Fall 2012 Rutgers University-­‐Newark 21:512:384 The 1920s and the Great Depression Elizabeth Meola Aaron, MAT – History, M. Ed [email protected] Class Meetings: Mondays 2:30-­‐3:50 pm and Wednesdays 1:00-­‐2:20pm Conklin Hall, Room 352 Office Hours: Mondays 4:00-­‐5:15 pm and Wednesdays, 12:00-­‐1:00 pm and by arrangement, Conklin Hall Are you eligible to vote in the election on November 6? Are you REGISTERED TO VOTE? Contact your local board of elections to register. The deadline in NJ to vote is 21 days before Election Day. Visit http://www.njelections.org/voting-­‐
information.html for more information and REGISTER TO VOTE if you are eligible to do so. This course covers the history of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Topics explored will cover the major themes and ideas of the era including immigration, the sexual revolution, the rise of mass consumer culture, popular culture and sport, the changes faced by and relations between labor, big business and political America, the role of ‘big’ government, modernism, religious fundamentalism, notions of ‘rugged individualism’ and collective identity, and changes in the way Americans viewed and valued racial, ethnic, and sexual identity. Political, social, legal, cultural, and other historical lenses will be used to help students gain a deeper understanding of this era both ‘then’ and ‘now’ in the larger narrative of American history. Class will be taught with a mix of short lectures, small and larger group discussions, small group learning exercises, student presentations, and writing. Online lectures will provide framework for some class activities and readings in primary source material and historiography will be used to deepen student understanding of major themes and ideas. Production in the arts and material culture of the era will also be examined. Arriving at class on time and prepared to work, discuss, and share ideas is paramount to your success in this class. It is critical that you arrive having completed the assigned readings and activities and that you are prepared each session to participate in all class activities and to answer and discuss the questions or prompts provided by the instructor to facilitate your learning. Any written work assigned by the instructor may be collected at the beginning, middle, or end of the class for which it is assigned. Please be sure to always print your work and bring it to the class for which it was assigned. Three books are required for class: Michael L. Kurtz’s The Challenging of America, 1920-­1945, which will serve as our basic course reader, Nella Larsen’s Passing, which we will use to consider race, identity, and society in the era, and The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, which we will use to dig deeper into the experiences of Americans in the 1930s. These books are on order at the campus bookstore in Bradley Hall. Students in this course are required to listen to weekly online lectures through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In order to do so, you MUST register (at no cost) with your academic email address to use their site as a student. Follow the directions at www.gilderlehrman.org under the tag “STUDENTS” to do so. These listening experiences will total approximately 15 hours over the semester. Questions to guide your listening will be provided in advance of each lecture on Blackboard and your written responses are due at the beginning of the class for which they are assigned. A list of the lectures and the dates by which they must be listened to will be provided by the instructor during the first full week of class. Over the course of the semester, we will be considering some key questions (and their answers) to guide our study of this era. They include but by no means are limited to • What were the main features of the new society of the 1920s? • In what ways was the US government ‘pro-­business’ in the era? What were the implications of that approach to regulation and activity? • What kinds of conversations and actions took place regarding civil liberties and rights in the 1920s? What resulted from them? • How did the themes of modernism and pluralism conflict with other ideas in 1920s? • What brought about the Great Depression? • What were the major policy initiatives of the First and and Second New Deal? In what ways did they break with the past, maintain status quo ideas, or forge new pathways for Americans? • How should we consider freedom in the 1920 and 1930s – denied, furthered, celebrated, limited? Attendance in class is critical to your learning and, ultimately, your grade. It is required. If you miss more than four classes (whether excused or unexcused) your grade will be lowered by one half grade (for example, from a B+ to a B.) Missing more than six classes will cause your grade to be lowered by two full letter grades (for example, from a B to a D.) If you miss more than eight classes (almost 30%) , you will fail the course. Assignments are due as announced in class or indicated on the syllabus. Our news article analysis assignments will be posted and explained on Blackboard. Paper assignments will be explained in class and posted on Blackboard. Our final paper will be explained after the first three weeks of class and should be worked on throughout the semester as time allows. Help is available from the instructor as needed to guide you in this process. Your in-­‐class contributions, short, collected assignments, news article analyses, short papers, book responses, and final paper all are critical components of your final grade and will be weighted accordingly. POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY (CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM): Rutgers University treats cheating and plagiarism as serious offenses. The standard minimum penalties for students who cheat or plagiarize include failure of the course, disciplinary probation, and a formal warning that further cheating will be grounds for expulsion from the university. You are required to read and sign the Academic Integrity pledge on Blackboard in order to take this class. The instructor cannot grade your work until you do so. Cellphones should be off during class. Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, are advised to consult with the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Room 302, Robeson Center. Upon submission of appropriate documentation, the Assistant Dean will arrange for necessary assistance and accommodation to enable any self-­‐
identified disabled student to meet all course requirements. SCHEDULE OF CLASSES: Readings for each class will be posted on Blackboard several weeks in advance as will pages in Kurtz’s book due to be read for each class. For each hour spent in class, a general expectation is that 2-­‐3 hours is spent outside class working on material for the class. Primary source and historiographical readings for class will vary but will generally fall in the vicinity of 20-­‐40 pages. Please note the classes for which Passing and The Worst Hard Time are due and plan your semester workload accordingly. Wednesday, 9/4: Introduction to course, syllabus review, and plagiarism article discussion, brief in-­‐class writing response on student learning interests and goals Monday, 9/10: Due in class: Diagnostic Writing Assignment: The 1920s The Great War and Transformation of Values as the 1920s Dawned Wednesday, 9/12: 1919-­‐1921 Chicago, Tulsa, and Elsewhere: Race and Riots on the Edge of an Era Monday, 9/17: The Lost Generation (News Analysis # 1 Due, topic: The Youth Generation) Wednesday, 9/19: Debates over Immigration: Restrictions and Response Monday, 9/24: Big Business Triumphant: Winners and Losers Wednesday, 9/26: Work, Labor, and Politics in the 1920s (News Analysis #2 Due, Topic: Work, Labor, and Politics) Monday, 10/1: Flappers and the Sexual Revolution Wednesday, 10/3: “Not A’Gonna Lay My Religion Down”: Provincialism and Fundamentalism in the 1920s/Monkeys and Modernism Monday, 10/8: Drinking: The Volstead Act and Prohibition (history lab) Wednesday, 10/10: The Harlem Renaissance Monday, 10/15: Passing (Paper on Passing due.) Wednesday, 10/17: Using Data to Understand the Past: Census Takers and the 1920 and 1930 Census Monday, 10/22: MID-­TERM EXAM. Wednesday, 10/24: Origins of the Great Depression Monday, 10/29: Initial Responses to the Depression: FDR’s First Hundred Days, FDR’s Fireside Chat, July 4, 1933 (analysis/rhetoric activity) Monday, 11/5: Voices from the Dust Bowl (memory.loc.gov.), the Life of Jose Flores and the Uses of Ethnography in History Wednesday 11/7: The Worst Hard Times (Paper on The Worst Hard Times due) Monday, 11/12: The New Deal and Its Critics (News article analysis due) Wednesday, 11/14: Eleanor Roosevelt Monday, 11/19: The Arts in the Era of the Great Depression and Folk Songs of America, Library of Congress Wednesday, 11/21: No class. This day is a Friday schedule at Rutgers-­Newark. Monday, 11/26: Labor and Capital in the New Economy Wednesday, 11/28: The Newark Museum (visit TBD) Self and National Identity in the 1920s and 1930s Monday, 12/3: The Forgotten Woman: Family, Gender, and Capital in the 1930s (Museum visit paper due) Wednesday, 12/5: tbd Wednesday, 12/10: tbd Wednesday 12/12: Final Paper Due at the start of class. Final Exam: to be scheduled according to the university’s requirements GRADING: Your grade in this class is a result of your combined efforts on your written assignments, your efforts at class participation, your contributions to class discussions, your performance in short class presentations and activities, and your attendance. Diagnostic Writing on the 1920s: due 9/10 News Analysis #1: due 9/17 News Analysis #2: due 9/26 Book response #1: due 10/15 Midterm Exam: 10/22 Book response #2: due 11/7 Museum Activity: due 12/3 Final Paper: due 12/12 Final Exam: TBD Your midterm and final exam grades will count for approximately 15% each of your grade. Your book papers will count for approximately 10% each of your grade. Your news analysis papers will count for approximately 10% each of your grade. Your museum activity will count for approximately 10% of your grade. Your final paper will count for approximately 20% of your grade. Your class participation and any other smaller in-­class writing or activities will be factored into your overall grade. Please conference with the instructor at any time by appointment to discuss your work and progress as a scholar in this class.