Syllabus, Fall Term, 2019, "The Automobile and American Life"

Barney Oldfield, the man Who Redefined Speed

A Sports Car Gathering, 1952. While Striving for Individuality, Conformity Inevitably Followed

    HST 344  -- Science, Technology and the Modern Corporation: The Automobile and American Life

            Class Meeting: MWF 11:15 a.m.-12:05 p.m., HM 125

            Instructor: John A. Heitmann 

            Office: 435HM (x92803). 

            Office Hours: 10:00-10:50 a.m. MWF or by appointment

            E-Mail:Jheitmann1@udayton.edu

            Blog page: http://www.automobileandamericanlife.blogspot.com

            Texts:  John Heitmann, The Automobile and American Life.

                        Ben Hamper, Rivethead.

Jason Vuic, The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History

And materials on Isidore.

                        Grades: The final grade for this course will be based on two hour exams, (40%), Term Paper (topic to be approved, 30% ) 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. 

            Attendanceat 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/August 24                  Introduction;What our cars tell us about ourselves. The car in everyday life: the automobile age and its contradictions.  Automotive Pioneers

                                                            Reading: Heitmann, Introduction, Chapter 1.

Films: “Wild Wheels”; “Horatio’s Drive.”

Week 2/August 29                  Putting America on the Road; Henry Ford and the Model T

                                                Reading: Heitmann, Chapter 2.James Flink, "Three Stages of Automotive Consciousness" (Isidore).

                                                            Film: “Automobile Parade;” “Gussle’s Day of Rest.”

September 5 – Labor Day -- No Class

                                                                   

            

            Week 3/September 7                        Stealing Cars; The Rise of General Motors

Readings: Heitmann, pp. 54-63; Stuart W. Leslie, “Charles F. Kettering and the Copper-Cooled Engine.” (Isidore). Film: “Master Hands.” 

Week 4/September 12               Advertising, Styling, Design and the Art of the Automobile

                                                            Reading: Heitmann, pp. 64-71; Clarke, "Managing Design.”                                                                                              (Isidore)              

                  Week 5/September 19                     On the Road

                  Reading: Heitmann, Chapter 4. Peter D. Norton, “Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street.” (Isidore].

Films: “Grapes of Wrath;” “Route 66;"    “Detour;” ‘Keroauc: On the Road"

                  Week 6/ September 26                    Religion, Courtship and Sex

                                                                                          Readings: Heitmann, Chapter 5.

Films: “Thelma and Louise”; “Motorcycle Diaries”

October 3 – Exam 1

October 5-9 Mid-Term Break

                                                                                          

Week 7/ October 10        The Interwar Years: The Great Depression, Aerodynamics, and Cars of the Olympian Age

Readings:  Heitmann, Chapter 6.

                                                                                          Films: “The Crowd Roars;”  “Burn Em’Up Barnes.”

                  

                  Week 8/October 17                           World War II:  Detroit, the Arsenal of Democracy

                                                                        Readings:  Heitmann, Chapter 7

Film: “Jitterbugs.”             

Week 9/ October 24                          The Post War Industry and Technological Suppression

Readings: Heitmann, pp. 133-154: Robert C. Post. “Henry Kaiser, Troy Ruttman, and Madman Muntz: Three Originals.” (Isidoree).

                                                                                          Film:“Tucker” 

                  

                  Week 10/October 31                        Chrome Dreams of the 1950s

                                                            Jan & Dean and  the Beach Boys          

Readings: Heitmann, pp.154-163; Jeremy R. Kinney, “Racing on Runways: The Strategic Air Command and Sports Car Racing in the 1950s.” (Isidore).

                                                                                          Film:  “American Graffiti”

            

November 7       Exam #2 -- you will be tested on the Vuic  book at this time

            

Week 11/ November 9            The Rise of the American Muscle Car

                                                                                          Readings: Heitmann, pp.164-178.

Films: “Bullitt.” Joe Szalo, “Filming of Bullit,"(Isidore).

                                    

                  

                  Week 12/ November 14                 Oil Shock I: Japan, James Bond, and Mobile Lovemaking

Readings: Heitmann, pp. 178-184; Gary T. Schwartz, “The Myth of the Ford Pinto Case.” (Isidore); Brock Yates, Cannonball! World’s Greatest Outlaw Road Race(St. Paul, 2002), 13-84.

                                                                                          Film: “Easy Rider;” Toby Halicki's "Gone in Sixty Seconds" 

                  

Week 13/ November 21 and November 28           The Automobile World Upside Down, 1980s to the Present.

                                                                        Readings: Heitmann, pp.185-194,: James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos, “Chapter 3: The Rise of Lean Production,” in The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production (New York, 1990) 3-10 and 48-69.; Chunli Lee, “Adoption of the Ford System and the Evolution of the Production System in the Chinese Automobile Industry, 1953-93,” in Fordism Transformed: The Development of Production Methods in the Automobile Industry, edited by Haruhito Shiomi and Kazou Wada (New York, 1995), 297-314 (Isidore).

                                                                        Luscombe, Belinda. “The Tao of Vin Diesel: Millions of Fans are Inspired by his Oddest Role Yet: Philosopher.” (Isidore). Films: “Fast and Furious; Tokyo Drift;”  "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" 

Week 14/ December 5  The Automobile Industry and the Future; Sum Up

Reading:  Heitmann, pp.194-206; Shladover, Steven E. “The Truth About Self-Driving Cars.” (Isidore).

Film:  “The Revenge of the Electric Car”

                                                                        

                  

Week 15/December 9               Last Day of Classes – Term Paper Due

                                                      Heitmann, Epilogue.

                  

FINAL EXAM, Tuesday, December 13, 12:20 --2:10 p.m. On this exam you will be tested on the Ben Hamper Book.