History 268-016
David Suisman
Univ. of Delaware - Fall 2005
Office: Munroe 118
Email dsuisman@udel.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 4:00-6:00
and by appointment
Class meeting: Smith 218, W 3:35-6:35 pm
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Popular Culture in the United States History 268-016 David Suisman Univ. of Delaware - Fall 2005 Office: Munroe 118 Email dsuisman@udel.edu Office hours: Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 and by appointment Class meeting: Smith 218, W 3:35-6:35 pm |
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Updated: Nov. 11,
2005
Photo credits for this web page here Course Description Do you like going to the movies, playing video games, listening to music on your Ipod, watching "Cribs" on MTV, or shopping for a stylish new outfit to wear on Saturday night? What about dancing, reading, or going to an amusement park? These are all examples of the ways that people spend their time when they're doing what they "want to," not what they "have to." Although most people do not usually think about it in these terms, these are also examples of how people create meaning in their lives, forge identities for themselves (both as individuals and as groups), and make statements about what they think is important in the world. One of the great advantages of studying popular culture in history is that we all bring a wealth of ideas, opinions, and experience to the subject. As we explore what popular culture has meant in the United States in the last 150 or so years, and how historians have analyzed and understood that culture, I hope you will bring as many opinions and insights to this work as you would to the popular culture that you participate and create outside the classroom. Your level of interest and curiosity is what will propel this class. As a sophomore seminar, this course is designed as an introduction to what it means to be a history major. This will have two principal components. First, we will read and analyze a variety of historical approaches to popular culture, including in many cases our own analysis of the historical sources themselves. This work is intended to introduce you to major categories and concepts in the study of history, such as ideology, class, and gender. It shall also familiarize you with fundamental interpretive issues such as change over time, the relationship between individual and social actions, and the interconnectedness of cultural, political, and economic relationships. The second main component of this seminar will be a semester-long research project. I urge you to begin thinking about this as early as possible and to find a topic you are personally interested in. This can and should be an interesting and rewarding endeavor, albeit one that will require a serious amount of discipline and work. Requirements Attendance
(10%)
You are expected to attend every class meeting, to arrive on time, and to stay the entire period. One absence will be allowed without penalty. Students with more than one absence will risk losing all or part of this 10%. If you must miss class for any reason, please contact me by telephone or email before class. Students missing three or more classes may not be permitted to pass the course. Class participation (20%)
Please come to class ready to talk, think, and engage. The success of this seminar depends on what you, the students, bring to it. Some basic question you might ask yourself: What was the point of this week's readings? What does this week's topic have to do with last week's? What did I find interesting (or surprising or objectionable) about this week's reading? Just as importantly, you should bring with you questions to class (e.g. what happens if we consider this topic from X's perspective? why did the author focus so much on such-and-such a point?) and think in advance about topics for discussion. Completion of all written assignments
These will include: 1. Website evaluation (15%) - 250-400 words (1-2 pages) - due September 21 2. Research prospectus (10%) - due October 5 3. Introductory paragraph of research paper (10%) - due November 2 4. Draft of complete paper (not graded) - due Friday, November 11 5. Final paper (20%) - due Friday, December 9 6. Peer writing critiques (15%) All of these assignments are required. Students who do not complete all of these assignments may not be permitted to pass the course. You may also be asked to write short in-class essay. You will turn these in, but they will not be graded. These will be an opportunity for you to synthesize your thinking. Research paper
The research paper is in many ways the backbone of the course. You will be expected to work on it regularly throughout the semester and to demonstrate progress along the way. Beginning with the research prospectus, due Oct. 5, each of you will work with at writing partner of your own choosing. With every assignment hereafter, you will submit your work to your partner for feedback before handing it in. You must, therefore, leave sufficient time for your partner to comment on your work and for you to revise your work afterwards. It is not enough to hand in essentially the same work that your partner read. With each assignment, you must also turn in some evidence of your work with your partner (e.g., a draft with his or her comments on it; print out of email correspondence; etc.). Your work with your partner will be incorporated into your grades. A complete description of the assignments pertaining to the research paper available here The webpage customized for our course for research through the Univ. of Delaware Libraries is available here Policies: Email, Grading, and Plagiarism Email
I will communicate--occasionally at least, perhaps often--via email. You will be responsible for reading and responding accordingly to these emails. If you have questions about them (or any other aspect of the course) it is your responsibility to ask. (Some of you may prefer to use your own email address--hotmail or whatever--instead of your UD address. However, because I will be emailing the class only through the UD email addresses, you will need to insure that your UD email is forwarded to whatever account you use. Instructions for email forwarding can be found at http://www.udel.edu/topics/e-mail/unixforward.html.) Grading
Grades will be assigned according to the following criteria. A - Superb work: clear, focused thesis - thorough and persuasive use of evidence - lucid, polished writing (well-organized, with clear transitions - free of grammatical, syntactical and typographic errors) - thoughtful, original ideas - sophisticated appreciation of complexities and ambiguities in evidence and analysis B - Good work: clear thesis, supported by appropriate evidence - solid writing skills, with clear transitions and few grammatical, syntactical or typographical errors - good research and relevant analysis C - Acceptable but undistinguished work: lacking a clear argument - thesis inadequately supported by evidence - ideas are unclear, contradictory, inaccurate, obvious - quotations are left hanging without analysis or exposition - weak organization - awkward or nonexistent transitions - careless reading, superficial research - numerous stylistic errors (grammar, syntax, spelling; typos) D / F- Unacceptable work: fails to fulfill the assignment in significant ways - no thesis at all - inadequate research, insufficient evidence - lacking analysis, includes only cursory summary of sources - serious reading problems or comprehension of sources - too short - poor organization - no transitions between ideas - severe problems with language skills (syntax, grammar, spelling) - sloppy, overrun with typographical errors Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's work as your own. It is a form of dishonesty--a form of cheating, in fact--and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Plagiarism is not limited to using another person's exact words; using someone else's ideas without attribution is also a form of plagiarism. The amount you plagiarize doesn't matter: cheating is cheating. The good news about plagiarism is that it is easily avoided by clearly citing your sources. If you do, you can safely avoid even the hint of improper usage of someone else's work. If you are found to have plagiarized on any assignment, you will not be permitted to pass the course. If you have any questions about plagiarism, do not hesitate to ask. Books The following books have been ordered at the UD bookstore:
Course schedule |
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31 - Introduction September 7 - What is Popular Culture? Reading (memo): John Storey, Inventing Popular Culture - Preface, ch. 1-5, 7 and Susan Strasser, "How to Read a Book" (click here) September 14 - What Is History--And How Do You Study It? Reading (memo): E. H. Carr, What Is History? - ch. 1-2, 4-5 and "Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask (courtesy of the UC Berkeley Library): click here Research assignment: Think about formulating a paper topic; bring ideas to class *
What
kinds of topics would be appropriate--in terms of subject matter and
scope--for a semester-long research paper?
September 21 - Interpreting Culture Reading (memo): Elliott Gorn, ed., The McGuffey Readers - pp. 1-155 Research assignment: Write a 1-2 page evaluation of a website related to the topic of the research you are considering for your paper. *
A detailed description of the paper assignment is available here
*
You must hand in a hard
copy AND email me an electronic copy as an attachment.
Special meeting: At 5:30 we will meet with librarian David Langenberg in Morris Library to discuss research tools and methodologies. September 26 (Monday) - By mid-afternoon, I will post three sample papers from those that you as a class have handed in. (new)
Guidelines
and rubric for reviewing sample papers - here
Sample paper 1 - here Sample paper 2 - here Sample paper 3 - here September 28 - The Page and the Stage Reading (memo): Cullen, ed., Popular Culture in American History, ch. 2, 4, and 5 and prepare to discuss the three sample papers (see above) Research assignment: If there is interest, I will hold extra office hours this week to discuss research topics and strategies |
  Pioneers of social dancing Vernon and Irene Castle, in 1915 |
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October 5 - The
Spectacle of Amusement Reading (memo): John Kasson: Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century - all Research assignment: Research prospectus due (details here) October 12 - Minstrelsy and the Ideology of Race (Note: This is a lighter reading week, so take advantage of it for doing research.) Reading (memo): Cullen, Popular Culture in American History - ch. 3 and Michael Rogin, Blackface, White Noise: Jewish Immigrants in the Hollywood Melting Pot - ch. 4 - click here In class: Screening of Ethnic Notions (dir. Marlon Riggs) October 19 - Popular Culture in the Age of Mass Media Reading (memo): Cullen, Popular Culture in American History, ch. 6 and 8 and Warren Susman, “‘Personality’ and the Making of Twentieth Century Culture,” Culture as History: The Transformation of American Society in the Twentieth Century (New York: Pantheon, 1984) 271-85 - click here October 26 - Television Reading (memo): Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV - Introduction, chap. 1-3, Epilogue |
Luna Park, Coney
Island, 1905
 click to
enlarge
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| November 2 - Hip Hop America Reading (memo): Cullen, Popular Culture in American History, ch. 10 and Robin D. G. Kelley, "Kickin' Reality, Kickin' Ballistics: 'Gangsta Rap' and Post-Industrial Los Angeles," in Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class - click here and Theron Schlabach's Ten Commandments of Good Historical Writing - here and Yale Guide to Writing Prose - here Research assignment: Draft of introductory paragraph of research paper due in class November 9 - Debating the Effects of Popular Culture: Opiate, Stimulant, or Other? Reading (memo): Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994), pp. 83-98 - click here and Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations (New York, 1979), pp. 100-24 - here and Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle (orig. Paris, 1967), 35-53 - here Research assignment: continue work on papers November 16 - Culture Wars Reading (memo): Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind (1987), excerpts - here Lawrence Levine, The Opening of the American Mind (1996), excerpts - here Research assignment: Comments on your writing partner's draft CORRECTION November 18 (Friday) - noon - Due: Complete draft of papers, by email November 22 - no class November 23 - Thanksgiving November 30 - Student presentations FINAL PAPER DUE FRIDAY, DEC. 9 |
 Radio actor Bud Collyer played Superman on the radio from 1940 to 1950 |