January 27: Course Overview

In-Class Topics:

1. Goals and Aspirations for the SP25 Semester

2. Expectations

3. Assignments

4. Semester Plan

For Next Class

Read:

Chapter 22 - The American Wawp

Watch:

Our Dancing Daughters (1928)

Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (1993)

Listen:

1. Bessie Smith - "Crazy Blues"

2. Vernon Dalhart - "The Wreck of Old 97"

3. George Olsen and His Music - "Horses"

4. Ma Rainey - "Prove It on Me Blues"

February 3: The 1920s

In-Class Topics:

1. Social History:

   • 1. • Mass consumption and advertising

        • Prohibition and social reform

        • The Great Migration

        • The Harlem Renaissance

        • Immigration restrictions

2. Culture & History:

1. • The rise of the radio

   • Jazz Age and Louis Armstrong

   • Bessie Smith and race records

Assignment:

• Reflection #1

For Next Class

Read:

Chapter 23 - The American Wawp

Watch:

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

The Grapes of Wrath  (1940)

Listen:

1. Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit"

2. Cole Porter - "You're the Top"

3. Fats Waller - "Ain't Misbehavin''

4. Bing Crosby - "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

February 10: The 1930s

In-Class Topics:

1. Social & Economic Focus:

   • New Deal programs

   • Labor movements

   • Documentary culture

2. Sports & Culture:

   • Joe Louis, boxing, and society

   • Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics

3. Music & Culture:

   • Folk music and protest songs

   • Woody Guthrie

   • Big Band emergence

   • Rural radio and Grand Ole Opry

Assignment:

• Reflection #2

For Next Class

Read:

Chapter 24 - The American Wawp

February 17: Adams Library Archives & The 1940s

In-Class Topics:

1. Home Front Transformations

2. Civil Rights Developments

3. The Atomic Age

4. Sports & Culture:

   • Baseball during wartime

5. Music & Culture:

   • USO shows and V-Discs

   • Swing era peak

   • Early R&B development

Assignment:

• Reflection #3

For next class

Read:

Chapter 25; Chapter 26 

Watch:

Pull My Daisy (1959)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Listen:

1. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers - "Teenagers"

2. Mark Dinning - "Teen Angel"

3. Dion and the Belmonts - "Teenager in Love"

4. Chuck Berry - "School Day"

5. Elvis Presley - "Mystery Train"

February 24 & March 3: Cold War America

In-Class Topics:

1. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

2. McCarthyism

3. Suburban Culture <-> White Flight

4. The Civil Rights Movement

5. Cuba & Puerto Rico

6. The Beat Generation

7. Sports & Culture:

   • Jackie Robinson

   • Sports on TV

8. Music & Culture:

   • Elvis Presley phenomenon vs. Black Rock n' Roll

   • African American R&B influence

Assignment:

• Reflection #4

• Reflection #5

March 17: Midterm

Refer to your Book Review assignment for specifics.

For next class - ASYNCHRONOUS 

Read:

Chapter 27

Watch:

1. Gimme Shelter (1970)

2. Summer of Soul (2021)

Listen:

1. MC5 - "Kick Out the Jams"

2. Joan Baez - "We Shall Overcome"

3. Sly and the Family Stone - "Everyday People"

4. Janis Joplin - "Piece of My Heart"

5. The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

6. The Beatles - "Revolution"

7. Aretha Franklin - "Respect"

March 24: The 1960s - ASYNCHRONOUS 

In-Class Topics:

1. The Civil Rights Movement

2. Vietnam War

3. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

4. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

5. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

6. Counterculture & Uprisings

   • The Black Panther Party

   • The Young Lords

   • Stonewall

7. Sports & Culture:

   • Latinos & Beisbol 

   • Muhammad Ali

   • 1968 Summer Olympics Protests

8. Music & Culture:

   • The British Invasion

   • Folk revival and protest music

   • Motown Records

   • the Harlem Cultural Festival

Assignment:

• Reflection #6 (Refer to Blackboard for specifics!)

For next class

Read:

Chapter 28 & Chapter 29

Watch:

1. Norma Rae (1979)

Listen:

1. Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi"

2. Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"

3. David Bowie - "Life on Mars"

4. Donna Summer - "I Feel Love"

5. Fleetwood Mac - "Dreams"

6. Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

7. The Clash - "London Calling"

March 31: The 1970s

In-Class Topics:

1. The Rise of American Conservatism

2. Women's Liberation Movement

3. Roe v. Wade (1973)

4. The United States Bicentennial 

5. Sports & Culture:

   • Title IX impact

   • Free agency in Sports

   • The NFL

6. Music & Culture:

   • Disco culture and Resistance to It

   • punk rock rebellion

   • Birth of Hip-Hop

Assignment:

• Reflection #7

For next class

Read:

Chapter 28

Watch:

1. The Very First Two Hours of MTV 

April 7: The 1980s

In-Class Topics:

1. Reagan Era

   • The War on Drugs <-> "Just Say No"

   • "Trickle Down Economics"

2. The AIDS Epidemic

3. Technological Revolution

   • MTV

4. The Collapse of Industrialization in the United States

Assignment:

• Reflection #8

For next class

Read:

Chapter 29; Chapter 30

Watch:

1. Philadelphia (1993)

2. And the Band Played On (1993)

3. Episode X - The Last Dance (2020)

April 14: The 1990s

In-Class Topics:

1. The End of the Cold War

2. The Presidency of Bill Clinton 

3. NAFTA

4. The Interwebs

5. Sports & Culture:

   • Michael Jordan & the Chicago Bulls

   • ESPN 

6. Music & Culture:

   • Hip-Hop, Grunge, and Country

   • The CD

   • Napster

Assignment:

• Reflection #9

For next class

Read: TBD

Watch:

TBD

Listen:

April 21: The 2000s

In-Class Topics:

1. The 2000 U.S. Presidential Election

2. September 11, 2001

3. Post-9/11 society

4. Digital transformation

   • • the iPhone

5. Immigration vs. the Economy

6. The Election of Barack Obama

Assignment:

• Reflection #10

For next class

Read:

TBD

Watch:

1. TBD

Listen:

April 28: The 2010s

In-Class Topics:

1. Occupy Wall Street

2. The Tea Party <-> Resistance to Obama

3. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

4. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

5. Black Lives Matter

6. The Election of Donald Trump

7. Digital transformation

   • WiFi

   • Rise of Social Media

Assignment:

• Work on your Digital Storytelling piece

For next class

Read:

TBD

Watch:

TBD

Listen:

May 5: Contemporary America

In-Class Topics:

1. Immigration vs. the Economy

2. The COVID-19 Pandemic

3. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

4. The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

5. Athlete activism

6. Streaming

7. The Rise of Reggaeton

Assignment:

• Digital Historical Storytelling - Due:  Monday, May 12, 2025