The Popular
Arts and American History, 1840-1960
Syllabus and
Survival Guide
History 477
– Fall 2003
TuTh,
11:00-12:15, Sierra Hall 184
Dr.
Thomas Devine
Office
Hours:
Email: tom.devine@csun.edu Phone: (818) 677-3550
*-
Only selected chapters from these books will be required.
To
subvert the system and to save yourself some money, you might consider buying
used copies of the books. I suggest the
following web sites where you are likely to find used or discounted copies at
significantly lower prices: www.bookfinder.com; www.half.com; www.alibris.com; www.abebooks.com
All
other readings will be distributed in class and will also be available in a box
outside my office.
The central premise of
this course is that the popular arts deserve historians’ attention since they
often reveal much about the priorities, assumptions, mores, and values of the
culture that produced them. From the study of the popular arts, we can learn
much about the history of our own culture.
Throughout the
semester we will be exploring nineteenth and twentieth century
We will examine
primary sources such as novels, theatrical productions, illustrations,
sculptures, movies, songs, radio and television programs, and comic books. We will also read historians’ analyses of
popular art forms and critique and evaluate their interpretations. In the process, we will consider the power of
the popular arts to influence politics, social movements, and international
relations – the “stuff” more traditionally associated with the study of
In this course, you will be learning not simply more history, but a different way of
understanding history and, in tandem, sharpening your own skills as a “cultural
critic” – skills that will allow you to become both a more sophisticated
student of history and a better informed participant in and observer of
American culture. In short, this course
seeks to increase not only your knowledge but also your critical and
interpretive abilities – to help you learn not only answers but better ways of
asking questions.
Themes
Though
the material may seem rather eclectic to you – What could Buffalo Bill, Tarzan,
and Amos’n’Andy possibly have to do with one other? – there are certain
themes that we will be revisiting:
Reflecting on the
material we cover with these larger themes in mind will allow you to see the
connections between what at first glance might appear to be unrelated
materials.
Grading & Explanation of
Requirements
Class
Participation/Quizzes --20%
Paper
Assignment [Due Sept. 26 or Nov. 5] --15%*
Midterm
[Tuesday, Oct. 14] --20%
Semester
Project [Due Dec. 4) --25%
Final
Exam [Tuesday, Dec. 9] --20%
*-To
allow you some flexibility, there will be two options on the paper
assignment. You only have to do ONE
of them.
All grading will be
done on the +/ – system. Any assignment not turned in will be counted
as a “zero” in calculating the final grade.
Your class
participation grade will take into account your grades on the reading
quizzes and the quality of your oral participation in daily class discussions.
The midterm
will be a short answer and essay test designed primarily to confirm that you
have been keeping up with the reading and have given thought to the themes
raised in discussion. Please bring a bluebook to class on the day of the
midterm.
The paper
assignment will focus on the material covered in the assigned readings
and during class discussion. There will
be a choice of topics that will be handed out two weeks before the due
date. Papers should be a minimum of four
full pages and no more than six pages with reasonable margins.
The semester
project will allow you to explore in detail some aspect of the popular
arts and American history during the period covered by the course
(1840-1960). I will consult with you
individually on your selection of a topic.
So as to prevent you from putting this assignment off until the last
moment, I will also ask that you turn in a status report on your work during
the course of the semester. I will also
read drafts if you choose to submit one.
A separate handout will follow with more specific instructions, however,
you should expect to write a 8-10 page essay.
The final exam
will be much like the midterm. Again, please bring a bluebook to class.
On writing essays…
Grades on all written
assignments will be based on the quality of your ideas and how effectively you
present them.
As
you will find out, I read your papers thoroughly and offer detailed constructive
criticism. Do not be discouraged by my
“heavy edits” of your work. Though I
will make grammar and spelling corrections on your papers, you are not being
graded on grammar and spelling per se.
Still, a poorly written paper usually fails to convey ideas effectively,
so in this sense good writing does matter. There is no way of separating “the writing”
from “the ideas.” Keep your graded
papers and refer back to my corrections so you do not make the same mistakes
again. My objective is to insure that
every one of you leaves this class a better writer than when you entered. You should make this your goal as well.
If you are having
difficulty with the written assignments, please ask me for assistance. I have extensive experience in teaching
writing skills and am willing to work with you on an individual basis to
improve your essays. I will read and
edit drafts if I receive them with enough lead time before the assignment is
due.
Surviving
History 477…
Course Format
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 to the professor. Class participation is important and will
count heavily in your final grade. Have
the reading done BEFORE you come to
class and be ready to discuss it. Our
meetings will in fact be conversations – free, open, and informal exchanges of
ideas – and I expect everyone to take part.
Though no one should feel intimidated, I understand that some of you may
be more comfortable speaking to a smaller audience, so we will occasionally
break into small groups. Your
performance in these groups will also count toward your overall participation
grade.
Attendance
The success of this
course depends on each student’s active participation, therefore it is
important, and it is expected, that you will be present at every
session. I do take attendance. If you have had trouble attending class on a
regular basis in the past, this is probably not the course for you. Inevitably, an occasion may arise when you
are unable to attend. Out of fairness to
your classmates who do attend, however, each absence past the first four will
adversely affect your final grade. Also,
given the heavy weight placed on in-class discussion, any absence is likely to
detract from your participation grade.
Common Courtesy & Academic Honesty
Since I assume that
all of you possess impeccable manners and are of upstanding character, most of
this should go without saying, but I put it in writing here so that there will
be no misunderstanding. Please turn off
all cell phones and pagers while you are in class. 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. Do not tell me things
that are not true. Do not cheat. Do not
plagiarize. If you do so, I will find
you out and make your life miserable. (References available upon request.)
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, be sure to let
me know. 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.
You will find that as long as you keep me up to speed, I will be very
sympathetic.
Schedule
of Topics & Assignments
Tues. 26 Aug. Introduction: An explanation of course
objectives, mechanics, and procedures.
Thurs.
28 Aug. The Popular Arts – Some
Definitions and Assessments
Dwight MacDonald, “A Theory of Mass Culture”
Anthony DeCurtis, “I’ll Take My Stand: A Defense of Popular Culture”
Tues. 2 Sept. “Shakespeare for the Masses” –
Antebellum Theater and the Challenge to Cultural Hierarchy
Available on the web at: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/levine.html
Thurs.
4 Sept. “Bowery B’hoys and Gallery Gods” – Performance,
Audience Response, and Working-Class Consciousness in Jacksonian
Richard B. Stott, Workers
in the Metropolis,
Tues. 9 Sept. P. T. Barnum and the
Rise of “Democratic Amusements”
Thurs.
11 Sept. “Humbug!” – The Market Revolution
and its Influence on Entertainment
Tues.
16 Sept. From
Jim Crow to Chris Rock: The Origins and Legacy of Blackface Minstrelsy
William
McFerrin Stowe, Jr., “Damned Funny: The Tragedy of Bert Williams,” Journal
of Popular Culture 10, 1 (Summer 1976): 5-13.
Justin
Driver, “The Mirth of a Nation: Black Comedy’s Reactionary Hipness,”
Thurs.
18 Sept. “Constructing Whiteness” –
Blackface Minstrelsy and the Politics of Class
Film: [Recommended, but not required.] Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”
(2000)
Tues.
23 Sept. “Old Folks at Home” – Stephen Foster and “
Thurs.
25 Sept. “Nudity and Prudery” –
Domesticating the Female Body
Tues.
30 Sept. Buffalo Bill Cody and the Reconstruction of American
Memory
Thurs. 2 Oct. OPEN DATE
Continue discussion of
Kasson, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
Tues. 7 Oct. Who
is “Black,” Who is “White,” and Why? – Race as a Cultural Construct in Late
Thurs. 9
Oct. Putting Puddin’head in Context
Keith Weldon Medley,
“The Sad Story of How ‘Separate but Equal’ was Born” Smithsonian
(February 1994): 104-117.
Thurs.
16 Oct. “Girls! Girls! Girls!” –
Burlesque and American Culture
Reading:
Robert C. Toll, “The Girlie Show: From Statuary to
Striptease”
Tues. 21 Oct. Manliness and
Modernity: Gender Roles and Cultural Crisis at the Turn of the Century
Reading: John
Higham, “The Reorientation of American Culture in the 1890s”
Theodore Roosevelt,
“The Strenuous Life”
**Begin reading
Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes**
Thurs. 23 Oct. “Gone Primitive” –
Edgar Rice Burroughs and White Male Fantasy
Reading: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan
of the Apes
Continue discussion of Burroughs,
Tarzan
Thurs. 30 Oct. “A Uniquely American Medium” – Silent Film and American Culture
Reading: Selections from Paula M. Cohen, Silent
Film and the Triumph of the American Myth
Tues. 4
Nov. OPEN DATE
Continue discussion of Cohen, Silent Film
Thurs. 6 Nov. “Tough Guys in a World of Chance:” The Modern Detective Story and the Great Depression
Reading: Dashiell
Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
Film: Recommended but not
required is the definitive film version of Hammett's novel, released in 1941 by
Warner Brothers, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart.
Tues. 11
Nov. OPEN DATE
Continue discussion
of Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
Thurs. 13
Nov. “Escapism or Subversion?” – American Film Comedy in the
1930s
Films: You are responsible for two of the following four films:
Duck Soup (1933), starring the
Marx Brothers
Modern Times (1936), directed by and
starring Charlie Chaplin
42nd Street (1933), dances staged and
directed by Busby Berkeley
She Done Him Wrong (1933), starring
Mae West and Cary Grant
Tues. 18
Nov. OPEN DATE
Continue discussion of ‘30s film comedies
Thurs.
20 Nov. Radio and Race: The Ambiguous
Legacy of Amos’n’Andy
Reading: Selections from Melvin P. Ely, The Adventures of Amos’n’Andy
Tues. 25
Nov. OPEN DATE
Continue discussion
of Ely, Amos’n’Andy
Thurs.
27 Nov. THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Tues. 2 Dec. “A New and Threatening Medium:” Comic Books and Cold War America
Reading: William W. Savage, Commies, Cowboys, and Jungle Queens
Thurs. 4
Dec. Summary and Conclusions
FINAL
EXAMINATION à TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2003
10:15 AM – 12:15 PM