History408 ProfessorCamilleGurinGonzales Fall2009 OfficeHours:Tuesday,3:305:30 Tues.&Thurs.,1:002:15 4119MosseHumanitiesBuilding 1651MosseHumanitiesBuilding cgueringonza@wisc.edu,2631823 AmericanLaborHistory,1900Present ThiscoursesurveysthehistoryofworkingpeopleintheUnitedStatesinthe20thand21stcentury, focusingonthehistoricalmeaningsofworkandworkingclasscultures.Wewilllookatthewaysin whichavarietyofscholarsandorganicintellectualshavedrawnuponthemethodsandpractices oflaborhistory,socialhistory,economichistory,andculturalstudies,toexaminethelivesof workingwomenandmen.Throughoutthecourse,wewillbeexaminingrelationsofpowerby lookingcloselyatideasaboutrace,class,ethnicity,gender,andsexuality.

der,andsexuality.Wewillbeespecially concernedwithhowtheseideashaveshapedworkingclasslives,informedclassrelations,and organizedcommunitiesofsolidarity.Someofthequestionswewilladdressare:Whatisunique aboutUSlaborhistoryandwhatispartofasharedinternationalhistoryofworkers?Howhave processesofculturalfusionandculturalfragmentationoperatedtouniteanddivideworkers?In whatwaysdoesaninterrogationofthepoliticsofspace(place,location,landscape,architecture, environment,home,neighborhood,city,region,andterritory)helpustounderstandworkingclass cultures?QuestionsaboutAmericanExceptionalismandtheAmericanDream;communityand solidarity;classformationandsocialidentity;andtherelationshipbetweenworkingclass strategiesofresistanceandtheeverydaylivesofworkingpeoplewillbethefocusofourcourse readings,films,discussions,andresearchprojectsduringthesemester. CourseRequirements 1.General ClassParticipation.Thesuccessofthecoursedependsuponyourcontributiontothecreationofa communityofscholarsdedicatedtocooperativelearning.Thus,classparticipationincludes: attendingallclassmeetings,completingallreadingandwritingassignmentsinpreparationfor classdiscussions,andengaginginlivelyandrespectfuldialoguewithoneanother. LaptopsandNotetaking.Theuseoflaptopcomputersorotherscreenbaseddevicesisnot permittedduringlecture(includingwhenfilmsarescreened).Pleasetakenotesbyhand. 2.WritingandResearch FilmCritique.Youwillwriteone3page(approximately900words)essaydiscussinghowoneof thefollowingpairsoffilmsrepresentslaborhistory.Selectoneduedateandwriteanessayonboth filmslistedforthatdate: Oct.22: CradleWillRock&Uprisingof34 Nov.5: FreeaMantoFight&WageSlaves Nov.19: SaltoftheEarth&Uprisingof34 Nov.24: CradleWillRock&Sir!NoSir! Dec.3: SanFranciscoState&Uprisingof34 Dec.10: YuriKochiyama&Sir!NoSir! ExtraCredit: Youmaywrite3pageessaysonadditionalgroupsoffilmstoearnextracredit towardyourfinalgradeinthecourse.Thesemustbesubmittedbytheduedateslisted.

2.WritingandResearch(cont.) WorkingClassHistoryResearchProject.Youwillconductindepthresearchusingarchival materialshousedattheWisconsinHistoricalSocietyandwriteatwopartessay. DueTuesday,October13: PartOne. YouwillidentifyanarchivalcollectionattheWisconsinHistoricalSocietyusedinthebookassigned forthiscourselistedbelow,familiarizeyourselfwiththecontentsofthearchivalcollection,and writea900wordessay(approximatelythreepages)describingthecontentsofthecollectionand offeringamoredetaileddescriptionofoneboxcontainedinthecollection. PeterB.Levy.TheNewLeftandLaborinthe1960s.UrbanaandChicago: UniversityofIllinoisPress,1994. DueTuesday,December15: RevisedVersionofPartOne&PartTwo. PartTwo.Youwillwritea1,500wordessay(approximatelyfivepages)explaininghowthe collectionexpandedyourunderstandingofanevent,issue,relationship,community,orinstitution thatisaddressedinyourcoursereadings.Youmustincludeexamplesandevidencefromthe collection(intheformofquotationsorphotocopieddocumentsorphotographs)tosupportyour analysis.Youwillconcludeyouressaybysuggestingorproposingfutureresearchprojectsbased onthecollection.Beinsightfulandbrilliant. PartOne,Revised.PleasesubmitarevisedversionofPartOneastheintroductiontoPartTwoof yourworkingclasshistoryproject.Yourfinalpaperwillbe2,400wordsinlength(approximately 8pages). 3.Examinations. MidtermExamination.TherewillbeaninclassmidtermexaminationTuesday,October27, consistingofonelongessayquestionandfourshortidentificationquestions. FinalExamination.Thefinalexaminationwillcovermaterialsincethemidterm.Thiswillbean inclassexaminationonFriday,December18,7:45to9:45a.m. GradeDistribution: ClassParticipation 20% FilmCritique 10% MidtermExamination 20% ResearchProject 25% FinalExamination 25%

Readings* ThefollowingbooksareavailableforpurchaseattheUniversityBookstore,711StateStreet,and areonreserveinHelenC.WhiteCollegeLibrary.TheBarbaraEhrenreichessay,DownandOutin America:BarbaraEhrenreichTalksaboutLifeasaMinimumWageEmployee,isontheLearn@ UWsiteforthiscourse.ReadingsshouldbecompletedbyTuesdayofeachweek. RequiredReadings EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein.MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmericanWorkers: DocumentsandEssays.Boston:HoughtonMifflinCompany,2003. LizabethCohen.MakingaNewDeal:IndustrialWorkersinChicago,19191939.2ded.NewYork: CambridgeUniversityPress,2008. PeterLevy.TheNewLeftandLaborin1960s.UrbanaandChicago:UniversityofIllinoisPress, 1994. AnneliseOrleck.StormingCaesar'sPalace:HowBlackMothersFoughtTheirOwnWaronPoverty. Boston:BeaconPress,2006 RequiredStyleBooks KateL.Turabian,WayneC.Booth,GregoryG.Colomb,andJosephM.Williams.AManualforWriters ofResearchPapers,Theses,andDissertations,7thed.,Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2007. WilliamStrunk,E.B.White,andMairaKalman.TheElementsofStyleIllustrated.NewYork: Penguin,2005. CalendarandAssignments Week1 LaborHistoryandHistoricalMeaningsofWork Sept.3 *NotethatReadingsmustbecompletedbyTuesdayofeachweek Week2 TheAgrarianDreamandWageSlavery Sept.8&10 Readings BarbaraEhrenreich,DownandOutinAmerica:BarbaraEhrenreichTalksabout LifeasaMinimumWageEmployee,TheWomen'sReviewofBooks,vol.18,no. 10/11(Jul.,2001),pp.67.AvailableontheLearn@UWsiteforourcourse. EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.vxivand156. Film: WageSlaves:NotGettingByinAmerica LaborDaySept.7

Week3 FreedomandFreeLabor Sept.15&17 Readings EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.57162.

EidalFitrSept.20 RoshHashanahSept.1920

Week4 TheMakingoftheU.S.WorkingClass Sept.22&24 Readings EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.163236. PhotographEssay EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.237247. ResearchInstructionattheWisconsinHistoricalSociety,HarryMiller,ReferenceArchivist Week5 BreadandRoses:WorkersControloftheWorkplace Sept.29&Oct.1 Readings EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.248281. LizabethCohen,MakingaNewDeal,pp.197. Film: CradleWillRock(partone) Week6 MassCulture&WorkingClassCommunities Oct.6&8 Readings LizabethCohen,MakingaNewDeal,pp.99211. Film: CradleWillRock(parttwo) Week7 RevolutionorReform? Oct.13&15 Tuesday PartOneofResearchProjectdue Readings LizabethCohen,MakingaNewDeal,pp.213289 EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.282326. Film:Uprisingof34(screeningbeginsat12:50;85minutes)
YomKippurSept.28

Week8 WorkersCommonGround Oct.20&22 Readings LizabethCohen,MakingaNewDeal,pp.290368. DueThursday FilmCritiqueofUprisingof34&CradleWillRock Week9 TheresWorktobeDoneandaWartobeWon Oct.27&29 Tuesday MidtermExamination Film: FreeaMantoFight Week10 TheWorkingClass&HollywoodDuringtheColdWar Nov.3&5 Readings EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.327431. Film: SaltoftheEarth(partone) DueThursday FilmCritiqueofFreeaMantoFight&WageSlaves Week11 WorkingClassCultureWars Nov.10&12 Readings PeterLevy,TheNewLeftandLaborinthe1960s,pp.1107. Film: SaltoftheEarth(parttwo) Week12 WorkingClassSoldiers&theVietnamWar Nov.17&19 Readings PeterLevy,TheNewLeftandLaborinthe1960s,pp.108201. Film(Tuesday):Sir,NoSir!(screeningbeginsat12:50;84minutes) DueThursday FilmCritiqueofSaltoftheEarth&Uprisingof34

Week13 TheWaratHome Nov.24&26 Readings AnneliseOrleck,StormingCesarsPalace,pp.197 Film:SanFranciscoState;FilmClips:TheWaratHome DueTuesday: FilmCritiqueofCradleWillRock&Sir!NoSir! Week14 ThePoliticsofWorkingClassResistance Dec.1&3 Readings AnneliseOrleck,StormingCesarsPalace,pp.98207. EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.432459. Film: YuriKochiyama:PassionforJustice DueThursday: FilmCritiqueofSanFranciscoState&Uprisingof34 Week15 WeShallOvercome:BuildingNewCommunitiesofSolidarity Dec.8&10 Readings AnneliseOrleck,StormingCesarsPalace,pp.208310. EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.459472. DueThursday: FilmCritiqueofYuriKochiyama:PassionforJustice&Sir!NoSir! Week16 WorkingClassCommunitiesinthe21stCentury Dec.15 Reading&Discussion: EileenBorisandNelsonLichtenstein,eds.,MajorProblemsintheHistoryofAmerican Workers,pp.473562. WorkingClassHistoryResearchPaperDue*at1:00p.m. *SubmitarevisedversionofPartOneastheintroductiontoPartTwoofyourpaper. Youshouldmergebothintoonepolishedresearchpaper. *Nolatepapersacceptedforanyreasonotherthanadocumentedreligiousor healthexcuse.Noexceptions,includingcomputer&transportationproblems. Dec.18 FinalExamination,Friday,7:45a.m.9:45a.m.
ThanksgivingNov.26,EidalAdhaNov.27