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HIST 352 (CRN 26508)
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis course will be a place to read, think, and talk about the 1960s in two ways: as a watershed in modern U.S. history and as an era whose contested reputation continues to preoccupy scholars and observers. Issues and images associated with the 1960s inspire some Americans, trouble others, and serve as reference points for us all. Why? This course will investigate how the history of the 1960s has been challenged and changed by recent scholarship. Why, for example, is a period popularly perceived as an era of civil rights victories, student activism, progressive reform, and stunning military defeat emerging as a turning point in the histories of anti-liberalism, educational crisis, and conservatism? Interpretive trends change, but the consensus points to the 1960s as a critical dividing line in modern U.S. history, culture and politics. What exactly do the 1960s represent and for whom? When did the 1960s begin? Are the 1960s even over yet? |
WRITING REQUIREMENTSThere will be two 5-page essays (double spaced) and a final exam.
1. The first essay will draw on Michael Harrington's The Other America and Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative. It is due on February 5 before class. You can find the essay question here.
2. The second essay will be on either If We Could Change the World or Patty's Got a Gun. It is due on March 5 before class. This essay will take the form of a book review, 5 double-spaced pages in length. Please consult these guidelines for writing book reviews.
3. The final exam will consist mainly of essay questions that cover the readings and synthesize the main themes of the course. There may also be some short-answer questions or brief identificaitons and comparisons.
Please notice when the written work is due and plan your time accordingly. |
READING REQUIREMENTSRequired reading does not mean required buying. You can find all of the texts below on reserve in Knight Library as well as at the UO Bookstore.
De Schweinitz, Rebecca. If We Could Change the World: Young People and America's Long Struggle for Racial Equality. University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Victor Publishing Company, 1960.
Graebner, William. Patty's Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Harrington, Michael. The Other America. Penguin, 1962.
Levy, Peter B., ed., America in the Sixties--Right, Left, and Center.Greenwood Press, 1998.
O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway Books, 1990.
various documents linked to the course syllabus
Please consider reading this optional overview, which can help to fill in historial background and details: Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, 4th edition. Oxford University Press, 2008.
List of Selected 1960s Memoirs Not required, but recommended for your reading pleasure. |
THINKING REQUIREMENTSHistory is a discipline that requires discipline, no less than neuroscience, music, or engineering, That means you should expect this course to require real time and effort. But history repays those who devote time and effort to it many times over. If you work hard in this course, you can expect the tangible reward of improved skills in writing, reading, and critical analysis along with the pleasure of learning. History also promises to make us more interesting people and better, more insightful citizens of our communities and our world. |
RULESAcademic Honesty: If this course is to be a worthwhile educational experience, your work must be original. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are very serious infractions and will not be permitted. Students who are uncertain about what plagiarism is, or who have questions about how to cite published, electronic, or other sources should feel free to consult with the instructor. You can also consult the brief guide to plagiarism and citation posted on my web site. Lateness Policy: No unexcused late assignments will be accepted and no makeup exams will be given. Students who miss deadlines will be given an F for that assignment. Accommodations: If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please arrange to see me soon and request that Disability Services send a letter verifying your disability. |
GRADESessays: 30% each |
Calendar
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Week 1 |
WHY DO THE 1960s MATTER? WHAT WERE THE 1960s ABOUT? WHEN DID THE 1960s BEGIN AND END?January 8: Introduction to the Course
January 10: The Big Picture
Read:
Watch and Listen: Billboard #1 hit in 1960: Percy Faith, "Theme from A Summer Place" Billboard #1 hit in 1968: Beatles, "Hey Jude"
Bruce Springsteen on the music and legacy of the 1960s
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Week 2 |
THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY AND ITS DISCONTENTSJanuary 15: The Consumers' Republic
Read:
January 17: Poverty Rediscovered
film: “Harvest of Shame”
Read: Harrington, The Other America, Forward by Maurice Isserman, Introduction by Irving Howe, chap. 1 - chap. 4
Reading and Discussion Questions
for Michael Harrington, The Other America |
Week 3 |
LIBERALISM AT HIGH TIDEJanuary 22: Other Americas
Read: Harrington, The Other America, chap. 5 - end (including the appendix and the afterword)
January 24: The Great Society and the War on Poverty
Read: Levy: documents 2.6, 4.1,
4.2, 4.3
LBJ, University of Michigan commencement address, May 22, 1964
Sargent Shriver, tesimony before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Education and Public Welfare, June 17, 1964
film: "American Idealist" |
Week 4 |
BARRY GOLDWATER'S 1960sJanuary 29: Barry Goldwater and the 1964 Election
Read: Levy: documents 2.4, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6
Reading and Discussion Questions for Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative
January 31: The 1960s and Conservative Revival
Read: Levy: document 8.6 |
Week 5 |
THE RIGHTS REVOLUTIONFebruary 5: The African-American Freedom Movement
Read: If We Could Change the World, chaps. 1-3
Reading and Discussion Questions for Rebecca de Schweinitz, If We Could Change the World
first essay due before class
February 7: The Rights Revolution Expands
Read: If We Could Change the World, chap. 4 - end (including the appendices)
We will have an opportunity to speak with Rebecca de Schweinitz about her book via two-way videoconferencing. |
Week 6 |
THE VIETNAM WARFebruary 12: From Cold War to Working-Class War
Read:
O'Brien, The Things They Carried, begin
February 14: The Antiwar Movement
Read:
O'Brien, The Things They Carried, finish |
Week 7 |
SEXUAL REVOLUTIONFebruary 19: The Personal Politics of Second-Wave Feminism
Read:
Guidelines for Consciousness-Raising Groups, early 1970s
Watch and Listen:
February 21: Gay Liberation
Read:
Watch and Listen: clips from "Before Stonewall" and "After Stonewall" |
Week 8 |
CULTURES AND COUNTERCULTURESFebruary 26: The New Left and Revolutionary Violence
Watch and Listen: Anti-Obama ad featuring Bill Ayers and the Weather Underground
Read: Levy: documents 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
Graebner, Patty's Got a Gun, pp. 1-113.
Watch and Listen:
February 28: The Patricia Hearst Case
Read: Graebner, Patty's Got a Gun, pp. 117-180.
Famous Trials Website: The Trial of Patty Hearst |
Week 9 |
THE VOICE OF THE SILENT MAJORITYMarch 5: The New Right and the Defense of Family Values
second essay due before class
March 7: What can marriage politics tell us about the conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s?
Read: Yamin, Priscilla. American Marriage: A Political Institution. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012, chap. 3, "Marriage Is One of the Basic Civil Rights of Man."
Sheila Cronan, "Marriage," Notes from the Third Year, 1970.
"Princess Atalanta" from "Free to Be You and Me, 1972
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action." Washington, DC: Office of Policy Planning and Research, United States Department of Labor, March 1965, chapter II, "The Negro American Family." |
Week 10 |
THE ENDURING LEGACY OF THE 1960sMarch 12: The 1960s and the Death of Consensus
Read: March 14: Are the 1960s over? Final Exam |