HST 344 -- Science, Technology
and the Modern Corporation: The Automobile and American Life
Class Meeting: MTWTHF 9:25 - 10:40 a.m.,
HM 125
Instructor: John A. Heitmann
Office: 435HM (x92803).
Office Hours: By appointment
E-Mail:
Jheitmann1@udayton.edu
Blog:
http://automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com
Texts: John Heitmann, The Automobile and American Life (McFarland, 2009).
John Heitmann and Rebecca
Morales, Stealing Cars: Technology and
Society from the Model T to Gran Torino (Johns Hopkins, 2014).
Ben
Hamper, Rivethead (Warner, 1991).
Jason Vucic, The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car
in History(Hill-Wang, 2008).
Grades: The final grade for this
course will be based upon two Exams, (60%), and a Final Exam (40%). 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 at my discretion: 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. 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.
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.
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/June 23 Introduction;
What our cars tell us about ourselves.
The car in everyday
life: the automobile age and its contradictions. Automotive
Pioneers; Putting America on the Road;
Henry Ford and the Model T; The Rise of General Motors;
“Master Hands.”
Reading:
Heitmann, Introduction, Chapter 1-3.
Films: “Wild Wheels”;
“Horatio’s Drive;” “Automobile Parade;” “Gussle’s Day of Rest.”
Week 2/June 30 Advertising, Styling, Design and the Art of the Automobile
On
the Road;
Reading:
Heitmann, chapter 4.
Film:
“Grapes of Wrath;”
“Route 66;” “Detour."
July 3
-- Test 1. You will be responsible for writing an essay on Ben Hamper’s Rivethead on this exam.
No class on Wednesday, July 4
Week
3/July 7 Religion, Sex, and The Car as a Home;
The Interwar Years:
The Great Depression,
Aerodynamics, and Cars of the Olympian Age.
Reading:
Heitmann, Chapters 5 and 6.
Films:
“Master Hands;” “The Crowd Roars;” “Burn Em’Up Barnes.”
Week
4/ July 14 World
War II: Detroit, the Arsenal of
Democracy; Post-War
Industry and Technological Suppression; Chrome Dreams
of the 1950s
Readings: Heitmann, Chapters 7 and 8
Films:
“Jitterbugs;” "Tucker;" "Rebel Without a Cause;" "Thunder
Road;"
July 18 – Test 2. You will
be responsible for Heitmann and Morales, Stealing
Cars, on this exam.
Week 5/ July 21 The 1960s; Oil Shock I:
Japan, James Bond, and Mobile Lovemaking
Readings: Heitmann, Chapters 8 and 9.
"American
Graffiti;"“Goldfinger;” “Thunderball;”
“Bullitt.”
Week / 6 July 28 The Automobile World Upside Down, 1980s to
the Present.
Readings: Heitmann, Chapter 10,
Epilogue.
Films: “Gone in Sixty
Seconds.” “Fast and Furious;” “The Revenge
of the Electric Car.”
Final
Exam, July 31, in class. You will be responsible for Vucic, The Yugo, on this exam.
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