAKE SURE YOU RECORD THE EXACT DATE OF EACH ISSUE, and the section and page number. --- --- ---
WEEKLY SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS: Note: Textbook Readings are to be completed by Weds session of each week!!!
WEEK 1 1/131/15 WEEK 2 1/22 WEEK 3 1/271/29 WEEK 4 2/3-2/5 WEEK 5 Theme: Weekly Assignments Overview of 20th Century
NOTE: 15 Jan is Workshop on Microform Research, MEET IN MICROFORMS ROOM, DOHENY LIBRARY Weekly Assignments Theme: Crisis of 1890s Read Chapters 1-3 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Read two entire issues of a newspaper from two different years in the 1890s. Take notes and come to class 22 Jan. prepared to discuss what you found. Weekly Assignments Theme: Imperialism, Racism, Feminism, Immigration, and the Origins of Progressivism Read Chapters 4-5 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1901-1910 Weekly Assignments Theme: Climax of Progressivism Read Chapters 6-7 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1911-1917 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Great War and the New Era
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2/102/12 WEEK 6 2/172/19
Read Chapters 8-9 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1917-1921 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Triumph of Capitalism and the Crisis of the Twenties Read Chapters 10-11 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1922-1929 1ST INSTALLMENT OF HISTORY DUE IN CLASS 2/19 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Great Depression and the New Deal Read Chapters 12-13 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1930-1935 Weekly Assignments Theme: End of the New Deal and the Origins of the Second World War Read Chapters 14-15 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1936-1941 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Transformations of World War II Read Chapters 16-17 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1942-1946
WEEK 7 2/242/26 WEEK 8 3/3-3/5 WEEK 9 3/103/12 3/173/19 WEEK 10 3/243/26 WEEK 11 3/314/02
SPRING BREAK
Weekly Assignments Theme: The Cold War Read Chapters 18-19 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1947-52 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Fifties: Prosperity and Protest Read Chapters 20-21 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1953-59 Weekly Assignments Theme: From Suburbia to Camelot Read Chapters 22-23 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1960-1963 Weekly Assignments Theme: Vietnam and the Sixties Read Chapters 24-25 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1964-1974 Weekly Assignments 5
2ND INSTALLMENT OF HISTORY DUE IN CLASS 4/02
WEEK 12 4/7-4/9 WEEK 13 4/144/16 WEEK
14 4/21-4/23 WEEK 15 4/28-4/30
Theme: Thermidor: Nixon to Reagan Read Chapters 26-27 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1974-1988 Weekly Assignments Theme: The Burdens of the 21st Century Read Chapters 28 in Brinkley and Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times Newspaper and Magazine Research, 1988-2001
FRIDAY 9 MAY FINAL PAPERS DUE: BY 1:00 PM, TIME STAMPED IN HISTORY DEPARTMENT MAIN OFFICE1
There is no "final exam" as such for this class, but the papers are due during the period scheduled for the final exam. 6
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