The United States in the Twentieth Century
History 913
Dr. Brad Austin
Spring 2004
Introduction
This is a graduate seminar in 20th century United States history, focusing
primarily but not exclusively on the social and cultural changes the nation
experienced since the beginning of the 1920s. We will examine readings
that touch on the emergence of a consumer culture, the experience of living
and working through the Depression and World War II, the creation of the
“new Deal Coalition” and its legacy, the role of women during World War II
and in the following decades, the civil rights movement in the North and
the South, McCarthyism, new waves of immigration, and the rise of modern
political conservativism. It will be a busy term.
Objectives
This course has several specific goals and objectives. They include the following:
· To introduce students to recent scholarship on
a variety of topics in modern American history;
· To allow students to read deeply in a subject
of their choosing;
· To improve students’ critical thinking, reading,
and writing skills;
· To foster thoughtful discussions of how historians
have approached particular topics (and ignored others); and
· To allow students to develop their ability to
lead class discussions about common readings.
Contact Information
Office Hours: My office is in the Sullivan Building, room 106B.
I will be happy to meet with you during my office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays,
11:30-1:00, and Tuesdays, 4:00-6:00. I am also available to meet with
students by appointment at other times.
Phone: Work 978-542-7143 (SSC ext. 7143)
Mobile 978-985-3501 (Please use only in case of emergencies)
Email: brad.austin@salemstate.edu
Required Readings
Carson, Claiborne. In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of
the 1960s. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1981; reprint, Cambridge: Harvard UP,
1995.
Fraser, Steve, and Gary Gerstle, eds. The Rise and Fall of the New Deal
Order. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1990.
Fried, Richard. Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective.
Oxford UP, 1991.
Herring, George. America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam,
1950-1975. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1985.
Hodgson, Godfrey, The World Turned Right Side Up: A History of the Conservative
Ascendancy in America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
Lemke-Santangelo, Gretchen. Abiding Courage: African American Migrant
Women and the East Bay Community. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1996.
Meyerowitz, Joanne, ed., Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar
America, 1945-1960. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1994.
Reimers, David. Still the Golden Door: The Third World Comes to
America. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia UP, 1992.
Sugrue, Thomas. Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar
Detroit. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1996.
Susman, Warren. Culture as History: The Transformation of American Society
in the Twentieth Century. Pantheon Books, 1973; reprint, Smithsonian
Institution Press, 2003.
Assignments
Classroom Participation
25%
Leadership of Discussions:
10%
Book Reviews: (Students will prepare three, worth 10% each)
30%
Comparative Book Review
--Outline/Rough Draft
10%
--Final Draft
25%
100%
Classroom Participation and Discussion: This class will be
successful only with the active participation of all students. You
should attend every class session and be ready to discuss the assigned readings
with your colleagues. Before every class, each student should prepare
a formal list of questions and reactions to each of the readings. This
will allow us to focus our discussions on the students’ thoughts and questions.
Leadership of Class Discussion: During the course of the semester,
each student will be responsible for leading the class’s discussion of one
week’s reading. The discussion leader must prepare thoughtful questions
to guide the class and should also bring at least one relevant primary source
to the class to enhance our understanding of the week’s topic. A second
student will serve as the secondary discussion leader for each class.
Book Reviews: Students will write three, brief (750 words)
critical book reviews during the class. Each review should examine
one of the books from the required reading list. The book reviews should
follow the format outlined in a separate handout.
Comparative Book Review Essay: This will be a historiographical
essay on a major domestic development or theme considered in the course.
The essay, 12 to 15 pages in length, should deal with at least four books,
including two read in the course. It should compare and contrast how
historians have treated the shared topic and critically evaluate their questions,
approaches, evidence, and arguments. Students must submit an outline
and brief summary of books to be consulted before the April 6th class.
____________________________________
Make-Up Policy: If for any family or medical reason you
find it absolutely necessary to miss a due date, you must contact me before
the due date and have my consent to your absence if you wish to submit your
work later. Without granting such permission, I will not accept late work.
Equal Access Statement
Salem State College is committed to providing equal access to the educational
experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable
academic accommodations, aids, and adjustments. Any student who has
a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid, or adjustment should
speak with the instructor immediately. Students with Disabilities who
have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule
and appointment with the Office of Students with Disabilities and obtain
appropriate services.
Academic Honesty
“Salem State College assumes that all students come to the College with serious
educational intent and expects them to be mature, responsible individuals
who will exhibit high standards of honesty and personal conduct in their
academic life. All forms of academic dishonesty are considered to be
serious offences against the College community. The College will apply
sanctions when student conduct interferes with the College’s primary responsibility
of ensuring its educational objectives.” (From the Salem State College
Catalog 2002-2004, p. 293. Students should consult pages 294-295 of
the catalog for further details on Academic Integrity Regulations and in
particular, the College’s definition of Academic Dishonesty).
Week 1(Jan. 20) Introduction of Course Syllabus
and Goals Buy Books and Start Thinking About Extended Essay
Topic
Week 2(Jan. 27) The Consumer Culture of the 1920s
Photocopied chapters from Marchand, Advertising the American Dream
and Wrightman and Fox, The Culture of Consumption; Susman, Culture
as History, 101-149.
Week 3(Feb. 3) Life in the Depression and New Deal
Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 from Rise and Fall
of the New Deal Order and Culture as History, chapter 9.
Week 4(Feb. 10) Immigration and Migration During
the Second World War Abiding Courage First
Book Review Due
Week 5(Feb. 17) What Happened to Rosie?
Not June Cleaver, Introduction and Chapters 4 and 6; Rise
and Fall of the New Deal Order, Chapter 6.
Week 6(Feb. 24) McCarthyism Nightmare
in Red
Week 7(March 2) Politics and Culture of the 1950s
Chapter 5 from Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order; Chapter
6 from Not June Cleaver; “Politics as Consumption” photocopied from
The Culture of Consumption.
Week 8(March 9) The Civil Rights Movement in the
South In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the
1960s
Week 9(No Class-Spring Break) NO CLASS
________________________
Week 10(March 23) The Civil Rights Movement in the
North Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality
in Postwar Detroit
Week 11 (March 30) No Class Students
attend the Saturday session of the OAH annual conference in Boston
Week 12(April 6) Discussion of OAH Sessions and
Individual Meetings re: Comparative Book Review Essay Outlines
for Comparative Book Review Due
Week 13(April 13) The Vietnam War America’s
Longest War: The United States in Vietnam, 1950-1975
Week 14(April 20) A Changing American Population
Still the Golden Door: The Third World Comes to America
Week 15(April 27) The Rise of the Right in American
Politics and Culture The World Turned Right Side Up
Week 16(May 4) Students’ Choice of Topics
Readings to be Determined Final Papers Due by Friday, May 7th.