Civil Rights and Social Movements in U.S.

History:
Striving for Equality from World War II to the Present
American Studies 139AC/History C139C Spring 2013 Dr. Lisa Cardyn

Office: Dwinelle 2307 Office Hours: Thursdays 11:00am-12:00pm, 4:00-5:00pm & by appointment Email: lisacardyn@berkeley.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will examine the diverse movements for equality that have transformed the political, legal, social, and cultural landscape of the United States from the postwar era to the present. Unlike many standard textbooks that portray a single coherent Civil Rights Movement aimed at eliminating race-based discrimination against African Americans, we will begin with the premise that there have been, indeed still are, multiple overlapping movements striving to attain equal rights for citizens irrespective of such real or perceived characteristics as race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual identity. During the early portion of the semester we will look closely at the archetypal struggle for civil rights undertaken on behalf of Americans of African descent, taking a backward glance at its antebellum origins and early twentieth-century manifestations, then delving into the postwar decades, when the scope of the movement expanded dramatically and some of its most enduring achievements were realized. Next we will turn our attention to some of the other landmark civil rights movements of the mid-to-late twentieth century, notably those seeking to advance the causes of womens, LGBT, Native American, and Chicano rights, which will be assessed in conjunction with the roughly contemporaneous student, communitarian, and antiwar movements. At the end of the semester we will undertake a retrospective and prospective assessment of what has been and remains to be accomplished in the name of equality across all of these domains, broadening our discussion to include the equality strivings of those seeking to eliminate the discriminatory treatment of individuals and groups on the basis of appearance, be it the correction of congenitally intersexed bodies or the similarly subjective attributions of ugliness and beauty that are often silently determinative of relative status. Our inquiry throughout will be both comparative and interdisciplinary, drawing on a range of historical writings complemented by apposite primary sources meant to convey the richness and intricacy of the sociocultural and politicolegal contexts in which these events unfolded. FORMAT: Class meetings will follow a combined lecture-discussion format that will incorporate audio and visual resources particularly documentary films, photographs, and music and occasional
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group exercises. Students are encouraged to contribute comments and questions at any appropriate point throughout, including at the beginning of each session when a few minutes will be allotted for administrative and organizational matters, the clarification of any content reviewed in the preceding class, and guidance in preparing for the next one. Attendance is mandatory and regular participation is essential for students wishing to excel in the course. OBJECTIVES: The principal objective of Civil Rights and Social Movements is to facilitate the development of critical reading, thinking, and writing skills, while grappling with significant problems in the recent history of the United States with deep resonance for our contemporary world. As such it is meant to provide a forum for discussing difficult material some of it potentially provocative and contentious in a supportive environment in which disagreements are expressed and received with tolerance and civility. Through lectures, exemplary media resources, and assigned readings that juxtapose the writings of historians alongside diverse primary texts, students will become familiar with the ideas, actors, and events that defined the major progressive movements of the second half of the twentieth century, in particular the African American struggle for civil rights, and thereby better able to discern the genealogical lines of their emergent successors. This semesters work is also designed to illuminate the political, cultural, and intellectual context that fostered the growth of analogous fields of academic inquiry as well as the substantive issues around which they have been conceptualized by historians. Finally the course will help participants gain facility in analyzing, evaluating, and crafting historical arguments based on original texts considered in light of pertinent secondary literature. TECHNOLOGY: All cell phones must be turned off no later than 9:40am and may not be used for any purpose while class is in session. Electronic devices may not be employed to text, email, game, or access the Internet or apps. Tablets and laptops will be permitted exclusively for note-taking intended for personal use; thus the only computer programs that may be opened during class meetings are those necessary for and limited to taking notes. Audio and video recording is strictly prohibited, as is the reproduction, sale, or distribution of any course content. This policy may be amended with notice to bar all electronic devices except those necessary to accommodate a verified disability. REQUIRED TEXTS: Terry H. Anderson, The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee (1995) [Anderson] Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines, eds., Takin It to the Streets: A Sixties Reader, 3d ed. (2011) [Bloom & Breines] Bruce J. Dierenfield, The Civil Rights Movement, rev. ed. (2008) [Dierenfield] Peter B. Levy, Let Freedom Ring: A Documentary History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement (1992) [Levy]
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Danielle L. McGuire, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance (2010) [McGuire] Ruth Rosen, The World Split Open: How the Modern Womens Movement Changed America, rev. ed. (2006) [Rosen] Marc Stein, Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement (2012) [Stein]

ASSIGNMENTS: In addition to thoughtful preparation of all readings by the due dates indicated, regular attendance, and informed participation in discussions and classroom exercises, class members must complete the following assignments: FEBRUARY 19: Midterm Examination MARCH 21: Memoir Paper DUE APRIL 18: Primary Source Paper DUE MAY 15: Final Examination (11:30am-2:30pm)

Memoir Paper Write a four-page analytical book review of one of the memoirs listed below examining the authors experiences as a participant in the Civil Rights Movement. You may choose to focus narrowly, on a single event or issue, or more broadly, embracing the entirety of the texts portrayal of the Movement. Whatever approach you choose, your paper must be documented with direct and accurate citation to the memoir following the format set forth on the first handout, which will be posted to bSpace and discussed during the third week of class. Note that all memoirs are in print, widely available, and sold at a significant discount through online vendors such as Amazon.com. Melba Pattillo Beale, Warriors Dont Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rocks Central High (1994) Angela Davis, Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974) John Lewis, Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement (1999) Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide (1973)

Primary Source Paper For the second paper, this one five to six pages in length, you will select and explicate a primary source documenting some aspect of the Native American, womens, or gay rights movements. The parameters of the assignment are quite broad, encompassing traditional published works, such as newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets; recorded musical and theatrical performances, drawings, photographs, and other exemplar of the creative or performing arts; and unpublished documents drawn from the Universitys rich repository of manuscript collections. You are, however, required to obtain my approval for your chosen subject before you begin writing. We
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will be discussing the nature of and distinctions between primary sources and secondary works early in the semester, so do not be concerned if this differentiation is unfamiliar to you. Detailed instructions for the second paper will be posted to bSpace and reviewed in class after the midterm. GRADING: Attendance and Participation 10% Midterm Examination 15% First Paper 20% Second Paper 25% Final Examination 30%

CLASS SCHEDULE: Week 1: History and Theory January 22: Introduction January 24: Social Movements in Theory and Practice Jo Freeman, On the Origins of Social Movements, in Waves of Protest: Social Movements Since the Sixties, ed. Jo Freeman and Victoria Johnson (1999) [bSpace] Van Gosse, A Movement of Movements: The Definition and Periodization of the New Left, in A Companion to Post-1945 America, ed. Jean-Christophe Agnew and Roy Rosenzweig (2006) [bSpace]

Recommended: Brian Dill and Ronald Aminzade, Historians and the Study of Protest, in Handbook of Social Movements across Disciplines, ed. Bert Klandermans and Conny Roggeband (2010) [bSpace] Week 2: From Jim Crow to Civil Rights January 29: The Social and Political Landscape of the Jim Crow South Dierenfield, Introduction, Chapters 1-2 Levy, Chapter 1 (Documents 1.1-1.6)

Recommended: Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past (2005) [bSpace]

January 31: Educational Desegregation Dierenfield, Chapters 3-4 Levy, Chapter 2 (Documents 2.1-2.3, 2.6-2.9) Waldo E. Martin, Jr., Shades of Brown: Black Freedom, White Supremacy, and the Law, in Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents (1998) [bSpace] Document: Brown v. Board of Education I (1954) [bSpace] Document: Brown v. Board of Education II (1955) [bSpace]

Recommended: Gwen Bergner, Black Children, White Preference: Brown v. Board, the Doll Tests, and the Politics of Self-Esteem (2009) [bSpace] David L. Chappell, Diversity within a Racial Group: White People in Little Rock 1957-1959 (1995) [bSpace] Week 3: Coalescence of the Movement February 5: Montgomery Bus Boycott Dierenfield, Chapter 5 Levy, Chapter 3 (Documents 3.1-3.5)

Recommended: Christopher Coleman et al., Social Movements and Social-Change Litigation: Synergy in the Montgomery Bus Protest (2005) [bSpace] February 7: Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides Dierenfield, Chapters 6-7 Levy, Chapter 4

Recommended: Gerald N. Rosenberg, African-American Rights after Brown (1999) [bSpace] Week 4: Massive Resistance February 12: Deep South Battlegrounds Dierenfield, Chapters 8-9 Levy, Chapter 5 (Documents 5.3-5.8); Chapter 6 (Documents 6.1-6.5)

February 14: From the March on Washington through Bloody Sunday Dierenfield, Chapters 10-12 Levy, Chapters 6 (Documents 6.6-6.8), 7 (Documents 7.2-7.8), 8 (Documents 8.1-8.3, 8.5-8.7) Documentary: Neshoba: The Price of Freedom (2010)

Recommended: Kevin Gaines, The Historiography of the Struggle for Black Equality Since 1945, in A Companion to Post-1945 America, ed. Jean-Christophe Agnew and Roy Rosenzweig (2002) [bSpace] Week 5: Civil Rights Radicalism February 19: MIDTERM EXAMINATION February 21: The Black Power Movement Bloom & Breines, pp. 107-136 Dierenfield, Chapter 13 Levy, Chapter 9

Week 6: From Civil Rights to Womens Rights February 26: Gender Roles and Relations in the Movement McGuire, Chapters 1-4

February 28: Sexual Violence and Progressive Reform McGuire, Chapters 5-8

Week 7: Womens Liberation March 5: The Gender of Discontent Bloom & Breines, pp. 392-409 Rosen, Part I

Recommended: Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon, Second-wave Feminism, in A Companion to American Womens History, ed. Nancy A. Hewitt (2005)
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March 7: Developing a Feminist Consciousness Anderson, pp. TBA Rosen, Part II

Week 8: Womens Liberation March 12: Radical Feminism Anderson, pp. TBA Rosen, Parts III-IV

March 14: Progress and Retrenchment Anderson, pp. TBA Bloom & Breines, pp. TBA

Week 9: The Sixties March 19: New Left Politics Anderson, pp. TBA Bloom & Breines, Chapter 2 Documentary: Berkeley in the Sixties (1990)

March 21: Antiwar Movement Anderson, pp. TBA Bloom & Breines, pp. TBA

Week 10: The Sixties April 2: Counterculture Anderson, pp. TBA Bloom & Breines, pp. 225-264

April 4: Sexual Revolutions Anderson, pp. TBA Bloom & Breines, pp. 264-268
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Beth Bailey, Sexuality and the Movements for Sexual Liberation, in A Companion to Post-1945 America, ed. Jean-Christophe Agnew and Roy Rosenzweig (2002) [bSpace]

Week 11: Gay and Lesbian Rights April 9: Sex and Civil Rights Anderson, pp. TBA Stein, Introduction, Chapters 2-3

April 11: Issues and Identity Politics Anderson, pp. TBA Stein, Chapters 4-6

Week 12: Native American Civil Rights April 16: Rise of the American Indian Movement Anderson, pp. 333-336 Bloom & Breines, pp. 149-150 Ward Churchill, The Bloody Wake of Alcatraz: Political Repression of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s (1994) [bSpace] Caroline M. Woidat, The Truth Is on the Reservation: American Indians and Conspiracy Culture (2006) Documentary: We Shall Remain, Episode 5: Wounded Knee (2009)

Recommended: Mark Meister and Ann Burnett, Rhetorical Exclusion in the Trial of Leonard Peltier (2004) [bSpace] April 18: Nation and Genocide Anderson, pp. 407-408 Bloom & Breines, p. 151 Karren Baird-Olson, Reflections of an AIM Activist: Has It All Been Worth It? (1994) Jane Lawrence, The Indian Health Service and the Sterilization of Native American Women (2000) [bSpace]

Recommended: Bruce DArcus, Protest, Scale, and Publicity: The FBI and the H Rap Brown Act (2003) [bSpace]
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Week 13: Mexican American Civil Rights April 23: Ethnicity and the Struggle for Civil Rights Anderson, 300-310, 332-333, 364-367 Bloom & Breines, pp. 136-146, 448-459

April 25: Sex, Gender, and Ethnic Identity Jessica Enoch, Survival Stories: Feminist Historiographic Approaches to Chicana Rhetorics of Sterilization Abuse (2005) [bSpace]

Week 14: Civil Rights and Social Movements in 21st-Century America April 30: Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary America Zeus Leonardo, The Color of White Supremacy: Beyond the Discourse of White Privilege (2004) [bSpace] Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (1988) [bSpace] Frank Schaeffer, Americas White Male Problem (2013) [bSpace]

Recommended: Cheryl Harris, Whiteness as Property (1993) [bSpace] May 2: Occupy! and Other Movements Cheryl Chase, Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism (1998) [bSpace] James J. McDonald, Jr., Lookism: The Next Form of Illegal Discrimination (2010) [bSpace] Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong, The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage and Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps), 3d ed. (2013) [bSpace] Sarah van Gelder, Introduction: How Occupy Wall Street Changes Everything, in This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, ed. Sarah van Gelder and the staff of YES! Magazine (2011) [bSpace]

Recommended: James Desir, Lookism: Pushing the Frontier of Equality by Looking Beyond the Law (2010) [bSpace]