History 340 Critical Periods in United States History
The 1890s
Roger Wiliams University
CAS 123
M-W-F 12:00-12:55
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Office:  Feinstein College 110
Hours:  M, T, Th, F 9:00-10:00.
or by appointment
254-3230
mswanson@rwu.edu
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Week of February 25, 2002

For Monday, February 25

    Read, in Schlereth,

         Chapter 3.   "Housing," the rest of the chapter
(from house spaces on p. 118 to 139

    in Fink,

         4.3.  A Visiting Rudyard Kipling Returns, Unimpressed,
from Chicago 1899 pp. 121 - 122
         4.4.  Poet Carl Sandburg Extols the City of the
Big Shoulders, 1916 pp. 122-123.
A house is a stage upon which the dramas of families are enacted.  There is, of course, some coherence between the "set" and the "play".  As the American family changed around the turn of the century, so did the ordering and design of interior spaces.  We'll want to take note of those changes.  Be sure that you recognize that full-blown spaces can be symbolized in simple articles of furniture by persons of more modest means:  For example, if one cannot have a library, perhaps one can have a book case or a shelf of books.  No space for a family chapel?  Well, a religious lithograph on the wall can serve as well.
Most of city building stock is residential, regardless of the size of the city.  We will return to look at cities later in the semester, if all goes according to plan, but I thought it would be a good idea to get an impression of what they were like at this point.  Kipling is English, and views the rawness of Chicago with disdain.  Sandburg makes a virtue of necessity and applauds what he sees.  The rawness is a product of the rapid growth, as much as anything.
For Wednesday, February 27

    Read, in Schlereth,

         .Chapter 4.  "Consuming," pp. 140-157 (to Channeling Wishes)

    in Fink,

         11.1.  Theodore Dreiser's Carrie Discovers the Department
Store  pp. 326 - 327
         11.2.  Charlotte Perkins Gilman Seeks to Extricate
Women from the Trap of Consumerism  pp. 327 - 328

    From the Internet:

Visit The Founders of Sears, Roebuck And Company.  This is a student project produced at the American Culture Studies program at Bowling Green States University.  Follow the links and get some sense of the importance of this merchandising giant in the 1890s.  Imagine your alter ego's encounter with Sears.

For Friday, March 1

    Read, in  Schlereth,

         Chapter 4, "Consuming,"  pp. 157 - 167 (Channeling Wishes to end)

    From the Internet:

         Visit The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920   .
This site, sponsored by Duke University, is a fascinating look at the advertising which fueled the emerging Consumer Economy.   While there, I want you to do two things:  First, visit the Timeline, and see what were the innovations of our time period (c. 1885-1910).  Second, Browse through the advertisements (try to allow yourself about an hour, at least.  Putting on the character of your alter ego, locate an advertisement which would have appealed to you.  Print it off, and bring it with you to class.  If you get to this project early enough, e-mail me the URL for the advertisement and I'll try to get a transparency made for throwing up on the screen.  (If you have access to a color printer which will print on transparencies you can print off the advertisement yourself.  I'll try to remember to bring some transparencies with me to class on Wednesday)

With modern consumerism comes modern advertising.  We'll explore the messages being given to all of us in this class session.
A booklet on the valuable properties of Malt Extract, a tonic for Women
Click to view the entire advertisement
Anyone with money to spend was a fair target for the Advertising industry, women and men alike.