HIST
504, Normalcy and New Deal (Spring, 2007)
Section R027 Monday, 7-10pm in Stroud 410
Classic WPA posters of the 1930s
Professor: Stephen Ortiz
Email: sortiz@po-box.esu.edu
Webpage: http://www.esu.edu/~sortiz
Office Hours: 409J Stroud Hall. 422-3262.
· Mon/Wed 10am-12pm; Tuesday 4:30-5:30pm and by appointment.
· Also, for grad students, I will be in my office from 6:30-7:00 before class starts.
Course Description:
This course is a graduate seminar where we will explore the
transformations in American life during the interwar period (1919-1945). Topics
will include the profound economic upheaval of the period; the rise of
consumerism and mass culture; racial, ethnic, and religious conflict; the Great
Depression; the labor movement; the New Deal and the development of the welfare
state; and the ascendancy of the
Course
Requirements:
Since this is a seminar, the success of this course will depend on members coming to our meetings well-prepared and willing to discuss the issues that the readings present. Therefore, your participation will be a key component of your grade (24%). For writing assignments, there will be one final project (22%), and six 6-page summary-and-reaction papers on weekly readings (54%).
For more on these assignments, see here.
Review sample: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=36791170439837
Required
Books:
Michael
Parrish, The Anxious Decades:
1920-1941.
Alan
Brinkley, The End of Reform: New Deal
Liberalism in Depression and War.
Lizabeth
Cohen, Making A New Deal: Industrial
Workers in
Akira
Iriye, The Globalizing of
David
W. Stowe, Swing Changes: Big Band Jazz in
New Deal
Rules, Regulations, and Critical Information:
- This is a graduate-level course; I do not have an attendance policy. It should be stated, however, that if you do not come to every class, you simply will not do well.
- Late arrival to class is not a crime but, please do not let it become a persistent problem. If you are having trouble getting to class on time for a good reason, just come talk to me.
- For the sake of your professor’s delicate sanity, PLEASE turn your cell phones OFF when you come into the classroom.
- We will be discussing many contentious issues throughout the semester. While different opinions are expected—encouraged—please show courtesy and respect to your fellow students at all times.
- Academic misconduct of any sort—cheating, plagiarism, etc.—will be punished by a failing grade in the course. In writing papers, be certain to give proper credit whenever you use words, phrases, ideas, arguments, and conclusions drawn from someone else’s work. Failure to give credit by quoting and/or footnoting is PLAGIARISM and is unacceptable. Please review the University’s Student Code of Conduct at http://www3.esu.edu/studentlife/sh/codeofconduct.asp. If you have any questions about what constitutes academic misconduct, please come speak with me. Do not jeopardize your standing at ESU by failing to abide by these important rules.
6.
Students
requiring classroom accommodations must follow the University’s
Office of Disability Service procedures for accommodations found at http://www3.esu.edu/academics/disabilityservices/arp.asp. Please do so as soon as possible so accommodations can be made early in the semester and you do not get behind in your studies.
- Please do not hesitate to contact me during the semester if you have any individual concerns or issues that need to be discussed. It is always better to contact me sooner rather than later with any potential problems.
Week 1, January 15
No Class, MLK day.
Week 2, January 22
Course Introduction: Personal introductions, syllabus, books, web stuff, and
reaction paper sign-up.
Week 3, January 29
“Normalcy” and Prosperity in the 1920s
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Intro, Chaps. 1-4.
Enelow O’Hara Malatesta
Hubright Ewen
Ryan
Week 4, February 5
Cultural Anxiety in the 1920s
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Chaps. 5-8.
·
Jessie Ramey, “The Bloody Blonde and the Marble Woman: Gender and Power in the Case of
Ruth Snyder,” Journal of Social History 37.3 (2004) 625-650.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_social_history/v037/37.3ramey.html
Hoffman Labarre Ewen
Jones
Kutza Russell
Week 5 , February 12
The Crash
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Chaps. 1.9-2.2.
Ryan Ohara Enelow
Hoffman Hubright Malatesta
Week 6, February 21 Switch day!!
New Deal political narratives
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Chaps. 2.3-2.5.
· Ortiz, “The ‘New Deal’ for Veterans”: The Economy Act, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Origins of New Deal Dissent,” Journal of Military History, April, 2006. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v070/70.2ortiz.html
Gatti
Hoffman Malatesta
Enelow Ewen Russell
Week 7, February 26
The
End of the New Deal? Or…
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Chaps. 2.6-2.9.
· Brinkley, End of Reform, Introduction and Chap. 1
Black
Kutza Ewen
Ryan LaBarre
Russell
Week 8, March 5
The Third New Deal?
· Brinkley, End of Reform, Chaps. 2-6.
Gatti
O’Hara Ewen
Hoffman Hubright
Enelow
March 12, Spring Break. No Class!
Week 9, March 19
Political Economy of War and Planning for the Postwar US
· Brinkley, End of Reform, Chaps. 7-epilogue.
Malatesta Gatti
Hubright
Kutza Enelow
Hoffman
Week 10, March 26
US and the World, 1913-1929
·
Iriye, Globalizing
of America, chaps. 1-7.
Black
Hubright LeBarre
Russell Gatti
O’Hara
Week 11, April 2
US and World War
·
Iriye, Globalizing
of
· Parrish, Anxious Decades, Chaps. 10-epilogue.
Ryan
Gatti Ewen
Malatesta Black
Jones
Experiencing
the Interwar Period
Week 12, April 9
·
Cohen, Making
a New Deal, Introduction and Chaps. 1-3
Jones
Black LeBarre
Ryan Kutza
O’Hara
Week 13, April 16
· Cohen, Making a New Deal, Chaps.4-5
Jones
Black Russell
Malatesta Hoffman Hubright
Week 14A, April 23
· Cohen, Making a New Deal, Chaps.6-Conclusion
Black
LeBarre Gatti
Jones Kutza
O’hara
Week 14B, April 30
· Stowe, Swing Changes, pp.1-121.
Russell
Ryan LeBarre
Jones Kutza
Enelow
Week 15, May 7
Special
Meeting Location?
· Stowe, Swing Changes, pp.121-179, 221-245.
· Brinkley Essay; found online here.
Final Project Due: By Noon on May 11