American Urban History

Robert G. Barrows
Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis, Illinois, USA

Spring 1990
 

SYLLABUS

REQUIREMENTS:

Regular class attendance and participation in discussion; completion of assigned reading; a mid-term exam and a non-comprehensive final exam (essays and short answer IDs, covering both reading assignments and the lectures); one critical book review; one short written assignment based on the reading. Students taking the course for graduate credit will also prepare a historiographic essay on a topic to be determined after conferring with the instructor.

GRADING:

Each exam will count for one-third of the final grade; the book review and written work will comprise the other third. Improvement counts. So does literacy. In cases where the semester grade comes down to a borderline decision (between a C+ or a B-, for example), regular attendance and participation in discussion will be taken into account.

University policy is that grades of "Incomplete" should be assigned only to students who have successfully completed most of the course work and who have been prevented by significant and unanticipated circumstances from finishing all requirements. Removal of "Incomplete" grades is often troublesome for both student and instructor, and I shall be reluctant to assign them.

Plagarism, cheating on exams, and other forms of intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated, will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and may lead to disciplinary action by the university. Consult the Indiana University Bulletin. 1988-1990: School of Liberal Arts Indianapolis Campus, p. 20.

TEXTS:

  • BARTH: Gunther Barth, CITY PEOPLE
  • CALLOW: Alexander Callow, ed., AMERICAN URBAN HISTORY (3rd ed.)
  • GLAAB: Charles Glaab and Theodore Brown, A HISTORY OF URBAN AMERICA (3rd ed.)
  • GB: David Goldfield and Blaine Brownell, URBAN AMERICA
  • JACKSON: Kenneth T. Jackson, CRABGRASS FRONTIER
  • WARNER: Sam Bass Warner, STREETCAR SUBURBS

Course Outline and Assignments

Jan. 8
Introduction to the Course

Jan. 10
Introduction to the Study of (American) Urban History Callow, 3-33

Part I: City Formation and City Form in America

Jan. 15
Definitions and Numerical Overview GB, 1-21; look up definitions

Jan. 17, 22
Cities in the Wilderness (1620-1800): European background; New World adaptations; the Puritan village; the colonial urban network; land use and planning in colonial cities Glaab, 1-25; GB, 22-56

Jan. 24, 29
Cities in the New Nation (1800-1860): the seaport cities, especially the rise of NYC; the urban frontier; the first transportation revolution; land use and planning; survey of early Indiana urban development Glaab, 26-51; GB, 100-108; Callow, 65-101

January 31
Completion of the Urban Network (1860-1930): filling in the gaps especially west and south; the second transportation revolution; land use and planning (CBD, skyscrapers, slums and suburbs); the urban network in the Hoosier state Glaab, 112-133, 251-267; GB, 202-240; Callow, 117-126; Timothy Sehr, "Three Gilded Age Suburbs of Indianapolis" (on library reserve); Warner, STREETCAR SUBURBS

Feb. 12, 14, 19
Evolution of the Contemporary Urban Network (1930-1990): megalopolis; Sun Belt vs. Snow Belt; the (temporary?) triumph of the suburbs; urban Indiana Glaab, 268-296, 319-357; GB, 332-354; Callow, 480-491, 515-530; Richard Bernard and Bradley Rice, eds., introduction to SUNBELT CITIES (on library reserve)

Feb. 21
Discussion of CRABGRASS FRONTIER (through Chapter 13)

Feb. 28
EXAM

Part II: Urban Society: Livin' in the City

March 12, 14
Urban Society in Colonial America: population; class structure and mobility; earning a living; making a home; city "services"; maintenance of public order GB, 57-97; Callow, 54-63

March 19, 21
Urban Society in the New Nation: population; impact of immigration; politics and government; slavery in the cities; extension of city services; the image of the city Glaab, 52-111; GB, 109-195; Callow, 333-343

March 26, 28
Urban Society in the Age of Industry: population; immigration at high tide; bosses, machines, and reformers; slums and suburbs; social and geographic mobility; work and leisure Glaab, 134-250; GB, 243-293; Callow, 191-207, 268-278, 309-324; selection from Albion Fellows Bacon (library reserve)

April 2
Discussion of Barth, CITY PEOPLE

April 4
Cityscapes: A Visual Excursion (slide presentation and discussion by a preservation historian from Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana)

April 9, 11
Urban Society in Prosperity, Depression, and War: life in "Middletown"; hard times in the city; "Middletown" in transition; the New Deal in the cities; arsenals of democracy
Glaab, 297-318;
GB, 307-330, 355-381;
selections from OUR CITIES and ch. 10 in K.T. Jackson, THE KU KLUX KLAN IN THE CITIES (library reserve)

April 16, 18, 23
Postwar Cities: Problems and Prospects
GB, 382-405;
Callow, 381-443, 455-469, 534-556, 558-566;
Jackson, CRABGRASS FRONTIER, Chapters 14-16

FINAL EXAM 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Instructions for written assignment based on supplementary reading

Submit one of the following written assignments. Write approximately 500-600 words (2-3 typed, double-spaced pages). Do not exceed 3 pages.

A. STREETCAR SUBURBS

Summarize Chapter 6 of STREETCAR SUBURBS. Explain Warner's contention that the building process in the suburbs of late nineteenth century Boston was characterized by "regulation without laws."

Due no later than Monday, February 12.

B. CRABGRASS FRONTIER

Summarize Chapter 13 of CRABGRASS FRONTIER. Explain why the post-World War II "Levittowns"--described by a popular song of the 1960s as "little boxes made of ticky-tacky"--were so attractive to so many families.

Due no later than Wednesday, February 21.

C. CITY PEOPLE

Choose any chapter (except Chapter I) in CITY PEOPLE. Explain how the institution described in that chapter answered,to quote from Barth's epilogue, "the mounting need of diverse people for a common urban identity that also left enough room for each individual's dreams and aspirations."

Due no later than March 12.