Graduate Seminar on 20th Century US

Seminar in Twentieth Century United States History

This course is meant to provide a brief introduction to the historiography of the twentieth century United States and an opportunity to learn and apply fundamental methods of researching and writing history. The readings include classic and contemporary works of history that address perennial themes of gender, political culture, race, sexuality, and space. Over the course of the semester, students will develop a project of original research based on primary sources; class members will help each other identify a topic early in the semester and shape the project through a series of class workshops.

The research seminar offers a unique opportunity to begin work on a larger project, such as a Master’s thesis or dissertation. Many seminar papers are eventually revised to become articles in academic journals or chapters of books. However, the research paper need not relate to a graduate student’s main area of study.

Hofstadter, Hurewitz, Jackson and Klein are available at the campus bookstore. Others are available online and/or in library.

Week 1

• Introduction to historiography

Week 2

• Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It
• First topic discussion

Week 3

• Daniel Hurewitz, Bohemian Los Angeles and the Making of Modern Politics

Week 4

• Mae Ngai, “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law: A Reexamination of the Immigration Act of 1924”
• Work on proposals

Week 5

• Proposal workshop

Week 6

• J. B. Jackson, “Other Directed Houses,” “The Abstract World of the Hot-Rodder,” “Roads Belong in the Landscape,” “Truck City”
• Elizabeth Blackmar, “Of REITS and Rights: Absentee Ownership in the Periphery”

Week 7

• David L. Carlton, “The Revolution from Above: The National Market and the Beginnings of Industrialization in North Carolina”
• Bethany Moreton, To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise, 1-35

Week 8

• Jennifer Klein, For All These Rights: Business, Labor, and the Shaping of America’s Public-Private Welfare State

Week 9

• Work on drafts

Week 10

• Discussion of prospectuses and grant applications

Week 11

• Work on drafts

Week 12

• Discussion of drafts

Week 13

• Revise

Week 14

• Presentation of findings

Week 15

• Presentation of findings