Cold War America

Purpose of the Course:

This is an advanced course which will provide an immersion in the historical development of the US from the eve of World War II to the end of the Vietnam War. The course will examine significant cultural, political, social, economic, and intellectual developments of the period. The course will also emphasize the use of films, novels, and other cultural products (such as advertising and fine arts) as artifacts of the time.

As this is a graduate-level course, students are assumed to have a good understanding of the major historical events during this period, and be prepared to undertake a deeper, critically-engaged examination of the raw materials and primary texts of American history than they did in undergraduate courses. Through readings and critical analysis of film, art, music, and material culture, students will become familiar with the construction of historical arguments (thesis, methodology, historiography, evidence, sources, research, and narrative), as well as identifying areas for further research. Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis and writing clear and supported analytical essays. Finally, students will choose an artifact of this period in which they are particularly interested and undertake a critical analysis of its place in American culture.

Course Requirements:

All students are required to attend class meetings and take part in discussions. Written work will require students to synthesize lecture materials as well as readings. Students must also read and assimilate required readings, and be prepared to discuss readings on the schedule given below. Students will submit all assignments on time; late papers will not be accepted without prior arrangement with the professor. Further, no student with more than two unexcused absences will receive a passing grade for the course. Any evidence of plagiariasm or academic dishonesty will be dealt with strictly.

A Note About Academic Integrity: Integrity is fundamental to the academic enterprise. It is violated by acts such as borrowing or purchasing term papers, essays, reports, and other written assignments; using concealed notes or crib sheets during examinations; copying others' work and submitting it as one's own; and misappropriating the knowledge of others. The sources from which one derives one's ideas, statements, terms, and data must be fully and specifically acknowledged in the appropriate form; failure to do so, intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes plagiarism. Violations of academic integrity may result in failure in the course and in disciplinary actions with penalties such as suspension or dismissal from the College.

Contacting the Professor:

My office is in 2N 203, and my office phone is 718-982-2869; I have office hours before class meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 to 6:30, and by appointment. I also encourage you to reach me via email at lavender@postbox.csi.cuny.edu.

Assignments:

Writing Assignments Portfolio (20% of course grade)
Two Midterm Exams, July 6 and August 1, 25% of course grade each (50% of course grade)
Class Attendance/Participation (10% of course grade)
Artifact Assignment (20% of course grade)

Required Texts/Films:

    George Brown Tindall, America, A Narrative History, Vol. II (Fifth Edition)
    Paul Fussell, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb, and an Afterword on Japanese Skulls" (1988) (questions for discussion)
    William Wyler, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (questions for discussion)
    Martin Jackson, "The Uncertain Peace: The Best Years of Our Lives," in John E. O'Connor and Martin Jackson, eds., American History/American Film (1979) (questions for discussion)
    Paul Boyer, By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age (1985) (questions for discussion)
    Stephen J. Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (1996) (questions for discussion)
    Peter Biskind, Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught Us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (1983) (selections) (questions for discussion)
    Elaine Tyler , "Explosive Issues: Sex, Women, and the Bomb" (1989) (questions for discussion)
    Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (1963) (selections) (questions for discussion)
    Nicholas Ray, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (questions for discussion)
    Sidney Lumet, 12 Angry Men (1957) (questions for discussion)
    John Frankenheimer, The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (questions for discussion)
    Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963) (questions for discussion)
    George Herring, "The Vietnam War" (1986) (questions for discussion)
    Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968) (questions for discussion)

    Additional materials for this course are available via the course webpage at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/history/dept/lavender/622.html

Course Schedule:

Week One: Introduction
	Tuesday, 6 June 2000	Introduction: The U.S. on the Eve of World War II
	Thursday, 8 June 2000	No Classes--CSI Commencement
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 29.

Week Two: The Second World War
	Tuesday, 13 June 2000	World War II; discuss Fussell, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb, and an Afterword on Japanese Skulls"
	Thursday, 15 June 2000	Coming Home; View and discuss Wyler, The Best Years of Our Lives and Jackson, "The Uncertain Peace"
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 30; Fussell, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb, and an Afterword on Japanese Skulls"; Jackson, "The Uncertain Peace."

Week Three: The Origins of the Cold War
	Tuesday, 20 June 2000	Origins of the Cold War; discuss Boyer, By the Bomb's Early Light
	Thursday, 22 June 2000	Origins of the Cold War, continued.
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 31; Boyer, By the Bomb's Early Light

Week Four: Cold War Culture
	Tuesday, 27 June 2000	The Bomb in the American Mind; discuss Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War
	Thursday, 29 June 2000	The Bomb in the American Film; discuss Biskind, Seeing is Believing
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 32; Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War; Biskind, Seeing is Believing.

Week Five: Cold War Families
	Tuesday, 4 July 2000	No Classes--Independence Day
	Thursday, 6 July 2000	Review for First Midterm
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 33; May, "Explosive Issues"; Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

Week Six: Rebels and Rabblerousers
	Tuesday, 11 July 2000	FIRST MIDTERM; The Bomb in the American Family; discussMay, "Explosive Issues" and discuss Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
	Thursday, 13 July 2000	American Cold War Film: Discuss Ray, Rebel Without a Cause, discuss Lumet, 12 Angry Men, discuss Frankenheimer, The Manchurian Candidate, and discuss Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 33; May, "Explosive Issues"; Friedan, The Feminine Mystique; View Ray, Rebel Without a Cause, Lumet, 12 Angry Men, Frankenheimer, The Manchurian Candidate, and Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove

Week Seven: American Consensus
	Tuesday, 18 July 2000	Coming Apart and Coming Together; Discuss Herring, "The Vietnam War" and discuss Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
	Thursday, 20 July 2000	Conferences regarding final papers
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 34; Herring, "The Vietnam War"; Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi

Week Eight: Dominoes
	Tuesday, 25 July 2000	Conferences regarding final papers
	Thursday, 27 July 2000	Conferences regarding final papers
	Readings: Tindall, ch. 35; Herring, "The Vietnam War"; Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi

Week Nine: Final
	Tuesday, 1 August 2000	SECOND MIDTERM; Artifact Assignment Due