Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
READING GUIDE FOR SCHOOLBOOK NATION
This may make the reading a bit easier. You will not be tested on this book, and even the chapters that I say to read carefully should be read fairly quickly. Take notes only when you find something utterly fascinating. WWe'll talk about this at the museum on Thursday.
Read the intro carefully, especially noticing the role of Hirsch and Bloom in this story.
Read Chapter One quickly, skimming for the general story of post-revolutionary history. Read page 51, the long paragraph, carefully.
Read Chapter Two carefully, noticing the way the “battle for memory” produced certain kinds of stories. What is the Lost Cause myth? Read page 90 and 91 carefully.
Skim chapter 3. Read the middle paragraph on page 117 carefully. Read the middle paragraph on page 134.
Read Chapter 4 carefully.
Read Chapter 5 carefully. How does history become a legal issue?
Skim Chapter 6
Read Chapter 7 carefully.
Read the Conclusion carefully.
Read the intro carefully, especially noticing the role of Hirsch and Bloom in this story.
Read Chapter One quickly, skimming for the general story of post-revolutionary history. Read page 51, the long paragraph, carefully.
Read Chapter Two carefully, noticing the way the “battle for memory” produced certain kinds of stories. What is the Lost Cause myth? Read page 90 and 91 carefully.
Skim chapter 3. Read the middle paragraph on page 117 carefully. Read the middle paragraph on page 134.
Read Chapter 4 carefully.
Read Chapter 5 carefully. How does history become a legal issue?
Skim Chapter 6
Read Chapter 7 carefully.
Read the Conclusion carefully.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
KERN COUNTY MUSEUM INFORMATION
We'll have class at the KCM on the 19th. Please arrive at the museum at 8:45 so that we can begin our tour promptly at 9.
http://www.kcmuseum.org/
HERE'S THE ADDRESS:
3801 Chester Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Directions
From Hwy 99, take Hwy 178 east toward downtown Bakersfield.
Turn left on Chester Avenue. Stay on Chester Avenue through the roundabout at the Garces Circle.
The Kern County Museum is located one-half mile north on the left at the Clock Tower.
http://www.kcmuseum.org/
HERE'S THE ADDRESS:
3801 Chester Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Directions
From Hwy 99, take Hwy 178 east toward downtown Bakersfield.
Turn left on Chester Avenue. Stay on Chester Avenue through the roundabout at the Garces Circle.
The Kern County Museum is located one-half mile north on the left at the Clock Tower.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR ORAL HISTORY
Donald Ritchie, “An Oral History
of Our Time,” Doing Oral History (2003)
1. Look at the definition of oral history. What is the difference between oral history and other types of history we have covered?
2. Thucydides complained that “different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same events, speaking out of partiality for one side of the other or else from imperfect memories.” Explain.
3. Look at the Von Ranke quote at the bottom of page 20. Assess the quote.
4. Look at the sentence at the bottom of page 21 that starts, “Directed by Lt. Col. S.L.A. Marshall…”
Also look at the uses of oral history in Brazil and Argentina at the top of page 23.
How is oral history used differently from other histories?
5. “An interview becomes an oral history only when it has been recorded, processed in some way, made available in an archive.” (page 24) Assess this quote.
6. From page 26, “how reliable is the information gathered by oral history?” What are some problems with oral history evidence?
(page 33: “the view improves with distance”)
7. On page 36, what is the significance of the discussion of survivors and how they may be unwilling to discuss certain traumatic events?
8. What is the role of public history?
9. In the future, how might oral history make written history even better? (page 45)
of Our Time,” Doing Oral History (2003)
1. Look at the definition of oral history. What is the difference between oral history and other types of history we have covered?
2. Thucydides complained that “different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same events, speaking out of partiality for one side of the other or else from imperfect memories.” Explain.
3. Look at the Von Ranke quote at the bottom of page 20. Assess the quote.
4. Look at the sentence at the bottom of page 21 that starts, “Directed by Lt. Col. S.L.A. Marshall…”
Also look at the uses of oral history in Brazil and Argentina at the top of page 23.
How is oral history used differently from other histories?
5. “An interview becomes an oral history only when it has been recorded, processed in some way, made available in an archive.” (page 24) Assess this quote.
6. From page 26, “how reliable is the information gathered by oral history?” What are some problems with oral history evidence?
(page 33: “the view improves with distance”)
7. On page 36, what is the significance of the discussion of survivors and how they may be unwilling to discuss certain traumatic events?
8. What is the role of public history?
9. In the future, how might oral history make written history even better? (page 45)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Modern Media/YouTube Essay Example
YouTube essay example:
1. Choose your theme: The Impact of WWI on Human Psychology
2. Choose and Watch Three Films:
a. All Quiet on the Western Front
b. A Very Long Engagement
c. The Razor’s Edge
3. As you watch each, take notes, looking for common themes.
4. Think about an opening argument or simply a way to introduce these three films. This is really synthesis at this point. What is the historical significance of the three films?
5. Think about a natural ordering to the presentation of the three films. Each film will now have its own paragraph.
6. Write a single paragraph about each film. Within the paragraph, place links to the film clips or to other videos that represent some theme from the film.
7. Conclude this brilliant work with one paragraph (and some historical insight).
8. Email me a copy of the historical review before class next week.
With 8.6 million combatants killed, 6.5 million civilians killed, and 37 million casualties overall, the human toll of World War One was astounding. Just one example reveals the atrocity of the so called Great War. At the Battle of the Somme, from July 1, 1916 to November 16, 1916, tens of thousands of Brits went “over the top,” hurling themselves out of the safety of their trenches and into the nearly certain doom of “no man’s land.” 20,000 would die on the first day. By the end of this battle, 420,000 British soldiers, 200,000 French soldiers, and 450,000 German soldiers would be killed or wounded. Did this battle lead to a great victory for either side? Certainly not. The allies officially “won,” but the twelve kilometers of territory they gained would lead to no great strategic watershed. Instead, with new trenches dug, mines planted, and barbed wire strung, the stalemate of trench warfare quickly returned. Are these numbers, however, evidence enough of the evil nature of this war, or do they, in fact, obfuscate the impact of war? By examining three movies that treat the psychological importance of World War One, the historian has easier access to the actual emotional content of war. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “A Very Long Engagement,” and “The Razor’s Edge” reveal less about politicians, armor, or strategy and more about the meaninglessness of this particular war; it was the futility of WWI that exacerbated the suffering of the individual soldier.
“A Very Long Engagement,” a film made in 2004 by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is as much a touching love story as it is a tale of the brutality of war. The story involves seven men sentenced to death, each of having tried to mutilate himself as a way of getting sent home from the war. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9Pckt4GRY pause at 2:36) The fact that these men were willing to lose finger or a whole hand to avoid combat is evidence of the psychological stress caused by this war. In fact, the term “shell shock” originated in World War One, applied to otherwise mentally stable soldiers who shook violently, spoke uncontrollably, suffered from nightmares, or had other manifestations resulting from wartime psychological trauma. According to a 1917 study entitled “The Repression of War Experience” by W. H. Rivers “a young officer who was sent home from France on account of a wound received just as he was extricating himself from a mass of earth in which he had been buried. When he reached hospital in England he was nervous and suffered from disturbed sleep and loss of appetite. When his wound had healed he was sent home on leave where his nervous symptoms became more pronounced, so that at his next board his leave was extended. He was for a time an out-patient at a London hospital and was then sent to a convalescent home in the country. Here he continued to sleep badly, with disturbing dreams of warfare, and became very anxious about himself and his prospects of recovery.” This description could clearly apply to the “Cornflower” in “A Very Long Engagement.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9Pckt4GRY start at 7:58)
1. Choose your theme: The Impact of WWI on Human Psychology
2. Choose and Watch Three Films:
a. All Quiet on the Western Front
b. A Very Long Engagement
c. The Razor’s Edge
3. As you watch each, take notes, looking for common themes.
4. Think about an opening argument or simply a way to introduce these three films. This is really synthesis at this point. What is the historical significance of the three films?
5. Think about a natural ordering to the presentation of the three films. Each film will now have its own paragraph.
6. Write a single paragraph about each film. Within the paragraph, place links to the film clips or to other videos that represent some theme from the film.
7. Conclude this brilliant work with one paragraph (and some historical insight).
8. Email me a copy of the historical review before class next week.
With 8.6 million combatants killed, 6.5 million civilians killed, and 37 million casualties overall, the human toll of World War One was astounding. Just one example reveals the atrocity of the so called Great War. At the Battle of the Somme, from July 1, 1916 to November 16, 1916, tens of thousands of Brits went “over the top,” hurling themselves out of the safety of their trenches and into the nearly certain doom of “no man’s land.” 20,000 would die on the first day. By the end of this battle, 420,000 British soldiers, 200,000 French soldiers, and 450,000 German soldiers would be killed or wounded. Did this battle lead to a great victory for either side? Certainly not. The allies officially “won,” but the twelve kilometers of territory they gained would lead to no great strategic watershed. Instead, with new trenches dug, mines planted, and barbed wire strung, the stalemate of trench warfare quickly returned. Are these numbers, however, evidence enough of the evil nature of this war, or do they, in fact, obfuscate the impact of war? By examining three movies that treat the psychological importance of World War One, the historian has easier access to the actual emotional content of war. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “A Very Long Engagement,” and “The Razor’s Edge” reveal less about politicians, armor, or strategy and more about the meaninglessness of this particular war; it was the futility of WWI that exacerbated the suffering of the individual soldier.
“A Very Long Engagement,” a film made in 2004 by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is as much a touching love story as it is a tale of the brutality of war. The story involves seven men sentenced to death, each of having tried to mutilate himself as a way of getting sent home from the war. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9Pckt4GRY pause at 2:36) The fact that these men were willing to lose finger or a whole hand to avoid combat is evidence of the psychological stress caused by this war. In fact, the term “shell shock” originated in World War One, applied to otherwise mentally stable soldiers who shook violently, spoke uncontrollably, suffered from nightmares, or had other manifestations resulting from wartime psychological trauma. According to a 1917 study entitled “The Repression of War Experience” by W. H. Rivers “a young officer who was sent home from France on account of a wound received just as he was extricating himself from a mass of earth in which he had been buried. When he reached hospital in England he was nervous and suffered from disturbed sleep and loss of appetite. When his wound had healed he was sent home on leave where his nervous symptoms became more pronounced, so that at his next board his leave was extended. He was for a time an out-patient at a London hospital and was then sent to a convalescent home in the country. Here he continued to sleep badly, with disturbing dreams of warfare, and became very anxious about himself and his prospects of recovery.” This description could clearly apply to the “Cornflower” in “A Very Long Engagement.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9Pckt4GRY start at 7:58)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Week Six: Bio-history (August 5) Study Questions
William McNeil, Preface and Introduction to Plagues and Peoples
PREFACE:
1. What’s his point in discussing the spread of the AIDS epidemic?
2. “We remain part of the earth’s ecosystem and participate in the food chain whereby we kill and eat various plants and animals, while our bodies provide a fair field full of food for a great variety of parasites.”(page 16)
Explain the historical significance of this quote:
INTRODUCTION:
1. What’s McNeil’s argument regarding Cortes’ conquest of the Aztec empire?
2. “It is worth considering the psychological implications of a disease.”(page 20) Explain.
3. On page 21-22 McNeil makes a compelling argument that “unfamiliar infection” has a significantly different impact on a population than disease that is well known by the population. What’s the argument?
4. Is McNeil talking about history, epidemiology, biology, or something else? How might the working historian access disease in history?
Alfred Crosby, “Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 1976, 33 (2): 289-299
1. In the first and second paragraphs, Crosby defines “virgin soil epidemics.” What does he mean?
2. Why weren’t the aboriginal peoples of the Americas able to resist the diseases of the Europeans?
3. What’s the difference between Union troops and Aztec population?
4. “Virgin soil epidemics tend to be especially deadly because no one is immune in the afflicted population and so nearly everyone gets sick at once…The Fire goes out and the cold creeps in; the sick, whom a bit of food and a cup of water might save, die of hunger and the dehydration of fever.” Explain the significance of this quote.
Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism, (1986) “Weeds”
1. Why does Crosby start with the Hooker quote on the cover of this chapter?
2. (page 146)What are the two phenomena that must be explained as part of the European “demographic advance” in certain areas of the world?
3. How does Crosby define neo-Europes?
4. How does Crosby define weed? (page 149)
5. What is the historical significance of these weeds? What examples does Crosby use?
6. Look at the number of plants in the San Joaquin Valley that were not here before European conquest.
7. Think of other historical settings in which weeds may have played a role.
In essence, what is the historical significance of weeds?
Synthetic Moment:
Compare and contrast Bio-history with Environmental History.
PREFACE:
1. What’s his point in discussing the spread of the AIDS epidemic?
2. “We remain part of the earth’s ecosystem and participate in the food chain whereby we kill and eat various plants and animals, while our bodies provide a fair field full of food for a great variety of parasites.”(page 16)
Explain the historical significance of this quote:
INTRODUCTION:
1. What’s McNeil’s argument regarding Cortes’ conquest of the Aztec empire?
2. “It is worth considering the psychological implications of a disease.”(page 20) Explain.
3. On page 21-22 McNeil makes a compelling argument that “unfamiliar infection” has a significantly different impact on a population than disease that is well known by the population. What’s the argument?
4. Is McNeil talking about history, epidemiology, biology, or something else? How might the working historian access disease in history?
Alfred Crosby, “Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 1976, 33 (2): 289-299
1. In the first and second paragraphs, Crosby defines “virgin soil epidemics.” What does he mean?
2. Why weren’t the aboriginal peoples of the Americas able to resist the diseases of the Europeans?
3. What’s the difference between Union troops and Aztec population?
4. “Virgin soil epidemics tend to be especially deadly because no one is immune in the afflicted population and so nearly everyone gets sick at once…The Fire goes out and the cold creeps in; the sick, whom a bit of food and a cup of water might save, die of hunger and the dehydration of fever.” Explain the significance of this quote.
Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism, (1986) “Weeds”
1. Why does Crosby start with the Hooker quote on the cover of this chapter?
2. (page 146)What are the two phenomena that must be explained as part of the European “demographic advance” in certain areas of the world?
3. How does Crosby define neo-Europes?
4. How does Crosby define weed? (page 149)
5. What is the historical significance of these weeds? What examples does Crosby use?
6. Look at the number of plants in the San Joaquin Valley that were not here before European conquest.
7. Think of other historical settings in which weeds may have played a role.
In essence, what is the historical significance of weeds?
Synthetic Moment:
Compare and contrast Bio-history with Environmental History.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
BARD DOES BIOGRAPHY
Add your biography here. There should be two paragraphs, one a labor centered approach and the other an environmental approach.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
HISTORIOGRAPHY DAY FIVE
Week Five: Environmental history
1. History of natural world and how it has changed over time
2. Human use of nature
3. How humans think about nature
The most important scholar in this area is William Cronon:
Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (1991)
Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (1996)
Roderick Nash, “The Potential of Environmental History,” American Environmentalism (1991)
1. This article discusses wild spaces, wilderness.
How much actual wilderness is left? How would you define wilderness?
2. “The environment should be understood as a historical document.” What does he mean?
3. “Almost uniquely among modern peoples, the emigrants who settled the New World had the opportunity and the responsibility to write a record of their values on the land. Little was inherited but the wilderness.” (3) What does Nash mean?
4. How does the land show changing priorities? (2)
5. At the top of page 3 is a good definition of environmental history.
6. Look at the quote on page 4 that starts “Enlightened use of land…” Read that whole paragraph. What is the proper role of government in conserving nature?
7. “The environment then becomes the latest in a series of oppressed and exploited minorities deserving liberation.” (5) Assess this quote.
8. On page 7, what are the “two pitfalls” associated with “teaching and writing” this type of history?
Donald Worster, “A river running west: reflections on John Wesley Powell.” Journal of Cultural Geography; Jun2009, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p113-126, 14p
1. Look through this entire essay. Find examples where Worster practices our “zoom” technique.
2. According to Worster, how does the American empire differ from the others he mentions in paragraph 5?
What is the relationship between nature and empire?
3. For Powell, why was proper stewardship of the land so important?
4. What was Powell’s plan for the water resources in the West?
5. How did the story of water in the West unfold? Did it follow Powell’s plan? How might the West be different if it had followed a different developmental plan? What does that say about the importance of water in history?
6. Read the last sentence of the article: “The watershed, as he envisioned it, is the natural home not of empire but of democracy.” Is this a call to action? Should history be efficacy? Are there dangers when historians become activists?
1. History of natural world and how it has changed over time
2. Human use of nature
3. How humans think about nature
The most important scholar in this area is William Cronon:
Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (1991)
Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (1996)
Roderick Nash, “The Potential of Environmental History,” American Environmentalism (1991)
1. This article discusses wild spaces, wilderness.
How much actual wilderness is left? How would you define wilderness?
2. “The environment should be understood as a historical document.” What does he mean?
3. “Almost uniquely among modern peoples, the emigrants who settled the New World had the opportunity and the responsibility to write a record of their values on the land. Little was inherited but the wilderness.” (3) What does Nash mean?
4. How does the land show changing priorities? (2)
5. At the top of page 3 is a good definition of environmental history.
6. Look at the quote on page 4 that starts “Enlightened use of land…” Read that whole paragraph. What is the proper role of government in conserving nature?
7. “The environment then becomes the latest in a series of oppressed and exploited minorities deserving liberation.” (5) Assess this quote.
8. On page 7, what are the “two pitfalls” associated with “teaching and writing” this type of history?
Donald Worster, “A river running west: reflections on John Wesley Powell.” Journal of Cultural Geography; Jun2009, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p113-126, 14p
1. Look through this entire essay. Find examples where Worster practices our “zoom” technique.
2. According to Worster, how does the American empire differ from the others he mentions in paragraph 5?
What is the relationship between nature and empire?
3. For Powell, why was proper stewardship of the land so important?
4. What was Powell’s plan for the water resources in the West?
5. How did the story of water in the West unfold? Did it follow Powell’s plan? How might the West be different if it had followed a different developmental plan? What does that say about the importance of water in history?
6. Read the last sentence of the article: “The watershed, as he envisioned it, is the natural home not of empire but of democracy.” Is this a call to action? Should history be efficacy? Are there dangers when historians become activists?
WEEK FOUR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Week Four: Labor history (July 15)
Chapter One of Work Engendered , by Ava Baron
1. This is a great ARP, by the way.
2. Based on what you read here, what does labor history do that is different from other histories?
3. The role of the new histories is, as she writes, to integrate various ways of thinking into various other fields.
4. How is new labor history different from old labor history?(3)
5. How is gendered labor history, specifically, different?
6. Why were women marginalized from traditional labor history? (7)
7. New Labor History shows how the story looks different when women are in it, but more importantly how the story is different because of gender and how gender is different because of the story. (11)
8. How important is agency in history?(14 and 27) What does it mean to give agency to historical characters? Why does that matter when writing labor history?
9. INTERPRET: “Working women’s limited choice between sameness and difference historically has meant either incorporation into men’s unions or segregation and isolation.”(23)
10. Baron discusses women at work and then briefly mentions masculinity. What does a history of labor that considers masculinity look like?(30)
11. “The project of integrating gender with axes of difference among women is twofold. First, we need to deconstruct the category ‘woman.’…”(37)
12. Look at the quote at the start of page 37, the one that begins, “Gender is created…” Why is that important?
Jeffrey S. Adler, “Shoot to Kill: The Use of Deadly Force by the Chicago Police, 1875-1920,”Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2007)
1. Where was this published? Why does that matter? Examine the sources he uses.
2. Adler says that he is inspired to write about this because of a common current cultural concern. The current concern with police brutality had no historical context, so he set out to study that. What other cultural concerns might have a historical context worth studying? (235)
3. On page 237: Look at the numbers of those killed. What do numbers add to a story? 245: Look at the numbers of African-American victims. What do these numbers add to the story? Does the author present a reason for this disparity?
4. The author discusses the legal climate of Chicago. What does the legal climate have to do with murder? What is the relationship between law and crime?
5. Why is there an increase in the murder rate in the period in question?
6. When was an officer “within his rights” in killing a prisoner or suspect? (246) Compare that to the BPD article.
7. Describe the “cop culture” that Adler depicts.
8. What is the relationship between Progressivism and official violence? (do we need to go over Progressivism quickly?) Was there an unintended consequence between reform and force?
Chapter One of Work Engendered , by Ava Baron
1. This is a great ARP, by the way.
2. Based on what you read here, what does labor history do that is different from other histories?
3. The role of the new histories is, as she writes, to integrate various ways of thinking into various other fields.
4. How is new labor history different from old labor history?(3)
5. How is gendered labor history, specifically, different?
6. Why were women marginalized from traditional labor history? (7)
7. New Labor History shows how the story looks different when women are in it, but more importantly how the story is different because of gender and how gender is different because of the story. (11)
8. How important is agency in history?(14 and 27) What does it mean to give agency to historical characters? Why does that matter when writing labor history?
9. INTERPRET: “Working women’s limited choice between sameness and difference historically has meant either incorporation into men’s unions or segregation and isolation.”(23)
10. Baron discusses women at work and then briefly mentions masculinity. What does a history of labor that considers masculinity look like?(30)
11. “The project of integrating gender with axes of difference among women is twofold. First, we need to deconstruct the category ‘woman.’…”(37)
12. Look at the quote at the start of page 37, the one that begins, “Gender is created…” Why is that important?
Jeffrey S. Adler, “Shoot to Kill: The Use of Deadly Force by the Chicago Police, 1875-1920,”Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2007)
1. Where was this published? Why does that matter? Examine the sources he uses.
2. Adler says that he is inspired to write about this because of a common current cultural concern. The current concern with police brutality had no historical context, so he set out to study that. What other cultural concerns might have a historical context worth studying? (235)
3. On page 237: Look at the numbers of those killed. What do numbers add to a story? 245: Look at the numbers of African-American victims. What do these numbers add to the story? Does the author present a reason for this disparity?
4. The author discusses the legal climate of Chicago. What does the legal climate have to do with murder? What is the relationship between law and crime?
5. Why is there an increase in the murder rate in the period in question?
6. When was an officer “within his rights” in killing a prisoner or suspect? (246) Compare that to the BPD article.
7. Describe the “cop culture” that Adler depicts.
8. What is the relationship between Progressivism and official violence? (do we need to go over Progressivism quickly?) Was there an unintended consequence between reform and force?
WEEK THREE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is Marxism and what does it have to do with history?
History is class struggle
Historical Materialism…Historical Dialectic
History is inevitable
Post War history=consensus
Richard Hoftsadter
1960s=radicalism on campus results in
development of the historiographical left and ideological polarization
William Appleman Williams:
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy
Genovese(1965): "Those of you who know me
know that I am a Marxist and a Socialist. Therefore, unlike most of my distinguished colleagues here this morning, I do not fear or regret the impending Viet Cong victory in Vietnam. I welcome it."
In general, Marxist history is determinist. What does that mean? And why is it determinist?
Marxist history also tries to be “history from below.” Why? Who do Marxist historians purport to represent?
3. Readings
Eric Hobsbawm, Interview in Visions of History
1. What is the effect of Marxism on Hobsbawm?
2. “Once, people believed that there were single answers and that you ought to get at agreed single answers; it is now quite evident that, even as Marxists, there are various ways in which you can approach the answer to particular problems.” Explain.
--class relationships
--defining class and class fluidity
--tension, hierarchy
Distinction:
--Marxist versus marxist
3. What pressures did Marxist historians face during the Cold War? Where does Hobsbawm discuss that? Are there any modern parallels?
4. Hobsbawm mentions hegemony, the idea developed by scholars such as Gramsci and Genovese. What is hegemony? How is hegemony historically relevant?
--structure of power
--soft power
--control of ideas
--power so overwhelming that it
polices itself
E.P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism,” in Past and Present, no. 38 (Dec.,1967), pp. 56-97.
1. Consider time. How important is time in making your reality? How is time historical?
Are there other “unseen” forces that might be historical when reconsidered?
2. “How far, and in what ways, did this shift in time-sense affect labour discipline, and how far did it influence the inward apprehension of time of working people? In the transition to mature industrial society entailed a severe restructuring of working habits—new disciplines, new incentives, and a new human nature upon which these incentives could bite effectively—how far is this related to changes in the inward notation of time?” EXPLAIN.
3. What does Thompson mean by “clock time?” What are the implications of the extension of clock time?
“It is by no means clear how far the availability of precise clock time extended at the time of the industrial revolution.”
4. Look at the Plowman’s workday. Describe his labor.
5. Look at Crowley’s laws. What do these suggest regarding work discipline?
CROWLEY’S IRONWORKS LABOR LAWS:
Law No 50, 53. 'To hear small differences... which cause waste of time and trouble to Magistrates.' 'No workman was 'to strike an officer, throw stones or snowballs, or by blowing of a horn or otherwise raise a tumult or mobb'.
Law No. 85 requires the work’s treasurer 'to make it his business to Pry and Enquire' into the actions of the work-people 'and when any clerk or servant shall make a Frequent Practice in going much abroad, particularly to Newcastle, which hath been the ruine of several, to inform me'. Strictures against 'morning drinking' followed, and the discharge of guilty workers was to be mandatory.
Law No 113 'Whereas in 1724, taking into consideration the deplorable state of my honest and laborious workmen and their families when visited with sickness or other bodily infirmities, who for want of a proper and speedy relief have languished for a longer time under their maladies than otherwise they would', required that the proprietor accordingly appointed, at his own proper charge, a surgeon skilled in physic as a works' doctor. He was to be a person of sober life and conversation 'not addicted so much to pleasure as to be withdrawn from a due attendance on his business'; he was to give daily attendance in the factory, though he was allowed to have a private practice within 10 miles of it. All workmen who had been in the firm's employ for twelve months and their families were to be attended gratis. 'Yet such hath been the unparallel'd ingratitude of some persons and the villany (sic) of others that they deserve punishment more than the benefit thus intended them, first in obtaining medicines on every light occasion and, on the disorder naturally abating, not only kept them till spoilt but have also destroyed them; others have unreasonably demanded medicines for their children when they have returned indisposed from foreign service and also I have been credibly informed that such hathe been the villany of some others that they have feigned themselves sick or disabled by bodily infirmities and have thereupon obtained medicines which they have afterwards disposed of to Countrey people. Persons abusing the scheme were to be deprived of its benefits.
Law No 97. had a preamble which read 'the raising and continued supporting of a stock to relieve such of my workmen and their families as may be by sickness or other means reduced to that poverty as not to be able to support themselves without some assistance, the teaching of Youth and other matters of so great concern, are so incumbent upon us that there is no avoiding of a General Contribution for the same'. It proceeded to arrange for the appointment, and to prescribe the duties, of 'the clerk for the Poor'. 'He is carefully to teach and instruct the workmen's children and to be constantly in his school', from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. and from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. during the winter months and from 6 a. m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in summer, 'He shall not upon any account of Races, Cock fightings, Rope dancers or Stage Players dismiss his scholars but constantly attend school'; 'he shall not without the consent of the Governors give his scholars ... leave to play or absent himself for more than half an hour in any one day in school hours; he shall carefully teach all his scholars that are capable of learning the Catechism of the Church of England ...' on Court days 'he shall, upon demand, bring two or three lines of the writing of such of the workmen's children as are under his care to lay the same before the Governors that his conduct may be the better judged of', and in association with the works chaplain 'shall bring such scholars to be examined in public in the Cathecism'. Finally, 'he is to take care to make his scholars shew due respect to their superiors and especially aged persons and to correct lying, swearing and such-like horrid crimes'; setting a good example himself in these things since 'example availeth more than precept'.
6. What is the role played by the land owners or factory owners throughout this essay?
7. What role does school play in instilling industrial discipline?
8. How is all of this discipline internalized?
How can the historian access the internal?
9. VII is the thesis, I think. What do you think?
10. Why is this essay a prime example of Marxist history?
Eugene Genovese, The World the Slaveholders Made Part Two, Chapter Three, “The Critique of Capitalism.”
1. Who was George Fitzhugh?
--abandon free trade
--overthrow capitalist system
--debate:
wage labor vs. slave labor
free labor vs. slave labor
(white slavery)
2. What is the relationship between anti-slavery and capitalism? Why is Fitzhugh criticizing capitalism? What is the critique? What problem does Fitzhugh have with capitalism?
3. Discuss the following quote: “Mercantilism ushered in an era of cannibalism, and laissez faire perfected it.” (174)
4. Why does Genovese discuss the labor theory of wages? What does classical economic tell us about wages and how they are set? What is Fitzhugh’s critique of that? (179)
5. Assess this quote: “The moral effect of free society was the destruction of the Christian principle of love-thy-neighbor.”
--contrast that with this—
“The master comes to Christianity because his whole life is spent in providing for the minutest wants of others.” (187)
6. What is Fitzhugh’s answer to the problems of industrial society and worker exploitation?
7. As an historian, consider why Genovese does not do more moralizing here. Why doesn’t he absolutely butcher Fitzhugh’s flawed thinking and arguments?
History is class struggle
Historical Materialism…Historical Dialectic
History is inevitable
Post War history=consensus
Richard Hoftsadter
1960s=radicalism on campus results in
development of the historiographical left and ideological polarization
William Appleman Williams:
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy
Genovese(1965): "Those of you who know me
know that I am a Marxist and a Socialist. Therefore, unlike most of my distinguished colleagues here this morning, I do not fear or regret the impending Viet Cong victory in Vietnam. I welcome it."
In general, Marxist history is determinist. What does that mean? And why is it determinist?
Marxist history also tries to be “history from below.” Why? Who do Marxist historians purport to represent?
3. Readings
Eric Hobsbawm, Interview in Visions of History
1. What is the effect of Marxism on Hobsbawm?
2. “Once, people believed that there were single answers and that you ought to get at agreed single answers; it is now quite evident that, even as Marxists, there are various ways in which you can approach the answer to particular problems.” Explain.
--class relationships
--defining class and class fluidity
--tension, hierarchy
Distinction:
--Marxist versus marxist
3. What pressures did Marxist historians face during the Cold War? Where does Hobsbawm discuss that? Are there any modern parallels?
4. Hobsbawm mentions hegemony, the idea developed by scholars such as Gramsci and Genovese. What is hegemony? How is hegemony historically relevant?
--structure of power
--soft power
--control of ideas
--power so overwhelming that it
polices itself
E.P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism,” in Past and Present, no. 38 (Dec.,1967), pp. 56-97.
1. Consider time. How important is time in making your reality? How is time historical?
Are there other “unseen” forces that might be historical when reconsidered?
2. “How far, and in what ways, did this shift in time-sense affect labour discipline, and how far did it influence the inward apprehension of time of working people? In the transition to mature industrial society entailed a severe restructuring of working habits—new disciplines, new incentives, and a new human nature upon which these incentives could bite effectively—how far is this related to changes in the inward notation of time?” EXPLAIN.
3. What does Thompson mean by “clock time?” What are the implications of the extension of clock time?
“It is by no means clear how far the availability of precise clock time extended at the time of the industrial revolution.”
4. Look at the Plowman’s workday. Describe his labor.
5. Look at Crowley’s laws. What do these suggest regarding work discipline?
CROWLEY’S IRONWORKS LABOR LAWS:
Law No 50, 53. 'To hear small differences... which cause waste of time and trouble to Magistrates.' 'No workman was 'to strike an officer, throw stones or snowballs, or by blowing of a horn or otherwise raise a tumult or mobb'.
Law No. 85 requires the work’s treasurer 'to make it his business to Pry and Enquire' into the actions of the work-people 'and when any clerk or servant shall make a Frequent Practice in going much abroad, particularly to Newcastle, which hath been the ruine of several, to inform me'. Strictures against 'morning drinking' followed, and the discharge of guilty workers was to be mandatory.
Law No 113 'Whereas in 1724, taking into consideration the deplorable state of my honest and laborious workmen and their families when visited with sickness or other bodily infirmities, who for want of a proper and speedy relief have languished for a longer time under their maladies than otherwise they would', required that the proprietor accordingly appointed, at his own proper charge, a surgeon skilled in physic as a works' doctor. He was to be a person of sober life and conversation 'not addicted so much to pleasure as to be withdrawn from a due attendance on his business'; he was to give daily attendance in the factory, though he was allowed to have a private practice within 10 miles of it. All workmen who had been in the firm's employ for twelve months and their families were to be attended gratis. 'Yet such hath been the unparallel'd ingratitude of some persons and the villany (sic) of others that they deserve punishment more than the benefit thus intended them, first in obtaining medicines on every light occasion and, on the disorder naturally abating, not only kept them till spoilt but have also destroyed them; others have unreasonably demanded medicines for their children when they have returned indisposed from foreign service and also I have been credibly informed that such hathe been the villany of some others that they have feigned themselves sick or disabled by bodily infirmities and have thereupon obtained medicines which they have afterwards disposed of to Countrey people. Persons abusing the scheme were to be deprived of its benefits.
Law No 97. had a preamble which read 'the raising and continued supporting of a stock to relieve such of my workmen and their families as may be by sickness or other means reduced to that poverty as not to be able to support themselves without some assistance, the teaching of Youth and other matters of so great concern, are so incumbent upon us that there is no avoiding of a General Contribution for the same'. It proceeded to arrange for the appointment, and to prescribe the duties, of 'the clerk for the Poor'. 'He is carefully to teach and instruct the workmen's children and to be constantly in his school', from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. and from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. during the winter months and from 6 a. m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in summer, 'He shall not upon any account of Races, Cock fightings, Rope dancers or Stage Players dismiss his scholars but constantly attend school'; 'he shall not without the consent of the Governors give his scholars ... leave to play or absent himself for more than half an hour in any one day in school hours; he shall carefully teach all his scholars that are capable of learning the Catechism of the Church of England ...' on Court days 'he shall, upon demand, bring two or three lines of the writing of such of the workmen's children as are under his care to lay the same before the Governors that his conduct may be the better judged of', and in association with the works chaplain 'shall bring such scholars to be examined in public in the Cathecism'. Finally, 'he is to take care to make his scholars shew due respect to their superiors and especially aged persons and to correct lying, swearing and such-like horrid crimes'; setting a good example himself in these things since 'example availeth more than precept'.
6. What is the role played by the land owners or factory owners throughout this essay?
7. What role does school play in instilling industrial discipline?
8. How is all of this discipline internalized?
How can the historian access the internal?
9. VII is the thesis, I think. What do you think?
10. Why is this essay a prime example of Marxist history?
Eugene Genovese, The World the Slaveholders Made Part Two, Chapter Three, “The Critique of Capitalism.”
1. Who was George Fitzhugh?
--abandon free trade
--overthrow capitalist system
--debate:
wage labor vs. slave labor
free labor vs. slave labor
(white slavery)
2. What is the relationship between anti-slavery and capitalism? Why is Fitzhugh criticizing capitalism? What is the critique? What problem does Fitzhugh have with capitalism?
3. Discuss the following quote: “Mercantilism ushered in an era of cannibalism, and laissez faire perfected it.” (174)
4. Why does Genovese discuss the labor theory of wages? What does classical economic tell us about wages and how they are set? What is Fitzhugh’s critique of that? (179)
5. Assess this quote: “The moral effect of free society was the destruction of the Christian principle of love-thy-neighbor.”
--contrast that with this—
“The master comes to Christianity because his whole life is spent in providing for the minutest wants of others.” (187)
6. What is Fitzhugh’s answer to the problems of industrial society and worker exploitation?
7. As an historian, consider why Genovese does not do more moralizing here. Why doesn’t he absolutely butcher Fitzhugh’s flawed thinking and arguments?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
WEEK TWO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
THEORY:
Linda Gordon Interview
How does Gordon become aware of suffering and sexism?
Explain this quote: “One can never and should never completely put oneself in the place of one’s historical subjects.”
When discussing Lasch, Gordon talks about the one-sided nature of the social control model. Why does Gordon talk about domination and resistance here? What’s her point?
She mentions the term ahistorical numerous times. What does she mean in saying that the family, women, even sex, are often treated in an ahistorical manner?
What is the relationship between activism and history for Gordon?
Joan Scott, “Gender: A
Useful Category of Analysis”
First, let’s define some terms:
Sex=biological difference
male/female
Gender=
Socially
constructed differences
masculine/feminine
Now, look through the whole
article. Find the golden line, the one key sentence that captures something brilliant.
(1067 is my vote)
Look through the whole
article: how does Scott define gender?
1059: “a rejection of the
essentialism…”
What does she mean?
1065: “We need a refusal of
the fixed and permanent quality of the binary opposition, a genuine historicization and deconstruction of the terms of sexual difference.”
Look at 1073: how do gender roles change through history?
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Nancy Cott, “The Birth of
Feminism”
“All feminists are suffragists, but
not all suffragists are feminists.” For Feminists, “the real goal was a ‘complete social revolution.’”
Explain.
Look at the Stanton quote on page 19. (equality/difference)
On page 29 and page 32, Cott
discusses coalition-building in the suffrage movement. Why is that important? Who was in the coalition?
What was the role of sexuality in
the definition of Feminism?
(42)
Linda Gordon Interview
How does Gordon become aware of suffering and sexism?
Explain this quote: “One can never and should never completely put oneself in the place of one’s historical subjects.”
When discussing Lasch, Gordon talks about the one-sided nature of the social control model. Why does Gordon talk about domination and resistance here? What’s her point?
She mentions the term ahistorical numerous times. What does she mean in saying that the family, women, even sex, are often treated in an ahistorical manner?
What is the relationship between activism and history for Gordon?
Joan Scott, “Gender: A
Useful Category of Analysis”
First, let’s define some terms:
Sex=biological difference
male/female
Gender=
Socially
constructed differences
masculine/feminine
Now, look through the whole
article. Find the golden line, the one key sentence that captures something brilliant.
(1067 is my vote)
Look through the whole
article: how does Scott define gender?
1059: “a rejection of the
essentialism…”
What does she mean?
1065: “We need a refusal of
the fixed and permanent quality of the binary opposition, a genuine historicization and deconstruction of the terms of sexual difference.”
Look at 1073: how do gender roles change through history?
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Nancy Cott, “The Birth of
Feminism”
“All feminists are suffragists, but
not all suffragists are feminists.” For Feminists, “the real goal was a ‘complete social revolution.’”
Explain.
Look at the Stanton quote on page 19. (equality/difference)
On page 29 and page 32, Cott
discusses coalition-building in the suffrage movement. Why is that important? Who was in the coalition?
What was the role of sexuality in
the definition of Feminism?
(42)
ARP Topics
REMEMBER,we're in this together. If you find sources that may help classmates, email them to the classmate or to me.
Aimee: Women’s Labor in Am. Or Kibbutz Experiments
David: Delano Grapes, or Industrial vs. Agricultural Unions
Noemi: Intelligence Testing
Dennis: Great Depression
Manny: Latter Day Saints
Gerardo: Chinatowns in California
Aimee: Women’s Labor in Am. Or Kibbutz Experiments
David: Delano Grapes, or Industrial vs. Agricultural Unions
Noemi: Intelligence Testing
Dennis: Great Depression
Manny: Latter Day Saints
Gerardo: Chinatowns in California
Sunday, June 27, 2010
WEEK ONE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
WEEK ONE READINGS:
Look through the three readings. Ask one question of the reading. “What did the author mean by…” Or, “What are the implications of the idea on this page…” Or “huh, I just don’t get this part.”
Write your question into your notes.
Amazingly, your neighbor is an expert on that topic. She or he will help.
Novick
Page 2:
1. Interpret the line, “Historical facts are seen as
prior to and independent of interpretation.”
Interpret the line, “The value of an interpretation is judged by how well it accounts for the facts.”
2. Look at the line on page 2, where it says, “Objectivity is held to be at grave risk when history is written for utilitarian purposes.” Can you think of history being written for “utilitarian purposes?”
Pages 4-5
3. What does the term “myth” connote?
4. Interpret the line, “What was once functional in a myth may cease to be so in changed circumstances…Myths arise within the framework of surrounding cultural values, assumptions, and thoughtways; they flourish, more or less unaltered so long as these are stable.”
Page 7
5. Define “historicism.”
Page 8
6. Look at footnote number 6.
Overall
7. What’s the use of Novick for our purposes?
Marwick
1. “Practising historians are united neither in the acceptance of one body of theory, nor even in the view that theoretical approaches are helpful or desirable.” True, more so than biology, economics, anthropology or other “scientific” fields, areas that can at least espouse objectivity.
2. On page 143 is a good definition of the historiographical premise.
3. “Theory, boldly announced, is to be preferred to the unspoken, and often unrecognized assumptions which would otherwise be coulouring historical interpretation.” Stating your own bias is in fashion, but how easy is it to recognize your own bias? Write a brief statement explaining what your bias is?
4. On page 144, historians must define concepts that many take for granted: revolution, family, love, poverty, war, death. Why is it important to define terms? Do that now.
5. What is Marwick’s problem with Marxist ideology and historians?
6. What’s the use of Marwick for our purposes?
Foucault
1. How can the three elements of Foucault’s morals aid our historical vision?
2. How does Foucault define power?
3. Look at the response to the question regarding the “intrinsic” nature of repression in human relations.
4. Foucault says, “not enough attention has been given to that complex ensemble of connections.”
Explain.
5. What’s the use of Foucault for our purposes?
CONSIDER ALL THREE READINGS:
Re-assess your definition of “history.” How might you alter your conception of history based on our discussion?
Look through the three readings. Ask one question of the reading. “What did the author mean by…” Or, “What are the implications of the idea on this page…” Or “huh, I just don’t get this part.”
Write your question into your notes.
Amazingly, your neighbor is an expert on that topic. She or he will help.
Novick
Page 2:
1. Interpret the line, “Historical facts are seen as
prior to and independent of interpretation.”
Interpret the line, “The value of an interpretation is judged by how well it accounts for the facts.”
2. Look at the line on page 2, where it says, “Objectivity is held to be at grave risk when history is written for utilitarian purposes.” Can you think of history being written for “utilitarian purposes?”
Pages 4-5
3. What does the term “myth” connote?
4. Interpret the line, “What was once functional in a myth may cease to be so in changed circumstances…Myths arise within the framework of surrounding cultural values, assumptions, and thoughtways; they flourish, more or less unaltered so long as these are stable.”
Page 7
5. Define “historicism.”
Page 8
6. Look at footnote number 6.
Overall
7. What’s the use of Novick for our purposes?
Marwick
1. “Practising historians are united neither in the acceptance of one body of theory, nor even in the view that theoretical approaches are helpful or desirable.” True, more so than biology, economics, anthropology or other “scientific” fields, areas that can at least espouse objectivity.
2. On page 143 is a good definition of the historiographical premise.
3. “Theory, boldly announced, is to be preferred to the unspoken, and often unrecognized assumptions which would otherwise be coulouring historical interpretation.” Stating your own bias is in fashion, but how easy is it to recognize your own bias? Write a brief statement explaining what your bias is?
4. On page 144, historians must define concepts that many take for granted: revolution, family, love, poverty, war, death. Why is it important to define terms? Do that now.
5. What is Marwick’s problem with Marxist ideology and historians?
6. What’s the use of Marwick for our purposes?
Foucault
1. How can the three elements of Foucault’s morals aid our historical vision?
2. How does Foucault define power?
3. Look at the response to the question regarding the “intrinsic” nature of repression in human relations.
4. Foucault says, “not enough attention has been given to that complex ensemble of connections.”
Explain.
5. What’s the use of Foucault for our purposes?
CONSIDER ALL THREE READINGS:
Re-assess your definition of “history.” How might you alter your conception of history based on our discussion?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Project #4: Sources of the Past
This is non-graded writing. I want your most contemplative, experimental, far-fetched writing on this one. All you are doing is keeping a journal throughout the quarter. What will you be writing about? Sources. Each week, jot down a few notes regarding the sources that the authors are using. What types of sources produce what type of history? How do sources lead toward certain types of answers? Do sources define truth? What types of sources would you need to find to be able to access the histories of those groups whose stories normally go unrecorded(children, non-writing cultures, pets, animals, etc.)?
There are two ways to accomplish this task:
1. Type it, print it, turn it in.
--OR--
2. Just type your thoughts into this blog.
There are two ways to accomplish this task:
1. Type it, print it, turn it in.
--OR--
2. Just type your thoughts into this blog.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Description:This course is a graduate level survey of changes and trends in the research and writing of history as practiced by professional historians. Examining the way that historians from a multitude of ideological perspectives have captured the past will lead students to a better understanding of the history of history as a discipline. This course will focus on various definitions of historical thinking. We will examine how historians use sources to argue from evidence and the way that interpretive frameworks guide the writing of history.
Required Reading:Joseph Moreau, Schoolbook Nation: Conflicts over American History Textbooks
from the Civil War to the Present
Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, Margaret Jacob, Telling the Truth about History
Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat
Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
Course Reader
GRADE BREAKDOWN:Zoom: 15%
Modern Media: 10%
Historiographic ARP Essay: 60%
Participation: 10%
Sources of the Past: 5%
Project #1: ZoomFirst, read the following essay: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2952905?seq=2
Second, go to this site and look through the fascinating children’s book, Zoom, by Istvan Banyai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPeFJJF73k
Third, brainstorm your opening image. This may be from a myriad sources: family history, a story told by your family throughout the years, an acquaintance from childhood, or an antique book you found in a used book store. You do not need the object, so if your Great Aunt Frida can email you a picture of some long lost family heirloom, use it!
Fourth, deeply describe the opening image. This will become the text of your first page. Do any necessary research to help you with this level.
Fifth, begin to place the image/document/story into historical context by taking one zoom out. Do any necessary research to help you with this level. Find an image appropriate to this level of zoom and include it on the next page of your project.
Sixth, zoom out again, a bit broader to see the wider historical context. Find an image appropriate to this level of zoom and include it on the next page of your project.
Seventh, and finally, create a stunning title for your project. The title will go in the center of the top of the first page
(sample Zoom project in class)
Project #2: Modern Media ReviewAs part of this course we are going to learn to apply historical thinking and critical evaluation to film interpretations of the past. We will watch various film clips and read several articles on film as history. For your modern media essay you will be watching and judging the film treatment of a theme. For instance, you might choose mining and watch films like “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Harlan County USA,” and “Matewan.” You should choose at least three films to write about. The theme may be based on an era, like WWII (“Saving Private Ryan,” “The Longest Day,” etc.), or it may be based on a broad theme, like portrayals of military training (“Officer and a Gentleman,” “Top Gun,” “Full Metal Jacket”) You are going to apply historiographical thinking to the movies you watch.
The final project will be a “youtube” essay. Yes, it’s as odd as it sounds. We’ll go over this in class, and you’ll see an example of how to construct your project.
Project #3: Historiographic/ARP EssayYou have the opportunity to write a 7 to 10 page paper (typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, cited in Chicago Manual of Style). Your essay will be based on the topic you have chosen for your Advanced Research Project. You must discuss the topic from at least five historical interpretations. Plan on reading at least five historical monographs of your topic. This essay will form a major component of your overall ARP and will include an annotated bibliography.
You should approve an historical topic with me, but in general your topic may cover any aspect of history(world, American, Latin American, labor, economic, military, etc.). Your choice of topic is important; the decision should be based on a combination of personal interest, historical value, and historiographic availability.
You should have a basic idea of a topic by the second week of class. As we read the historiography, you can be building your essay. For example, when we read Marxism, try to find a Marxist interpretation of your topic.
Here are some historical themes you might want to consider:
(do I need to say that this is not an exhaustive list?)
Genocide in World History
Prostitution in the U.S.
Jeffersonian America
The Economics of Slavery
WWI Weapons Manufacturing
Lowell Factory System
FARC and Sendero Luminoso (Colombia and Peru)
The Remaking of Rome: From Early Christians to Mussolini
Resistance to Genocide (Holocaust? Darfur?)
Origins of the Great Depression
Leadership in Japan during WWII
Woman Suffrage
Immigration into the U.S.
Revolutions in South America
U.S. Entrance into WWI
Politics of the 1920s
Radicalism in the 1960s
War in Vietnam
Photography and War
Jacksonian America
The Birth of the Bomb
Lincoln and Emancipation
Workers in Hitler’s Empire
Anti-Vietnam War Movement
Disease in the 20th Century
The Gendering of War
Literary Representations of the U.S.
Women in the French Revolution
Project #4: Sources of the Past
This is non-graded writing. I want your most contemplative, experimental, far-fetched writing on this one. All you are doing is keeping a journal throughout the quarter. What will you be writing about? Sources. Each week, jot down a few notes regarding the sources that the authors are using. What types of sources produce what type of history? How do sources lead toward certain types of answers? Do sources define truth? What types of sources would you need to find to be able to access the histories of those groups whose stories normally go unrecorded(children, non-writing cultures, pets, animals, etc.)?
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week One: Introduction (June 24)Novick, That Noble Dream: Intro, “Nailing Jelly to the Wall” Marwick, The Nature of History Ch. 4: “The Place of Theory”
Foucault on: Power, Moral Values, and the Intellectual:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/historydept/michaelbess/Foucault%20Interview
Week Two: Gender (July 1)THEORY: Linda Gordon in Visions of History
Joan Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Analysis”
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Nancy Cott Grounding of Modern
Feminism, “Birth of Feminism” Chapter
DOING THE HISTORY:
Sears and Roebuck Catalogue from 1902.
Posters and advertisements from Suffrage, the 1920s, and WWII.
HISTORIOGRAPHIC ESSAY TOPIC DUE:
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part One Due:
(we’ll be breaking this reading into three parts)
1. 2. 3.
Week Three: Marxism (July 8)THEORY: E.P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and
Industrial Capitalism,” in Past and Present, no. 38 (Dec.,1967), pp. 56-97.
--and--
Eric Hobsbawm, Interview in Visions of History
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Eugene Genovese, The World the
Slaveholders Made Part Two, Chapter Three, “The Critique of Capitalism.”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Documents from the Haymarket Riot
PROJECT #1 DUE TODAY: Zoom
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part Two Due:
1. 2. 3.
Week Four: Labor history (July 15)THEORY: Chapter One of Work Engendered , by Ava Baron
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Jeffrey S. Adler, “Shoot to Kill: The Use of Deadly Force by the
Chicago Police, 1875-1920,”Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2007)
DOING THE HISTORY:
Photos and text from the Triangle Fire.
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part Three Due:
1. 2.
Week Five: Environmental history (July 22[makeup date?])THEORY: Roderick Nash, “The Potential of Environmental History,”
American Environmentalism (1991)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Donald Worster, “A river running west: reflections on John Wesley Powell.” Journal of Cultural Geography; Jun2009, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p113-126, 14p
DOING THE HISTORY:
Newspaper accounts and photos of the “Congress created Dust
Bowl” in the Great Central Valley
JULY 29 IS A READING WEEK
Week Six: Bio-history (August 5)THEORY: William McNeil, Preface and Introduction
to Plagues and Peoples
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Alfred Crosby, “Virgin Soil Epidemics
as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 1976, 33 (2): 289-299
Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism, (1986) “Weeds”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Images, graphs, and text from Spanish Influenza
PROJECT #2 DUE TODAY: Modern Media
Week Seven: Oral history (August 12)We meet this week at the Kern County Museum to browse the archives and see the “living history” available at Pioneer Village. Sarah Woodman, the Public Program Manager at the museum, will be our guide. As you prepare for this week, consider the way that oral history might be incorporated into museum space.
THEORY: Donald Ritchie, “An Oral History of Our Time,” Doing Oral
History (2003)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Studs Terkel, The Good War, (1984)
“Neighborhood Boys,” and “Rosie”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Creating historical texts from local communities: having students conduct interviews.
Week Eight: Post-History (post modern, structural, colonial) (Aug 19)THEORY: Fredric Jameson (1991) “Postmodernism or, The
Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (excerpts)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Michel Foucault, “Panopticism” chapter from Discipline
and Punish
DOING THE HISTORY:
Joseph Moreau, Schoolbook Nation: Conflicts over American History Textbooks
from the Civil War to the Present
Week Nine: Putting it all into Practice: (August 26)
THEORY: “Truth and Authenticity in Contemporary Historical
Culture: An introduction to historical representation and historical truth,” Christoph Classen and Wulf Kansteiner History and Theory, Theme Issue 47 (May 2009), 1-4
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: The novel must be read by today. We
are going to tear apart the novel using the various historiographical lenses that we’ve studied. Groups will interpret the novel from gendered, Marxist, post-modern, bio-historical, environmental, labor, or oral historical perspectives. Directions will be given in class.
Week Ten: Breaking borders between categories (Sept. 2)
THEORY: “Unconventional History,” Brian Fay, History and Theory 41,
Theme Issue 41 (December 2002), 72-89
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Introduction
and “Exceedingly Dangerously Ill,” Chapter from Midwife’s Tale
Front Porch to Back Seat Due
Final Paper Due (September 15)
PROJECT #3 DUE TODAY: (Historiographic Essay)
PROJECT #4 ALSO SHOULD BE DONE BY TODAY
Required Reading:Joseph Moreau, Schoolbook Nation: Conflicts over American History Textbooks
from the Civil War to the Present
Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, Margaret Jacob, Telling the Truth about History
Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat
Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
Course Reader
GRADE BREAKDOWN:Zoom: 15%
Modern Media: 10%
Historiographic ARP Essay: 60%
Participation: 10%
Sources of the Past: 5%
Project #1: ZoomFirst, read the following essay: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2952905?seq=2
Second, go to this site and look through the fascinating children’s book, Zoom, by Istvan Banyai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPeFJJF73k
Third, brainstorm your opening image. This may be from a myriad sources: family history, a story told by your family throughout the years, an acquaintance from childhood, or an antique book you found in a used book store. You do not need the object, so if your Great Aunt Frida can email you a picture of some long lost family heirloom, use it!
Fourth, deeply describe the opening image. This will become the text of your first page. Do any necessary research to help you with this level.
Fifth, begin to place the image/document/story into historical context by taking one zoom out. Do any necessary research to help you with this level. Find an image appropriate to this level of zoom and include it on the next page of your project.
Sixth, zoom out again, a bit broader to see the wider historical context. Find an image appropriate to this level of zoom and include it on the next page of your project.
Seventh, and finally, create a stunning title for your project. The title will go in the center of the top of the first page
(sample Zoom project in class)
Project #2: Modern Media ReviewAs part of this course we are going to learn to apply historical thinking and critical evaluation to film interpretations of the past. We will watch various film clips and read several articles on film as history. For your modern media essay you will be watching and judging the film treatment of a theme. For instance, you might choose mining and watch films like “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Harlan County USA,” and “Matewan.” You should choose at least three films to write about. The theme may be based on an era, like WWII (“Saving Private Ryan,” “The Longest Day,” etc.), or it may be based on a broad theme, like portrayals of military training (“Officer and a Gentleman,” “Top Gun,” “Full Metal Jacket”) You are going to apply historiographical thinking to the movies you watch.
The final project will be a “youtube” essay. Yes, it’s as odd as it sounds. We’ll go over this in class, and you’ll see an example of how to construct your project.
Project #3: Historiographic/ARP EssayYou have the opportunity to write a 7 to 10 page paper (typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, cited in Chicago Manual of Style). Your essay will be based on the topic you have chosen for your Advanced Research Project. You must discuss the topic from at least five historical interpretations. Plan on reading at least five historical monographs of your topic. This essay will form a major component of your overall ARP and will include an annotated bibliography.
You should approve an historical topic with me, but in general your topic may cover any aspect of history(world, American, Latin American, labor, economic, military, etc.). Your choice of topic is important; the decision should be based on a combination of personal interest, historical value, and historiographic availability.
You should have a basic idea of a topic by the second week of class. As we read the historiography, you can be building your essay. For example, when we read Marxism, try to find a Marxist interpretation of your topic.
Here are some historical themes you might want to consider:
(do I need to say that this is not an exhaustive list?)
Genocide in World History
Prostitution in the U.S.
Jeffersonian America
The Economics of Slavery
WWI Weapons Manufacturing
Lowell Factory System
FARC and Sendero Luminoso (Colombia and Peru)
The Remaking of Rome: From Early Christians to Mussolini
Resistance to Genocide (Holocaust? Darfur?)
Origins of the Great Depression
Leadership in Japan during WWII
Woman Suffrage
Immigration into the U.S.
Revolutions in South America
U.S. Entrance into WWI
Politics of the 1920s
Radicalism in the 1960s
War in Vietnam
Photography and War
Jacksonian America
The Birth of the Bomb
Lincoln and Emancipation
Workers in Hitler’s Empire
Anti-Vietnam War Movement
Disease in the 20th Century
The Gendering of War
Literary Representations of the U.S.
Women in the French Revolution
Project #4: Sources of the Past
This is non-graded writing. I want your most contemplative, experimental, far-fetched writing on this one. All you are doing is keeping a journal throughout the quarter. What will you be writing about? Sources. Each week, jot down a few notes regarding the sources that the authors are using. What types of sources produce what type of history? How do sources lead toward certain types of answers? Do sources define truth? What types of sources would you need to find to be able to access the histories of those groups whose stories normally go unrecorded(children, non-writing cultures, pets, animals, etc.)?
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week One: Introduction (June 24)Novick, That Noble Dream: Intro, “Nailing Jelly to the Wall” Marwick, The Nature of History Ch. 4: “The Place of Theory”
Foucault on: Power, Moral Values, and the Intellectual:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/historydept/michaelbess/Foucault%20Interview
Week Two: Gender (July 1)THEORY: Linda Gordon in Visions of History
Joan Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Analysis”
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Nancy Cott Grounding of Modern
Feminism, “Birth of Feminism” Chapter
DOING THE HISTORY:
Sears and Roebuck Catalogue from 1902.
Posters and advertisements from Suffrage, the 1920s, and WWII.
HISTORIOGRAPHIC ESSAY TOPIC DUE:
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part One Due:
(we’ll be breaking this reading into three parts)
1. 2. 3.
Week Three: Marxism (July 8)THEORY: E.P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and
Industrial Capitalism,” in Past and Present, no. 38 (Dec.,1967), pp. 56-97.
--and--
Eric Hobsbawm, Interview in Visions of History
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Eugene Genovese, The World the
Slaveholders Made Part Two, Chapter Three, “The Critique of Capitalism.”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Documents from the Haymarket Riot
PROJECT #1 DUE TODAY: Zoom
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part Two Due:
1. 2. 3.
Week Four: Labor history (July 15)THEORY: Chapter One of Work Engendered , by Ava Baron
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Jeffrey S. Adler, “Shoot to Kill: The Use of Deadly Force by the
Chicago Police, 1875-1920,”Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2007)
DOING THE HISTORY:
Photos and text from the Triangle Fire.
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY Part Three Due:
1. 2.
Week Five: Environmental history (July 22[makeup date?])THEORY: Roderick Nash, “The Potential of Environmental History,”
American Environmentalism (1991)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Donald Worster, “A river running west: reflections on John Wesley Powell.” Journal of Cultural Geography; Jun2009, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p113-126, 14p
DOING THE HISTORY:
Newspaper accounts and photos of the “Congress created Dust
Bowl” in the Great Central Valley
JULY 29 IS A READING WEEK
Week Six: Bio-history (August 5)THEORY: William McNeil, Preface and Introduction
to Plagues and Peoples
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Alfred Crosby, “Virgin Soil Epidemics
as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 1976, 33 (2): 289-299
Alfred Crosby, Ecological Imperialism, (1986) “Weeds”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Images, graphs, and text from Spanish Influenza
PROJECT #2 DUE TODAY: Modern Media
Week Seven: Oral history (August 12)We meet this week at the Kern County Museum to browse the archives and see the “living history” available at Pioneer Village. Sarah Woodman, the Public Program Manager at the museum, will be our guide. As you prepare for this week, consider the way that oral history might be incorporated into museum space.
THEORY: Donald Ritchie, “An Oral History of Our Time,” Doing Oral
History (2003)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Studs Terkel, The Good War, (1984)
“Neighborhood Boys,” and “Rosie”
DOING THE HISTORY:
Creating historical texts from local communities: having students conduct interviews.
Week Eight: Post-History (post modern, structural, colonial) (Aug 19)THEORY: Fredric Jameson (1991) “Postmodernism or, The
Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (excerpts)
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE:
Michel Foucault, “Panopticism” chapter from Discipline
and Punish
DOING THE HISTORY:
Joseph Moreau, Schoolbook Nation: Conflicts over American History Textbooks
from the Civil War to the Present
Week Nine: Putting it all into Practice: (August 26)
THEORY: “Truth and Authenticity in Contemporary Historical
Culture: An introduction to historical representation and historical truth,” Christoph Classen and Wulf Kansteiner History and Theory, Theme Issue 47 (May 2009), 1-4
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: The novel must be read by today. We
are going to tear apart the novel using the various historiographical lenses that we’ve studied. Groups will interpret the novel from gendered, Marxist, post-modern, bio-historical, environmental, labor, or oral historical perspectives. Directions will be given in class.
Week Ten: Breaking borders between categories (Sept. 2)
THEORY: “Unconventional History,” Brian Fay, History and Theory 41,
Theme Issue 41 (December 2002), 72-89
THE THEORY IN PRACTICE: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Introduction
and “Exceedingly Dangerously Ill,” Chapter from Midwife’s Tale
Front Porch to Back Seat Due
Final Paper Due (September 15)
PROJECT #3 DUE TODAY: (Historiographic Essay)
PROJECT #4 ALSO SHOULD BE DONE BY TODAY
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