History 578 – Topics in U.S. Economic History Since 1865

Syllabus and Survival Guide

Fall 2005

Thursday 7:00 pm – 9:50 pm, Sierra Hall 198

 

Instructor

 

Dr. Thomas W. Devine

Phone: (818) 677-3550 Email

Office Hours: Sierra Tower 624, TuTh 1:00-2:00 and by appointment gladly given. 

 

Reading

 

The following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – are available at the Matador Bookstore.  All other readings will be provided in class. To subvert the system and to save yourself some money, you should consider buying second hand copies of the books at one of the following websites:

http://www.bookfinder.com/; http://www.half.com/; http://www.amazon.com/.

 

 

Spirit of the Course

 

In this colloquium we will explore how economic changes have impacted the course of American history since the Civil War.  We will consider how individuals, groups, and institutions that possessed, aspired to, or lacked economic power benefited from, adapted to, or suffered under these evolving conditions.  The readings encompass various ideological, regional, and methodological perspectives and are intended to give you a broad view of how historians incorporate the study of the economy into the larger narrative of the nation’s past.  Rather than focus on economic theory in the abstract, the course will emphasize the real world effects of economic policies in the realms of business and commerce, domestic politics, international relations, social interaction, and cultural consciousness.  Also, given the heated nature of the historiographical debates that some of our topics have generated, I will introduce and we will discuss scholarly controversies where appropriate.

 

Grading

 

Class Participation                                       --40%

Critique                                                       --10%

Semester Project [Due December 8]*            --30%

Final Paper [Due December 15]                    --20%

 

 *- But gladly accepted before December 8th

 

Surviving History 578…

 

Explanation of Requirements

 

Completing the Reading

There’s no getting around it – this class requires a lot of reading.  But, as a Masters level colloquium, it is supposed to.  To succeed in this course, you will need to complete the reading, but you will also need to have given it some thought.  Read with a pencil in hand – take notes in the margins.  Record terms that are unfamiliar to you or that you don’t understand, points that you find interesting or surprising, arguments with which you strongly agree or disagree, methods of research or analysis that seem especially creative or insightful (or misguided and ideologically driven), or ideas that connect to things we’ve talked about in previous classes.  Also, read smart – don’t read every single word of the first 4 chapters and nothing thereafter because you ran out of time. If you catch the argument the author is making, don’t sweat all the details or supporting examples – skim over them and get on to the next major point.  It is more important to have gotten the gist of an entire book than to master every aspect of the first one-third of it.

 

Participation in Discussion

This is a seminar-style course in which active participation in the weekly discussions is crucial to the class’s success.  Our meetings will be conversations – free, open, and informal exchanges of ideas based on the assigned readings – and I expect everyone to take part.  I will do my best to insure each student has ample opportunity to contribute, but, ultimately, it will be up to you to make certain that you remain an active participant rather than a passive observer.

 

Leading Discussion

One person will be responsible for leading the discussion each week.  That person will compose a list of 8 questions that address the major themes and issues raised in the reading.  The discussion leader will meet with me briefly ahead of time to go over his or her questions.  Before the seminar begins, he or she will also provide each member of the class a copy of the questions. (I can handle the copying if you get your questions to me at least a half hour before class.) Your leading of discussion will not receive a grade per se, but will be taken into account in the calculation of your participation grade.

 

Précis

One person will be responsible for producing a single-spaced 2-page précis of the reading each week.  This assignment is meant to be a summary rather than a review, though you may give an overall evaluation of the book in the final paragraph.  As with the questions, the person who writes the précis will provide each member of the class with a copy at the beginning of the seminar. This assignment, too, will not receive a grade per se, though in calculating your participation grade, I will take into account the quality of and amount of effort you appear to have put in to your précis.

 

Critique

One person will be responsible for producing a single-spaced 2-page critique of the assigned reading each week. This may be handled in one of four ways: 1) a summary of the book’s critical reception and your own reaction to it; 2) a historiographical review that explains where the books fits within the secondary literature on its topic; or 3) a brief essay that focuses on a particular theme or argument that you found especially interesting and wanted to explore further; or 4) a report grounded in primary sources in which you examine such sources to see if they lead you to the same kinds of interpretations that the author offers.  I can provide you with both primary source suggestions and historiographical background, so don’t hesitate to ask.  At some point during class, perhaps right after the break, you will have the floor to present the findings of your critique and field questions from the class. Please do not extend your presentation beyond 15 minutes.  The written critique will be due a week from the date of your presentation.

  

Semester Project

Select a topic from the period covered in the course that you find to be of interest and do some outside reading on it.  I would recommend a mixture of books and articles.  Your choice of focus need not be directly related to the material covered in the course.  Indeed, this is your opportunity to investigate a subject area that the course may neglect.  Then, summarize your findings in a ten-page essay.  So as to prevent you from putting this assignment off until the last moment (and confronting the dreaded “incomplete”), I will ask for a tentative bibliography with brief annotations at the mid-point of the semester.  I will gladly critique drafts of this assignment.

 

Final Essay

In a 7-8 page essay due at the end of the semester, you will answer a question that will be directly related to the major themes of the course.  In responding, you will draw only from material in the assigned reading; no outside reading or research will be necessary.

 

Bringing Food

On one occasion during the semester, each person will bring a snack for the entire class to enjoy at the break. Optimally, your culinary contribution will be related in some way to that week’s discussion topic.

 

Course Policies

 

Attendance

Since class meets only once a week, it is important, and it is expected, that you will be at every session.  Inevitably, an occasion may arise when you are unable to attend.  Out of fairness to your classmates who do attend every week, 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.  To make up for a missed class, you may turn in a 2-page, single-spaced précis summarizing the reading for the class you missed.

 

Problems

I appreciate that most CSUN graduate students are stretching themselves quite thin, often working full time while taking classes at night.  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.

 

Discussion Topics and Assignments

 

Schedule

 

Sept. 1        The Emergence of Big Business: Structural Factors

Reading: Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., “The Beginnings of ‘Big Business’ in American Industry,” Business History Review, 33 (Spring 1959), 1-31.

              John G. Sproat, “Organizing and Rationalizing American Capitalism”

              Maury Klein, “Coming Full Circle: The Study of Big Business Since 1950,” Enterprise & Society, 2 (September 2001), 425-460.

 

Sept. 8        The Second Industrial Revolution: An Overview

                   Reading: Maury Klein, The Flowering of the Third America

 

Sept. 15      “I Wanna Be a Part of It”: Business Culture in Gilded Age New York

                   Reading: Thomas Kessner, Capital City

                       

Sept. 22      Go West, Young Capitalist: Industrializing the “Wilderness”

Reading: David Igler, Industrial Cowboys

 

Sept. 27/29 The New Empire? US Economic Expansion in a Global Context

Reading: Fareed Zakaria, From Wealth To Power

                   Edward P. Crapol, “Coming to Terms with Empire: The Historiography of Late-Nineteenth-Century American Foreign Relations”

 

Oct. 6          “Like a Good Neighbor”: “Selling” the Corporation

                   Reading: Roland Marchand, Creating the Corporate Soul

 

Oct. 11/13  “Put it on my Card”: The Rise of Consumer Credit

                   Reading: Lendol Calder, Financing the American Dream

 

Oct. 20        “What’s Good for General Motors…”: Managing the Modern Corporation

                   Reading: David Farber, Sloan Rules

 

Oct. 25/27  The Great Depression: The Debate Over Causes and Consequences

Reading: Gene Smiley, Rethinking the Great Depression

              Maury Klein, “The Stock Market Crash of 1929: A Review Article,” Business History Review, 75 (Summer 2001): 325-352.

              Peter Temin, “The Great Depression” in The Cambridge History of the United States, Stanley L. Engerman and Robert E. Gallman, eds. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000): 301-329.

 

Nov. 3         The Great Depression: An International Perspective

                   Reading: Harold James, The End of Globalization

 

Nov. 8/10    “Whither the Military-Industrial Complex?” The Cold War Economy

                   Reading: Aaron L. Friedberg, In the Shadow of the Garrison State

 

Nov. 17       “I Want That!”: The Triumph of Consumerism

                   Reading: Gary Cross, An All-Consuming Century

 

Nov. 24       THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

 

Dec. 1         “Growing the Economy”: Postwar Economic Policy & Politics

                   Reading: Robert M. Collins, More

 

Dec. 8         “Shrinking the Work Force” : The Loss of Industrial Jobs in the US

                   Reading: Jefferson Cowie, Capital Moves