Young in America – 20th
Century U.S. Youth Culture
History 476 – Spring
2016
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 – 10:45 Sierra
Hall 288
Instructor
Dr.
Thomas W. Devine
Office
Hours: Sierra Tower 624, Tuesdays and Thursdays
3:45-5:30 and by appointment gladly given on other days.
Email: tom.devine@csun.edu
Phone:
(818) 677-3550
Teaching Assistant: Rebecca Thompson Email:
rebecca.thompson.920@my.csun.edu
Spirit of the Course
From Horatio Alger to Hannah Montana,
Americans have long been obsessed with youth – heralding it, romanticizing it,
protecting it, clinging to it, and, at times, exploiting it. Today, just as one
hundred years ago, we as a nation are seemingly preoccupied with “what is to
become of the young.” Yet in our public discussions, we typically have no
historical context – no awareness that each generation before us argued and
worried over the same issues, often operating under the same dubious assumptions
that we continue to hold decades later. In hopes of providing some historical
context, this class will offer an overview of what it was like to be young in
America over the course of the 20th century.
To the greatest extent possible, we
will approach our topic from the perspective of the young people themselves. By
looking at the experiences of various kinds of youth – rich, poor, black,
Latino, white, college bound, privileged, and powerless – we will challenge the
very notion of a singular “American youth culture.” We will also consider how
society’s notions about gender and proper gender roles played out in children’s
lives. Finally, we will examine how adults reacted to the behavior of their
children. Specifically, we will focus on how they sought to keep the nation’s
youth from being “corrupted” and how young people responded to their efforts.
Indeed, as we shall see, adults’ concerns about youth often reveal their own
anxieties about changes occurring in the broader society.
Required Reading
The
following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – are
available at the Matador Bookstore.
● David Nasaw, Children of the City
● Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
● Michael Patrick MacDonald, All Souls: A family Story from Southie
To subvert the system and to save
yourself some money, you should buy used copies of the books. You are likely to
find copies at significantly reduced prices at the following websites: www.bookfinder.com; www.half.com; www.amazon.com.
All other readings will be distributed
in class or made available on the web syllabus.
Requirements and
Grading
Class
Participation/Quizzes --15%
Homework
Assignments/“Digs” --10%
Paper 1 due February
27th --15%
CLICK HERE FOR PAPER 1 ASSIGNMENT
Paper 2 or
Oral History Paper --20%
CLICK HERE FOR PAPER 2 ASSIGNMENT
Midterm Examination
(March 29th) --20%
Final Examination
(May 17th) --20%
TIPS
FOR CONDUCTING ORAL HISTORIES
Valerie Raleigh Yow, Recording Oral History [excerpts]
• All grading is based on 100 points
and will be done on the +/ – system.
• Late assignments will be penalized. Any
assignment turned in more than a week late will not be accepted.
•
Any assignment
not turned in or not accepted will receive a grade of ZERO in the
calculation of the final grade.
Explanations of
Requirements
Class Participation
Though
this course will include some lectures, it is not primarily a “lecture course.”
The emphasis will be on discussion and classroom interaction rather than
listening to the professor. Class participation is important and will count in
your final grade. If you are hovering between two letter grades at the end of
the semester, I will assign you the
higher grade if you were an active and informed participant in class
discussions Complete the reading done BEFORE
you come to class and be ready to discuss it – simply being “present” does not
count as participation. Since not everyone is comfortable speaking in front of
others, your performance on the quizzes will also be considered in calculating
your participation grade.
Quizzes
To reward
those who keep up with the reading, there will be frequent in-class quizzes. If
you have done the reading – or even most of it – you should have no difficulty
doing well.
Homework Assignments
In order
to help you get the most out of the reading and to prepare you to discuss it in
class, there will be occasional short written homework assignments that you
will complete as you do the reading. These will be collected in class. You may
email me your assignment BEFORE class
and still receive full credit. There will also be “digs” – short exercises that will require you to interpret primary
sources.
Midterm and Final Examinations
The
Midterm and Final Examinations will consist of short and long essays. I will
provide you with review questions that will help you study for the exams. You
are responsible for bringing an unmarked green book to the midterm and the
final.
Analytical Essays
These
papers (1000 words each) will focus on the material covered in the readings and
during class discussion. There will be a choice of topics handed out well
before the due date. Since the paper topics will address issues we have previously
discussed in class, it will be useful to take note of the questions and themes
that emerge from these discussions – you will likely see them reappear in the
paper topic questions.
Oral History Paper
Rather
than a second analytical essay, you can conduct an oral history interview with a person of
your choice. The subject matter for the interview should concern that person’s
childhood or adolescence (under 21 years). You will then write an essay
(approximately 1500 words) about this individual and place his or her
experiences within a broader historical context. In doing this, you will show
to what extent your subject’s childhood/adolescence was either typical or
atypical. In other words, you must show
how aspects of his/her life provide specific examples of, or exceptions to,
what we have studied about American youth culture during the period in which
he/she was growing up.
The Writing Center
Re-writing
and editing are the best ways to develop better writing skills. To help you
improve your writing (and your grades), the History Department has started a
Writing Center. The tutors are familiar with how to write History papers and
will be working closely with me in the process of evaluating your work.
Appointments with the tutors can be set up by calling the History Department
office at 818.677.3566.
Surviving History
476…
Getting the Reading Done
There’s
no getting around it – like all History classes, this class will require a lot of
reading. Therefore, it will serve you well if you figure out approximately how
many pages you can read in an hour and then calculate how many hours it will
take you to read each assignment. (Most History majors read scholarly books and
articles at about 20-30 pages an hour. Memoirs and works of fiction usually go
faster.) 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. 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 articles until you come across material that
is covered in the questions. Since the study questions focus on the most
important parts of the reading, if you are able to answer them, you will arrive
in class better prepared to participate in the discussion.
Attendance
Since
success in 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. You cannot participate when you are not
present, so each absence past the first two will lower your participation
grade. If you are a person who rarely attends class and relies on copying notes
from a friend, you would be best served by registering for another class. Or, perhaps more to the point, you might
reconsider why you are in college in the first place.
Laptop Policy
I do not
allow the use of laptops or any other electronic device in the classroom unless
you have a signed medical note stating that you must have one with you.
Common Courtesy
You are
at a university among professional people so you should try to act like you
belong here. Do not embarrass yourself by behaving badly. Please turn off
and put away all cell phones and other electronic gadgets while you are
in class. Texting or constantly playing with your phone during class is rude
and distracting. Beyond that, it makes you look ridiculous and people – like me
– will judge you accordingly. 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. Don’t speak while others are speaking. In short, act courteously and
professionally. Try to show some class. 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 the 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. Any and all plagiarized assignments will receive a grade of zero.
Beyond that, your name will be circulated among other faculty as someone who
lacks integrity and you risk being expelled from the University. If you are
unsure what plagiarism is, please consult with me BEFORE you hand
in an assignment.
Problems
I
appreciate that many CSUN students are stretching themselves quite thin, often working
full time while taking 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, either come to see me or send an email as
soon as a problem arises and we can work something out. Do not wait until the
end of the semester when it will be too late. I am more than willing to work
with you to insure you “survive,” but I need to know you are having
difficulties. If you are struggling academically, I will gladly give you extra
help.
Office Hours
I enjoy
talking with students, so take advantage of office hours. Students who get to
know their professors not only do better in class, but are able to plug in to a
professor’s network of friends and associates. This can prove helpful after you
graduate and begin looking for work.
Schedule of Topics & Assignments
(The
reading assignment listed for each day should be completed BEFORE you arrive at
class.)
Tues.
26 Jan. Introduction:
An explanation of course objectives, mechanics, and procedures.
Reading:
D.
James Romero, “Adulthood? Later, Dude!” Los
Angeles Times (1997)
Mike Males, “Today’s Youth Are Always the Worst”
Thurs.
28 Jan. What
is youth?
Reading:
Randolph S. Bourne,
“Youth” from the Atlantic Monthly (1912)
Jane Addams, “The Spirit of Youth in the City
Streets” (1909)
Grace Palladino, Teenagers, Introduction (1996)
STUDY
QUESTIONS INFORMATION ON RANDOLPH
BOURNE
Tues.
2 Feb. Socially
Constructing the “All-American Boy”
Reading:
Julia
Grant, “A ‘Real Boy’ and Not a Sissy: Gender, Childhood, and Masculinity,
1890-1940”
Thurs.
4 Feb. “Bad
Girls” – Regulating Female Sexuality
Tues.
9 Feb. “Newsies, Junkers, and Little Mothers”
Reading: David Nasaw, Children of the City, Chapters 1-7
Thurs.
11 Feb. “Nickel
Addicts and Coney Island Babies” – Youth, Reformers, and Commercial Amusements
Reading:
David Nasaw, Children of the City, Chapters 8-11, Epilogue
STUDY QUESTIONS, CHAPTERS
8-11, EPILOGUE
QUIZ
#1 – Children of the City
Tues.
16 Feb. “Revolution
on Campus?” – College Life and its
Critics, 1900-30
Reading: James Wechsler, Revolt on Campus (1935)
Vincent Sheean, “The
Modern Gothic” from Personal History
(1937)
QUIZ #2 – College
Youth
Thurs.
18 Feb. “Flaming
Youth” – Flappers, Sheiks, and the Roaring ‘20s
Reading: F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
Tues.
23 Feb. “Corn
Shredders, Canceled Stamps, and Cuddle Cooties” – Rating and Dating
Reading:
Kevin White, “Modern American Male
Heterosexuality: 1920s”
Paula S. Fass, “Sex and Youth in the Jazz
Age”
Film: “Our Dancing
Daughters” (1928)
Thurs. 25 Feb. “Lighting out for the Territories” – Teenage Hoboes
Film: Riding the Rails
(The American Experience)
Tues. 1 Mar. “Dead End Kids” – Teenagers, the
Depression, and the New Deal
Reading: Thomas Hine, The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager,
Chapter 1
Grace Palladino, Teenagers, Chapter
3, Chapter 4
Films: “Dead End” (1937)
“Love Finds Andy Hardy”
(1938)
Thurs.
3 Mar. “Don’t
You Know There’s a War On?” – Youth and World War II
Reading: William
Tuttle, “Daddy’s Gone to War”
Grace Palladino,
Teenagers, Chapter 5
Tues.
8 Mar. Wars at Home: Minority Youth Countercultures during
World War II
Stuart Cosgrove, “The
Zoot Suit and Style Warfare”
The
Diary of Aline Martha Beeson [excerpts]
Films:
Hellzapoppin (1941)
Thurs.
10 Mar. “Marketing Youth and the Youth Market” – Madison Avenue Discovers the
Teenager
Reading:
Kathryn Jay, “‘In Vogue With Mary’: How Catholic Girls Created an Urban
Market for Modesty”
Palladino, Teenagers,
Chapter 7
Film: The March of Time “Teenage Girls”
Tues.
15 Mar. “Rebels
Without a Cause?” – The Postwar Juvenile Delinquency Scare
Reading:
James Gilbert, A Cycle of Outrage, pp 3-23
Bradford Wright,
“Youth Crisis: Comic Books and Controversy, 1947-1950”
Grace Palladino, Teenagers, Chapter 6
QUIZ #3 – Readings 3-10, 3-15
Thurs.
17 Mar. “The Juvenilization of American Movies” –
Hollywood Discovers the Teenager
Reading: Mark Thomas McGee and R.J. Robertson, “Brando, Dean, and Daddy-O”
Films: Wild One
Rebel Without a Cause
Blackboard Jungle
SPRING BREAK
Tues. 29 Mar. MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Thurs. 31 Mar. NO
CLASS – CESAR CHAVEZ DAY
Tues.
5 Apr. “Alienation from IT” – The Beats’ Critique of 1950s America
Reading:
Robert Holton, “‘The
Sordid Hipsters of America’: Beat Culture and the Folds of Heterogeneity”
Robert Cottrell, “Troubadours
for a New American Bohemia: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and the Beats”
Optional Reading:
Allen Ginsberg,
“Howl” and “America”
Thurs.
7 Apr. “The Devil’s Music” – The Rise of Rock’n’Roll
Reading:
Susan K. Cahn, “Would
Jesus Dance? – The Dangerous Rhythms of Rock’n’Roll”
Film:
That Rhythm, Those Blues (The American Experience)
Tues.
12 Apr. “Before Elvis, There was Nothing” – Class, Race,
Youth, and “the King”
Reading: Robert Pielke, Elvis and the Negation of the
Fifties”
Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis, Chapter 7
Film: Elvis 1956
Thurs. 14 Apr. “A
Movement Led by the Young” – The Civil Rights Struggle
Reading: Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
Film:
Freedom on my Mind
Tues.
19 Apr. Continue
discussion of Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
QUIZ #4 Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
Thurs.
21 Apr. Open
Date
Tues.
26 Apr. Unrest on Campus –
SDS and the Student Revolt of the 1960s
Reading: David Stiegerwald, “The Reddish Decade”
Thurs.
28 Apr. “If
you’re going to San Francisco…” – The Counterculture and the Summer of Love
Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards
Bethlehem”
Film:
The Summer of Love (The American
Experience)
Quiz #5 – Readings 4-26 and 4-28
Tues.
3 May “Southie: The Greatest
Place in the World”: Busing, Gangs, and Urban Poverty, 1965-80
Reading: Michael Patrick MacDonald, All Souls
Thurs.
5 May Open Date – continue
discussion of All Souls
Quiz #6 – MacDonald, All Souls
Tues. 10 May The Fragmentation of Youth Culture in
the 1970s: Punk vs Pop
Reading: Rebecca Daugherty,
“The Spirit of ’77: Punk and the Girl Revolution”
Kevin Mattson, “‘Did
Punk Matter?’ Analyzing the Practices of a Youth Subculture During the 1980s”
Ilana Nash,
“Hysterical Scream or Rebel Yell? – The Politics of Teen-Idol Fandom”
Thurs. 12 May Review