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講義概要/Course description
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In Knighton Zemi, this year held as a paired course in the summer semester offered on Monday/2 and Thursday/4, we will take up the elusive issue of class in America by focusing on so-called “poor whites” and “white trash.” Coinciding with the rise of Obama as America’s first black president, and its backlash as part of Trumpism in the US, our readings will seek to make sense of the past decade by reading excerpts from Nancy Isenberg’s masterful study, White Trash:The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America (2016). What is “white trash,” and when and how did the term originate? Is it the right term to describe urban laborers in the Rust Belt as well as uneducated rural farmers? How about most immigrants or even homeless throughout history? What are the positive as well as negative values long attributed to poverty, and how does poverty get romanticized? Isenberg’s cultural history will be supplemented by Isabel Wilkerson’s new study, Caste (2020), which raises questions about the American Dream of social mobility.
Other short fiction and non-fiction texts may be excerpted, including works by Rebecca Harding Davis, Horatio Alger, Mark Twain, Studs Terkel, Ann Petry, William Faulkner, Richard Wright,Erskine Caldwell, Dorothea Lange, Eudora Welty, Jeannette Walls, and Charles Johnson among others. Adaptations of fiction into film, as well as documentary works and popular TV shows, will be introduced as well. The works that we read, write, research, and discuss in this course across both paired classes wrestle with the thorny matrix of class as it emerges from historically variable economic and social conditions in complicated relationships to race, gender, and labor in America.
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達成目標/Course objectives
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The course in both semesters has two main objectives: (1) To gain foundational knowledge of working class American literature in its historical context in English; (2) To foster critical thinking and writing skills through comparative analysis of texts, close reading of language use, and short writing tasks.
Another key aim of this course is to explore with students a wider vocabulary and deeper appreciation of the diverse meanings attributed to poverty, “trash,” and the lower classes, providing them with the necessary tools to “see” it anew: how it exists and has operated in their own country and culture as well as in America’s.
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履修条件（事前に履修しておくことが望ましい科目など）/Prerequisite
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Students who took an earlier version of this course must contact the professor in advance for permission to join the class.
THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN PERSON ON CAMPUS, EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST CLASS, WHICH WILL BE ON DEMAND. PLEASE SEE COURSE POWER IN THE WEEK ONE FOLDER FOR MORE INFORMATION BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THIS CLASS
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授業計画/Lecture plan
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1
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| 授業計画/Class |
CONSULT THE FOLDER ON DEMAND FOR WEEK ONE ON COURSEPOWER AND JOIN IN REAL-TIME ON CAMPUS FROM WEEK TWO
Introductions; Review of Syllabus and Course Plan
Lecture on the Course overall, and a preview of the Introduction to Isenberg's book. |
| 事前学習/Preparation |
Confirm class and room number. Familiarize yourself with Course Power, if you have not used it before, and make sure you have a university email address or an address registered to your Course Power account. |
| 事後学習/Reviewing |
If you do not have a computer at home, make sure you have familiarity with the computer stations on campus and their hours of operation and access Course Power for our class. If you are required to buy or order a book for this class, do so immediately. Contact the professor if you have any questions or problems. Complete the questionnaire and submit it right away |
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2
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| 授業計画/Class |
FROM WEEK TWO, ALL CLASSES ARE HELD REAL-TIME IN-PERSON ON CAMPUS.
ALWAYS CONSULT COURSEPOWER BEFORE CLASS IN CASE THERE ARE LAST-MINUTE CHANGES.
Read the "Introduction: Fables We Forget By" in White Trash.
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted to Course Power, and annotate them |
| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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3
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part One, Chapter One to White Trash: "Taking out the Trash: Waste People in the New World."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes,and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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4
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part One, Chapter Two to White Trash: "John Locke's Lubberland: The Settlements of Carolina and Georgia."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted to Course Power, and annotate them |
| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture.
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5
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part One, Chapter Three to White Trash: "Benjamin Franklin's American Breed: The Demographics of Mediocrity."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted to Course Power, and annotate them |
| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main pointsfrom discussion and lecture.
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6
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part One, Chapter Four to White Trash: "Thomas Jefferson's Rubbish: A Curious Topography of Class."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture.
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7
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part One, Chapter Five to White Trash: "Andrew Jackson's Cracker Country: The Squatter as Common Man."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main pointsfrom discussion and lecture. |
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8
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Two, Chapter Six to White Trash: "Pedigree and Poor White Trash: Bad Blood, Half-Breeds, and Clay Eaters."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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9
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Two, Chapter Seven to White Trash: "Cowards, Poltroons, and Mudsills: Civil War as Class Warfare."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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10
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Two, Chapter Eight to White Trash: "Thoroughbreds and Scalawags: Blood Lines and Bastard Stock in the Age of Eugenics."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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11
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Two, Chapter Nine to White Trash: "Forgotten Men and Poor Folk: Downward Mobility and the Great Depression."
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| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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12
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Two, Chapter Ten to White Trash: "The Cult of the Country Boy: Elvis Presley, Andy Griffith, and LBJ's The Great Society." |
| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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13
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Three, Chapter Eleven to White Trash: "Redneck Roots: Deliverance, Billy Beer, and Tammy Faye." |
| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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14
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Part Three, Chapter Twelve to White Trash: "Outing Rednecks: Slumming, Slick Willie, and Sarah Palin." |
| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. |
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15
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| 授業計画/Class |
Read Epilogue: "America's Strange Breed: The Long Legacy of White Trash" |
| 事前学習/Preparation |
Print out and read the texts posted toCourse Power, and annotate them
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| 事後学習/Reviewing |
Review notes, and type up main points from discussion and lecture. Study for Final Exam!
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授業方法/Method of instruction
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THIS COURSE WILL BE HELD IN PERSON ON CAMPUS, EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST CLASS, WHICH WILL BE ON DEMAND. PLEASE SEE COURSEPOWER IN THE WEEK ONE FOLDER FOR MORE INFORMATION BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THIS CLASS
Depending on the enrollment numbers and size of this course, the course will be carried out as a mix of lecture using visual and written materials and incorporating class discussion whenever possible. As needed, media from internet and film, as well as primary document sources, will be introduced.
The professor reserves the right to change the content or schedule at any time depending on student enrollment and levels, and to respond to any external circumstances beyond our control, including remote learning
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成績評価方法/Evaluation
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| 1 |
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100%
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Four quizzes at 15% each, and a final exam at 20%. THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE HELD IN WEEK 15 IN CLASS
Students will be asked to give short presentations in class and participate actively for 20% of their grade, depending on the size of the class.
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メッセージ/Message
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Contact the professor for this course directly at the email address provided on the Portal that indicates office hours should you have any questions or concerns
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