University of Southern California



University of California, Los Angeles

University of Southern California

Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West

Fall 2011

HIST 655

Seminar in Western American History: Los Angeles

Tuesdays 12:00 – 3:00

Course meetings will be held at UCLA, USC, and The Huntington Library

Professor Eric Avila

eavila@ucla.edu

Professor William Deverell

deverell@usc.edu

This course is a graduate-level research seminar co-taught by Professors Avila and Deverell of UCLA and USC. Successful completion of this course will be sufficient preparation for teaching undergraduate courses in the history of Los Angeles, and ought to likewise provide sufficient preparation for doctoral-level examinations in this sub-field of western and California history. In addition, students will produce a publishable-quality research essay on some aspect of Los Angeles history by the end of the term, with supervision and consultation by Professors Avila and Deverell.

Students will be granted rare book access to the Huntington’s research collections for the duration of the term.

All books listed for this course are required.

Title: ARCHITECTURE OF FOUR ECOLOGIES, 2ND EDITION

Author: BANHAM

Title: ISLAND OF THE LAND

Author: MC WILLIAMS

Title: BECOMING MEXICAN AMERICAN

Author: SANCHEZ

Title: DAY OF THE LOCUST

Author: WEST

Title: WHITEWASHED ADOBE

Author: DEVERELL

Title: CALIFORNIA VIEJA

Author: KROPP

.

Title: POP L.A.

Author: WHITING

BOHEMIAN LOS ANGELES

Author: HUREWITZ

Title: POPULAR CULTURE IN THE AGE OF WHITE FLIGHT

Author: AVILA

Title: LITERARY LOS ANGELES

Author: ULIN

Title: THE GREAT BLACK WAY

Author: SMITH

Title: BOUND FOR FREEDOM

Author: FLAMMING

Title: MY BLUE HEAVEN

Author: NICOLAIDES

Title: SUNBELT RISING

Author: NICKERSON AND DOCHUK

Title: HOLY LAND

Author: WALDIE

Title: MAGNETIC LOS ANGELES

Author: HISE

Course requirements:

In addition to weekly attendance and enthusiastic participation, students will be expected to complete an in-class assignment and a term research paper. All work must be completed by the end of term. In-class assignments are to be in the form of formal oral presentaitons (ten to fifteen minutes long) and you are to turn in a written up version of the presentation on that day (approximately 3-5 pp. long). You are to place the topic within a larger analysis of the history of Los Angeles, which will require you to place the topic within the appropriate scholarly literature. Professors Avila and Deverell can elaborate upon shorthand descriptions of any presentation topics below (and you are encouraged to propose your own topic if you wish). These will begin as early as August 30th. We will attempt to have only a couple of these per week, so as not to use up too much of our seminar time on them. We expect that much of the research necessary for these in-class presentations will take place in the Huntington’s collections or in Special Collections at UCLA or at YRL, though it is also acceptable to do the work elsewhere when appropriate (The Doheny Library, for example, or the Seaver Center at the Museum of Natural History, or the Los Angeles Public Library). We will help guide you to the appropriate collections.

Each participant in the seminar must complete a formal research essay of approximately 25-30 pages by the end of term. The specific topic is up to you, though we must approve it in advance; work leading to a thesis project is perfectly acceptable but not required. These are due at term’s end; they are to be turned in as hard copies and as email attachments so that every member of the seminar will receive a copy of everyone’s work.

Tuesday August 23

Course Introduction; introduction to Huntington Library; processing of privileges

Tuesday August30

Overview: Los Angeles History and Writing Los Angeles

Please read Ulin, works by Austin; Jackson; Lindsay; Adamic; Huxley; Wilson; Waugh; Lambert; Cain; Chandler; Fante; Didion; and Snyder.

Please read McWilliams

Presentation topics:

Review of Mike Davis, City of Quartz

Review of Jim Paul, Medieval in L.A.

Review of special LA issue of American Quarterly

Review of Schrank

Review of Sides

Review of Creason, Los Angeles in Maps

Tuesday September 6

Please read Sanchez

Antecedents and the regional landscape

Please take an hour or two and read through random selections of regional newspaper(s) from the period 1850s – 1880s; take notes on landscape, land-use, and geo-political (i.e. Mexican/American issues that are discussed). ProQuest Los Angeles Times will allow access to the Times from the latter 1880s; you’ll have to dig a bit deeper to see earlier papers.

Presentation topics:

Review of S. Hackel’s Children of Coyote

Scholarly assessment of BD Wilson papers

Scholarly assessment of Matthew Keller papers

Scholarly assessment of the Solano Reeve collection

Cartography of 19th century citrus in Los Angeles

Scholarly review of El Clamor Publico (newspaper, 1850s LA) (in Spanish)

Scholarly review of the Civil War in Los Angeles

Scholarly review of Serra sainthood effort

Scholarly review of D. Sackman book Orange Empires

Review of Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Collections

Tuesday September 13

Please read Banham

Presentation topics:

Census overview and spatial overview of population distribution, 1850-1900

Scholarly assessment of Harrison Gray Otis and Harry Chandler

Scholarly assessment of Charles Fletcher Lummis

Scholarly assessment of I.W. Hellman and Farmers and Merchants Bank

Scholarly assessment of E.L. Doheny

Tuesday September 20

Please read Kropp

Tuesday September 27

Please read Avila

Presentation topics:

Bromley Oxnam and the Church of All Nations

Settlement houses in Progressive-era Los Angeles

Review of Mowry’s California Progressives (focused on Los Angeles)

Scholarly assessment of Rev. Robert Burdette

Scholarly assessment of Charles Fuller

Scholarly assessment of Robert Shuler

Review of Cowan’s Darrow biography

Scholarly review of history of La Opinion or other Los Angeles Spanish-language paper

Review of C. Davis book on Los Angeles white-collar work

Tuesday October 4

Please read Flamming and Smith

Presentation topics:

Cartography of African American Los Angeles, 1850-1940

Scholarly assessment of Los Angeles Urban League Papers (YRL)

Scholarly assessment of Ralph Bunche Papers (YRL)

Scholarly review of the Shades of Los Angeles photo project, LAPL

Scholarly assessment of race and Los Angeles public education, pre-Brown v Board

City Survey Files, Homeowners’ Loan Corporation, (H.O.L.C.), Los Angeles neighborhoods

Review of Lipsitz, Possessive Investment in Whiteness

Tuesday October 11

Please read Day of the Locust

Please read Hurewitz

Tuesday October 18

Please read Deverell

Presentation topics:

Scholarly assessment of John Anson Ford

Scholarly assessment of Augustus Hawkins

Scholarly assessment of John Randolph Haynes

Scholarly assessment of Clifford Clinton

Forest Lawn Memorial Park and the Evolution of the American Cemetery

E.P.I.C. movement in Los Angeles

Socialism in Los Angeles, 1930s

Griffith Family Papers

Wilshire Family Papers

Tuesday October 25

Please read Nicolaides

Presentation topics:

Scholarly assessment of Kenneth Hahn

Scholarly review of Watts riots

Scholarly assessment of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company (archives, YRL)

Scholarly review of special LA issue of American Quarterly (if not done earlier)

Scholarly assessment of Hollywood Studio Strike Collection, 1944-1985 (YRL)

Scholarly assessment of A. Quincy Jones (architect) papers (YRL)

Scholarly report on holdings (and history) of Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research

Review of Dorothy Chandler Papers

Tuesday November 1

Please read Hise

Presentation topics:

Review of Hise and Deverell, Eden by Design

Overview of urban planning in Los Angeles, 1900-1940

Scholarly overview of post-war Los Angeles architecture

Scholarly assessment of “Arts and Architecture” Magazine, 1943-1965

Scholarly assessment of The Case Study House Program

Scholarly assessment of Marie Koenig archive

Scholarly assessment of Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

Scholarly assessment of Ralph Bunche Papers (YRL)

Scholarly assessment of Frank Wilkinson

Historiographical summary of Chavez Ravine scholarship

Scholarly review of LA photography of Robbert Flick compared with LA photography of Ed Ruscha

Tuesday November 8

Please read Waldie

Presentation topics:

Didion essays/books on Los Angeles

History of Los Angeles aerospace industry

Freeway history of Los Angeles, with bibliography of best secondary works

Tuesday November 15

No reading this week. Course meeting will be devoted to discussion of potential thesis topics in Los Angeles history. Each member of the seminar is to prepare a list of six to ten topics (described in a paragraph each) that would make a significant contribution to Los Angeles historiography if pursued as a doctoral thesis. Each list is to include topics from the 19th and the 20th centuries. Students are to rank order their lists in terms of either most important or most interesting.

Presentation topics:

Review of Orsi’s book on Los Angeles hydraulic engineering

Review of Gumprecht’s Los Angeles River book

Scholarly assessment of Los Angeles Air Quality Management District history

Scholarly assessment of Los Angeles Flood Control District history

Scholarly assessment of public beach law/access, Southern California, 20th century

Tuesday November 22

Please read Ulin; works by Himes; Rechy; Weschler (LA Glows); Muske; Simpson; See; Martínez; George; Cooper; Vollman; Waldie; Thomson.

Please read Nickerson and Dochuk

Presentation topics:

Annotated list of research topics (with sources) on popular culture in Los Angeles

Collection of Books About Hollywood in Literature (YRL)

Annotated list of research topics on the Zoot Suit and “Zoot Suit Riots”

Scholarly assessment of Joan Didion’s work on Los Angeles

Scholarly assessment of Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee Papers (YRL)

Review of McWilliams works on Los Angeles

Review of Carey McWilliams Papers (YRL)

Scholarly assessment of Los Angeles sources at the Seaver Center

Manzanar War Relocation Papers

Edward Roybal Papers

Norris Poulson Papers

Tuesday November 29

Please read Whiting

Presentation topics:

Geography of aerospace industry in Southern California, 1940-1980

Scholarly assessment of Los Angeles real estate titans, post-1940

Scholarly review of Richard and Dion Neutra papers (YRL)

Scholarly assessment of photographic work (Los Angeles specific) of Cathy Opie and Karen Halverson (comparative) (or two other photographers)

Scholarly assessment of “Los Angeles” (City Magazine), 1961 -1975 (take notes on landscape, suburban “good life,” advertisements, etc.)

Los Angeles Olympics, 1984, Organizing Committee Collection

Tuesday December 6

In-class discussion of research work from all participants. Ten minutes each: outline of topic, research strategy, expected findings, interpretive contribution, publication ideas.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download