“The Popular Arts
and American History, 1840-1960”
Syllabus and
Survival Guide
History 496XD – Spring 2002
Monday
7:00 pm – 9:50 pm, Sierra Hall 279
Dr. Thomas Devine
Office Hours: Sierra Tower 624, Tuesdays, 1:30-2:30 and
by appointment gladly given.
Email: tom.devine@csun.edu Phone: (818) 677-3550
Teaching
Assistant: Levon
Thomassian
The following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – are available at the Matador Bookstore.
To subvert the
system and to save yourself some money, you might consider buying used copies
of the books. I would 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.
--This
semester we will be exploring nineteenth and twentieth century U. S. history
through the lens of the popular arts.
We will examine primary sources such as novels, theatrical productions,
paintings, movies, songs, speeches, and autobiographies. 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 U. S. history.
Throughout the 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 can be applied both historically
and contemporarily. In short, the
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.
--Since it
is impossible to “cover” everything in a course that meets officially only 13
times, out of necessity, the syllabus will be selective in the topics that it
addresses. The semester project,
however, will afford you the opportunity to explore on your own an area or
topic that may not be treated in class.
--Finally,
the course will provide you with ample opportunities to improve your
writing. When the semester is over, all
of you should be able to compose a compelling, well-written (if not sparkling)
critical essay – a skill that will benefit you in the world beyond History 496.
Grading & Requirements
Class
Participation --20%
1st
Paper [due 6 March] --15%
2nd
Paper [due 18 April] --20%
3rd
Paper [due 21 May] --20%
Semester
Project [due before 13 May] --25%
All grading will be done on the +/ – system
Graduate students will be expected to do a
certain amount of additional work, but we can determine the nature of these
extra requirements as the semester progresses.
Written
Assignments
Papers
The three paper assignments will focus on
the material covered in the assigned readings and during class discussion. Generally, there will be a choice of topics,
which will be handed out two weeks before the due date. Do not turn in your papers late. Any paper that is not turned in before
the deadline for the subsequent paper assignment will automatically receive a
grade of “zero.”
Papers should be a minimum of four full
pages and no more than six pages with reasonable margins. Grades will be based on the quality of your
ideas and how effectively you present them.
Though I will make grammar and spelling
corrections on your papers, you are not being graded on grammar and spelling per
se. A poorly written paper, however,
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.”
As you will find out, I read your papers
very thoroughly and offer detailed constructive criticism. Do not be discouraged by my “heavy edits” of
your work. Many students who recoil in
horror at the “red ink” all over their essays are surprised to find that when
they get to the last page, their work has received a decent grade. 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 need be, I am willing to work with you
individually to achieve this goal – all you need to do is ask for assistance.
Semester Project
A separate handout will follow with more
specific instructions, however, you should expect to write a 7-10 page essay
dealing with 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. I encourage and will offer extra credit to
anyone who cares to share their findings with the class in the form of an oral
or multi-media presentation. So as to
prevent you from putting this assignment off until the last moment, I will also
ask for two written status reports on your work during the course of the
semester.
Surviving
History 496…
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 break into small groups on a regular
basis. Your performance in these groups
will also count toward your overall participation grade.
--Your
discussion grade will be based on the quality of participation – simply
“being there” or saying “something” will not insure you a high grade.
--There will be a short break midway
through each class.
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 two 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 are
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 leave at the break and expect to be
credited with having attended the entire class (I will notice.) Do not tell me things that are not
true. It is far better to acknowledge
that you messed up than to fabricate a story in order to cover up a mistake or
shortcoming. 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
28 January Introduction:
An explanation of course objectives, mechanics, and procedures.
4 February “Shakespeare in the Bowery” – Antebellum
Theatre and American Class Conflict
Reading: Lawrence Levine, “William Shakespeare in America” from Highbrow/Lowbrow:
The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America, Chapter 1
Richard Butsch, The Making of American
Audiences From Stage to Television, 1750-1990, Chapters 3-4
11
February P. T. Barnum and the Rise of “Democratic
Amusements”
Reading: P. T. Barnum, The Life of P. T. Barnum, pp. 9-42;
106-117 (mid-page); 136-190; 211-265; 292-343; 352-358; 394-404
18 February “Jumping Jim Crow” – The Rise of Blackface
Minstrelsy
Reading: Robert C. Toll, Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in
Nineteenth-Century America, chs. 2-3
Alexander Saxton, “Blackface Minstrelsy and
Jacksonian Ideology”
G. W. Griffin, “The Ticket-Taker or, The
Masquerade Ball: An Ethiopian Farce, In One Scene”
25 February “Way Down Upon the Swanee River” – Stephen
Foster and “America’s Music”
Reading: Ken Emerson, Doo~Dah! – Stephen Foster and the Rise of American
Popular Culture, Introduction, Chapters 10, 12-14, 16, 20, 24
4 March Buffalo Bill Cody and the Reconstruction of American Memory
Reading:
Joy S. Kasson, Buffalo Bill's Wild West:
Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History
11 March Mark Twain and the Irony of American Race Relations
Reading:
Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson
U. S. Supreme Court, Plessy v. Ferguson
18
March “Coney Island
Babies” – The Emergence of Mass Culture
Reading: John F. Kasson, Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn
of the Century
25 March SPRING BREAK
8 April “Going Primitive” – Edgar Rice Burroughs
and the Crisis of American Masculinity
Reading:
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan
of the Apes
Marianna Torgovnick, “Taking Tarzan Seriously”
from Gone Primitive
Theodore Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life”
15 April “Escapism or Subversion?” – American Film Comedy in the 1930s
Reading: TBA
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
22 April “Tough Guys in a World of Chance” – The Detective
Novel of the Interwar Years
Reading: Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
Film: Recommended but not required is the definitive film version of Hammett's novel, made in 1941 by Warner Brothers, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart.
29 April “Class, Race, Politics, and…Swing?” – Dancing Through the Depression
Reading: Selections from David W. Stowe, Swing Changes
6 May “Watch
the Skies!” – Science Fiction Cinema and the Cold War
Reading: Peter Biskind, Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught
us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties, Chapter 3
Films: You are responsible
for two of the following films:
Them!
(1954); The Thing (1951); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956); The
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); It Came From Outer Space (1953)
13 May “Race,
Rock, and Elvis” – Rock’n’Roll and the Blurring of the Color Line
Reading: Greil Marcus, “The Elvis Presley
Phenomenon”
Brain
Ward, Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and
Race Relations, Introduction, Chapter 1
Michael
Bertrand, Race, Rock and Elvis, Chapter 7