american labor history syllabus

7/31/2019 American Labor History Syllabus

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History 408 Professor Camille GurinGonzales

Fall 2009 Office Hours: Tuesday, 3:305:30

ues. & Thurs., 1:002:15 4119 Mosse Humanities Building

651 Mosse Humanities Building [email protected], 2631823

T

1

AmericanLaborHistory,1900-Present

This course surveys the history of working people in the United States in the 20 th and 21st century,

focusing on the historical meanings of work and workingclass cultures. We will look at the ways in

which a variety of scholars and organic intellectuals have drawn upon the methods and practices

of labor history, social history, economic history, and cultural studies, to examine the lives of

working women and men. Throughout the course, we will be examining relations of power by

looking closely at ideas about race, class, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. We will be especially

concerned with how these ideas have shaped workingclass lives, informed class relations, and

organized communities of solidarity. Some of the questions we will address are: What is unique

about US labor history and what is part of a shared international history of workers? How have

processes of cultural fusion and cultural fragmentation operated to unite and divide workers? In

what ways does an interrogation of the politics of space (place, location, landscape, architecture,

environment, home, neighborhood, city, region, and territory) help us to understand workingclass

cultures? Questions about American Exceptionalism and the American Dream; community and

solidarity; class formation and social identity; and the relationship between workingclass

trategies of resistance and the everyday lives of working people will be the focus of our course

eadings, films, discussi research projects during the semester.

s

r

ons, and

Course Requirements

1. General

ClassParticipation. The success of the course depends upon your contribution to the creation of a

community of scholars dedicated to cooperative learning. Thus, class participation includes:attending all class meetings, completing all reading and writing assignments in preparation for

class discussions, and engaging in lively and respectful dialogue with one another.

aptopsandNotetaking. The use of laptop computers or other screenbased devices is not

ermitt ng when films are screened). Pleasetakenotesbyhand.

L

p

ed during lecture (includi

.2 Writing and Research

FilmCritique. You will write one 3page (approximately 900 words) essay discussing how one of

the following pairs of fi esents labor history. Selectoneduedateandwriteanessayonboth

filmslistedforthatdate

lms repr

Cradle

Will

Rock

&

Uprising

of

34

:

FreeaMantoFight&WageSlavesOct. 22:

SaltoftheEarth&Uprisingof34

Nov. 5:

CradleWillRock&Sir!NoSir!

Nov. 19:

SanFranciscoState&Uprisingof 34

Nov. 24:

Dec. 3:

Dec. 10: YuriKochiyama&Sir!NoSir!

ExtraCredit: You may write 3page essays on additional groups of films to earn extra credit

toward your final grade in the course. Thesemustbesubmittedbytheduedateslisted.


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2. Writing and Research (cont.)

Working-ClassHistoryResearchProject. You will conduct indepth research using archival

materials housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society and write a twopart essay.

DueTuesday,October13:

PartOne.

Youwill identify an archival collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society used in the book assigned

for this course listed below, familiarize yourself with the contents of the archival collection, and

rite a 900word essay (approximately three pages) describing the contents of the collection and

ffering a more iption of one box contained in the co

w

o

detailed descr llection.

aborinthe1960s. Urbana and Chicago:Peter B. Levy. TheNewLeftandL

University of Illinois Press, 1994.

DueTuesday,

December

15:

RevisedVersionofPartOne&PartTwo.

PartTwo. You will write a 1,500word essay (approximately five pages) explaining how thecollection expanded your understanding of an event, issue, relationship, community, or institution

that is addressed in your course readings. You must include examples and evidence from the

collection (in the form of quotations or photocopied documents or photographs) to support your

analysis. You will conclude your essay by suggesting or proposing future research projects based

on the collection. Be insightful and brilliant.

Part

One,

Revised. Please submit a revised version of Part One as the introduction to Part Two ofyour workingclass history project. Your final paper will be 2,400words in length (approximately

pages .8 )

3. Examinations.

MidtermExamination. There will be an inclass midterm examination Tuesday, October 27,

consisting of one long essay question and four short identification questions.

FinalExamination. The final examination will cover material since the midterm. This will be an

inclass examination on Friday, December 18, 7:45 to 9:45 a.m.

GradeDistribution:

Class Participation 20%

ion

Film Critique 10%

Midterm Examinat 20%

Research Project 25%

Final Examination 25%


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Readings*

The following books are available for purchase at the University Bookstore, 711 State Street, and

are on reserve in Helen C. White College Library. The Barbara Ehrenreich essay, Down and Out in

merica: Barbara Ehrenreich Talks about Life as a Minimum Wage Employee, is on the Learn @

W site for this course. Readings should be completed by Tuesday of each week.

A

U

RequiredReadings

ileen Boris and Nelson Lichtenstein. MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmericanWorkers:

ssays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

E

DocumentsandE

izabeth Cohen. MakingaNewDeal: IndustrialWorkersinChicago,1919-1939. 2d ed. New York:

niversity Press, 2008.

L

Cambridge U

eter Levy. TheNewLeftandLaborin1960s. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press,P

1994.

Annelise Orleck. StormingCaesar's

Palace:

How

Black

Mothers

Fought

Their

Own

War

on

Poverty.

Boston: Beacon Press, 2006

RequiredStyleBooks

ate L. Turabian, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. AManualforWriters

ed., Chicago: University of Chic 07.

K

ofResearchPapers,Theses,andDissertations, 7th ago Press, 20

illiam Strunk, E. B. White, and Maira Kalman. TheElementsofStyleIllustrated. New York:

enguin, 2005.

W

P

CalendarandAssignments

eekW LaborHist

atReadingsmustbecompletedbyTuesdayofeachweek

1 oryandHistoricalMeaningsofWork

Sept. 3

*Note th

eek2

ept. 8 & 10

W

S

TheAgrarianDreamandWageSlavery

Readings

Barbara Ehrenreich, Down and Out in America: Barbara Ehrenreich Talks aboutLife as a Minimum Wage Employee, TheWomen'sReviewofBooks, vol. 18, no.

earn @ UW site for our course.10/11 (Jul., 2001), pp. 67. Available on the L

Eileen Bo tenstein, eds., MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmericanris and Nelson Lich

Workers, pp. vxiv and 156.

Film: WageSlaves: NotGettingByinAmericaLaborDaySept.7


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Week3Sept. 15 & 17

FreedomandFreeLabor

Readings

Eileen Boris and nstein, eds., MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmericanNelson Lichte

Workers, pp. 57162.

Eid-al

-Fitr

Sept.

20

RoshHashanahSept.19-20

Week4 TSept. 22 & 24

heMakingoftheU.S.WorkingClass

s

Eileen Boris and nstein, eds., MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican

Reading

Nelson Lichte

Workers, pp. 163236.

aphEssay


Photogr

Nelson Lichte


ResearchInstru

ction

at

the

Wisconsin

Historical

Society, Harry Miller, Reference Archivist

Week5 BSept. 29 & Oct. 1

readandRoses: WorkersControloftheWorkplace

s


Reading

Nelson Lichte

81.Workers, pp. 2482

Lizabeth Cohen, MakingaNewDeal,pp. 197.

Film: CradleWillRock(partone)

YomKippur

Sept.

28

eek6ct. 6 &

WO

MassCulture&Working-ClassCommunities8

eadings

Lizabeth Cohen, MakingaNewDeal,pp. 99211.

R

Film: CradleWillRock(parttwo)

Week7

Oct. 13 & 15

RevolutionorReform?

Tuesday PartOneofResearchProjectdue

eadings

3289

R

Lizabeth Cohen, MakingaNewDeal,pp. 21

oris and nstein, eds., MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmericanEileen B

Nelson Lichte


Film: Uprisingof34(screening begins at 12:50; 85 minutes)


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Week8 WorkersCommonGroundOct. 20 & 22

Readings

Lizabeth Cohen, MakingaNewDeal, pp. 290368.

DueThursday

Film Critique ofUprisingof

34

&

Cradle

Will

Rock

Week9 Theres

ct. 27 & 29

WorktobeDoneandaWartobeWon

O

Tuesday MidtermExamination

Film: FreeaMantoFight

eek10

ov. 3 & 5

W heWorking

N

Reading

T

Class&

Hollywood

During

the

Cold

War

s



Film: SaltoftheEarth(partone)

DueThursday

Film Critique ofFreeaMantoFight&WageSlaves

Week11 W

Nov. 10 & 12

orking-ClassCultureWars

s

Peter Levy, TheNewLeftandLaborinthe1960s,pp. 1107.

Reading

Film: SaltoftheEarth(parttwo)

Week12 W

ov. 17 & 19

orking-ClassSoldiers&theVietnamWar

N Readings

Peter Levy, TheNew .LeftandLaborinthe1960s,pp. 108201

Film(Tuesday): Sir,NoSir!(screening begins at 12:50; 84 minutes)

DueThu

rsday

Film Critique ofSaltoftheEarth&Uprisingof34


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WN

Reading

eek13

ov. 24 & 26

TheWaratHome

s

Annelise Orleck, StormingCesarsPalace, pp. 197

Film: SanFranciscoState;FilmClips: TheWaratHome

D sday:

Film Critique ofCradleWillRock&Sir!NoSir!

ueTue

ThanksgivingNov.26,Eid-al-AdhaNov.27

Week14Dec. 1 & 3

T fWorking-ClassResistancehePoliticso

Readings

. 98207.Annelise Orleck, StormingCesarsPalace, pp



Film: YuriKochiyama: PassionforJustice

rsday:

Film Critique ofSanFranciscoState& Uprisingof34

DueThu

Week15

Dec. 8 & 10

WeShallOvercome: BuildingNewCommunitiesofSolidarity

s

. 208310.

Reading

Annelise Orleck, StormingCesarsPalace, pp

Eileen Boris and nstein, eds., MajorProblems

in

the

History

of

American

Nelson Lichte

, pp. 459472.Workers

rsday:

Film Critique ofYuriKochiyama: PassionforJustice& Sir!NoSir!

DueThu

eek1

ec. 15

W

D

Reading

6 Working-ClassCommunitiesinthe21stCentury

&Discussion:



Working-ClassHistoryResearchPaperDue*at 1:00 p.m.

*SubmitarevisedversionofPartOneastheintroductiontoPartTwoofyourpaper.

Youshouldmergebothintoonepolishedresearchpaper.

*Nolatepapers acceptedforanyreasonotherthanadocumentedreligiousor

healthexcuse. Noexceptions,includingcomputer&transportationproblems.

Dec.18 FinalExamination,Friday,7:45a.m.-9:45a.m.