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1950s Literature and Culture Professor Richard Schwartz AML 5505 Sec. U01A Summer A 2008: May 5-June 19, 2008 M/W 6:25-9:05 PM Room GC 275B Office: DM 460B phone: 305-348-3394 Office hours: M/W: 5:30-6:15 PM. Email: schwartz@fiu.edu Website: http://comptalk.fiu.edu/new_page_47.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to survey some of the noteworthy American literature, film, and other cultural developments from the 1950s in terms of how they respond to issues and developments in American culture from that decade and in terms of their artistry and aesthetic objectives. ************************************************************************************************************************* Required Books John Barth, The Floating Opera (1956) Knopf ISBN: 0-385-24089-9 Stephen J. Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War 2nd ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, 0-8018-5195-5 Sloan Wilson, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1955), Avalon 1-56858-246-3 Required Books on Reserve in the Green Library Peter Biskind, Seeing is Believing (1983, Knopf) PN1995.9.P6 B57 1983 Inexpensive used copies are available through online sellers. Online Reserve available online or through the library’s homepage: John Cheever, “The Country Husband,” New Yorker, 1955. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “A Coney Island of the Mind,” A Coney Island of the Mind. New York: New Directions (1958). Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” and “America” in Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco, City Lights Books, 1959. Available online: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1548 “America” http://www.wussu.com/poems/agh.htm “Howl” Elaine Tyler May, “Explosive Issues: Sex, Women, and the Bomb,” in Elaine May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (NY: Basic Books, 1988), pp. 92-113. Leonard Quart and Albert Auster, “The Fifties” American Film and Society Since 1945, 3rd ed. (Westport, CT: Praeger Press, 2002), pp. 39-64. Richard A. Schwartz, "How the Film and Television Blacklists Worked," Film & History Annual For 1999 CD ROM.
Required Films Richard Brooks, dir. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) FF 654 108 min Alfred Hitchcock, dir. North by Northwest (1959) FF046 136 min Nunnally Johnson, The Three Faces of Eve (1957) 91 min Elia Kazan, dir. On the Waterfront (1954) FF020 108 min Stanley Kramer, dir. The Defiant Ones (1958), 97 min Joseph Mankiewicz , dir. All about Eve (1950) FF 903 138 min _____, dir. Suddenly Last Summer (1959) Delbert Mann, dir. Bachelor Party (1957) 92 min _____, dir. Marty (1955) 94 min Kevin Rafferty, dir. The Atomic Café (1982) 86 min Nicholas Ray, dir. Rebel without a Cause (1955) FF021 111 min Martin Ritt, The Long Hot Summer (1958) 115 min Don Siegel, dir. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), 80 min Billy Wilder, dir. Some Like It Hot (1959) 120 min
Recommended Books David Halberstam, The Fifties (1993, Ballantine Books) 0-449-90933-6 Richard A. Schwartz, The 1950s (2003, Facts on File) 0-8160-4597-6 *Note: Students will receive no extra credit or preferential treatment for purchasing this book **************************************************************************************************** Week 1 Mon 5/5 Introduction to Course. View and discuss The Atomic Café Assignment for next class: View Marty Read “The Fifties” in American Film and Society Since 1945 pp. 39-64.
Wed 5/7 Discuss readings. View and discuss Rebel Without a Cause Assignment for next class: Read The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and “I Stand Here Ironing”
Week 2 Mon 5/12 Discuss The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and “I Stand Here Ironing” Assignment for next class: Read “Howl,” “America,” and “A Coney Island of the Mind” Read “How the Film and Television Blacklists Worked” Read Chapters 5 and 6 in The Culture of the Cold War pp. 101-151
Wed 5/14 Discuss the Beat Movement, the Red Scare and Blacklisting Assignment for next class: Read “Explosive Issues: Sex, Women, and the Bomb,” Read Chapters 3 and 4 in Seeing Is Believing pp. 102-245 Read Chapters 1-4 in The Culture of the Cold War pp. 1-100 Write 1st essay for 5/21 Week 3 Mon 5/19 Discuss readings; view and discuss North by Northwest
Wed 5/21 Submit 1st essay View and discuss Invasion of the Bodysnatchers Assignment for 5/28: Read “Sonny’s Blues” and A Raisin in the Sun
Week 4 Mon 5/26 MEMORIAL DAY: NO CLASS (Remember those who died for our freedom)
Wed 5/28 Discuss Civil Rights movement, “Sonny’s Blues,” and A Raisin in the Sun Assignment: The Defiant Ones
Week 5 Mon 6/2 View and discuss Salt of the Earth Last day to drop or withdraw Assignment: View All about Eve Wed 6/4 View Bachelor Party Assignment: Read “The Country Husband” and The Floating Opera
Week 6 Mon 6/9 Discuss “The Country Husband” The Floating Opera View Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Wed 6/11 View The Long, Hot Summer Assignment: View The Three Faces of Eve
Week 7 Mon 6/16 View Suddenly, Last Summer
Wed 6/18 View Some Like It Hot Final papers are due ************************************************************************************************************ Grades Attendance matters, especially in the abbreviated summer session. I will begin assessing a penalty to the final grade after the second unexcused absence. Grades are based on two 6-8 page papers. I care very much about the clarity, precision, focus, and incisiveness of student writing. Precise, direct thesis statements and topic sentences are critical to a well structured, sharply focused, penetrating analysis. So proofread to ensure first, that your essays actually answer the question that is asked, and second, that each essay begins with a strong thesis statement that asserts the essence of your argument and that each paragraph, or related group of paragraphs, begins with a strong topic sentence that elaborates on some aspect of the thesis and serves as the basis for the paragraph.
Act with consideration and come to class on time. If you are late, enter the room discreetly and considerately. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not walk out in the middle of a class, or otherwise show disrespect to the class and/or the professor. FOR ALL CLASSES AND PUBLIC PERFORMANCES (MOVIES, PLAYS, CONCERTS, ETC.) TURN OFF CELL PHONES AND BEEPERS BEFORE ENTERING THE ROOM!
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