History of Youth

History of Youth

Childhood Studies 320 (50:163:320:01)

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MonsWeds 2:50-4:10

Armitage Bldg. Room 225

Dr. Catherine D’Ignazio

Room 103History DepartmentOffice hours: M&W 1:30-2:30

429 Cooper Street and by appointment

Final Exam, May 10, 2017, 2:45-5:45

In this course, we will explore Americans’ changing ideas about the problems and opportunities faced by young people in the twentieth century. We’ll explore ever-evolving ideas about what childhood “should” look like, and ask how assumptions about gender roles, social class, race and ethnicity affected Americans’ notions of an ideal childhood. From concerns for newly arrived young immigrants to the heady dreams (and anxieties) unleashed by young people in The Age of Aquarius, we’ll ask how changing definitions of children – from ‘youth’ to ‘adolescents’ to ‘teenagers,’ were influenced by social, political and cultural change in twentieth century America.

This course is organized around four key texts – two novels, a history and a memoir. These books will provide touchstones for each of the course’s four units.In addition to these four books, in each unit we will read both primary and secondary sources. (Primary sources were created in the historical moment being studied; Mary Antin’s memoir published in 1912 is a primary source. A secondary source is the work of a scholar writing about the past; Klapper’s Small Strangers, a history of immigration published in 2007, is a secondary source. In addition to learning about the lives of actual children and Americans’ idealized visions of childhood, we will also learn how to read and analyze these varied sources.

Required readings

The following books are available for purchase at the university bookstore. There are several editions of each of these texts; whichever you purchase will be fine. But be aware that we will then all be on different pages, so please be attentive to which chapteryou are reading!

Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Originally published in 1943.

Marcia Chatelain, Southside Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration 2015
Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi. Originally published in 1968.

SE Hinton The Outsiders. Originally published in 1967.

Readings on Sakai:

All other readings can be found on the course’s Sakai site, under “Resources.” Readings are listed under the author’s last name (see details in the course schedule). There is a complete bibliography of these reading on the last page of the syllabus. If you wish to check books out of the library, you will find this useful.

**It is vitally important that you have these texts in front of you for class discussions. You are required to print out these readings and bring them with you to class. Or if you prefer to have an e-reader, that is acceptable.

Weekly Reading Questions (WRQ) posted on Sakai and due on Mondays

Most weeks I will post one or two questions under Assignments on Sakai. Please answer them on a 3x5 card and bring to class on Mondays. These will be counted toward your grade.

Course Schedule

Introduction to the History of Childhood

Wed January 18 Welcome to the History of Youth

Part I The Spirit of Youth, 1900-1920s

Mon Jan 23 Many Immigrants, Many Childhoods

Reading: Melissa Klapper, Small Strangers, Introduction and Chapter 2, “The Landscape of Early Childhood,” pp. 18-53.

Optional reading: “Women, Children, and the Uses of the Streets: Class and Gender Conflict I New York City, 1850-1860

WRQ1 due in class on index card

Wed Jan 25 Immigration: One Girl’s Story

Reading: Mary Antin, The Promised Land, chapter IX, pp. 180-205. (By the way, this chapter is also called “The Promised Land.”)

*This text can be found on Google books or Project Gutenberg on-line books.

Mon Jan 30A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Reading: Books One and Two

WRQ2 due in class on index card

Wed Feb 1Child Welfare

Reading: Selectionsfrom Marten, Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era

Mon Feb 6Child Welfare

Reading: Selections fromThe Child in the City (a series of papers presented at the Chicago Child Welfare Exhibit, 1912.

Available on-line via a link that reads like a book, or download a pdf.

WRQ3 due in class --Primary Source Writing Assignment Due-See Sakai “Assignments” for instructions

Wed Feb 8

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Reading: Book Three, Four and Five

Part II Youth in the Best and Worst of Times 1930s - 1950

Mon Feb 13

Southside Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration, pp 1-95

WRQ4 due in class on index card

Wed Feb 15

Southside Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration, pp 96-166

Mon Feb 20

Defining Modern Youth Culture, Cute kids

Reading: Gary Cross, The Cute and the Cool

Assignment Due: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn paper due

Wed Feb 22

Defining Modern Youth Culture, Teen girls

Reading: Kelly Schrum, Some Wore Bobby Sox, chapter 5

MonFeb 27

Reading: Lindenmeyer, The Greatest Generation Grows Up, chapter 2

WRQ5 due in class on index card

Wed March 1

Reading: Lindenmeyer, The Greatest Generation Grows Up, chapter 3

Part III Insiders and Outsiders, 1950s – 1960s

Mon March 6Anne Moody’s Story

Reading: Coming of Age in Mississippi Reading: Coming of Age in Mississippi --Part One, Childhood (chapters 1–8);

WRQ6 due in class on index card

Wed March 8Anne Moody’s Story continues

Reading: Coming of Age in Mississippi Reading: Coming of Age in Mississippi; Part Two, High School (chapters 9-17)

Electronically Hand out Mid-Term Exam

March 13-17 SPRING BREAK

Mon March 20The Boom is Born, TV

Reading: Spigel, Welcome to the Dreamhouse, “Seducing the Innocent: Childhood and Television in Postwar America”

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Wed March 22The Boom is Born, Cold War

Reading: Robert A Jacobs, The Dragon’s Tail, The Atomic Kid: American Children vs. the Bomb, pp. 99- 117.

Mid-term EXAM #1 DUE

Mon March 27Real Men, Real Gangs

Reading: Eric C. Schneider, Vampires, Egyptian Kings, Preface, Introduction and chapter 4

WRQ7 due in class on index card

Wed March 29Alienation from all that…

Reading: The Outsiders, chapters 1-6.

MonApril 3Alienation, continued

Reading: The Outsiders, chapters 7 – 12

WRQ8 due in class on index card

Wed April 5Brown v. Board of Education

Reading: selections from Brown v. Board of Education

Part IV Youth Revolt 1960s-1970s

Mon April 10Kids in the Movement

Reading: deSchweinitz, If We Could Change the World, chapter 5

WRQ9 due in class on index card

Wed April 12Youth and the Summer of Love (movie)

Assignment: Paper due on The Outsiders

Mon April 17Question Authority

Reading: Beth Bailey, “From Panty Raids to Revolution,” pp. 187-204

WRQ10 due in class on index card

Wed April 19Sex, Drugs, & Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Reading: Grace Palladino, Teenagers, chapter 14.

Mon April 24Young Feminists

Reading: Leslie Paris, “Happily Ever After: Free to Be…You and Me, Second Wave Feminism and 1970s American Children’s Culture,” pp 519-534.

WRQ11 due in class on index card

Wed April 26Law and Youth

Tinker vs. DeMoines; Graham v Florida (2009); JDB v North Carolina (2011); Miller v. Alabama.

Mon May 1Exam Prep and wrap-up.

May 9th Final Exam, 2:00pm- hard copy in my mailbox, 429 Cooper St.

Evaluation:

I. Essays, 20% each, 40% of final grade

There will be two short (4-5 pages) essays. One on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, due Wednesday, February 20, and one on The Outsiders due Wednesday April 12. Late essays submitted within 24 hours of the due date will be docked one letter grade. After 24 hours, essays will not be accepted, and a zero will be recorded for the grade. Electronic submissions are not acceptable; you must hand in hard copy. Essays must be double-spaced with a reasonable font and margins. Please staple your essays and use page numbers.

Specific essay topics and a grading rubric will be posted on the course’s Sakai site. Good writing is very important to me, and I understand that it is a skill that takes time to master. Please do not hesitate to stop by my office hours to discuss your essays in advance of handing in final copy.

II. Exams, 25% each, 50 % of final grade

Both exams will have the same format: three questions per exam, each question to be completed in two pages, making a maximum of six pages for the exam. (The second exam is not cumulative.) The exams will be handed out two weeks in advance of their due dates. Late exams will not be accepted, and a zero will be recorded for the grade. Exams are due Wednesday March 20 and May 9.

III. Attendance and Participation, 10% of final grade

Attendance: As we all know, the first rule of success is to show up! Accordingly, attendance will be taken every class period. I hope, of course, that you are so captivated by the material that you wouldn’t dream of missing a single class. I do understand, however, that life goes on outside the classroom. Still, this is your job. I consider more than two absences excessive, and frequent absences will have an impact on your grade.

Participation: Although I will give short lectures from time to time, I consider this class more of a hybrid lecture/seminar, and that means that your energetic and thoughtful participation is expected, and will be rewarded. In addition to the above essays and exams, I may ask you to complete short homework assignments over the course of the term. These assignments will be counted toward your participation grade.

And although all of my former students assure me that I am crazy about this point in particular, you should plan to work three hours for each hour you spend in the classroom. Yup, that’s nine hours of preparation a week on average…

And Now, A Few Words from your University:

*Statement on Academic Integrity*
Academic integrity requires that all academic work is wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Joint efforts are legitimate only when the assistance of others is explicitly acknowledged. Ethical conduct is the obligation of every member of the University community, and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offense. Students are strongly encouraged to review the complete Rutgers University Policy on Academic Integrity:

*ADA Statement*
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protections for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation, please contact Tim Pure, currently Assistant Director of the Rutgers-Camden Learning Center, who will serve as the new Disability Services Coordinator. For the spring semester, his office will be located in the EOF Office Suite in (Rooms 358-368) of Armitage Hall. Mr. Pure can be reached by contacting the Rutgers-Camden Learning Center at (856) 225-6442or at . Also, visit the Office of Disability Services website

Course Bibliography

Mary Antin, The Promised Land, (Houghton Mifflin CompanyHOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY1912 , 1912).

Beth Bailey’s article “From Panty Raids to Revolution,” is in Generations of Youth, Joe Austin and Michael Nevin Willard, eds.

Gary S. Cross, The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Rebecca deSchweinitz, If We Could Save the World: Young People and America's
Long Struggle for Racial Equality. (University of North Carolina Press, 2009).

Robert A Jacobs. The Dragon’s Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age. (University of Massachusetts Press, 2010).

Melissa Klapper, Small Strangers: The Experience of Immigrant Children in America, 1880-1924 (Ivan R. Dee, 2007).

Piete Kuhr’s diary is in Zlata Filipovic and Melanie Challenger, eds. Stolen Voices: Young People’s Diaries, from World War I to Iraq. (Penguin Books, 2006).

Kriste Lindenmeyer. The Greatest Generation Grows Up: American Childhood in the 1930s. (Chicago: Ivan R Dee, 2005).

James Marten, Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era: A Brief History with Documents. (Bedford/ St Martin’s Press, 2005)

Waldo Martin, Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents. (Bedford/ St Martin’s Press, 2005).

Grace Palladino. Teenagers: An American History. (NY: Basic Books, 1996).

Kelly Schrum. Some Wore Bobby Socks: The Emergence of Teenage Girls’ Culture, 1920-1945. (NY: Palgrave, 2004).

Lynn Spigel. Welcome to the Dreamhouse: Popular Media and Postwar Suburbs. (Duke University Press, 2001).

Eric C. Schneider.Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings: Youth Gangs in Postwar New York.(Princeton University Press, 1999).

Leslie Paris,Free to Be article is printed in The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Literature. Julia Mickenberg andLynne Vallone, eds. (Oxford University Press, 2011).

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