History 448
AMERICA IN THE 1960S
Fall 2001
Class meets MWF
11:15-12:05 in 005 HH DEV-East
Philip Jenkins Office:
407 Weaver Building
I check my e-mail regularly (obsessively?) and this is an
excellent way to get in touch with me if you have a quick question or if you
want to make an appointment for a more substantial discussion.
The
Course
The course will examine a turbulent and highly creative period in modern American history, namely the 1960s. I will be seeking to integrate social, political and cultural themes. Major themes and individuals will include: the presidency of John F. Kennedy; the race to the moon; the domestic reaction to the Vietnam war; the rise of Black political consciousness and radicalism; the upsurge of youth culture, with all its trappings of sex, drugs, rock and roll; the emergence of social movements like feminism, gay liberation, and environmentalism; and particularly the cultural explosion during and after the critical year of 1968.
Grading
There are
three components to this course:
a. two
essay exams. Both will be in take-home format, and will draw on both
classroom materials and outside readings.
b. historical
viewing of a contemporary film. Choose any one American film
released between 1960 and 1970. Please note, this does NOT mean a film ABOUT
the 1960s made at a later point: I mean a film with a copyright date in that
decade (so, no, you can't do Austin Powers). It also means an
American-made film - see the list appended to this syllabus for a few suggested
titles. By the date indicated below, you will turn in a paper of about eight
pages that will discuss the film as a historical source on the period under
discussion. This is not a simple "book report" on a movie, but is
rather a historical analysis (though you might need to touch on literary or
cinematographic approaches). You might comment, for example, on how the film
reflects the mood of the society at the particular time it was written; what it
reveals about attitudes towards race, class or gender; and/or what it suggests
about the political attitudes of the time. Basically, I want to know what a
historian studying this period might learn from this film. A wide selection of
films should be available from any good video store, eg Mikes, Hollywood, or
Blockbuster.
c.
research paper. You will also
be expected to write a major research paper on some topic arising from the
class. The paper should be about fifteen pages in length, fully referenced,
with the topic to be agreed with the instructor. Please note: I have to approve
the specific topic in advance: don’t go ahead until you get written
approval from me on this one (ie if you suggest a general topic and I suggest
it is on the right lines but you need to think about the exact approach, that
does not give the go-ahead). I will of course offer assistance with
bibliographies and advice about library materials. You should submit a
preliminary draft, which I will then discuss with you on an individual basis
during office hours. This draft should be a complete version of everything you
propose to be in the final paper, properly written and argued (ie not in point
form). This draft will then be revised to create a final version due for
presentation in the final examination period. Needless to say, grading will
take account of issues such as grammar and punctuation.
Grading for the course will therefore be based on these
components:
a. Two essay examinations, each 20% of the total grade =
40%
b. Short paper on historical viewing of a contemporary film =
20%
c. research paper. =
40%
100%
Regular class attendance and participation are of course expected
as a necessary element of the final grade.
Class Policies
Deadlines matter, and I intend to enforce them strictly. If you
miss a deadline without getting an extension in advance, you get a
non-negotiable grade of F on that particular exam, paper or project. Do not get
in touch with me after the fact to explain why you missed an exam, unless you
produce a proper medical note. Excuses must always be supported by
documentation. Valid reasons include medical problems and the like.
If you know anything at all about the 1960s, you know that it was
a controversial and forthright time, when people often spoke in very frank
terms, using language that to our tender ears, might appear harsh, violent,
sexist, racist, or obscene. Also, the era was characterized by quite striking
sexual frankness, and (surprise!) a lot of illicit drug use. As a result, the materials
we will be reading or viewing will certainly include language or imagery that
you might find disturbing, startling, or shocking. If this does bother you,
please don’t take the class; or at least, don’t say you
weren’t fully warned.
TEXTS
(all are in
paperback, all are required)
1. Eldridge Cleaver, Soul
on Ice Delta 1999; ISBN: 038533379X
2. Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger
in a Strange Land, Ace Books ISBN: 0441790348
3. Ken Kesey, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest New American Library 1989; ISBN: 0451163966 ;
4. Martin A. Lee and
Bruce Shlain, Acid Dreams : The Complete Social History of LSD - The CIA,
the Sixties, and Beyond Grove
Press 1986; ISBN: 0802130623
5. Irwin Unger and Debi Unger (Editors), The Times Were
a Changin': The Sixties Reader Three Rivers Press 1998. ISBN: 0609803379
6. Tom Wolfe, Radical
Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (1999);
ISBN: 0553380621
I
could easily have used lots more collections of documents, readings etc, but
that seems foolish given the unimaginably vast range of texts available for
free on the Internet, which cover every conceivable topic you might be
researching. Please use them
SYLLABUS OF CLASSES
1. August 22 - The 1960s - myths and
stereotypes.
2. August 24 - What's left from the
1950s. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 1-12
3. August 27 - The New Frontier.
DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 13-25
4. August 29 - Cuba and the nuclear
threat. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 241-56
5. August 31 - Civil Rights.
DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 115-35
SEPTEMBER
3 -LABOR DAY
6. September 5 - Space: the final
frontier. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 304-13
7. September 7 - Confrontations
8. September 10 - Assassination
DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 26-38
9. September 12 - DISCUSS Heinlein, Stranger in
a Strange Land
10. September 14 - Conspiracy
theories and intelligence wars
I NEED TO
KNOW THE TOPICS OF YOUR TERM PAPERS TODAY
11. September 17 - Backlash from the
Right. The 1964 election. DISCUSS:
The
Times Were a Changin: 93-114
12. September 19 - Escalation. DISCUSS: The Times Were a
Changin: 257-265
13. September 21 - Welfare and
warfare. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 39-54 AND 135-42
14. September 24 – Protest.
15. September 26 - The emergence of
a counter-culture DISCUSS: The Times Were a Changin: 55-78
16. September 28 - British invasion.
17. October 1 - The new Black
nationalism DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 142-57
18. October 3 - DISCUSS Cleaver Soul on Ice
19. October 5 - The age of urban
riot
OCTOBER 8 -
FALL BREAK
20. October 10 - Sex and the new
liberalism. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 158-71
21. October 12 - EXAM ONE
22. October 15 - Normality and
deviancy
23. October 17 - The drug culture: DISCUSS: The Times Were a
Changin: 177-93
24. October 19 - Beats, hippies and
yippies. DISCUSS Lee
and Shlain, Acid Dreams
25. October 22 - Mass culture and
rock music
26. October 24 - Permissiveness and
censorship. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 219-40
27. October 26 - Crime and violence
FILM PAPER
DUE
28. October 29 - Government by
gunplay. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 314-28
29. October 31 - The 1968 election.
DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 329-48
30. November 2 - The New Left versus
Amerika; American Terrorism. The Times Were a Changin: 78-92
31. November 5 - Dirty Tricks
32. November 7 – Woodstock
Nation and Easy Rider
33. November 9 - Going to Hell:
Altamont, My Lai, Sharon Tate, Chappaquiddick.
34. November 12 - DISCUSS Wolfe, Radical Chic
35. November 14 - The War Goes Very,
Very Wrong DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 265-81
36. November 16 - Feminism. DISCUSS:
The
Times Were a Changin: 194-218
37. November 19 - 1970: Coming
Apart. DISCUSS: The
Times Were a Changin: 282-303
DRAFT OF
TERM PAPERS DUE
38. November 21 - Stonewall. DISCUSS:
The
Times Were a Changin: 171-76
NOVEMBER 23
- THANKSGIVING
39. November 26 - DISCUSS Kesey, One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest
40. November 28 - EXAM TWO
41. November 30 - Nixon and the
Plumbers
42. December 3 - Getting Saved From
the Sixties
43. December 5 - The new ice age.
44. December 7 - Conclusion
TERM PAPER
DUE IN FINALS PERIOD
************************
Movies of
the 1960s
The following list of forty or so 1960s movies is nothing like
comprehensive, and there are literally hundreds of other options you might come
up with. But if you choose any one of the following, I am confident that you
will find lots to say about their relationship to the thought, culture and
society of America in the 1960s. PS - I am not claiming that any or all of
these are necessarily movie classics in their own right, or even good films.
Lots of them are neither.
Advise and Consent The Alamo
Bonnie
and Clyde Boston
Strangler
Bullitt
Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Catch-22
The
Chase
Cotton
Comes to Harlem Days
of Wine and Roses
Dr
Strangelove Easy
Rider
Fail
Safe Five easy pieces
Fritz the Cat Gimme
Shelter
The
Graduate The Green Berets
Hud The Hustler
In
cold blood In
the Heat of the Night
The
Magnificent Seven The
Manchurian Candidate
The
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance M*A*S*H
Midnight
Cowboy Monterey
Pop
Patton The
Pawnbroker
Planet
of the Apes Seven days in May
Swimmer Targets
To
Kill a Mockingbird 2001:
A Space Odyssey
Tribes The Ugly American
Watermelon Man Who's
Afraid of Virginia Woolf
The
Wild Bunch Woodstock
Zabriskie Point
SELECTED
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Academic Integrity Policy
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from
fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution.
Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) cheating, plagiarism,
fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic
dishonesty by others, unauthorized prior possession of examinations, submitting
work of another person or work previously used without informing the
instructor, and tampering with the academic work of other students (see
Policies and Rules for Students, Section 49-20). Academically dishonest
students may be punished with a minor penalty, typically a zero on a quiz or
test, or with a major penalty such as a grade of "F" in a course.
Please note that a student may not be forced to withdraw from a course for an
academic integrity violation by the teacher alone. Students who are punished with major penalties may appeal
the decision. Cases that are sufficiently serious to warrant disciplinary
actions beyond academic sanctions may be referred by the faculty member to the
Office of Judicial Affairs for further review.
Disability Access Statement
The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons
with disabilities to participate in this programs and activities and is
committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs,
facilities, and admissions without regard to personal characteristics not
related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University
policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any type
of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please
tell the instructor as soon as possible.