GOALS

REQUIRED READING
(Prices from Amazon.com)

David H. Fischer

Paul Revere's Ride (Oxford UniversityPress, 1994)
ISBN: 0195098315; $13.27

Ronald P. Formisano

Boston Against Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s (University of North Carolina Press 1992)
ISBN: 0807842923; $11.80

Karl T. Haglund

Inventing the Charles River (MIT Press, 2002)
ISBN: 0262083078; $34.97

Michael Southworth

AIA Guide to Boston (Globe Pequot Press, 1992)
ISBN: 0871061880; $15.37

GRADES

Policy on Incompletes and Make-ups
In a very large class, it is very hard to juggle make-up times, and incompletes can drag on forever. Make-up exams and quizzes will be given Friday, May 30 at 7:30 A.M. at place to be announced. I will not give incomplete grades. If you need one for a legitimate reason, I will give you the grade earned and revise it when I receive the missing work.

COURSE ESSAYS

The following essays should run 3-5 double spaced pages (size 12 font please, preferably New York). The deadline is May 29--stiff penalties if late.

Neighborhood Tours
Take any walking or non-commercial (i.e. no Ducks or tourist trolleys) bus tour with a historical emphasis in the Boston area. This would include, for example, any of the National Park Service walks, the innovation or literary bus tours, and any of a number of neighborhood or suburban town tours. I'd especially recommend the walking tours of Mount Auburn Cemetery and of Beacon Hill's hidden gardens. Write review of the tour. Briefly describe it. How accurate do you think it was? Did the guide present information effectively? Answer questions effectively? To do the latter, you may have to ask questions yourself. Did the tour deepen your understanding of Boston history? Check with me if you are not sure if the tour is appropriate.

Boston in World War II
This assignment will involve reading Boston newspapers from December 1941 to August, 1945, looking for the impact of the war on the home front. Each student will read one or two weeks of a Boston newspaper (we'll assign precise dates in class). Look for stories about the economy (such as the growth of research at universities, Boston as a shipping point and liberty port) and society (job opportunities for women, black and Latino migration), as well as more obviously war-related activities such as civil defense, rationing, and the military draft. Be alert for items in less obvious places, such as cartoons, advertisements, and the sports section. Where appropriate, don't hesitate to photocopy materials and attach them to your essays. Please, no battles, diplomacy, or strategy.

WALKING TOURS

Students will take three walking tours, using The AIA Guide to Boston for supporting information. Let me add a word of caution: since this book is ten years old, it may no longer be completely accurate. You can get updated information at the National Park Service Office, across the street from the Old State House, or from the Boston Visitor's Information Center (on the Common on Tremont St., opposite West St.). The Big Dig may force some itinerary changes as well. Follow the route indicated, read historical markers, as well as the text. Its safe to assume that I'll ask questions about Boston's three most important architects, Charles Bulfinch, H.H. Richardson, and I.M. Pei, so watch for those names. Architectural terms you should know: bas relief, bay window, classical, colonial, facade, federal, gothic, mansard roof, Romanesque. Also, this year I'm interested in compiling a list of statues of women, so pay attention to those as well. Allow 3-4 hours for each tour.

1. Take the Washington St. and North End walks in the AIA Guide, as well as the new City Hall and those parts of the government center tour north of Congress Street. Make sure that you look into the two burial grounds on the route. This is roughly the route of the Freedom Trail. You should also go inside Old South, the Old State House, King's Chapel, Faneuil Hall, the Revere House, and Old North. Make sure that you look at the various ornamental statues en route. Quiz April 9.



2. Take the tour of the South Slope of Beacon Hill in the AIA Guide and the tour of the Boston Common passed out in class. Also check out the Vilna Shul and the African-American Meeting House on the North Slope. Pay special attention to sites on the Black Freedom Trail and the Women's Freedom Trail (brochures at the Visitor's Center). Visit the Museum of Afro-American History. On the Common, make sure that you look at the monuments, especially the historical markers near Park St. Station. Quiz April 17.



3. Take the tours of Copley Square, the east loop of the Back Bay, and the Commonwealth Avenue portion of the west loop in The AIA Guide. Also look closely at the monuments in the Public Garden, Copley Square, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Be sure to look at the interior of Trinity Church and the interior of the older (on Copley Square) portion of the Boston Public Library. Quiz April 24.

SCHEDULE