Reference Special: From Mad Men to The Sixties in America
I'm always finding great stuff in the library that I think would be great to use for a research project, if only more students knew these things were here! Some of this stuff I wish I had known about as a student. Recently, while getting ready to talk with a class about library resources for their assignment, I fell in love all over again with the print reference collection.
I focus a lot on our electronic reference and research resources (most of which exist in print somewhere), but in this medium it just makes sense to make it a click away. However, I know there are others out there that love the printed page, being able to thumb through bound book, experiencing a different, slower kind if discovery you don't get on the Internet.
So, with this in mind, I'm starting a new Friday feature, the "Reference Special," where I'll write about the wonders of either a unique or a classic reference title in our print reference collection.
I recently fell under the spell of the TV show Mad Men (AMC) for its rich and vivid portrayal of life in the 1960s. I've only seen a few episodes, but one of the things that jumped out at me are the distinct roles the women play in the lives of the high-powered Madison Avenue ad executives: the perfect wife; the free-spirited lover (man: "I can't decide if you have everything or you have nothing."); the successful department store executive that has to fight for even just a little respect; the naive secretary ("It's a typewriter. It looks complicated, but they made it easy enough for even a woman to use."), learning to do anything and everything to please the man she works for (and to get ahead). If, as part of my orientation activities, I was sent to get a prescription for the Pill on my first day of work--well, I don't know what I would do! I can't imagine a world where that was an expectation, or even just a requirement to advance.
I also noted I am glad I don't live in a time where everyone smoked, everywhere!
So, while strolling through the Reference Collection this afternoon, this title jumped out at me: The Sixties in America (3 vols.).
This set contains short, signed articles with recommendations for further reading on all aspects of life in the 1960s.
"Advertising" (2pp.), Sherri Ward Massey
Quotable: "Advertising... exploded with self-expression in the 1960's. This era is known for its creative appeal to the independent consumer, its sense of humor, and its superstar admakers" (p. 6).
Recommended reading includes: Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising (Juliann Sivulka)
"Birth Control" (4 pp.), Fred Buchstein - includes sections on The Pill and IUDs, Women's Rights, and the Impact
Quotable: "Birth control became a tool for individual self-determination and sexual freedom. In addition, ... [it] gave a boost to the burgeoning women's movement by providing women with greater control over their reproductive function" (p. 85).
Recommended reading includes: Woman's Body, Woman's Right: Birth Control in America (Linda Gordon)
"Women's Identity" (4 pp.), Caralee Hutchinson - includes sections on The "Happy" Housewife, Changes, and Impact
Quotable: "At times, women's identity reflected American culture in the 1960's; at other times, the mainstream culture resisted and denied women's perceptions of themselves" (pp. 790).
Recommend reading includes: Changing the Future: American Women in the 1960's (Linden-Ward and Green) and The Woman in America (Robert Jay Lifton).
Other entries relevant to elements/themes in the TV show include:
"Business and the Economy," "Feminist Movement," "Feminine Mystique, The (Betty Friedan)," "Marriage," "Pill, The," "Sexual Revolution," "Women in the Workforce"
Just for Fun
"Alice's Restaurant," "Chappaquiddick Scandal," "Conant Report," "Crimes and Scandals," "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The (Tom Wolfe), " "Freedom Rides" and other topics related to the Civil Rights movement, " "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Pop Psychology," "Rock Operas," "White Panthers," "Woodstock Festival," etc.
Bonus Features
Also check out the All-American Ads set in the Reference Collection. It's interesting to compare the ads from the 1950's to the ads in the 1960's, in particular. You can really see the change in thinking about how companies should advertise their products to the individual.
I focus a lot on our electronic reference and research resources (most of which exist in print somewhere), but in this medium it just makes sense to make it a click away. However, I know there are others out there that love the printed page, being able to thumb through bound book, experiencing a different, slower kind if discovery you don't get on the Internet.
So, with this in mind, I'm starting a new Friday feature, the "Reference Special," where I'll write about the wonders of either a unique or a classic reference title in our print reference collection.
I recently fell under the spell of the TV show Mad Men (AMC) for its rich and vivid portrayal of life in the 1960s. I've only seen a few episodes, but one of the things that jumped out at me are the distinct roles the women play in the lives of the high-powered Madison Avenue ad executives: the perfect wife; the free-spirited lover (man: "I can't decide if you have everything or you have nothing."); the successful department store executive that has to fight for even just a little respect; the naive secretary ("It's a typewriter. It looks complicated, but they made it easy enough for even a woman to use."), learning to do anything and everything to please the man she works for (and to get ahead). If, as part of my orientation activities, I was sent to get a prescription for the Pill on my first day of work--well, I don't know what I would do! I can't imagine a world where that was an expectation, or even just a requirement to advance.
I also noted I am glad I don't live in a time where everyone smoked, everywhere!
So, while strolling through the Reference Collection this afternoon, this title jumped out at me: The Sixties in America (3 vols.).
This set contains short, signed articles with recommendations for further reading on all aspects of life in the 1960s.
"Advertising" (2pp.), Sherri Ward Massey
Quotable: "Advertising... exploded with self-expression in the 1960's. This era is known for its creative appeal to the independent consumer, its sense of humor, and its superstar admakers" (p. 6).
Recommended reading includes: Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising (Juliann Sivulka)
"Birth Control" (4 pp.), Fred Buchstein - includes sections on The Pill and IUDs, Women's Rights, and the Impact
Quotable: "Birth control became a tool for individual self-determination and sexual freedom. In addition, ... [it] gave a boost to the burgeoning women's movement by providing women with greater control over their reproductive function" (p. 85).
Recommended reading includes: Woman's Body, Woman's Right: Birth Control in America (Linda Gordon)
"Women's Identity" (4 pp.), Caralee Hutchinson - includes sections on The "Happy" Housewife, Changes, and Impact
Quotable: "At times, women's identity reflected American culture in the 1960's; at other times, the mainstream culture resisted and denied women's perceptions of themselves" (pp. 790).
Recommend reading includes: Changing the Future: American Women in the 1960's (Linden-Ward and Green) and The Woman in America (Robert Jay Lifton).
Other entries relevant to elements/themes in the TV show include:
"Business and the Economy," "Feminist Movement," "Feminine Mystique, The (Betty Friedan)," "Marriage," "Pill, The," "Sexual Revolution," "Women in the Workforce"
Just for Fun
"Alice's Restaurant," "Chappaquiddick Scandal," "Conant Report," "Crimes and Scandals," "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The (Tom Wolfe), " "Freedom Rides" and other topics related to the Civil Rights movement, " "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Pop Psychology," "Rock Operas," "White Panthers," "Woodstock Festival," etc.
Bonus Features
- extensive annotated bibliography and "mediagraphy," by general subject
- time lines
- statistical look at the United States (charts and graphs)
- highlights in drama, legislation, literature, music, science & technology, and sports
Also check out the All-American Ads set in the Reference Collection. It's interesting to compare the ads from the 1950's to the ads in the 1960's, in particular. You can really see the change in thinking about how companies should advertise their products to the individual.
"It's a typewriter. It looks complicated, but they made it easy enough for even a woman to use."
Only in the 60's you could hear that. If you'd seen some more episodes of Mad Men you'd see that the serie not only reflects the shining glamour of the rich Manhattan in the 60's, but has debth and a meaningfull story.
It was, indeed, a great time to live in if you had the money and the power.