History/Urban Studies 971: History of Urban Problems

Dear Prospective History/Urban Studies 971 student. I have not yet revised the syllabus for this class for the fall of 2017, but it will follow approximately the schedule of assignments and activities indicated below. I will be ordering different books, however. They are as follows:

Required:

Christopher Agee, The Streets of San Francisco: Policing and the Creation of a Cosmopolitan Liberal Politics, 1950-1972 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014)

Andrew Needham, Power Lines:Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest (Princeton University Press, 2014)

Diane Winston, Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army (Harvard University Press, 2000)

Recommended for students without a history background:

Anthony Brundage, Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing, 5th edition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)

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History/UrbanStudies971:HistoryofAmericanUrbanProblems

Fall2015,Tuesdays,4:00p.m. AmandaI.Seligman,Professor

UniversityofWisconsin-Milwaukee office:HoltonHall346

Classlocation:Holton 341 OfficeHours:

email: T 2:45-3:50 p.m.

phone: 414-229-4565 or by appointment

Thiscourseexamineshowhistoriansunderstandurbanproblems.Citieshavebeendescribedasconsistingof“clustersofproblems,”andthiscourseaimstounpacksomeofthosespecificproblemswithaneyetowardunderstandingthehistoryofcitiesthemselves.Inaddition,amajorpurposeoftheclassisforstudentstounderstandhowhistoriansproducetheirscholarship;thisisachievedthroughextensivearchivalresearchandwritinga20-pageresearchpaperinseveraldiscretestages.Byreadinganddiscussingseveralexamplesofhistoricalscholarship,studentswillpreparetowriteresearchpapersandpresenttheirfindingstoothersintheclass.TheassignedreadingsfocusontheUnitedStates,butstudentsarebynomeansobligatedtoconfinetheirresearchtoNorthAmerica.UrbanStudiesstudentsenrolledinthiscourseshouldplantopresenttheirpapersattheUSPStudentForuminthespringof2016.

TherequiredandrecommendedbooksforthecourseareavailableforpurchaseintheUWMbookstore.Severalarticlesareonelectronicreserve.Allrequiredreadingshavealsobeenplacedonpaper reserveattheUWMGoldaMeirLibrary. Please note that the Reserve Library has relocated to the basement of the library’s West Wing, where it shares space with the Media Library.Ifyouusethereservecopy,pleasebeconscientiousaboutreturningitinatimelyfashion,sothatothersintheclassmayalsouseit.Therequired booksorderedfortheclassare:

N. D. B. Connolly, Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida (University OF Chicago Press, 2014)

Gail Radford, The Rise of the Public Authority: Statebuilding and Economic Development in Twentieth-Century America, (University of Chicago Press, 2013)

Gillian O’Brien, Blood Runs Green: The Murder That Transfixed Gilded Age Chicago, (University of Chicago Press, 2015)

If you have never written a lengthy historical research paper based on primary sources, I recommend you purchase the following book:

AnthonyBrundage,GoingtotheSources:AGuidetoHistoricalResearchandWriting,5thedition.Wheeling,Illinois:HarlanDavidson,Inc.,2013.

If you plan to do any further graduate level work in history, I recommend you purchase your own copy of the following book:

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Although the older editions of Turabian are fine for most basic forms of citation (with the exception of digital materials and a few odd rules that have changed recently), please be aware that the recommended reading selections from Turabian are from the 8th edition only. Alternatively, you can use the Chicago Manual of Style, which is available online through the UWM library:

Themajorwrittenworkforthiscourse,dueattheendofthesemester,isa20-pageresearchpaperdrivenbyprimarysourcesandaddressinghistoriographicquestionsraisedinrelevantsecondaryliterature.Thefinalpapermustconcernsomeurbanproblem,broadlyconceived.Severalassignmentsrequiredpriortothefinalpaperwillprovideexperienceworkingwiththebasicmaterialsofhistoricalscholarship,andindividualconferenceswillbearrangedtodiscussyourprogressandproblemsyouencounter. Duringthelasttwoclassmeetings,studentswillpresenttheresultsoftheirprojectstotheclassasawhole.Inadditiontotheseformalbenchmarks,studentsareencouragedtoconsultindividuallywiththeinstructorastheneedarises,eitherduringofficehoursorbyappointment.

Asameansofpreparingstudentstowritethefinalresearchpaper,severalassignmentsaredueoverthecourseofthesemester.Theirduedatesarenotedinthecourseschedulesectionofthissyllabus,buttheyaredescribedingreaterdepthhere.Allassignmentswillalsobediscussedinclass.Becausetheassignmentsarecumulative,timelysubmissionisessential.

September29:potentialresearchtopics

IdentifythreepossiblebodiesofprimarysourcesforyourfinalpaperheldbyUWM’sGoldaMeirLibrarythatmightformthebasisforyourfinalpaper. ThesourcescanbeheldbytheArchives,bySpecialCollections,byMicrotext,orAGSL.Formicrotextmaterialsthatmightbeacceptable,goto Academic libraries have increasingly made digital collections of primary sourcesavailable online, but digital primary sources are not recommended for the pedagogical purposes of this class.
Tocompletethisassignment,youwill—ataminimum—needtoreviewthefindingaidsforeachcollection.Itisalsoadvisabletoreview directlythevolume,microformdocuments,oraboxortwofromthearchivalcollectionandfamiliarizeyourselfwiththekindsofdocumentstheycontain,inordertoevaluatewhetherthematerialswillinfactsupporttheprojectyouhaveinmind.
Studentswithexceptionalcircumstances—suchasanestablishedplanforathesistopicinurbanhistory—maypetitiontobasetheirfinalresearchpapersonmaterialsnotheldatUWM.Youmustconsultwithmepriortopursuingthisoption.Idonotrecommenditforstudentswhohaveneverwrittenagraduatelevelhistorypaperbasedonprimarysources.

October 6:PrimarySourcepaper

Writea4-5pagepaperbasedononeofthefollowingsetoffolders,availableintheGoldaMeirLibraryArchives.Theseitemswillbeheldonaspecialreserveshelf in the Archivesforourclassuntilthisassignmentisdue.

CityClubofMilwaukeeCollection,box8,folder12,andbox11,folder2(abouthousenumberingandstreetnamingsystem)
CityClubofMilwaukeecollection,box10,folder5;box35,folder3;box6,folder9;andbox7folders5and6(aboutDaylightSavingsTime)
UW-MilwaukeeOfficeoftheChancellorRecords(subgroup:KlotscheAdministrationRecords),Box18,files31and32(titled“SpanishSpeakingCommunity,1970”and“SpanishSpeakingOutreachInstitute,1970-1972”)
Alternatively,useany3volumesfromthiscollection:WestAllis(Wis.).PoliceDept.:Criminalcomplaintsregister,1928-1963.Thesewillnotbeheldonreserveasasetfortheclass.Ifyoupursuethisoption,youwillhavetofilloutacallslipandrequestthevolumesyoudesireindividually.
Thepurposeofthisassignmentistogiveyouatasteofthekindofprimaryresearchonwhichmosthistoricalwritingisbasedandtohelpyouanticipatethekindsofmaterialsandtimeyouwillneedtolocateinordertoproduceafirst-ratefinalresearchpaper.YoumayfindoncompletingthisassignmentthatoneofyourSeptember29proposedtopicsnolongerseemsfeasible.

October13:committoatopic

BasedonfeedbackfromtheSeptember29assignment,decideonthematerialsthatwillformthebasisofyourfinalpaper.Writeapageorsodescribingthepaperyouanticipatewriting,howthecollectionrelatestothattopic,andwhatkindsofsecondarysourcesyoumightneedtohelpyouunderstandwhatisgoingoninthecollection.
Becauseconductinghistoricalresearchissotime-intensive,youshouldnotcountonbeingabletochangeyourtopiclateroninthesemesterifthiscollectiondoesnotpanout.Youmightrethinkthekindsofquestionsyourmaterialleadsyoutoask,butyoushouldstickwiththecollectionyouchoosenow.Thismeansthatyoushouldmakesurenowthatthecollectionyouplantoworkwithis“juicy”enoughtosustainyourinterestandsupportyourfinalpaper.SpendanhourortwointheArchives,SpecialCollections,orMicroformroomreviewingthecontentsofthecollectionyouchoosebeforecompletingthisassignment.

November 3:secondarybibliography

Prepareaformal,two-partbibliographyofsecondarysourcesthatwillhelpyoutoframetheprimarymaterialfromyourchose sources.KeytoolsforlocatingthesesourceswillbereviewedintheOctober 20LibraryInstructionsession.
Partoneshouldidentifysecondarysourcesspecifictothegeographicareaandhistoricalperiodyouwillbeworkingon. Forexample,ifyouareworkingonatopicabout19thcenturyMilwaukee,thenyoushouldidentifypublishedmaterialaboutMilwaukeeinthe19thcentury.
Parttwoshouldidentifyrecenthistoricalscholarshiprelevanttothetopicyouareworkingon.Forexample,ifyouarestudyingurban renewal, you should include Connolly’s A World More Concrete onyourbibliography.
Itisdifficulttosuggestaminimumnumberofsourcesforeitherpartoneorparttwoofthisassignment,becausebothwillvarywiththetopic.Asaroughguideline,countonaminimumoffourbooksandfourarticlesforeachpart.
NotethatthisassignmentproducesthesourcesyouwillneedtoreadinordertowritethepaperdueDecember 1.

November17:discussionofprimarysourcematerials

Writefourtofivepagesbaseddirectlyontheprimarysourcematerialyouareworkingwithforyourfinalpaper.
Thisdoesnothavetobeaformalpaper—withanintroduction,argument,andconclusion—butyouwillprobablyfindittoyourlong-termadvantagetoincludefootnotesthatindicatewhereanydirectquotationsandfactualmaterialcomefrom.
Youmayplanonusingthisassignmentasa“cutandpaste”chunkofyourfinalpaper. Alternatively,youmightprefertousethisopportunitytoproducea“thinkpiece”inwhichyououtlinetheargumentyouanticipatemakinginyourfinalpaper.
Thepurposeofthisassignmentisforyoutoconveyasenseofwhatyouhavebeendiscoveringandthinkingaboutinthecourseofyourresearchandtosustainaconversationwithmeaboutthecharacterofyourfinalproject.

December 1:historiographypaper

Writeafourtofivepage,formalhistoriographypaperaboutthesecondaryscholarshipthatinformsyourresearchtopic.
Whatkindsofquestionsdoesthisscholarshipask?Whatkindsofanswersdoesitprovide?Whatquestionshavescholarsworkingonthistopicoverlooked?Whatkindsofideasdothesescholarshavewrong?Someorallofthesequestionsmightbeaddressedinthispaper.
AswiththeNovember17assignment,youmayplanonusingthispaperwithinyourfinalresearchpaper(althoughtheformatwillhavetobechangedtofitthestructureofyourfinalpaper).Theargumentthatyoumakeinthefinalresearchpapershouldengagewiththescholarshipyouidentifyanddiscussinthisassignment.

December1andDecember8:classpresentations

Studentswilleachbeallottedapproximately20minutesofclasstimetomakeapresentationabouttheirresearchprojects.Youshouldplanonspendingabout10minutespresentingand10minutestakingquestionsandcomments.
StudentspresentingonDecember 1maypostponesubmissionoftheirhistoriographypapersuntilDecember8.

Tuesday,December15,4:00p.m.:finalpaperdue

TurnthepaperintoAmandaSeligman’smailboxattheHistorydepartment (3rd floor Holton, by the elevators).
Earlysubmissionsarewelcome.
Papersshouldbeapproximately20pageslong.
Ifyouwouldlikethe hard copy of yourpapermailedbacktoyou after it is graded,pleasesupplyalarge,self-addressed,stampedenvelopewithadequatepostage.

Format:

Theformatofalltheformalpapersmustincludethefollowingelements:

Doublespacing
Atleasta12-pointfont
Atleastoneinchofmarginatthetopandbottomandeachsideofthepage,toallowforhandwrittencomments
Pagenumbersthroughout
Formalfootnotes,in notes-bibliography style, basedonKateL.Turabian’sAManualforWritersofResearchPapers,Theses,andDissertationsorTheChicagoManualofStyle.Ahandouttobedistributedandreviewedinclasscanbeusedasaguidelinebutwillnotcoverallpossiblecitationforms. The University of Chicago Press’s Quick Guide is available here:

Coursegradeswillbeallocatedasfollows:

Classparticipation:20%
3possibletopicsassignment(September29):2%
PrimarySourcepaper(October 6):10%
Commitmentassignment(October13):2%
Listofsecondarysources(November 3):2%
Primarysourcediscussion(November 17):10%
Historiographypaper(December 1):10%
Classpresentation: 4%
Finalpaper: 40%

Seminarsdependonthewillingnessofallparticipantstogiveseriousattentionnotonlytotheirownideas,butalsotoengagewiththecontributionsoftheircolleagues.Theallocationof20%ofthecoursegradetoparticipationreflectstheimportanceofyouractivecontributiontothegroupthroughoutthesemester;yourgradewillreflectboththequalityofyourparticipationandtheregularityofyourattendance.Listeningrespectfullyisapartofparticipation.Inaddition,theparticipationgradewillreflectnottheoverallquantityofyourcomments,butthequalityofyourcontributiontoclassdiscussion.Oneortwoabsencesforseriousillnessorothergenuineemergencymaybeunavoidable,butmorethantwoabsencescanbeseverelydisruptivebothtoyourownlearningandtotheintellectualdevelopmentoftheothermembersofgroup.Idonotrequire(or accept) writtenexcusesforabsencesfromclass,butIwillbeconcernedbyapatternofabsencenomatterthereason.StudentswithexcessiveabsencescanexpecttoreceiveaparticipationgradenohigherthanC+.Ifyouanticipatemissingseveralclassmeetings,youshouldconsiderdroppingthecourse.Reminder:AccordingtoUWMpolicy,laidoutintheGraduateStudentandFacultyHandbook,graduatestudentswhoseGPAsfallbelow3.0aresubjecttoformalacademicwarnings.

Toreceivefullcredit,allassignmentsmustbeturnedbythebeginningoftheclassperiodonthedaytheyaredue.Latepaperswillbeevaluatedfortheirquality,butthegradewillbereducedbyonestepofaletterforeachdaytheyareoverdue, up to one week after the original due date. Assignments that are turned in more than one week late can earn no higher than a C.Intheeventofanemergency,pleasecontactmeaboutthepossibilityofanextension.

I have set up the course D2L Dropbox to receive assignments. Please use this function only if you are going to miss class or for the final paper. In all cases, you should let me know via email at that you are turning in an assignment through D2L.

AdministrativeNotes:

AllstudentsareexpectedtoobserveUWMstandardsofacademichonesty.GraduatestudentswhocommitacademicmisconductaresubjecttodisciplinaryproceduresadministeredbyUWM’sGraduateSchool. Note that the Urban Studies Programs’ academic integrity policy, which is circulated at the start of each semester by the Director, specifically forbids reusing materials produced in prior classes without the explicit consent of the instructor. UWM’s academic misconduct policy is available here: University offers an excellent guide tounderstandingplagiarism, availablehere (start reading on page 8): in expulsion, ending a student’s academic career.

The UWM Secretary of the University’s detailed statement about policies that apply to all students and students with special circumstances is available at the following site: Ifyouneedspecialaccommodationsinordertomeetanyoftherequirementsofthiscourse,pleasecontactmeassoonaspossible.

This course carries 3 credits for a semester’s work. It requires attendance in 3 hours of class per week plus approximately 2-3 hours of work outside of class time for each hour in class. This work includes completing assigned readings, conducting primary source research in the archives and bibliographic research in the library, and writing, among other tasks. Students should note that the outside time required is not distributed evenly throughout the semester and plan accordingly.

Schedule

N.B.: Itemsmarkedwithan(D2L)areonthe course D2L site.Allotheritemsareonpaperreserve, with the exception of Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. A copy of Turabian is held behind the reference desk at the Ask a Librarian Arch in the Golda Meir Library. The library owns only an older edition of the Brundage book; the page numbers in the reserve copy do not correspond to those from the recommended 5th edition.

September8:introduction

September15:SpecialCollections

4p.m.,meetinSpecialCollections,Library,4thFloor for a consultation with librarian Max Yela.We will return to our regular classroom for the second half of class to discuss the reading.

Assignedreading:

(D2L) Etienne Benson, “The Urbanization of the Eastern Gray Squirrel in the United States,” Journal of American History 100 (2013): 691-710.

(D2L) David J. Rothman and Stanton Wheeler, “Introduction,” in Social History and Public Policy (New York: Academic Press, 1981).

Recommendedreading:

(D2L)GregoryM.ColónSemenza,GraduateStudyfortheTwenty-FirstCentury:HowtoBuildanAcademicCareerintheHumanities(NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan,2005),82-101.

Brundage,chapter1 and pp. 19-24.

September22:Archives

At4p.m.,meetinGoldaMeirLibraryInstructionRoomBintheNorthWingoftheDanielM.SorefLearningCommons with archivist Abigail Nye. We will return to our regular classroom for the second half of class for a Primary Source Poetry Slam. You can locate the room via this map:

Reading:

Review Benson’s use of evidence, thinking about how he might have found it in an archive or library.

September29:footnotingworkshop

Reading:

(D2L)Heather Ann Thompson, “Why Mass Incarceration Matters: Rethinking Crisis, Decline and Transformation in Postwar American History,” Journal of American History97 (3) (2010): 703-734.

Recommendedreading:

Brundage, chapter 4, chapter 7, and Appendix C.

Turabian, section 7.9 (inclusive)

Assignmentdue:identify3collectionsintheGoldaMeirLibraryarchives,specialcollectionsdepartment,ormicroformmaterialsonwhichyoumightliketobaseyourfinalresearchpaper.Writeaparagraphabouteachsetofmaterials,musingaboutapapertopicthecollectionmightlenditselfto.

October 6:

Requiredreading:

Radford, through chapter 3

Assignmentdue:primarysourcepaper

October13:

Required Reading:

Radford, to end

Assignmentdue:committoacollectionandaresearchtopic

October20

4:00-5:15: Meet in Library Instruction Room B in the North Commons of the Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons (first floor west wing of the Golda Meir Library building), with librarian Mr. Tyler Smith. You can locate the room via this map: In the second half of class, we will return to our regular classroom.

Required Reading:

Connolly, through chapter 4