FYS The Fifties

The 1950’s was a great era. Although we have only been in class for about two weeks I have already learned so much. I can honestly say that I was surprised to hear about some of the topics we were discussing. I have always thought of the 1950’s as an amazing time to be living in America. Thinking of the 1950’s I would think of Marilyn Monroe, cute furniture and similar home décor, and of course dancing in poodle skirts and sharing milkshakes with friends. I knew in general about most of the subjects we have talked about such as the atomic bomb, the wars, and scares of communism but I didn’t really know much about the details or how it had affected the people and us today. To be honest I never really placed any of those serious issues with the 1950’s. I know all this happened around that time but I guess I just never put two and two together. I saw the 1950’s as a happy thriving time and so I put all the political/government issues and frightening parts of the 1950’s in a different thought. I separated the good from the bad, but know I can put it all together and I see the truth of the 1950’s. Continue reading →

Readings and reminders for our first unit:

Mon 9/9 Roots of Change – Before the Fifties (Dunar Ch 1)

Wed 9/11 Fair Deal and “News of the Fifties (Dunar Ch 2) – see the Newspaper tab

Fri 9/13 The Luckiest Generation (Hine, “Luckiest Generation” PDF on Blackboard)

Links from today’s class:
“Family Date” instructional film (1950)
“Two Ford Family” commercial
Betty Crocker cake mix commercial
Opening scene of “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” (1955) – fantastic movie, by the way
“I Love Lucy” Season 2, Episode 4 (job switching episode)

Mon 9/16 Wikipedia Workshop. Bring your laptops, and ahead of time take a look at this Wikipedia entry on the US in the 1950s

Wed 9/18 The Nostalgia Trap (Coontz, “What We Miss” PDF on Blackboard)

Fri 9/20 The Postwar War (Dunar Ch 3). H-Lab #1 on the Wikipedia entry is due in class.

On Friday we worked in a Google doc collaboratively. It’s found here.

PS – where’d I get that hipster filler text? Here

For Monday Sept 9th, reminder: read Dunar, Chapter 1, perhaps applying some of the textbook reading strategies we talked about today. On Monday I’ll do as close to a college lecture as you might get in this class, giving some background and context to the 1950s by talking about the immediate postwar period in the US. Have a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine!

I have posted the publishing schedule for the class blog up on Blackboard, so if you need to be reminded when your date is – check there.

Reminder to bring the Dunar book America in the Fifties to class on Friday, Sept 6th – we will be talking about events and themes in that decade. I’ll also introduce the blog post assignment. Having a laptop in class will help, if you can bring it with you.

PS: I checked around and it turns out X-Hour starts next week. So you were in the right place and time, just a week early!

Here’s the link to the “Take Me Back to the Fifties” digital creation we viewed in class on Wed, Sept 4th.

Course Details: Meets MWF 10:30 am in Sullivan 120

Course Description
Explore the decade you only think you know. Pop-culture images of the 1950s seem conflict-free and innocent with 3D drive-in movies, classic cars with fins, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and dancing to 45s on the jukebox. Happy families lived in suburban houses and everyone liked Ike, right? Not so fast! Explore American life and culture in the fifties through film, fiction, history and art. This course is designed to give first-year honors students an introduction to the rigors, joys, and challenges of college life and the honors program through inquiry, writing, and seminar-style discussion. Take a closer look at the fifties and discover it might have been far more troubled – and interesting – than you thought possible.

This website serves as our course hub, although some of our materials will also be on Blackboard. From this website, you can download the syllabus or access it online, stay up to date with course news and any changes, and see the guidelines for the course papers and projects.

This site is a blog, meaning it updates frequently and you should either bookmark it or subscribe to it using an RSS feed reader (such as Feedly). Please check it often or make sure that you subscribe to its updates to stay on top of our coursework.

Welcome to your first semester at Worcester State! If you have any questions before we meet on Wednesday, Sept 4th, feel free to email me at thangen (at) worcester.edu