You Say You Want a Revolution? Society, Culture, and Politics in the 1960s AMS 370, Unique number 30860, BUR 436A
Professor: Julia Mickenberg Office: 420 Burdine Email: [email protected] Office phone: 232-2650 Office hours: Tuesdays 12:30-3:30 (please email if you’re planning to come in)
Course Description In this class we will explore the major political, social, cultural, and intellectual currents of the 1960s, as well as their origins in the 1950s and earlier. These include: post-war liberalism; the Great Society and the War on Poverty; the New Left; the Free Speech Movement; the peace movement; the civil rights movement; nationalist and liberation movements among African Americans, Chicanos, Asian Americans, American Indians, gays and lesbians, and women; the counterculture; the conservative movement; and the environmental movement. Throughout, through interdisciplinary exploration, we’ll seek to learn not only what happened, but also why it happened. Finally, as members of a university community, we’ll be attentive to the question of how political and social activity in the 1960s, activity inspired largely by young people in and around universities, has affected our lives today and our relationship to civic life. In the 1960s spirit of “participatory democracy” this class will be run as a cooperative enterprise: rather than working on the model of expert teacher and student receptacles-of-knowledge, students will actively contribute to the course content through your own research and presentations to the class. Your active participation is essential to the course.
Course Texts (available from UT Co-op or on reserve at PCL) Isserman and Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s 5th ed (4th ok too) Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines, Takin’ It To the Streets: A Sixties Reader. 3rd ed.*
* Please let me know if you have an earlier or later edition and I’ll make sure you get the relevant readings *
Alice Echols, Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin
Additional readings posted on Canvas
Films (some shown outside class, some shown only in clips, others just recommended) Berkeley in the Sixties Black Panther San Francisco State on Strike Chicago 1968 Easy Rider The Woman’s Film
Requirements and Assignments: 1. Participation: be prepared to read and discuss »100 pp/week--15% (includes attendance—see below) 2. Five two to three-page, double-spaced response papers/think pieces—(combined for 40% total course grade) in which you point to outstanding themes of two weeks’ readings and attempt to make critical connections between specific readings and larger course topics. At the end of the semester you’ll read over your own papers and turn them in as a portfolio, along with a 2-3 p. reflection on common themes you discovered by re-reading your entries. Portfolio will receive one letter grade, based primarily on the level of thoughtful engagement. Papers due by 9:00 am on designated due dates; Group A: last names A-J; Group B: K-Z (subject to adjustment). Portfolio due Thursday, May 7th 3. Final term paper (7-10 pages), requiring stages and peer review and based on original research--35% 4. Presentations (approximately 6-8 minutes/person)--10%
Course Procedures and Policies: Attendance: This course will be run as a seminar, which means that a lot of the learning takes place within the context of class discussion. If you are absent you are responsible for any missed work. If you know about a future, unavoidable absence, let me know in advance and we can try to come up with arrangements for you to make up the work. Ask a classmate to fill you in if you miss class. If you must be absent in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence if you gave advance notice. Missing more than two classes (for any reason) is likely to affect your grade. Missing more than six classes will result in an F (apart from exceptional circumstances).
You are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss assigned readings. You may also be asked to do informal, out-of-class or in-class writing as a prelude to discussion, or to take impromptu quizzes. These writing assignments may be collected and will count toward your class participation grade.
JIGSAW READINGS: Occasionally assigned readings will be divided up so that parts of the class focus on different readings. You are expected to be familiar with all of the assigned readings for that week, but prepared to respond in a more in-depth way to the readings to which your group was assigned.
Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 512-410- 6644 (Video Phone) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations.
Late papers, if accepted, will be downgraded, usually half a letter grade per day. Please contact me at least 24 hours in advance if you need an extension.
Plus or Minus grades will be assigned in the course.
University Honor Code: Student Honor Code states: "As a student of The University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the core values of the University and uphold academic integrity." The UT History Department’s statement on plagiarism offers a useful guide for knowing what counts as plagiarism and making sure you avoid doing it.
Flags: This course carries the flag for Cultural Diversity in the United States. Cultural Diversity courses are designed to increase your familiarity with the variety and richness of the American cultural experience. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one U.S. cultural group that has experienced persistent marginalization.
This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
This course carries the Independent Inquiry flag. Independent Inquiry courses are designed to engage you in the process of inquiry over the course of a semester, providing you with the opportunity for independent investigation of a question, problem, or project related to your major. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from the independent investigation and presentation of your own work.
Senate Bill 212 and Title IX Reporting Requirements. Under Senate Bill 212 (SB 212), the professor for this course is required to report any information concerning incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking committed by or against a UT student or employee. Federal law and university policy also requires reporting incidents of sex- and gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct (collectively known as Title IX incidents). This means we cannot keep confidential information about any such incidents that you share with us. If you need to talk with someone who can maintain confidentiality, please contact University Health Services (512-471-4955 or 512-475-6877) or the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center (512-471-3515 or 512-471-2255). We strongly urge you make use of these services for any needed support and that you report any Title IX incidents to the Title IX Office.
Schedule (subject to change—most current schedule will be posted on Canvas)
Tuesday, January 21 Introductions
Thursday, January 23 What Came Before Reading due: 1. Breines and Bloom, “The Past as Prologue”; The 1950s as an Introduction to the 1960s” 2.. Isserman and Kazin, Introduction and Chapter One, “A Gathering of Forces”
Recommended: Seeds of the Sixties
Tuesday, January 28th Civil Rights Reading due: 1. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter Two: “Black Ordeal, Black Freedom”; 2. Bloom and Breines, ch. 1 “Keep on Walkin’, Keep on Talkin’”: Civil Rights to 1965,” pp. 12-20 (King, Moody, SNCC)
Thursday, January 30th Civil Rights Reading due: Bloom and Breines ch. 1, pp. 21-42 (rest of Civil Rights docs) Response due: Group A
Tuesday, February 4th Kennedy, the New Frontier, and the Origins of Vietnam Reading due: 1. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter Three, “The New Frontier of American Liberalism; and Chapter Four, “Why Did the United States Fight in Vietnam” 2. Norman Mailer, “Superman Comes to the Supermarket”
Thursday, February 6th Why the US Fought in Vietnam Reading due: 1. Leslie Gelb, “Causes of the War” (Canvas) 2. Bloom and Breines, “Background to the War: Vietnam documents” pp. 154-166: Response due: Group B
Tuesday, Feb 11The Great Society and the Dawn of a New Left Reading due: 1. Isserman and Kazin chapter 5 (“1963”), Chapter 6 “The Rise of the Great Society” 2. Bloom and Breines, LBJ and the Great Society (pp. 80-86) 3. Bloom and Brienes, Chapter Two, “‘My Generation’: The Student Movement and the New Left”: Beginnings (50-69)
Thursday, February 13 The New Left, in Austin and Nationally Reading due: 1. All: a. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter 9, “The New Left” b. John A. Moretta, “Political Hippies and Hip Politicos: Counterculture Alliance and Cultural Radicalism in 1960s Austin, Texas,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly Vol. CXXIII, No. 3, January, 2020 Canvas c. T. Dreyer, “Rag Mama Rag” and Buhle, “The Rag in Radical History,” from Celebrating the Rag: ed. Dreyer, Embree, and Croxdale (Canvas)
2. Group 1: Community Organizing (72-79); Group 2: The Free Speech Movement Group 3: New Left Thinking at Mid-Decade (86-106)
Response due: Group A
Tuesday, February 18 From the New Left to the Counterculture Readings due: 1.Allen Matusow, “The Rise and Fall of a Counterculture” (Canvas) 2. Isserman and Kazin chapter 8, “The Making of a Youth Culture” 3. Bloom and Brienes, Chapter 5, “‘Eight Miles High: The Counterculture” (intro.)
Thursday, February 20 the Counterculture Reading Due: I. Group 1: Culture and the Counterculture (starting 227) Group 2: Religion, The Drug Culture, Sexual Revolution (250-267) Group 3: Hippies, Yippies, Communes
II. All: Joan Didion, “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” (Canvas) Response due: Group B.
Tuesday, February 25: Music of the Counterculture Reading due: Alice Echols, Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin
Thursday, February 27 The Counterculture Reading due: Alice Echols, Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin Response due: Group A
Tuesday, March 3 The Experience of Vietnam Reading due: 1. John Garry Clifford, “Vietnam in Historical Perspective” (Canvas); 2.William Jefferson Clinton, “Letter to the Draft Board” (Canvas) 3. Tim O’Brien, “On the Rainy River” (Canvas) 4. My Lai (Bloom and Breines, 209-13) 5. George Skakel, One Soldier’s View: Vietnam Letters (Bloom and Breines167-171) 6. Linda DeVanter, Home Before Morning (Bloom and Breines, 176)
Thursday, March 5 The Anti-war movement Bloom and Breines, Chapter Four: “’Hey , Hey, LBJ?’: Vietnam and the Antiwar Movement”—:
All: Paul Potter, “The Incredible War” Carl Oglesby, “Trapped in a System” SDS Call for a March on Washington SNCC Position Paper on Vietnam Martin Luther King, Jr., “Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam” Daniel Berrigan, Berrigan at Cornell
Group 1: Resistance and the Draft Group 2. Anti Draft Activity: Group 3: Antiwar Activity Within the Military Group 4: The Vietnam Veterans Response due: Group B
Tuesday, March 10 Black Nationalism Reading due: Isserman and Kazin, Chapter 7, “1965” Bloom and Breines, Chapter 3: “Black Nationalism and Black Pride” 109-134
Thursday, March 12 Brown Nationalism/Ethnic Consciousness Reading due: Bloom + Breines, Ch. 3: Latinos, Asian Americans, American Indians Response due: Group A
Possible films: Films: Black Panthers San Francisco State, On Strike
SPRING BREAK
Tuesday, March 24 Women’s Liberation Reading due: B+B, Chapter Eight, “‘She’s Leaving Home’: The Women’s Liberation Movement”—intro and •Liberal Feminism •Radical Women
Thursday, March 26 Reading due: Bloom and Breines, Chapter 8: •Women’s Political Action; •Our Bodies, Our Sexuality; •Race, Ethnicity, and Class: Feminist Issues Response due: Group B
Tuesday March 31 The Conservative Impulse in a Radical Age 1. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter 10, “The Fall of the Great Society”; I & K chapter 11, “The Conservative Revival ” 2. Breines and Bloom, Chapter 6, “‘Love It or Leave It”: The Backlash Against the Movements” (chapter introduction)
Thursday, April 2 Research session (class possibly held at Briscoe Center for American History)
Sunday, April 5 5:00 pm: 1 page précis + preliminary bibliography due
Tuesday, April 7 (and Monday?) Conferences—no regular class held
Thursday, April 9 Breines and Bloom, Chapter 6, “‘Love It or Leave It”: Group 1: The New Conservatism Group 2: The Conservative Impulse in Politics Group 3: Conservative Responses to 1960s Issues Group 4: Cointelpro; Counter-counter-culture
Response due: Group A (on conservative impulse and women’s liberation)
Tuesday, April 14 1968 Reading Due: 1. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter 12, “1968” 2. Bloom and Brienes, Ch. Seven: “The Whole World is Watching…” Campus Explosions
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Thursday, April 16 1968 Reading due: Bloom and Breines, Chapter 7: •The Democrats Divide I: Primary Challenges •The Death of Martin Luther King •The Democrats Divide II: Chicago •The New Left Splinters: The Weather Underground Response due: Group B
Possible films: San Francisco State, On Strike Chicago 1968
Tuesday, April 21 Beginnings and Endings/Gay Liberation Reading due: 1. Chapter 13, “Many Faiths: The 60s Reformation”; 2. Justin David Suran, “Coming Out Against the War: Antimilitarism and the Politicization of Homosexuality in the Era of Vietnam” 2. Bloom and Breines, ch. 9, “Gay Liberation”—490-504
Thursday, April 23 Kent State+Jackson State;Woodstock/Altamont; Enviro. Movement Reading due: 1. Isserman and Kazin, Chapter 14, “No Cease-Fire: 1969-1974” 2. Bloom and Breines “When the Music’s Over: Endings and Beginnings” (rest of the readings besides gay liberation and Julius Lester piece)
Possible film clip: Gimme Shelter In class writing exercise
Sunday, April 26 Rough draft of final paper due
Tuesday, April 28: Workshopping of final papers
Thursday, April 30 Presentations
Tuesday, May 5 Presentations
Thursday, May 7 Reading Due: *Julius Lester, “To Recapture the Dream” Isserman and Kazin, conclusion Journal portfolio due
Friday, May 8, 5:00 pm: (Revised) final papers due