American Values American Studies 045:001 Prof. Nick Yablon, University of IOwa, SPRING 2006
Robert Rauschenberg, Wash (2000), detail
Lectures			M 3:30P - 4:20P			Shambaugh Auditorium, Main Library (location)
Email			checked daily			nick-yablon@uiowa.edu
Office Phone			Daytime			(319) 355 0321
Mail box						210 Jefferson Building
Course website			updated weekly*			http://www.uiowa.edu/~c045001/Vsyllabus.htm
*You are advised to check this website on a regular basis, for paper assignments, images, reminders, announcements and updates.
Click here to see all information regarding your particular discussion section: the name of your instructor, his/her office hours, and email address
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Date		Announcement
1/16/06		Make sure you print out a copy of the lecture outline before you go to the lecture. Every Sunday evening, a link to the outline will be inserted next to the date of the lecture on the schedule below.
1/16/06		You will also find slideshows (posted after each lecture). See below. Contact me or your instructor for the password.
4/17/06		CORRECTION: The final exam will take place on Wednesday, May 10, 7:00 P.M. at C20 PC (Pomerantz Center)
QUICK LINKS
COURSE DESCRIPTION					REQUIRED PURCHASES			GRADING POLICY
ASSIGNMENTS & REQUIREMENTS					ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES			LECTURE AND READINGS SCHEDULE
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Course descriptioN
This course will inquire into the cultural “values” or assumptions that have supposedly guided both ordinary Americans and their leaders, from the “age of discovery” to the present. Such values will include: the political ideal of liberty, the ethic of success through work, the rights of consumers, and the belief in an American mission abroad. Instead of taking these and other values as “given,” this course will open them up to debate, posing some of the key questions that American Studies scholars have grappled with for decades. Have such values remained consistent, or changed radically over time? Have they been shared by all groups, or challenged and disputed? And have they been unique to Americans, or developed out of, and in dialogue with, those of other nations and cultures? Adopting a broad inter-disciplinary and historical approach, we will explore various American values as they have been articulated not only in the political and legal documents of the nation, but also in a whole range of cultural texts: from paintings, novels, poems, travel accounts, letters, sermons, and memoirs, to photographs, cartoons, films, television shows, and popular songs.
Sub-theme of course: Americans on the move As an exhaustive survey of three centuries of American political and cultural history cannot be accomplished in 16 weeks, this course will focus our attention on a particular sub-theme: how certain writers, film-makers, artists, and singers have expressed their values and longings through narratives of migration. For many different groups of Americans, the idea of freedom has supposedly been embodied in the experience (or dream) of movement across space - whether from the slave South to the free labor North, from the urban East to the rural West, from an “Old World” of tyranny and scarcity to a “New World” of promise and abundance, or (during moments of collective protest) from all parts of the country to the nation's capital. But we will also examine various counter-narratives of migration (the enforced removal of Native Americans, the repatriation of Mexican-Americans, the brutal “Middle Passage” of African slaves, or the aimless wandering of hobos and beatniks), journeys which rarely culminated in freedom or wealth. Ultimately, in all of these readings, the physical landscape itself will loom large as a central backdrop on which "American values" have been projected.
The course has been constructed not chronologically but thematically, around four main "units": "Placing American Identity"; "Going to Washington"; "Negotiating the Market"; "Family Matters." Each Monday lecture will introduce students to the central themes to be discussed that week, explore the historical and cultural background to the texts, and outline some of the main currents and schools of American Studies. In the discussion classes, we will focus more closely on the readings themselves, as well as on the image (or song or film clip) for that week. Back to top
Required PURCHASES
4 books, available at the University Bookstore, Iowa Memorial Union:* Richard P. Horwitz (ed), The American Studies Anthology (Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 2001) James M. Jasper, Restless Nation: Starting Over in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000) Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845; Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1982) Osha Gray Davidson, Broken Heartland: The Rise of America’s Rural Ghetto ((Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1996) *If you acquire your book elsewhere, make sure it’s the same edition; others are abridged/paginated differently 1 reading packet, containing copies of additional readings, also available at IMU
Grading Policy
ASSIGNMENT				% of GRADE			DUE DATE
Participation				20%			Throughout the semester
Quizzes				10%			Random
Mid-term take-home paper				15%			Announced 2/13; due in class 2/24
Mid-term in-class examination				10%			3/6, 3.30 - 4.20pm (Shambaugh, in Library)
Final take-home paper				25%			Announced 3/27; due in class 4/14
Final in-class examination				20%			5/10, 7.00 pm (C20 PC)
Course Assignments & RequiremenTS
General assignments & requirements
Attendance Attendance at lectures and classes is a basic requirement for all students. If you are unable to attend any discussion class (through illness, for example), you must immediately notify your instructor in writing. Your first two absences will not be counted against you, but thereafter unexcused and undocumented absences will begin to have an adverse effect on your participation grade. As there are 30 discussion classes in the semester, and the participation grade is worth 20%, you will lose more than 0.5 overall percentage points for each class missed. Note on lectures The lectures will complement the readings and discussions, not duplicate or summarize them. The purpose of the lectures is to do the following: To provide some historical background, which will allow you to make better sense of the readings for that week To introduce the key concept(s) for that week (e.g. "Manifest Destiny" for week 3, “Liberty” for week 4, etc) To illustrate that key concept by means of a central theme or image (e.g. the Boone legend for week 3, the Statue of Liberty for week 4) To leave you with two guiding questions to frame your reading and discussions for that week (one question for Discussion A; one question for Discussion B) To screen some visual images,* and to play audio tracks and film clips (these films will be available in Media Services in the University library, in case you wish to watch the entire film or refer to it in a paper assignment) *You will see a fairly large number of images over the course of the semester. Do not worry about trying to write down the artist, title, or date (the in-class exams will not examine you on such details). The more important thing is to try to understand the underlying meanings of those images, the ideas they illustrate, etc. This rule applies to the lecture as a whole: rather than try to write down every word you hear or every word you see on a powerpoint slide, listen out for the main points, i.e. the larger ideas and questions. There will be an opportunity at the end of every lecture to ask me questions. Finally, to help you keep up, a very brief outline of each lecture will be posted on the course website prior to each lecture (print it out and bring it with you to the lecture).
Reading The College expects students to devote “at least two hours per week for each semester hour credit in the course” to out-of-class preparation. As this is a three-credit-hour course, you should expect at least six hours of out-of-class work per week. In order to make relevant contributions to the discussions and write informed essays and exams, you will need to read each of the texts listed below, carefully and critically - and, of course, prior to the class in which it will be discussed. In the reading schedule below, I have clearly separated the texts that need to be read in time for the Wednesday class (Discussion A), from those to be read for the Friday class (Discussion B). You will also need to bring the relevant texts to each class for reference during discussion. Reading journal You are required to keep up a reading journal throughout this course. In this journal, you should include the following: Summaries of each reading (its overall argument and sub-arguments, its contexts, etc): these will prove useful for take-home papers and for exam revision Various observations you make regarding the subtext of each reading: its implicit assumptions and biases, its stylistic and rhetorical form, its internal contradictions and inconsistencies Comparisons and connections between that reading and other readings for the week (or other weeks) A written 1-2 sentence response to the guiding question for that day (question A for Wednesday, question B for Friday). Be prepared to read out this response at the beginning of each class, and to defend it during the ensuing discussion. References to any recent pieces you’ve read in the newspaper or seen on television which relate to the issue of the week. Simple explanations of many recent debates can be found at Issues and Controversies (accessed via the library website) Bring your reading journal to every class. Your instructor may at any time collect and review them to monitor your progress. Quizzes (10%) There will be eight brief quizzes during the course of the semester, which will take place at the beginning of a class (without prior announcement) and will be based on the readings for that day and the lecture for that week. 3 of these quizzes will involve basic short answers (multiple-choice, true/false, etc) 1 quiz will consist of single-sentence answers 1 quiz will consist of a single paragraph response 3 quizzes will be “position statements” written in response to the question A/B for the day
Participation in class discussions (20%) It is essential that you not merely be present in the classroom, but also participate fully. Failure to make regular and significant contributions to the discussions will have a negative impact on your participation grade. Being an active participant involves: taking the initiative in answering the question of the day (Question A or B) venturing your own questions, opinions and arguments concerning the texts we are reading and the themes we are discussing (rather than waiting to respond to the instructor’s questions). articulating thoughtful responses to other members of the class: critiquing and challenging their interpretations of the text or issue under discussion doing all of the above in a civil fashion, i.e. listening carefully and respectfully to other students, and not interrupting them
Visiting the Art Museum The collections of the University of Iowa Art Museum form an important component of this course. You will visit it (in sections) in week 8, and are required to include one or more art works in your final paper. You should revisit the Museum in your own time to choose an art work and examine it in more detail (see Museum opening hours)
Written assignments Mid-term take-home paper (15%), due in your discussion class, February 24 You will write a 4-5 page paper (due at the end of the sixth week), responding to one of several questions posted on the website on February 13. In your paper, you should draw on both primary and secondary readings, and on the lecture material, while making a strong argument of your own (rather than simply reiterating the readings and lectures). Follow closely the additional instructions and rubric included on the website. Final take-home paper (25%), due in your discussion class, April 14 Your final paper, due at the end of the 13^th week, will be a 7-8 page paper, also written in response to one of several questions posted on the website. The questions will be posted on March 27. Note on deadlines for written assignments Both take-home papers must be submitted by the dates and times specified above. For each day the paper is late, it will suffer a deduction of 2 overall percentage points (up to the maximum number of points available for that paper). I.e. in the case of the mid-term, by the time you reach 8 days, you will have forfeited the entire 15 percentage points available for that paper; in the case of the final, you will have forfeited the 25 points by the 13^th day. Note on formatting of papers All written work must be typed in 12-point Times font, double-spaced with margins of 1 inch, spell-checked, and stapled, with your name and page-number on each sheet. Note on writing style While these assignments are intended to examine your engagement with the ideas and debates of the course more than your skills of writing, it is nevertheless important that your written work is clear and intelligible. If you think you might need assistance with your writing, you should either contact your instructor, the History Writing Center or the Writing Center. Notes on grading of written assignments All essays (whether take-home or in-class) will be graded according to several criteria, listed in order of importance: the strength and persuasiveness of your overall argument (and its resolution of the question you have selected) (40%) the degree to which you engage critically with the individual texts, and the sophistication with which you interpret them (35%) the formal and rhetorical quality of the paper: your success or failure to organize and present your arguments and ideas in a coherent way (25%) Note on plagiarism Plagiarism (copying, paraphrasing, or appropriating someone else's work without proper citation) and cheating are very serious offences. The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ policies on plagiarism and cheating are available here. Any student who plagiarizes or cheats is liable to receive an F for the course and is subject to disciplinary action by CLAS. All acts of cheating/plagiarism will be reported to the Dean for Academic Programs, as required by CLAS. In-class examinations Short mid-term exam (10%), Monday, March 6, 3.30 – 4.20 PM (Shambaugh Auditorium, Main Library) This will consist of a combination of short answers (multiple-choice, true/false, etc), single sentence answers, and single paragraph answers Longer final examination (20%), Wednesday, May 10, 7.00 PM (C20 PC) This will consist of a combination of short answer questions, single paragraph answers, and a longer essay answer (selected from several questions).
Additional GuidelinES
Office hours Your instructor will be available on a weekly basis to discuss any questions, problems or issues that arise during the course of the semester, or to discuss the written assignments. Click here to see your instructor’s office number and hours. I will also be available in my office, 732 Jefferson Building, on Mondays 9:30-12:30, to discuss any unresolved matters. Email me in advance to book a time-slot. If you have another class or appointment that conflicts with these office hours, I can arrange an alternative time.
Grievances If you have a grievance about any aspect of this course, please bring the matter immediately to the attention of the instructor of your section (or, if necessary, to the instructor of the course), so that the problem can be resolved in a proper and timely fashion. If you remain unsatisfied, you may contact Prof. Lauren Rabinovitz, Chair of the Department of American Studies, 210 Jefferson Building, 335-0320. If your concerns have still not been resolved at that point, you may submit a written complaint to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, 120 Schaeffer Hall (335-2633).
Special needs Anyone with a disability needing to make arrangements regarding seating, computing, or any other aspect of classroom access, should let the instructor know after class or during office hours. Back to top
Weekly Reading and DISCUSSION schedulE
Note: all readings - with the exception of those in Jasper, Douglass, Horwitz, Davidson, and those provided on the course website - are to be found in the course packet. Many of the required readings are excerpts from larger works, abridged to cut down on your reading time! I hope they will whet your appetite to read on (either out of curiosity, or to help you with a paper or assignment). I have therefore placed the original books on library reserve. You will find a list of them here, and may check their status on the library's reserve webpage.
UNIT I: Placing American identity
Week 1	On the Move
January 16	No Lecture (MLK Day)
January 18	Discussion A
January 20	Discussion B Davidson, Broken Heartland, 1-12 Jasper, Restless Nation, ix-xiv, 1-16 Audio: Bruce Springsteen, “My Hometown" (1984)
Week 2	Discovering America
January 23	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
January 25	Discussion A Jasper, Restless Nation, 17-30, 85-89 Christopher Columbus, "Letter to Lord Raphael Sanchez ... on His First Voyage" (1493) (6pp.) Handsome Lake, “How America Was Discovered” (c. 1735-1815), from Seneca Myths and Folktales, in Horwitz, 3-6
January 27	Discussion B John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” (1630), in Horwitz, 12-18 Captain Thomas Phillips (Royal African Company), “A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London, 1693-4 From England . . . to Barbadoes” (1694) (18pp.) See dictionary of old nautical terms
Image	Emmanuel Leutze, paintings of Columbus (see slideshow)
Week 3	Moving West
January 30	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
February 1	Discussion A: Perspectives on Manifest Destiny Jasper, Restless Nation, 97-116 ("Boom Land") John L. O’Sullivan, “Annexation” (1845) (7 pp.) “Pitching tents in Iowa,” [letter from John Randolph Gooden, of Ohio, January 30, 1857, for the Advocate] (2 pp.) Chief Black Hawk, Autobiography (1833), selections (11 pp.)
February 3	Discussion B: The Frontier Frederick Jackson Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" (1894), in Horwitz, 83-96 John F. Kennedy, Address Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination (the “New Frontier” speech), 1960 (listen to audio recording of speech)
Image	John Gast, American Progress (1872), also in Horwitz, 97
UNIT II: Going to Washington: Rights, Justice, Dissent
Week 4	Declarations of Independence: Articulating Liberty
February 6	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)q
February 8	Discussion A: Antecedents and Adaptations Jasper, Restless Nation, 161-175 "Felix's petition" (1773) (2pp.) Continental Congress, "Declaration of Independence" (1776), including Jefferson's slavery clauses (expunged from final version), in Horwitz, 63-69
February 10	Discussion B: Re-inventing Liberty Lucretia Mott & Elizabeth Cady Stanton, "Declaration of Sentiments" (1848), Horwitz, 70-76 Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Horwitz, 143-5 Ho Chi Minh, "Vietnam's Declaration of Independence" (1945), in Horwitz, 99-102
Images	Liberty images, in Horwitz, 166-70
Week 5	"Peacably to Assemble": Marching on Washington
February 13	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow) Mid-term take-home paper topics announced
February 15	Discussion A The Bill of Rights (1791) Jack London, "Two Thousand Stiffs," in The Road (1907): account of “General” Kelly's 1894 march through Iowa, as a contingent of Coxey's “Army” (15pp) Maud Wood Park, "'Front Door Lobbying' for Suffrage," and Alice Paul/Doris Stevens, "Suffrage Militant Alice Paul Goes to Jail," 147-156
February 17	Discussion B Abraham Lincoln, "Emancipation Proclamation" (1863) (3 p.) Abraham Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address" (1863), in Horwitz, 187-190 Martin Luther King, Jr., "I have a dream" (1963): listen to audio recording of speech
Film clip (in lecture)	Get on the Bus (d. Spike Lee, 1996); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (d. Capra, 1939); or Forrest Gump (d. Robert Zemeckis, 1994)]
Audio clip	Marian Anderson, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (1939)
Week 6	Takin' it to the streets
February 20	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
February 22	Discussion A: Sixties counter-culture Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"(1849) (27 pp.) Norman Mailer, "A Confrontation by the River," in Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, The Novel as History (1968), 129-131 Caucus of the NACHO, “A Radical Manifesto: The Homophile Movement Must Be Radicalized!” (August 28, 1969) (2pp.)
February 24	Discussion B: Sixties “race riots” Mid-term take-home paper due in class Malcolm X, "The Ballot or the Bullet" (1964)
Image	“Twelfth Street, Detroit” (cover of Time Magazine, August 4, 1967)
UNIT III: NEGOTIATING The MARKET: American Dreams, American Failures
Week 7	Paths to Success
February 27	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
March 1	Discussion A Benjamin Franklin, "The Way To Wealth" from Autobiography (1757) (10 pp.) Max Weber, “The Spirit of Capitalism,” Horwitz, 38-49
March 3	Discussion B Russell H. Conwell, "Acres of Diamonds" (motivational lecture delivered across the U.S. from 1890s to 1910s) (12 pp.) Jasper, Restless Nation, 127-156 ("The Great Lottery")
Week 8	On the Road to Failure
March 6	Mid-term in-class examination
March 8	Discussion A: “Townhall Meeting” Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit (1844), excerpts from chapters 21, 23 (25 pp.)
March 10	Discussion B Davidson, Broken Heartland, 13-46, 69-100 Visit Iowa regionalism collection, Art Museum
Images	Plates 18 and 19 from Martin Chuzzlewit
Week 9	Spring Break
March 13-17	No lecture or classes
Week 10	Movin' North: Slavery and Labor
March 20	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
March 22	Discussion A Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) Dr. Samuel Cartwright, “Drapetomania, or the Disease Causing Negroes To Run Away,” De Bow's Review (1851)
March 24	Discussion B W. E. B. Du Bois, on Jim Crow railroad cars, from Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil (1920), 2 pp. Bessie Smith, “Chicago Bound Blues” (blues lyrics, 1920s) Robert Johnson, “Sweet Home Chicago” (blues lyrics, recorded 1936)
Images	Jacob Lawrence, Great Migration (1940-1)
Audio clip (in lecture)	Work song from the Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip (Library of Congress)
Week 11	Laboring America
March 27	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow) Final take-home paper topics announced
March 29	Discussion A: “Townhall Meeting” Jasper, Restless Nation, 158-161, 175-181 Anzia Yezierska, “Hunger,” Hungry Hearts (1920), 35-64 “The Waist Strike Grows [employers denounce strike], New York Times, November 25, 1909 Theresa Serber Malakiel, “Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker” (1909), excerpts
March 31	Discussion B Woody Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land" [song](1940), in Horwitz, 183-4 Frank J. Taylor, “Labor On Wheels,” Country Gentlemen 107 (no. 7) July 1938: 12-13, 67 [comparing Dustbowl migrants with Mexican-Americans]
Images	Image from Dorothea Lange, An American Exodus (1939) For images of migrant labor camps, see Lange's photos (slide 18 of slideshow), or visit Arthur Rothstein's photos on Library of Congress
Film clip (in lecture)	The Grapes of Wrath (d. John Ford, 1940)
Week 12	Encountering Consumer Culture
April 3	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
April 5	Discussion A Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), chapter 7 ("Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture") (19pp.) Edna Ferber, “What She Wore,” in Buttered Side Down (1914), 38-57
April 7	Discussion B Davidson, Broken Heartland, 47-68
Week 13	American Pilgrimages
April 10	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
April 12	Discussion A Jasper, Restless Nation, 213-217 Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Celestial Railroad" (1854) (8 pp.)
April 14	Discussion B Wallace Stegner, The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail (1964), "Ordeal by Handcart" Final take-home paper due in your discussion class
Image	"The Circuit Rider," from Harper's Weekly (also in Jasper, opposite 157)
UNIT IV: FAMILY MATTERs
Week 14	Domesticating America, or, Family Values
April 17	Lecture (lecture outline) slideshow
April 19	Discussion A John S. C. Abbott, The Mother at Home; or The Principles of Maternal Duty (1833), excerpt (11 pp.) T. J. Morgan [Commissioner, Office of Indian Affairs], “Letter” (1892) (1pp.)
Image	Lilly Martin Spencer, paintings (1849-66): see slideshow
April 21	Discussion B: The Nuclear Family and its Discontents
	Jasper, Restless Nation, 186-213 ("The Culture of Flight") Jack Kerouac, On the Road (1957), 12-21: passing through Iowa City Eleanor Harris, “Women Without Men,” and “Men Without Women,” Look Magazine, July, November 1960
Image	Photographs from Robert Frank’s photo-essay on business commuters, “The Congressional,” Fortune Magazine (1955): see slideshow
Week 15	Innocents Abroad?
April 24	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
April 26	Discussion A Theodore Roosevelt, "The Cavalry at Santiago," from Rough Riders (1899) (15pp.) Frank W. Pullen, Jr., [a black sergeant-major's account of the Battle of San Juan Hill], in History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War (1899), 29-32 (2pp.) William Jennings Bryan, “Imperialism,” campaign speech given in Indianapolis, April 8, 1908
April 28	Discussion B Jasper, Restless Nation, 207-10 Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad (1869), excerpt from Chapter 27 (9 pp.) "Ugly American Sightings" (2000), in Horwitz, 278-288
Image	Frederic Remington, Charge of the Roughriders at San Juan Hill (1898)
Week 16	Epilogue
May 1	Lecture (lecture outline) (slideshow)
May 3	Discussion A Davidson, Broken Heartland, 125-70 (and epilogue) Ambrose Bierce, "The Fall of the Republic," 101-113 J. G. Ballard, Hello America (1981), Chapter 18 ("The Electrographic Dream"), 115-123
May 5	Discussion B Review session
Image	Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire (1835-6)
Week 17	Exam week
Wed, May 10 7 p.m.	Final in-class exam in C20 PC (view the College's exam policy for information on scheduling conflicts)
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