Studies in American Cultural History:

The History of the Middle Class

Fall 2010

Sarah McNair Vosmeier

VOSM@hanover.edu        

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In this course, we will make historical arguments about the culture of the American middle class, using primary sources and secondary sources to support those arguments.

With a working understanding of the terms highlighted above, we can look more closely at how the middle class has behaved and expressed itself from the turn of the nineteenth century to the present. Aspects of middle-class culture we will consider include work life, college life, parenting, housing, material culture, and leisure pursuits. While middle-class culture has long seemed central to American identity, historians and others have rarely been clear about what they mean by the middle class or by middle-class culture. We will try to do better.

All assigned books are available on reserve, and many assignments are online. You will need hard copies for class discussions (or extensive notes). Thus, you should budget appropriately for printing and photocopying. For the transcription project, you will need a Jefferson County Public Library card.

Transcription project 13%

Exhibit project 12%

Midterm 20%

Final 25%

Primary Source analysis 20%

Participation 10%

Nota Bene

Our class time provides an opportunity, rare in modern life, to focus for an extended time on a single task and conversation. Please do not multitask (with laptops, cell phones, etc.) while we are together.

Late papers will be penalized, and in-class assignments cannot be made up. Students with emergencies who wish to request an exception to this rule should contact me before the due date.

A Note about Writing Assignments, Exams, and Participation:

Transcription project: Students will transcribe a manuscript from the Duggan Library Archives and put it in historical context (700-900 words). To do background research, you will need to apply for a Jefferson County Public Library card by Sept. 10.

Exhibit project: Our class is responsible for mounting a small exhibit at the Duggan Library (on hotel silverplate), with each student contributing a descriptive label for a different object.

Primary source analysis: Students will use a primary source (or sources) to consider how Americans have used culture to create and reinforce a middle-class identity (2200-3300 words). We will focus on the themes of food, education, and leisure pursuits, and student research will be the basis of our scheduled discussion of those topics on Nov. 15.

Exams: The exams will include identifications and essay questions.

Participation: Students are expected to participate in all discussions. There may be occasional brief assignments intended to complement the regular work of the class.

People who excel in participation show evidence of careful preparation for discussions; they make useful comments in class or ask helpful questions; and they adequately complete all brief assignments, handing them in on time.

A note about this course and history department goals: Through class discussion, papers, and exams, you will develop skills in analyzing primary sources and in evaluating historical arguments. You will make your own historical arguments supported by evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Introduction and Definitions

Mon. Sep. 6, 2010 "Defining Terms" (lecture).

Wed. Sep. 8, 2010 Suddath, "A Brief History of the Middle Class," 2009 (online); Roberts, "Fitting In," 1997 (go to LexisNexis and use the "search the news" box to search for "Fitting In: Another Kind of Middle-Class"); Vosmeier, "Thinking about Class in History," 2010 (handout).

Fri. Sep. 10, 2010 "Students and Manners," 1851-2006 (online).

Origins of the American Middle Class

Mon. Sep. 13, 2010 Marx, Communist Manifesto, 1848 (excerpt online).

Wed. Sep. 15, 2010 "Origins of the American Middle Class" (lecture). Thompson, Making of the English Working Class, 1963 (pp. 9-13 and ten pages of your own choosing, on reserve).

Fri. Sep. 17, 2010 Goloboy, "The Early American Middle Class," 2005 (pdf download).

Mon. Sep. 20, 2010 Horowitz, Campus Life, 1987 (pp. 11-62).

Wed. Sep. 22, 2010 Archival Workshop: Meet in Duggan Archives. Transcription draft due.

Fri. Sep. 24, 2010 Zakim, "The Business Clerk as Social Revolutionary," 2006 (pdf download); Spencer, Practical Penmanship ( online). Material Culture Workshop.

The Middle Class, 1850-1900

Mon. Sep. 27, 2010 "Late Nineteenth-Century America" (lecture). Transcription project due.

Wed. Sep. 29, 2010 Kasson, "Disciplining the Audience," 1990 (online); Headley, Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Great Riots, 1873 (excerpt online).

Fri. Oct. 1, 2010 McCarthy, Class Struggle in the Parlor, 2008 (go to abstract online, and click on "pdf full text.").

Mon. Oct. 4, 2010 Wills, "Respectable Mediocrity," 2003 (to to abstract online, and click on "pdf full text.").

Wed. Oct. 6, 2010 Moskowitz, Standard of Living (pp. 19-63, on reserve).

Fri. Oct. 8, 2010 Material Culture Workshop: Meet in Duggan Archives.

Mon. Oct. 11, 2010 Gordon, "Gibson Girl Goes to College," 1987 (online); Norwood, "Student as Strikebreaker" 1994 (online).

Wed. Oct. 13, 2010 Review. Exhibit project part one due.

Fri. Oct. 15, 2010 Midterm exam.

Midterm Break

Wed. Oct. 20, 2010 Stearns, American Cool, 1994 (pp. 16-57, on reserve).

The Middle Class through World War II

Fri. Oct. 22, 2010 "Early Twentieth-Century America" (lecture). Material culture workshop. Exhibit project part two due.

Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 Stearns, 95-6, 120-41, 164-82, 270-81.

Wed. Oct. 27, 2010 Horowitz, 67-73 82-86, 89-97, 118-23, 131, 193-212, 218-19; Hanover Songs, 1924 (excerpt online).

Fri. Oct. 29, 2010 Moskowitz, 220-238; Peixotto, Getting & Spending, 1927 (excerpt online).

Mon. Nov. 1, 2010 Lands, "Be a Patriot, Buy a Home," 2008 (pdf download); Gelber, "Do-It-Yourself," 1997 (pp. 66-90, 101-3, online).

Wed. Nov. 3, 2010 Smith,"Childhood, the Body, and Race Performance," 2006 (go to abstract online, and click on "pdf full text.").

The Middle Class since World War II

Fri. Nov. 5, 2010 "Recent American History" (lecture). Mills, White Collar, 1951 (pp. ix-xx, 182-190, 204-212, on reserve).

Mon. Nov. 8, 2010 Frazier, Black Bourgeoisie, 1957 (pp. 23-26, 112, 203-229, 233-38, on reserve).

Wed. Nov. 10, 2010 The Apartment, 1960 (film, on reserve).

Fri. Nov. 12, 2010 Mah, "The Limits of Democracy in the Suburbs," 2001 (on reserve: Bledstein & Johnston, pp. 256-66); Hurley, Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks, 2001 (pp. 1-25, 195-98, 247-53, on reserve).

Mon. Nov. 15, 2010 Discussion of middle-class culture and food, education, and leisure activities. Preliminary materials for paper due.

Wed. Nov. 17, 2010 Situation comedies, 1950s (on reserve).

Fri. Nov. 19, 2010 Horowitz, 220-46, 263-72; Brooks, Paradise Drive, 2004 (pp. 156-65, 173-79, 180-85).

Mon. Nov. 22, 2010 Visual analysis. Final paper due.

Thanksgiving Break.

Mon. Nov. 29, 2010 Assignment t.b.a.

Wed. Dec. 1, 2010 Brooks, 38-64, 69-74.

Fri. Dec. 3, 2010 Brooks, 75-82, 86-95, 106-111, 124-26, 267-81.

Mon. Dec. 6, 2010 Movie, c. 1988 (t.b.a.).

Wed. Dec. 8, 2010 2008 financial crisis, assignment t.b.a.

Fri. Dec. 10, 2010 Review.