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Professor of History
John.Heitmann@notes.udayton.edu
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Recent Scholarship & Works in Progress
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HST 344 -- History of Science, Technology and the Modern Corporation
Class Meeting: MWF 1-1:50 p.m., KL 403
Instructors: John A. Heitmann and Edward Garten
Office: 466 HM (x2803);
Office Hours: 11:00-11:50 MWF or by appointment E-Mail: John.Heitmann@notes.udayton.edu Home page: http://homepages.udayton.edu/~heitmann/
Edward Garten 10:00-12:00 MW or by appointment Roesch Library 202 Phone: 937.229.4281 E-Mail: Edward.Garten@notes.udayton.edu Home page: http://academic.udayton.edu/EdwardGarten
Texts: James J. Flink, The Automobile Age. Lee Iacocca, An Autobiography. Ben Hamper, Rivethead. Brock Yates, Outlaw Machine: Harley Davidson and the Search for the American Soul
Grades: The final grade for this course will be based upon one Mid-Term Exam, (30%), Three Critical Book Reviews (40%), and Final Exam (30%). The grade scale is as follows: A 94 to 100; A- 90 to 93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80 - 83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73. A similar pattern applies to lower grades. Letter grades are assigned a mid-point numerical grade. Additionally, attendance can influence your final grade: if you miss more than 3 classes, one letter grade will be deducted from your grade; if you miss more than 6 classes, a two letter grade reduction will take place. A good grade for this course is a C+. Grade averages may be influenced by such factors as trends over the time of the course; for example, how you finish is far more important than how you start. Policies for exams strictly follows History Department Guidelines, and make-ups will only be offered with a valid, documented excuse.
Critical Book Reviews: Three critical reviews of assigned books serve as integral assignments in this course. Each review should be 3-5 pages in length, typed, double spaced. One should aim to critically summarize the book, aiming sure to discuss the authors content, themes, and perspectives, and then also provide an introspective response to the book that incorporates one’s own evaluation of the work’s authenticity and value.
Attendance at lectures is crucial if you are to expect a good grade in the course, and I want you to be at every class if that is at all possible. On many occasions material presented is not covered in the readings, and so many of the ideas discussed central to the development of modern science are complex and often confusing. Your attitude and what you bring in to the classroom can make the difference between a mediocre offering and a most positive educational experience.
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated and offenses will be punished accordingly. A first offense will result in a failing grade for the exam or paper in question; a second offense will result in a failing grade for the course. Further, it is totally unacceptable to hand in a paper that is the result of work in another class.
Course Purpose: It has been said that the automobile is the perfect technological symbol of American culture, a tangible expression of our quest to level space, time and class, and a reflection of our restless mobility, social and otherwise. In this course we will explore together the place of the automobile in American life, and how it transformed business, life on the farm and in the city, the nature and organization of work, leisure time, and the arts. This is a most complex transition that we will study, as the automobile transformed everyday life and the environment in which we operate. It influenced the foods we eat; music we listen to; risks we take; places we visit; errands we run; emotions we feel; movies we watch; stress we endure; and, the air we breathe.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND ASSIGNMENTS
The week of:
Week 1/August 22 Introduction; What our cars tell us about ourselves. The car in everyday life: the automobile age and its contradictions. Automotive Pioneers Reading: Flink, pp.viii-39. Film: “Wild Wheels”; “The Secret Life of the Car; “Horatio’s Drive”
Week 2/August 29 Putting America on the Road; Henry Ford and the Model T Reading: Flink, pp.40-86. Film: “America on the Road”
September 5 Labor Day
Week 3/September 7 The Rise of General Motors Reading: Flink, pp.86-128. Film: “Roger and Me”
Week 4/September 12 Styling, Design and the Art of the Automobile Reading: Flink, pp. 129-168.
As an option for extra credit students are invited to attend as a group one of Ohio’s outstanding classic car shows – the Discovery Concours d’Elegance – held on the grounds of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, 2600 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton, on Sunday, September 18. Details on this event will be shared with the class early in the term. For additional information students may access the following website: http://www.discoveryconcours.org/
Week 5/September 19 On the Road Reading: Flink, pp.168-228. Film: “Route 66"
Week 6/ September 26 Sit Down; Labor and the Auto Industry Readings: Flink, pp.229-250. Films: “Modern Times”
September 30 Review of Hamper book is due.
Week 7/ October 3 Women Behind the Wheel Readings: Flink, pp.251-267. Film: “Thelma and Louise”; “Motorcycle Diaries”
Mid Term Break October 10-12
Guest speaker for the class on Wednesday, October 12 will be Rich Ceppos, publisher of the nation’s leading weekly automotive enthusiast magazine Autoweek
Week 8/October 12 The Highway and the City Reading: Flink, pp. 268-293. Film: “Taken for a Ride”
Week 9/ October 17 The Post War Industry and Technological Suppression Readings: Flink, pp.294-326; Mike Mueller, "Tucker, A Man and his Car." (On Reserve). Film: “Tucker”
Week 10/ October 24 Chrome Dreams of the 1950s Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys Readings: Flink, pp.327- 345. Heitmann, “Automobiles and Automobile Manufacturing,” and “Ford Thunderbird,” in The Fifties in America (Salem Press, 2005). Film: “American Graffiti
Week 11/ October 31 The Rise of the American Muscle Car Readings: Flink, pp.346-357.
November 5 Iacocca Review Due
Week 12/ November 7 Auto Safety and the Environment Readings: Heitmann, “Automobile Safety,” in Stanley Kutler, ed. The Dictionary of American History, 3rd Ed., Scribners, I, 376-7.
Week 13/ November 14 Oil Shock: Foreign Competition: VW, Nissan and Toyota Japan Inc. in the USA Germans in the New South Readings: Flink, pp. 358-409.
Week 14 November 21 The Automobile in Contemporary Film Film: “Gone in 60 Seconds:” “Fast and Furious” Reading: Eric Mottram, “Blood on the Nash Ambassador: Cars in American Films,” in Peter Wollen and Joe Kerr, Autopia Cars and Culture (Reaktion, 2003), pp.95-114.
Thanksgiving November 23 and 25
Week 15/November 28 The Age of Consolidation and Global Mergers, 1990-2005 Reading: Gregg Easterbrook, Axle of Evil, a Review of High and Mighty: SUVs: The World’s Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way; Maryann Keller, Rude Awakening: The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors (William Morrow, 1989), Chapter 1, pp. 13-37.
Week 16/December 5 The Automobile Industry and the Future; Sum Up Reading: John Tierney, “The Autonomist Manifesto (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Road),” New York Times, September 26, 2004.
December 5 — Review of Brock Yates book is due
December 7 Last Day of Classes
FINAL EXAM, Friday, December 16, 12:20 --2:10 p.m.
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