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). Group A