History 476

Devine

Spring 2007

 

Study Questions for Jane Addams, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets

 

  1. Why does Addams believe that “organizing work and failing to organize play” is a “stupid experiment” that has “brought about a fine revenge?”  Why should play be “organized”?

 

  1. According to Addams, why, in the modern city, has youth’s natural urge to “seek pleasure” led to the pursuit and spread of vice?

 

  1. Why does Addams see the prevalence of urban commercial amusements as a social problem?

 

  1. What distinguished the new dance halls from the old dances “on the village green”?  Why does Addams prefer the old setting?

 

  1. Why does Addams dislike modern music?

 

  1. Why does Addams believe reformers focusing on improving recreation should “take a page from the philosophy of the Greeks”?

 

  1. Do you see any similarities between Addams’ views on youth and Randolph Bourne’s?

 

Study Questions for David Nasaw, “Children and Commercial Culture”

 

  1. Why did reformers decide to “cast themselves in the heroic role” (15) and take up the task of protecting children from the new amusements?

 

  1. What disagreements occurred among reformers?  On what issues did they all agree?

 

  1. Why did the reformers succeed in getting laws passed but not enforced?

 

  1. Why did the children like to go to the penny arcades and nickelodeons (but not Jane Addams’ Hull House theater)?

 

  1. Why does Nasaw suggest that “the children’s effect on the [movie] industry was much greater than the moving pictures’ effect on the children” and that the children “suffered little and gained much” (24)

 

Study Questions for Kathy Peiss, “The Coney Island Excursion”

 

  1. How did working-class excursions change between the 1880s and the turn of the twentieth century? What factors contributed to the changes?

 

  1. Why was Coney Island a popular – and potentially dangerous – destination for young women?

 

  1. How did the crowds that went to Coney Island change over the years?  What steps did entertainment entrepreneurs take to attract larger audiences?

 

  1. What kind of entertainment did Luna Park offer?  In what ways was it a bridge between the 19th and 20th century culture? Why was Dreamland less popular?

 

  1. How did Steeplechase differ from Luna Park and Dreamland? Why did it remain popular longer?

 

  1. How did the changes that occurred at Coney Island reflect broader social changes taking place between 1880 and 1920?