Unit 4: Focus on Writing
by Dr. H - November 8th, 2013
This unit is all about scholarly argument, storytelling, and polishing your writing – which is appropriate given you are now in revision mode. Remember you have 25 days from handing in your final draft to handing in a revised draft. As we turn to some of the scholarship and sources around McCarthyism – a key part of the 1950s, and one that (as it turns out) no one is directly addressing in their research – pay particular attention to technique, method and writing style.
Our first major reading is an entire monograph* written by Thomas Doherty, a media and cultural historian at Brandeis University with whom I worked closely during my graduate studies. His book, Cold War, Cool Medium looks at television during the McCarthy era. Read not just for the content but for how Doherty constructs his argument, how he uses evidence, and what writerly techniques he uses to tell this compelling story.
Mon 11/11 – No classes, Veteran’s Day
Wed 11/13 Read up to page 160 (chapters 1-7). Bring discussion questions and mark some passages you think are particularly good examples of a) ARGUMENT and b) NARRATIVE
Mon 11/18 Read through the end of the book and bring discussion questions and relevant marked passages. Revised CV is due back in class.
Video links:
Point of Order (full documentary)
Murrow’s soliloquy at the end of March 9, 1954 See it Now
Full transcript of the 3/9/1954 episode
The entire episode of McCarthy’s filmed reply, April 6, 1954 See it Now (note CBS has mis-labeled this as the March 9 telecast, which it’s obviously not)
Audio & transcript of Murrow’s part of the April 13, 1954 See it Now
PS – not video, but here’s an online exhibit about Murrow and McCarthy with some pertinent primary documents from Tufts
We will have individual writing conferences during the week of 11/18, alongside our regular class meetings.
Wed 11/20 “A Conspiracy So Immense…” – we’ll take a closer look at McCarthy himself with a dive into his declassified & redacted FBI file (it’s long, so read selectively). J7 is due = a book review of Cold War, Cool Medium in 750 words (use Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History pp. 36-37 and Storey, Writing History pp. 6-7 as your guides for how to write a book review).
Mon 11/25 HUAC and the Hollywood Ten. Reading: Waldorf Statement + Eckstein, “Hollywood Ten” (PDF). By this point you should have read up through Storey’s Chapter 9, incorporating his advice into your writing and revision.
Wed 11/27 – No class, Thanksgiving holiday
Mon 12/2 Revised Draft is due back by classtime, sent electronically as a Word or PDF document. Film Day: screening of On the Waterfront, which deals indirectly with McCarthyism and blacklisting and which won 8 Oscars in 1954 (including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Screenplay).
Wed 12/4 – by mutual agreement this will be a History Portfolio workshop in class, please bring laptops with you.
Mon 12/9 Last day of class. Course wrap-up. Reading: Eisenhower’s “Farewell Address” 1961 (read it here; watch it here). Due by classtime: Proposal abstract for the Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity AND re-take the Research self-test.
All parts of the portfolio are due by Friday, Dec 13th.
*a monograph is a book-length work of narrative scholarship published (usually) by a university press. Monographs are the lingua franca of historical publishing.