| AMS 241-3811 | Professor Catherine Lavender |
| Spring 2000 | Office: 2N 203, 718-982-2869 |
| Monday/Wednesday 3:35-5:30 pm, 2N 102 | Office hours: M/W 1:15-3:15 and by appointment |
Course Requirements:
All students are required to attend lectures and take part in discussions. Exams 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 four unexcused absences will receive a passing grade for the course.
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 Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:15 to 3:15 and by appointment. You may also reach me via email at lavender@postbox.csi.cuny.edu. Finally, materials for the course, such as handouts, will usually be stored electronically for your reference at the course website, at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/241.html
Course Schedule:
| Week One: Introduction | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, January 31 | Introduction to the Course | |
| Wednesday, February 2 | What is Popular Culture? What makes it "popular"? | |
| Readings: Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier" | ||
| Week Two: The Frontier in Popular Culture | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, February 7 | Frontier Iconography and Images; discuss Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier" | |
| Wednesday, February 9 | Frontier Iconography and "The Western" | |
| Readings: Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier"; Elements of a Monograph | ||
| Week Three: The Western Film as Genre | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, February 14 | John Ford, Stagecoach--Questions to Consider | |
| Wednesday, February 16 | John Ford, The Searchers--Questions to Consider | |
| Readings: Slotkin, "The Significance of the Frontier Myth in American History" | ||
| Week Four: The Western Film as Genre, cont. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, February 21 | CSI Closed--No Classes | |
| Wednesday, February 23 | John Ford, The Searchers, cont.--Questions to Consider | |
| Readings: Cooper, selections; Child, selections; Zitkala Sa, selections | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 1, Due Monday, 28 February | ||
| Week Five: Popular Culture Media | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, February 28 | Discuss the Western as Film Genre | |
| Wednesday, March 1 | Modes of Popular Culture Media Discussion | |
| Readings: Cooper, selections; Child, selections; Sa, selections. | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 2, Due Monday, 6 March | ||
| Week Six: Native Americans and The Frontier; The Frontier "Type" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 6 | Discuss Cooper, Child, and Sa (Discussion Questions) | |
| Wednesday, March 8 | The Cowboy; discuss Harte (Discussion Questions) | |
| Readings: Harte, selections ("The Luck of Roaring Camp," "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," and "Tennessee's Partner"); Twain, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences", and selections from Roughing It | ||
| Week Seven: The Frontier "Type," cont. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 13 | The Raconteur; discuss Twain (Discussion Questions) | |
| Wednesday, March 15 | Review for First Midterm | |
| Readings: Twain, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences", and selections from Roughing It | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 3, Due Wednesday, 22 March | ||
| Week Eight: FIRST MIDTERM | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 20 | First Midterm Exam | |
| Wednesday, March 22 | The Frontier Through a Modern Lens; Discuss Deloria, Playing Indian | |
| Readings: Review for Midterm Exam; Deloria, Playing Indian | ||
| Week Nine: Borderlands and Crossroads | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 27 | The Borderlands and the Desert; Discuss Austin, Land of Little Rain | |
| Wednesday, March 29 | The Blues and The Crossroads; Discuss Guralnick, Searching for Robert Johnson | |
| Readings: Austin, selections from Land of Little Rain; Guralnick, Searching for Robert Johnson | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 4, Due Wednesday, 5 April | ||
| Week Ten: Depression Frontiers and Borders of Class | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, April 3 | The Depression West | |
| Wednesday, April 5 | Steinbeck and The Depression West | |
| Readings: Steinbeck, The Harvest Gypsies and selections from The Grapes of Wrath | ||
| Week Eleven: Making the Depression Popular | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, April 10 | View Ford, The Grapes of Wrath in class | |
| Wednesday, April 12 | View Sturges, Sullivan's Travels in class | |
| Readings: Steinbeck, The Harvest Gypsies and selections from The Grapes of Wrath | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 5, Due Monday, 17 April | ||
| Week Twelve: Popular Culture Project | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, April 17 | Discuss Steinbeck, Ford, and Sturges |
|
| Wednesday, April 19 | Spring Break, April 19-28 | |
| Readings: Work on Popular Culture Project. | ||
| Writing: Informal Essay # 6, Due Wednesday, 3 May | ||
| Week Thirteen: "Space ... The Final Frontier" (or is it really a Borderland?) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 1 | The Frontier Metaphor and America Visions of Space; Popular Culture Project Due | |
| Wednesday, May 3 | Discuss Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles | |
| Readings: Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles | ||
| Week Fourteen: Redefining the "Savages" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 8 | View Wacks, Powwow Highway in Class | ||||
| Wednesday, May 10 | Discuss Wacks, Powwow Highway | ||||
Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
|
| Writing: Informal Essay # 7, Due Monday, 15 May | | |||
| Week Fifteen: Beyond the Frontier to a Sense of Place | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 15 | The New Western Literature; discuss Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories | |
| Wednesday, May 17 | Summing Up; Review for Second Midterm | |
| Readings: Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories | ||
| Finals Week: Final Exam (Second Midterm/Final) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, May 31 | Second Midterm/Final | |