The economic collapse of the 1930s known as the Great Depression set social,
cultural, and political changes in motion that transformed the character of
American life. This course focuses on the ways contemporaries encountered and
participated in those changes, as well as on the ways that historians interpret the
Great Depression. Through the use of a variety of sources-memoirs, films,
ethnography, oral histories, fiction, visual arts, documentary photography-we
will explore a range of responses to the Depression, shaped by region, class,
race, ethnicity, and gender. Topics include the establishment of federal programs
and agencies to respond to the Depression (known as the New Deal), the growth
of labor organization and activism, and the political culture of the 1930s. We will
also examine the popular culture of this period, including documentary
photography, commercial radio, and Hollywood movies.
Format: seminar. Evaluation will be based on class participation, three short
essays, and a final paper based on primary research.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference will be given to first-year
students, and then sophomores, who have not previously taken a 100-level seminar.
Group A