Urban History:

      A Research Seminar on Phoenix
         and the Southwest Since 1940 

                                                                             Fall 2009

History 498  SLN  73912                                                      Professor VanderMeer  p.vander.meer@asu.edu 
TTh 1:30-2:45                                                                         Coor 4506    Hours: 10-11:30 T, 
WHALL267                                                                                                      or by appointment                   

The Context for Southwestern Urban History
  Surprising as it may sound, the population of the West has always been relatively urban, compared with other sections of the country.  This concentration received a major boost by America's participation in World War II.  The establishment of military bases and defense manufacturing stimulated employment and drew urban populations throughout the West, but especially from Seattle to San Diego and to Houston.  The end of the war marked a temporary decline in this trend, but over the next six decades this area experienced the major economic, social, and political developments which transformed the nation.  It would be inaccurate to claim that "everything happened first in California," it is obvious that the Golden State pioneered in various areas, notably computers.  In addition, Southwestern cities developed urban forms unlike those of older, larger cities of the Midwest and East. 

  No single city can adequately represent all of the characteristics and patterns of an entire region, but the urban development which occurred in the Salt River Valley, dominated by Phoenix, provides an excellent opportunity to understand the broader patterns.  In 1940 Phoenix was a small city whose economy rested on tourism and the agriculture of its surrounding Valley; by 2005 it  had been transformed into the fifth largest city and 12th largest metropolitan region in the nation. What is one to make of the speed and extent of this growth?  While some elements of this were certainly unique, other cities throughout the West also displayed huge population mobility, high tech economy, links with the "military-industrial complex," political dynamics, new types of suburban development, debates over transportation, problems of pollution and congestion, as well as the expansion of tourism and entertainment (including sports).  This course will outline the key elements of the history of Phoenix (and the Salt River Valley) within a context of urban development in the West and especially the Southwest. 

Course Aims
While this course has clear a subject focus, it will not present, through lecture or reading, a comprehensive history of this metropolitan area.  It is, rather, a "seminar" course: instead of simply consuming history you will also produce it.  To do so you will 
    *understand the nature of history and about how historical materials are saved and made available;
    *determine how to design a research project;
    *develop skills in critical evaluation - which you can apply to your work and to that of others;
    *know how to write with style and document with clarity.
Accomplishing these goals will enable you to achieve the ultimate purpose of this course: to produce original historical work, using primary sources and placing the topic within a larger historical context.  Thus, the specific focus of your reading, research, and writing will be the Phoenix metropolitan area, but just as this is connections to the larger topic of Sunbelt history, so too the techniques and process of producing history is applicable generally.

Course Format
This class is a seminar -- that means a different style of learning and teaching.  Unlike lecture classes, where the instructor does most of the talking, or discussion classes where people's opinions and beliefs are the focus, a seminar involves the joint exploration of some subject.  The class starts with my expertise, and it will include presentations by other specialists (librarians and archivists, and perhaps other guests), but it quickly involves you in expanding the historical knowledge on some aspect of the topic.  You will discuss relevant urban history readings, present in class your design for a research project, revise the project based on suggestions from other students and from me, make oral progress reports, consult individually with me, and present a final paper.  In addition to presenting your own work, you will also be required to read and present helpful critiques of other papers. 

In order to participate, you must be present.  I expect you to be on time and at every class -- the only exceptions are for serious illness or other documented reasons.  Second, I expect you to participate.  This can take some different forms, including written work, but some participation must be verbal.  (I realize this is easier for some people, while others find it more difficult, and I will make some allowances for this, but I will structure the class and discussion so that everyone should have reasonable opportunities to speak.)  

Required reading

Carl Abbott. The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1993.  
Philip R. VanderMeer.  Phoenix Rising:  The History of a Desert Metropolis, 1940-2001. 
G. Wesley Johnson, Jr.  Phoenix in the Twentieth Century: Essays in Community History.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993. Online.
Kate Turabian. A Manual for Writers.  7th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. 

Recommended reading:

Amy Bridges. Morning Glories: Municipal Reformers in the Southwest. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.
John Findlay, Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture after 1940.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
David E. Kyvig, Myron A. Marty. Nearby History.  2nd Ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, Sage Publications, 2000.

Resources: Bibliographies, Sources, and Writing Guides                                  Example paper    Example 2 paper      

Grading

Class Discussion          20%
Quizzes, assignments    10%
Progress Materials       15%
Rough Draft                 20%
Final Draft                   25%
Critiques                     10%

 

Tentative Outline of Classes       
DATE CLASS ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT CLASS (OR LATER)
August 25    Introduction
            		Reading Assignment for August 27:  Articles from OAH Magazine of History on the Sunbelt,  VanderMeer, Phoenix Rising chap. 1-2  

Reading Assignment for September 3: VanderMeer, Phoenix Rising chap.3-4; Metropolitan Frontier, chapters 1-4
 
August 27  The Nature and Varieties of History: - narrative, exposition, argument

 
September 1 Sunbelt and Phoenix History
        Discuss "Sunbelt" articles and Phoenix Rising, chap. 1-2
                 Brief Quiz        "Sunbelt" Articles 		 
September 3 Discussion:  Phoenix Rising, chap. 3-4;  Metropolitan Frontier, chapters 1-4 Reading assignment for September 8:  Metropolitan Frontier, chapters 5-8, Afterword

   Turabian, Manual, chapters 1-3: research, topics, and sources

September 8 Southwestern Urban History: Discuss Metropolitan Frontier, chapters 5-end 
   Research Design: Choosing a Topic, Designing a Project 		 
September 10 Using Hayden Library:  Government Documents   and the Arizona Collections

Meet in  Hayden Library (room C-41) 

 Phoenix Readings Assignment for Sept. 17 and 19
 Essays in Growth in Arizona . (Use volume index)
    Grady Gammage, Jr. "Phoenix and the Vision Thing."
    Steve Betts, "Growing Smarter in Arizona."
    David Baron. "Initiative Gives Voters Control Over Growth."
    James Kunstler. "Home From Nowhere."
One essay in Johnson,  Phoenix in the Twentieth Century  online   (individual selections - to be scheduled)
September 15 discuss Metropolitan Frontier and Turabian, chaps. 1-3 Turabian, Manual, chapters 4-6 (sources, argument, and first draft)
September 17 Discuss Phoenix readings  
September 22 Discuss Phoenix readings

Discuss topics: types of evidence: testimony and oral interviews; reports; newspapers; diaries and letters - manuscripts; data;

Prepare a bibliography, using sources in the online Resources page.
September 24 Using library data bases to compile bibliographies, and accessing Phoenix newspapers.  

Outlining your paper
September 29 No Class - develop paper proposal and meet with me individually   Meeting SCHEDULE Develop Course Paper
October 1 No Class  - develop paper proposal and meet with me individually  Develop Course Paper
October 6 Progress reports on research paper    Schedule Develop Course Paper
October 8 No Class Develop Course Paper
October 13 Progress reports on research paper    Schedule Develop Course Paper

 
October 15 Progress reports on research paper    For Oct. 20:  Reading: discussions of plagiarism; and Manual for Writers, chapter 7
     
October 20 ScheduleThe Mechanics of Paper Writing   
  Discuss plagiarism.		 Manual for Writers, chapter
October 22  Discuss Writing and Research complete online bibliography & footnote exercises  Manual for Writers, Part II.
October 27 Discuss Writing, formats, and citation; turn in citation assignment.  
October 29 No Class; individual meetings  
November 3 No Class; individual meetings  
November 5 No Class  
November 10  Discuss Writing issues  
November 12  No class; continue preparing your paper  
November 17    No class; continue preparing your paper: due by 5 p.m.    
November 19   Presentations and Discussion Schedule for presentation and critiques     Evaluation Forms      revise your paper: Manual for Writers,   chaps. 9-11
November 24   Presentations and Discussion Schedule for presentation and critiques      Evaluation Forms     revise your paper
December 1  Presentations and Discussion Schedule for presentation and critiques       Evaluation Forms    revise your paper
December 3  Presentations and Discussion Schedule for presentation and critiques    Evaluation Forms     revise your paper
December 8   Final paper due