Young in America – 20th Century U.S. Youth Culture

 

03

 

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%

MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE

Final Examination (May 17th)                                   --20%

FINAL STUDY GUIDE

 

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”

Lisa Jacobson, “Manly Boys and Enterprising Dreamers: Business Ideology and the Construction of the Boy Consumer, 1910-1930”

STUDY QUESTIONS

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Thurs. 4 Feb.     “Bad Girls” – Regulating Female Sexuality

Reading: Mary E. Odem, “Teenage Girls, Sexuality, and Working-Class Parents in Early Twentieth-Century California”

              J. Shoshanna Ehrlich, “Responding to the ‘Girl Problem’: The Emergence of the Female Sexual Delinquent”

STUDY QUESTIONS

Tues. 9 Feb.      “Newsies, Junkers, and Little Mothers

Reading:  David Nasaw, Children of the City, Chapters 1-7

STUDY QUESTIONS, 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)

Linda Gordon, “The Gibson Girl Goes to College: Popular Culture and Women’s Education in the Progressive Era, 1890-1920”

Daniel A. Clark, “Athletes and Frats, Romance and Rowdies: Reimagining the Collegiate Extracurricular Experience”

STUDY QUESTIONS

 

QUIZ #2 – College Youth

 

Thurs. 18 Feb.   “Flaming Youth” – Flappers, Sheiks, and the Roaring ‘20s

                             Reading: F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”

 

                             STUDY QUESTIONS

 

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)

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

STUDY QUESTIONS

Thurs. 25 Feb.   “Lighting out for the Territories” – Teenage Hoboes

Film:  Riding the Rails (The American Experience)

STUDY QUESTIONS

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

STUDY QUESTIONS

DIG #1

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

STUDY QUESTIONS

                       

Tues. 8 Mar.      Wars at Home: Minority Youth Countercultures during World War II

Reading: Robin D. G. Kelley, “The Riddle of the Zoot: Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics during World War II”

Stuart Cosgrove, “The Zoot Suit and Style Warfare”

The Diary of Aline Martha Beeson [excerpts] 

STUDY QUESTIONS

Films: Hellzapoppin (1941)

Malcom X (1992)

 

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

 

STUDY QUESTIONS

 

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”

                                                STUDY QUESTIONS

 

Thurs. 28 Apr.   “If you’re going to San Francisco…” – The Counterculture and the Summer of Love       

Reading: Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, “‘We Wanted to Break Away’ – Women’s Journey from the ‘Burbs to the Counterculture”

Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”

Film: The Summer of Love (The American Experience)

STUDY QUESTIONS

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

STUDY GUIDE

 

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”

 

STUDY QUESTIONS

 

 

Thurs. 12 May     Review