GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE LIBERAL STUDIES PROGRAM FOUNDATION COURSE SYLLABUS. American Workers and the Pursuit of Happiness

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1 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE LIBERAL STUDIES PROGRAM FOUNDATION COURSE SYLLABUS American Workers and the Pursuit of Happiness LSHV Spring 2014 Wednesdays, 6:30-9:15 pm January 15 April 23, 2014 Kazuko Uchimura, PhD Course Description and Learning Goals The Americans define their identity and culture on a set of ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and consolidated in the Constitution. When the Founding Fathers promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the eighteenth-century Americans knew what happiness meant. It signified ownership of property, which gave a man (and his family) a stake in society and a voice in the government, and enabled him to rise in the world according to his talents and hard work. Thus the American Dream took shape, and aspirations for freedom and a prosperous life propelled the work ethic of American workers over the past two centuries. However today, with the growth of the global capitalist economy and widening income disparities in the United States, the gap between the Dream and the workers economic realities has become dauntingly wide. In fact, the long-cherished belief that all Americans have of an equal shot at success and happiness appears to be fading. The students will examine, through an eclectic selection of readings including Benjamin Franklin s Poor Richard, Frederick Douglass s Life of Frederick Douglass, Jacob Riis s How the Other Half Lives, and John Steinbeck s Grapes of Wrath, and Charlie Chaplin s silent movie, Modern Times, how the American Dream has become the bedrock foundation of American culture. The students will also explore what has changed and what remains constant in the American workers pursuit of the American Dream from the late twentieth century onwards. Given the broad and protean nature of the course s theme, the readings will range over many disciplines, but the conceptual framework used will be that of labor history; a care has been taken to select readings that reflect personal narratives or voices of workers with their hopes and dreams. 1

2 Required Readings The main text will be Jim Cullen s book, American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Changed the World. The In the interest of keeping the reading load manageable, most of the reading materials for class discussion are a single chapter or short excerpts from books. Students will be asked to purchase the following five books (all available in paperback) Jim Cullen, The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. New York: Oxford University Press, Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. New York: Signet Press, Ben Hamper, Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line. New York: Warner Books, 1992 Frank Tobias Higbie, Indispensable Outcasts: Hobo Workers and Community in the American Midwest, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003 Katherine S. Newman. Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2008 Students will be able to download excerpts from the following works available on electronic reserve at the Georgetown University Lauinger Library: Benita Eisler, The Lowell Offering: Writings by New England Mill Women. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1977 (chapter 1, Mill and Boardinghouse ). Benjamin Franklin, 1758 Poor Richard s Almanack, Poor Richard: Almanacks for the Years New York: Paddington Press Ltd., Susan Glenn, Daughters of the Shtetl: Life and Labor in the Immigrant Generation. Ithaca: Cornel University Press, 1990 (chapter 3, Unwritten Laws: Work and Opportunity in the Garment Industry. ) Howard B. Rock (ed) The New York Artisan, : A Documentary History. Albany: State University of New York Press, (Part 4, Masters and Journeymen ) Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. Penguin Book, New York, (Concluding chapter: Conclusions for Today s World ) Katherine S. Newman. Falling From Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence. (chapter 3, Rejected Managers and the Culture of Meritocracy ) Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York. Stilwell, KS: Digireads.com Publishing, 2005 (chapter 11, The Sweaters of Jewtown ) 2

3 John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2006 reprint (chapter 5). John Steinbeck, The Harvest Gypsies (originally published by the San Francisco News, October 5-12, 1936), compiled in Robert DeMott and Elaine A. Steinbeck (eds.) The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., Course Requirements Attendance. A regular attendance is required and expected. Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory, and more than one excused absence may result in the widrawal of the student from the course. Class participation. The classes will be conducted on a seminar format focused primarily on student presentations of assigned reading materials and class discussions. Each student is expected to come to class fully prepared and contribute actively to the discussions. Writing assignments. Students will write a book review of Jim Cullen s The American Dream (4-5 pages), a short review of Charlie Chaplin s Modern Times, (2-3 pages), and put together a page essay on the meaning of the American Dream in today s post-recession world. The book review is due on Tuesday, January 29, the film review on March 26, and the final essay should be sent to me electronically by April 26. Foundation Course Workshop. Finally, as part of the requirements of the MALS Foundation Courses, students are required to attend a day-long workshop designed to foster one s research and writing skills that are central to graduate degree education. The 2014 Spring semester workshops will be held on March 1 and March 22 from 10 am to 3 pm, both in the Lauinger Library. Attendance is mandatory for those students who are taking this course to fulfill their Foundation Course requirement and who have not yet attended one of these workshops. Grading The grades will be based on class participation (30 percent), book review (10 percent), film review (10 percent) and research paper (50 percent). Course Schedule, Topics and Readings January 15 Introduction and class discussion of the salient arguments in Jim Cullen s The American Dream, especially on how the understanding of the Founding Father s promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has changed with the growth of 3

4 America s capitalist economy. (Students are asked to come to the first session having read this book.) January 22 January 29 February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26 March 5 March 19 March 26 April 2 The American work ethics during the revolutionary period. Benjamin Franklin s Poor Richard s Almanack, 1758 Artisans workers and republican ideals of work Masters and Journeymen from Howard Rock (ed.) The New York Artisan, From Farm to Textile Mills--Working Girls of New England Mill and boardinghouse from Benita Eisler (ed) The Lowell Offerings Slavery and Jim Crow: Struggles for Freedom and Equality Frederick Douglass: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass King of America: The Dream of Equality from Jim Cullen s The American Dream Hobos Itinerant Workers, Drifters and Dreamers Frank Tobias Higbie. Indispensable Outcasts: Hobo Workers and Community in the American Midwest, Immigrant Workers and the Dream of Upward Mobility Sweaters of Jewtown from Jacob A Riis s How the Other Half Lives Unwritten Laws: Work and Opportunity in the Garment Industry from Susan Glenn s Daughters of the Shtetl The Plight of the Migrant Farm Labor during the Depression John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath, chapter 5. John Steinbeck. Harvest Gypsies Machine Age and Worker Alienation Showing of Charlie Chaplin s Modern Times and class discussion. Unionized Workers in the Industrial Heartland Ben Hamper. Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line The Working Poor and Upward Mobility Katherine Newman, Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low- Wage Labor Market. 4

5 April 9 April 16 April 23 The Middle Class and Downward Mobility Katherine S. Newman. Chapter 3, Rejected Managers and the Culture of Meritocracy, Falling From Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence. Twenty-first Century s Exploration of Happiness Richard Layard, Conclusions for Today s World, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. Student s class evaluation and discussion of student draft research papers Honor Code MALS students are responsible for upholding the Georgetown University Honor System and adhering to the academic standards included in the Honor Code Pledge stated below: In the pursuit of the high ideals and rigorous standards of academic life, I commit myself to respect and uphold the Georgetown University Honor System: To be honest in any academic endeavor; and to conduct myself honorably, as responsible member of the Georgetown community, as we live and work together. Disability Statement If you believe you have a disability, then you should contact the Academic Resource Center (arc@georgetown.edu) for further information. The Center is located in the Leavey Center, Suite 335. The Academic Resource Center is the campus office responsible for reviewing documentation provided by students with disabilities and for determining reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and University policies. 5