Monday 1/30: City Life – read EH 545-555. Also Skill Builder #2 is due (see the “Skill Builders” tab above for guidelines and examples).

Wednesday 2/1: City Culture – read EH 555-566

Some links:
Scott Joplin, playing the “Maple Leaf Rag”
Dancers performing ragtime styles (last minute of this clip)
History of Vaudeville
Historic Vaudeville Footage
Want a tutorial on dancing to ragtime music?

Friday 2/3: Unit Exam #1, in class. We will agree on Wed in class what is permissible to bring to Friday’s exam.

Image: Third Avenue in Manhattan, from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Each of these numbers is a link taking you to a collection of photographs, maps, or a film about American cities in the late 19th century. Working in pairs, apply critical thinking and primary source analysis questions to the source, and use it to expand your working knowledge of the late 19th century city. You’ll receive a handout with ideas and suggestions for how to approach and analyze these kinds of visual image sources (if you miss class – the handout is here).

Work with one number at a time (pick from the basket in the middle of the room). Take your time with the sources. If you only get to one during this class period, that’s fine. This is not a race, it’s an opportunity to explore in depth.

End of class writing prompt: What did you learn about your city? What did you learn about the sources that historians can use to study the 19th century city?

For our first workshop day on Friday 1/27, please bring your laptops to class. We will be working in pairs or threes and the more laptops we have in class, the better this will go. To prepare, read the section on “Digital Detecting” on EH p. 527. We’ll work with historical photographs, maps and film clips to help us understand the late 19th century urban environment.

NOTE: We have a NEW classroom location, since Sullivan 320 is so cramped. From now on, we will meet in LRC-168. This classroom is on the bottom floor of the library building. The easiest way to find it is to enter on the Student Center side through the sliding glass doors into the lobby with the vending machines. Take your first hallway on the right, and then it’s the first one on your left.

Your next Skillbuilder is due on Monday, 1/30. Please use the tabs above and read the “Skill Builders” page. You may write about any of the “Dueling Documents,” “Historian’s Toolbox” or “After the Fact” sections from *anywhere* and any time period in your textbook. If you would like to go deeper and explore something that’s not in your textbook, I’ve now posted a list of ideas I’m calling “Extreme Skill Builders” – check out the tab above. Feel free to consult with me if you have any questions about these assignments. On the Skill Builders page, I’ve posted a couple of good examples from past semesters so you can see a model of how these work.

Remember, the online quiz (found on Blackboard under “Quizzes”) closes on Friday night at midnight. You can take it up to 3 times; it draws from EH Chapters 18 and 19.

Here’s the footnote slide from today, for your reference as you write your Skill Builders. Remember, either the Diana Hacker link in the left-hand sidebar, or your personal copy of Hacker’s Writer’s Reference is a great source to learn more about Chicago Style citation. If you ditched your Hacker after your English comp class was over, I recommend you buy one at the bookstore and KEEP IT.

Click on the image to enlarge it

Reminder: the online quiz is now open, until Friday the 27th at midnight. Please take it by going to Blackboard –> Quizzes. You may take it up to three times, and Blackboard will record your highest score.

Reading for Wed: EH Ch 20, pp. 540-545 “A New Urban Age”

What is so new about this “new urban age”?

What were some of the social costs of the growth of industrial cities in the late 19th century?

Who were the “new immigrants” that peopled these cities?

Before midnight Saturday: take the practice test (2 questions).

Blackboard –> Quizzes –> Sample Quiz

Begin to read/skim/study EH Ch 18-20

On Monday, I’ll hand out (and post online) an updated syllabus with more details about what we’ll be doing, reading, and studying in each unit.

A Reconstruction overview

What to do for Friday:

Read the syllabus
Consider your personal goals for this class and your individual “track” within the course
Read EH Table of Contents, Introduction and Ch 17. Understand the multiple meanings for the word “RECONSTRUCTION”
Write your first SkillBuilder, on the “Wet With Blood” website – Guidelines here (PDF) – it’s due in or before class on Friday
Prepare to vote on the deep units & bring your ballot to class