The United
States, 1920-1960
Syllabus and
Survival Guide
History 474A –
Spring 2022
Tuesdays/Thursdays
9:30 am – 10:45 am Sierra Hall 184
Instructor
Dr.
Thomas W. Devine
Office
Hours:
Sierra Tower 624, Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:00 and by appointment gladly
given.
(Office
hours will be held via Zoom for the first three weeks of the semester)
Email:
tom.devine@csun.edu
Teaching
Assistant: Lorena
Morales Ontiveros
Office
Hours:
TBA Email: lorena.moralesontiveros.782@my.csun.edu
Spirit
of the Course
This
course will offer an interpretive survey of political, cultural, economic, and
social trends in the United States between 1920 and 1960. Since it is
impossible to “cover” everything in any depth over the course of a one-semester
class, out of necessity, the syllabus will be selective in the topics that it
addresses. Rather than emphasize “coverage”
(i.e. what happened), we will focus on why specific events
and trends took on larger significance over time. The course is structured
chronologically, but there will be some discontinuities in the timeline as we
explore particular topics – gender roles, race relations, popular culture, war,
diplomacy, economic policy, and so on.
In
addition, the course will provide you with ample opportunities to improve your
writing. We will be working on how to write coherent, logical sentences,
paragraphs, and short essays that take a particular point of view and make a
persuasive case for it – a skill that will serve you well in the world beyond
History 474A. In fact, it is no coincidence that many employers in various
fields say they like to hire History majors. They know that History students
have been trained to think critically, analyze data effectively, argue
persuasively, and write clearly – all skills in high demand (and very low
supply) in today’s job market.
Finally,
as someone who believes an informed citizenry is vital to sustaining the health
of a democracy (and especially a fragile, slowly disintegrating one), I hope
that by studying the unfolding of American history during this period, you will
leave the course a more informed citizen than when you entered. Today,
Americans are astonishingly ignorant of their own nation’s history and even
more clueless about the world around them. This is not only embarrassing but
unfortunate, for as George Orwell reminds us in his novel 1984, those
who have no knowledge of the past are not only powerless, they are inevitably
dominated by those who do possess such knowledge – something to think about as
we begin the semester.
Reading
The
following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – are
available at the Matador Bookstore and through the bookstore
website. All other readings will be provided in class or made
available on the web syllabus.
• Joshua Zeitz, Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style,
Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern
•
Paul Fussell, Wartime: Understanding and
Behavior in the Second World War
To
save yourself some money, you should consider buying used copies of the books
from on line sources. You are likely to find used or discounted copies at
significantly lower prices at the following websites:
www.bookfinder.com; www.amazon.com; www.abebooks.com
Requirements
& Grading
Participation --20%
Quizzes/Homework
--30%
Midterm
(Tuesday, 29 March)
--25%
Final
Exam (Tuesday, 17 May) --25%
• Any
assignment not turned in or not accepted will receive a grade
of ZERO in the calculation of the final grade.
Grading
Scale
A =
93-100
A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89
B =
83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 67-69
D = 63-66
D- = 60-62
F = below 60
Explanation
of Requirements
Class
Participation
Though
this course will include some lectures, it is not a “lecture course” – the
emphasis will be on discussion and classroom interaction rather than listening
passively to the professor. Registering for this course but failing to
participate in the class discussions is like signing up for swimming lessons
and never jumping into the pool. Class participation is important and will
count for 1/5 of your final grade. Have the reading done BEFORE you
come to class and be ready to comment on it – simply being “present” will not
earn you a high participation grade. You will find that the key to success in
this class is attending every session and participating in the discussion. If
you do those two things, everything else will become easier.
Quizzes
There
will be occasional short quizzes throughout the semester. The purpose of the
quizzes is to provide you an incentive to complete the reading and to indicate
to me who has read and who hasn’t. If you have done all the reading – or even
most of it – you should have no difficulty doing well on the quizzes. Racking
up high quiz scores is the easiest path to securing a good grade in this class.
Homework
Homework
will consist of completing short “pre-reads”, written responses to study
questions, and other low-stakes assignments intended to help you better
comprehend the reading.
Midterm
A
week before the midterm, you will receive a review sheet with 9 questions,
7 of which will appear verbatim on the Midterm. Of those 7, everyone will have
to answer 4. Of those 4, you can choose 3 and the remaining one will be a
question that the entire class must answer. You are responsible for bringing
an unmarked green book to the midterm.
Final
Exam
A
week before the final, you will receive a review sheet with 12 questions,
9 of which will appear verbatim on the Final Exam. Of those 9, everyone will
have to answer 6. Of those 6, you can choose 5 and the remaining one will be a
question that the entire class must answer. The exam will be not
cumulative, only testing you on material covered in the second half of the
course. You are responsible for bringing an unmarked green book to
the final.
Surviving
History 474A…
Getting
the Reading Done
Like
all History classes, this class requires you to do a lot of reading, some of
which you may find challenging, some of which you’ll find more entertaining. It
will serve you well if you figure out approximately how many pages you can read
in an hour and then calculate from there how long it will take you to read each
assignment. Most History majors read scholarly books and articles at about
20-30 pages an hour. Novels generally take less time. If you know ahead of time
how long it will take to get through an assignment, you can manage your time
more realistically. Don’t read every word of the first third of an assignment
but nothing thereafter because you ran out of time. To help insure you get the
reading done, make a commitment to reading 10 pages of the next assignment as
soon as you get home from class. Once you’re into an assignment, it will be
easier to keep going. Every hour you put off beginning an assignment makes it
less likely you’ll be able to finish it in time for class. If it’s clear you
won’t have enough time to complete an assignment, use the study questions to
guide your reading. Skim through the book or article until you come across
material that is covered in the questions and then jot down your answers. (This
will also help when it comes time to review for the midterm and final
exam.) Since the study questions focus on the most important parts
of the reading, if you are able to answer them, you will also arrive in class
better prepared to participate in the discussion.
Attendance
The
success of this class depends on active student participation. It is important
– and it is expected – that you will be at every session. I do
take attendance. If you are a person who rarely comes to class and relies
on copying notes from a friend, this is not the course for you. I
understand that inevitably an occasion may arise when you are unable to
attend. Out of fairness to your classmates who do attend every session,
however, each absence past the first three will reduce your participation
grade.
Laptop
Policy
Since
“multi-tasking” is a constant temptation, laptops and tablets end up being more
of a distraction than an aid. I do not allow you to use them in my classroom
unless you have a medical note stating that you must have one.
Common
Courtesy
You
are at a university among professional people so you should act like you belong
here. Do not embarrass yourself by acting rudely. Please put away your cell
phone and keep it out of sight while you are in class. Playing with your phone
or texting during class is rude and distracts the people around you. Please
arrive on time and do not walk out in the middle of class unless it is an
emergency or you have spoken to me about it ahead of time. Please act
courteously and professionally. It’s part of being an educated person.
Academic
Honesty
Do
not lie to me about why you missed class or failed to turn in an assignment. It
is unnecessary and it insults my intelligence. Do not cheat on quizzes or
exams. I will catch you and you will receive an automatic zero for the
assignment. Do not plagiarize from written sources or from the web. Since
plagiarism is always obvious and easily caught (I know how to use
google too), it is better to hand in your own work and get a C- than someone
else’s and get an F. If you have plagiarized in the past and gotten away
with it, it was not because the professor didn’t know what you were
doing. Rather, the professor did not think you were worth the effort of
pursuing it. Be advised: I do think you are worth the effort. Any and
all plagiarized assignments will receive a grade of zero and put you in
jeopardy of failing the course. If you are unsure what exactly constitutes
plagiarism, please consult with me or the teaching assistant BEFORE turning in
your assignment.
Problems
I
appreciate that many CSUN students are stretching themselves quite thin, often
working full time while taking too many classes. If you are feeling
overwhelmed, find yourself falling behind, or are having any problems outside
of class that are adversely affecting your performance in class, be sure to let
me know. I am more than willing to work with you to insure you “survive,” but I
need to know you are having difficulties. Do not wait until the end of the
semester when it will be too late. The university will not allow you to
withdraw from a class after the drop deadline simply because you are doing
poorly. Contact me as soon as a problem arises and we can work something out.
If you are struggling academically, both the teaching assistant and I will
gladly give you extra help.
Schedule
of Topics & Assignments
Be
sure to complete each day’s Reading assignment BEFORE you come to class.
Tues.
25 Jan. Introduction
An explanation of course objectives,
mechanics, and procedures.
EDITH KINGDON GOULD
(1908 photo) SUZETTE
deMARIGNEY DEWEY (ALGER) (1926 photo)
Thurs. 27 Jan. “These Wild Young People” – Scott, Zelda, and
the Birth of Modern America
Reading: Joshua Zeitz, Flapper, Introduction, Chapters 1-6
Tues. 1 Feb. “Steppin’ Out”
– Movie Madness, Speakeasies, and All that Jazz
Reading: Joshua Zeitz, Flapper, Chapters 7-12, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25,
Conclusion
Thurs.
3 Feb. “Flapper
Drama” – Fitzgerald’s “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
Reading: F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Bernice
Bobs Her Hair”
Tues.
8 Feb. Continue discussion of “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
Thurs.
10 Feb. “The
Nervous Generation” – Looking Forward…and Backward during the 1920s
Reading: John W. Ward, “The
Meaning of Lindbergh’s Flight”
Lawrence Levine, “Progress and Nostalgia: The
Self-Image of the 1920s”
Tues.
15 Feb. “The Myth of Isolationism” – American Economic Diplomacy during the 1920s
Reading: Warren I. Cohen, “The Uses and Impact of
American Economic Power”
Thurs.
17 Feb. “Prosperity for Whom?” – An Overview of the US Economy during the 1920s
Reading: Peter Fearon, “The Economy During the 1920s”
Tues.
22 Feb. “A Chicken in Every Pot” – The Ill-Fated Hoover Administration
Reading: Michael E. Parrish, “The Trials of
Herbert Hoover”
Thurs.
24 Feb. Continue discussion of Hoover’s domestic and foreign policy
Reading: Burton Folsom,
“What Caused the Great Depression?”
Tues. 1 Mar. “New Deal, Old Deal, Raw Deal?” –
Evaluating FDR’s response to the Great Depression
Reading: William
E. Leuchtenburg, “The Triumph of Liberal Reform”
Barton
Bernstein, “The Conservative Achievement of New Deal Reform”
Thurs. 3 Mar. “New Deal Legacies” – The New Deal’s
Place in 1930s Social and Economic Reform
Reading: Anthony Badger, “The Unanticipated
Consequences of New Deal Reform”
David
Kennedy, “What the New Deal Did”
Alan Dawley, “Struggles for
Justice”
Tues.
8 Mar. “Hope Through Hard Times” – American Culture During the Great Depression
Reading: Lawrence Levine, “American Culture and the
Great Depression”
Robert Sklar, “The Golden
Age of Turbulence and the Golden Age of Order”
Thurs.
10 Mar. “Tomorrow is Another Day” – Gone With The Wind, the “Lost Cause,” and the 1930s South
Reading: Nina Silber, “This War Ain’t
Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America”
Tues.
15 Mar. “From
Isolationism to Interventionism” – American Foreign Policy 1933-1939
Reading: Thomas N. Guinsburg,
“The Triumph of Isolationism”
Thurs.
17 Mar. “The Approaching
Conflict” – The Lead-up to U. S. Intervention in World War II
Reading: Reynolds, From Munich to Pearl Harbor,
Chapters 6-7
Tues.
22 Mar. SPRING BREAK
Tues.
24 Mar. SPRING BREAK
Tues.
29 Mar. MIDTERM
Thurs. 31 Mar. NO CLASS – CESAR CHAVEZ DAY
Tues.
5 Apr. “No End Save
Victory” – FDR and Wartime Diplomacy
Reading: Mark Stoler, “The
Roosevelt Foreign Policy: Flawed, but Superior to the Competition” [pp.
128-156]
Thurs.
7 Apr. “Prompt and Utter Destruction” – The
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
Reading: Stoler, “The Roosevelt
Foreign Policy” [pp. 156-181]
Ward Wilson, “The Bomb Didn’t Defeat
Japan…Stalin Did”
Tues.
12 Apr. “The Good War?’
– Revising World War II Mythology
Reading: Paul Fussell, Wartime Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9
Thurs.14
Apr. Continue
Discussion of Fussell, Wartime
Reading: Paul Fussell, Wartime Chapters 10, 11, 13, 18
Tues.
19 Apr. Continue
Discussion of Fussell, Wartime
Thurs.
21 Apr. “Anxiety and Anticommunism” – The Early
Cold War Years
Tues. 26 Apr. “Affluence and Anxiety” – The 1950s and
the Emergence of a “Cold War Culture”
Thurs. 28 Apr. “It Came From
Memphis” – Elvis Presley and the Birth of ‘50s Youth Culture
[Class will begin with a QUIZ on the two sets of
lecture notes posted above for April 21st and April 26th]
Reading: Robert Pielke, “Elvis Presley and the Negation of the
Fifties”
Tues.
3 May Continue
discussion of Youth Alienation and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley – Stage Show
Appearance January 28, 1956
Elvis Presley – Milton Berle Show Appearance June 5, 1956
Elvis Presley – Steve Allen
Show Appearance “Hound Dog” July 1, 1956
Elvis Presley – Ed Sullivan
Show Appearance October 28, 1956
Elvis Presley – Ed Sullivan
Show Appearance “From the Waist Up” January 6, 1957
Thurs.
5 May “Alienation from
IT” – The Beats’ Critique of 1950s America
Reading: Robert Holton, “‘The Sordid Hipsters of America’: Beat
Culture and the Folds of Heterogeneity”
Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” [Listen to Ginsberg recite “Howl” HERE ]
Allen Ginsberg, “America” [Listen to Ginsberg recite “America” HERE ]
Tues.
10 May “Revisiting a National Fable” – Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Reading:
Jeanne Theoharis,
“Learning to Play on Locked Pianos”
STUDY
QUESTIONS
Thurs.
12 May “A Promising Time?” – The 1960 Election and the Changing National Mood