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RETHINKING THE 1960sHIST 407/507 (CRN 16254/16255)
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis seminar will be a place to think, talk, and write about the 1960s and about how the historical picture of the 1960s has been challenged and changed by recent scholarship. Interpretations of the 1960s by scholars and observers have shifted dramatically in recent years, but the consensus remains that the 1960s were a critical watershed in modern U.S. history. Why? Students will do a small amount of common reading at the beginning of the course. The primary purpose of this course, however, is for each student to engage in a substantial independent research project, based in primary sources, resulting in a paper of 20-25 pages. Students can expect to devote a lot of time to defining, executing, and discussing this work with other participants in the seminar. Written research proposals and other writing samples will be shared with everyone in the course in order to generate constructive suggestions, questions, and ideas for revision and refinement. Research presentations will be made by every student toward the end of the term. For the purpose of both reading and research, the “1960s” will be defined broadly rather than in narrow or mechanical, decade-like terms. It is acceptable not only for student projects to examine people, themes, and developments located in the 1960s proper, but to explore their roots in the years prior to 1960 and their consequences in the years since 1970. |
WRITING REQUIREMENTSEach undergraduate student in this course is expected to produce a 20-25-page (double-spaced) research paper, based on primary sources. (Graduate students will be expected to produce a research paper of similar length, based on a more ambitious research agenda. Please consult indiividually with the instructor at the very beginning of the course.) A one-paragraph statement of the research project will be due during week 2. A three-page research prospectus will be due during week 4. A draft of a first paragraph will be due during week 5. The final paper is due on Tuesday, December 7 at noon in 321 McKenzie Hall. |
READING REQUIREMENTSDavid Farber and Beth Bailey, The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001). Tom Brokaw, Boom! Voices of the Sixties (New York: Random House, 2007). |
thinking Requirements |
RULESBecause this is a research-oriented course, grades will depend very heavily on the quality of your final paper. But everything will be taken into account: level of preparation for and participation in weekly discussions, verbal presentations of research projects, and critiques of one another’s research agendas. Academic Honesty Lateness Policy Accommodations |
GRADESThis is a research-oriented course, so grades depend very heavily on the quality of the final paper. But everything will be taken into account: level of preparation for and participation in weekly discussions, verbal presentations of research projects, and critiques of one another’s research agendas. |
Resources in the UO Library and OnlineCalendar
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Week 1 |
September 28, 2010: What does it mean to rethink the 1960s?READING: Farber and Bailey, part 1 (pp. 3-76). Also choose one essay from part 2 and one essay from part 4 to read and come to class prepared to say something about how they relate to your own interests and resaerch plans for this course. |
Week 2 |
October 5, 2010: The Research Projects in BriefREADING: Brokaw, Boom! Choose 8-10 stories from this book related to your interests (choose at least a few from part 1 and a few from part 2) and come to class prepared to talk about them. The point is not only to read the stories, but to approach them as historians do. What kind of evidence do these biographical snapshots offer? About what? What are the advantages and disadvantages of narrating the 1960s through the lens of individual experience? One-paragraph statement of research topic due. (Note: Make enough copies for all course participants because we will be sharing these.) It must include:
Please note that Barber and Bailey include an extensive annotated bibliography to book-length secondary sources. This is a good place to start, but you should also become familiar, if you aren’t already, with using a variety of materials including encyclopedias, microforms, audio and film recordings, journal articles, book reviews, maps, photographs, and unpublished theses. Many of these are available in Knight Library or through interlibrary loan, which requires a little advance planning. In addition, electronic indexes are indispensable for conducting research. These will help you build a good bibliography of primary and secondary sources for your project. These indexes include, but are not limited to: There are a number of excellent web sites about the 1960s online, and you should certainly use them if they are relevant to your project. But there’s a lot of junky history online as well, so be critical about what you use. I do not want to see bibliographies consisting largely or exclusively of materials located online. |
Week 3 |
October 12, 2010: Nuts and Bolts: Getting Acquainted With SourcesDiscussion of the one-paragraph research statements. Each student should come to class with a few written comments and suggestions for other students. We will discuss these in class as a way of expanding the research proposals and moving them forward. Please also bring in two sources from your own research thus far, one primary source and one secondary source. |
Week 4 |
October 19, 2010: Nuts and Bolts: What Historians Do With the Sources They UseThree-page research prospectus due. (Note: Make enough copies for all course participants because we will be sharing these.) It must include:
We will continue the discussion of using and interpreting sources. Each student should come to class with one example of a primary source and one example of a secondary source drawn from your own research project. We will discuss these and talk about how to make the most effective use of sources as evidence and basis for interpretation. |
Week 5 |
October 26, 2010: Nuts and Bolts: Bibliographies, Organization, Outlines, Writing, Revising, and Other Elements of Paper-WritingPlease write an opening paragraph for your paper, make enough copies for everyone, and bring them to class. Resource: The Stages of Writing Research Papers |
Week 6 |
November 2, 2010: Student PresentationsMelissa Ruhl, "'Forward You Must Go': American Indian Youth, Education, and Cultural Heritage in the 1960s" Britt Cutright, "The Imagery of the Cuban Missile Crisis" Adam Turner, "Framing Healthy Families: Eugenic Depictions of Gender, Marriage, and American Families in Film and Television, 1940-1970" Resource: Guidelines for Research Presentations |
Week 7 |
November 9, 2010: Student PresentationsShelley Grosjean, "A Womyn's Work Is Never Done: Reforming Traditionally Gendered Work in Lesbian Separatist Communities" Spencer Lynch, "The Effects of Rotary-Wing Aircraft on the United States Military in the 1960s" Lauren Goss, "The Cost of Equality: Implementing Title IX at the University of Oregon in the 1970s" Resource: Guidelines for Research Presentations |
Week 8 |
November 16, 2010: Student PresentationsKate Loftesness, on mass media and the Vietnam War Megan Dunne, "Malcolm, the Media, and the Movement" Daniel Rinn, "Histocial Agency, Participatory Democracy, and Shifting Strategies of the New Left" Resource: Guidelines for Research Presentations |
Week 9 |
November 23, 2010: Student PresentationsCorey Johnson, "The Changing Role of the Black Athlete (Centered on the OPHR)" Resource: Guidelines for Research Presentations |
Week 10 |
November 30, 2010: Student PresentationsLucas Burke, "The Battle of Portland: Vortex I, The American Legion, and the Left's Struggle to End the Vietnam War" Kelly Barley, "The Soul of a Movement" Madeline Stilley, "Historical Perspectives in America: Women's Salaries on the Rise, 1960-1980" Joel Chown, "SNCC and the Movement to Black Power: Perspectives Within the Civil Rights Movement" Courtney Fitzgerald, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: Occurences that Influenced the Greatest Album Ever Recorded" Resource: Guidelines for Research Presentations |