ASTD 310 AMERICAN DECADES: THE 1890S DECADE OF CRISIS

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ASTD 310 AMERICAN DECADES: THE 1890S DECADE OF CRISIS Fall 2011 Dr.

edu Office hours: 2:00-3:00 WF WELCOME to our interdisciplinary study of the history

A watershed is a landform bounded by a ridge.

watercourse, and ultimately to the ocean; on the other side, to a different

On the ridge of the 1890s, persons and events flow into new and different seas from

1 ASTD 310 AMERICAN DECADES: THE 1890S DECADE OF CRISIS Fall 2011 Dr. Matthew Mancini Department of American Studies Adorjan Office hours: 2:00-3:00 WF WELCOME to our interdisciplinary study of the history and culture of the American 1890s, the watershed decade. A watershed is a landform bounded by a ridge. One one side of the ridge all the rain, rivers, and streams fall off to one main watercourse, and ultimately to the ocean; on the other side, to a different watercourse. On the ridge of the 1890s, persons and events flow into new and different seas from those of the 1880s. As you might guess, this great shift made the nineties a decade of crisis: in race relations, foreign policy, immigration, literature, painting, philosophy, economics, labor, and even sports. Understanding the 1890s is crucial to understanding modern America.

2 American Decades: 1890s Fall COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will: DEMONSTRATE specific knowledge of the critical nature of the decade under review. EXPLAIN the measures that subordinated groups took to contest their social position. EMPLOY a variety of methods to analyze contemporary texts and images. IMPROVE the essential verbal skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. REQUIREMENTS Attend every class prepared to discuss that day s assignment Two exams One final Two short (7-10 page) papers Grading is based on the requirements listed above by the following percentages: Class attendance and discussion: 25 percent Two exams: 25 percent (12 percent each) Final 25 percent Short papers 25 percent (12 percent each) CLASSROOM PROCEDURE Meeting three times a week, the course will generally follow a pattern of lecture on Mondays, a combination of lecture and discussion on Wednesdays, and student-generated discussion on Fridays. Each student will arrive in class on Friday with a discussion question based on that week s lectures and readings. The topic of one of the short papers will be determined in consultation with me. The other one will be a family history, based on the activities of your family members during the decade. Most of the readings are available online, but I want you to purchase three books: Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House; W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk; and Robert McMath, American Populism: A Social History, These are on sale at the SLU Bookstore. The final examination will be held from 12:00 to 1:50 on Friday, December 16, a date established by the university and not subject to change. Please be absolutely sure not to make any plans that would interfere with your obligation in this regard. Integrity: A student who cheats or plagiarizes will flunk that portion of the course in which the violation occurs. However, based on the severity of any violation, I reserve the right to fail the student for the course. Students are expected to be familiar with, and follow, the university s policy on academic integrity, which can be found at: That policy reads, in small part: in general... soliciting, receiving, or providing any unauthorized assistance in the completion of any work submitted toward academic credit is dishonest. It not only violates the mutual trust necessary between faculty and students but also undermines the validity of the University s evaluation of students and takes unfair advantage of fellow students. 2

3 American Decades: 1890s Fall Academic Accommodations: Students who believe that, due to the presence of a disability, they may need academic accommodations in order to meet the requirements of this, or any other, class at Saint Louis University are encouraged to contact Disability Services at or by visiting by the Student Success Center, Suite 331 Busch Student Center. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. I am only able to support student accommodation requests upon receipt of an approved letter from Disability Services. I will gladly speak with approved students after registration with Disability Services. Classroom courtesy: Please do not eat or drink during class. Taping or other forms of recording are not permitted. Turn off your cell phones and close your laptops. Students must complete all requirements to pass the course. This syllabus can be changed at my discretion. SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS Aug. 29 Aug. 31 Sept. 2 Sept. 5 Sept. 7 Sept. 9 Sept 12 Sept. 14 Sept. 16 Sept. 19 Sept. 21 Course introduction Crisis of race Mississippi Constitution of Note Section 12 Franchise W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters I-II Labor Day DuBois, Souls of Black Folk, Chapters III-IV C. Vann Woodward, The Case of the Louisiana Traveler, in Quarrels That Have Shaped the Constitution, edited by John A. Garraty, revised ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1987), Crisis in Foreign Policy The Open Door Venezuela; the Caribbean Carl N. Degler, Out of Our Past: The Forces that Shaped Modern America, third edition (New York, 1984), The Spanish-American War The Philippine Insurrection The Ghost Dance Philip Weeks, Farewell, My Nation: The American Indian and the United States in the Nineteenth Century (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2001), Chap. 6. Frontier s End American culture and the 1890s frontier 3

American Decades: 1890s Fall 2011 4 Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth, Chapter 22. Sept. 23 Sept. 26 Sept. 28 Sept. 30 Oct. 3 Oct. 5 Oct. 7 Oct. 10 Oct. 12 Oct.

4 American Decades: 1890s Fall Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth, Chapter 22. Sept. 23 Sept. 26 Sept. 28 Sept. 30 Oct. 3 Oct. 5 Oct. 7 Oct. 10 Oct. 12 Oct. 14 Oct. 17 The Agrarian crisis Agrarian crisis Robert C. McMath, Jr., American Populism: A Social History, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1993), chapters 5 and 6. First exam American literature: romantic, realist, naturalist. American literary naturalism Donald Pizer, The Theory and Practice of American Literary Naturalism (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993), chapters 5 and 6. Stephen Crane, The Open Boat American painting at century s end. Visit to St. Louis Art Museum. First papers due Visit to the Wainwright Building, Chestnut and Seventh, St. Louis. Oct. 19 American architecture and other visual arts 4

5 American Decades: 1890s Fall Oct. 21 Oct. 24 Oct. 26 Oct. 28 Oct. 31 Nov. 2 Nov. 4 Nov. 7 Nov. 9 Nov. 11 Nov. 14 Nov. 16 Nov. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 23 Nov. 25 Nov. 28 Nov. 30 Immigrant lives John Bodnar, The Transplanted: A History of Immigrants in Urban America (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985), Chapter 1 Immigrant autobiography Excerpts from immigrant autobiographical writings, in Ilan Stavans, ed., Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing (New York: Library of America, 2009): Edith Maude Eaton, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, O. E. Rølvaag, The Third Life of Per Smevik, Anzia Yezierska, from Children of Loneliness, Same Second exam The crisis of capitalism The Panic of 1893 and the depression of the nineties Labor in Crisis: The Haymarket Riot The Homestead Strike David Nasaw, Andrew Carnegie (New York, Penguin, 2006), Chap. 23.p Eugene V. Debs and the Pullman Strike; second paper due: family history Revolution in philosophy William James, What Pragmatism Means Thanksgiving Break Manners and Morals: The Trilby Craze; Crisis in College Football L. Edward Purcell, Trilby and Trilby-Mania: The Beginning of the Bestseller System, Journal of Popular Culture 11, no. 1 (Summer 1977), 62-76; Scott A. McQuilkin and Ronald A. Smith, The Rise and Fall of the Flying Wedge: Football s Most Controversial Play, Journal of Sport History 20, no. 1 (Spring 1993), Crusade for purity: Anthony Comstock and the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice 5

6 American Decades: 1890s Fall Anthony Comstock, Vampire Literature, North American Review, 153 (1891), Dec. 2 Dec. 5 Dec. 12 Dec. 16 One woman s response: Jane Addams Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, chapters 1-11 Last day of class; course review Final exam 6

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