The invention of tradition
Eric Hobsbawm
Roman winter holidays (Saturnalia, Festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun)
Germanic winter holiday (Yule)
Winter Solstice (December 21 or 22)
Epiphany (January 6)
St. Nicholas Day (December 6)
Colonial America
1659 Massachusetts Bay Colony forbids Christmas
19th Century America
1820s The Rise of A Bourgeois Christmas
Charles Dickens
Christmas Misrule
The Knickerbockers
Washington Irving
John Pintard, The St. Nicholas Society
Clement Moore, "A Visit From St. Nicholas"
Godey's Magazine
1836-1861: 26 states make Christmas a legal holiday
1870s: Rise of Department Stores
20th Century America
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1939): Robert May, Johnny Marks
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Week One
What is Popular Culture?
It's complicated, confusing and incomplete. The history of the term explains the confusion.
Matthew Arnold, England, 1860s
Two definitions of culture
1. How an entire society operates
2. The aesthetic elements of society - art, music, etc.
Culture divided in three stereotypes in 19th, early 20th centuries:
1. High Culture - the creations of high or elite culture are unique and difficult
2. Folk Culture - The creations of folk culture are communal and anticipated
3. Mass Culture - A hollow imitation of either of the first two
So what is popular culture?
Problematic but useful definitions:
1. Popular culture is whatever is widely popular
2. Popular culture is mass commercial culture
3. Popular culture is created by the people
4. Popular culture is class warfare, then assimilation
5. All culture is popular culture
Football, Sport and American Popular Culture
1869 - Rutgers/Princeton football game
1874 - Rules first codified
1880-1883 - Walter Camp modernizes the sport
1892 - First professional player
1913 - Yale builds the first large stadium
1920 - American Professional Football Association established
1920 - Green Bay Packers founded
1958 - Colts/Giants NFL Championship Game
1967 - Super Bowl I
1970 - NFL/AFL Merger
1970 - Monday Night Football Debuts
It's complicated, confusing and incomplete. The history of the term explains the confusion.
Matthew Arnold, England, 1860s
Two definitions of culture
1. How an entire society operates
2. The aesthetic elements of society - art, music, etc.
Culture divided in three stereotypes in 19th, early 20th centuries:
1. High Culture - the creations of high or elite culture are unique and difficult
2. Folk Culture - The creations of folk culture are communal and anticipated
3. Mass Culture - A hollow imitation of either of the first two
So what is popular culture?
Problematic but useful definitions:
1. Popular culture is whatever is widely popular
2. Popular culture is mass commercial culture
3. Popular culture is created by the people
4. Popular culture is class warfare, then assimilation
5. All culture is popular culture
Football, Sport and American Popular Culture
1869 - Rutgers/Princeton football game
1874 - Rules first codified
1880-1883 - Walter Camp modernizes the sport
1892 - First professional player
1913 - Yale builds the first large stadium
1920 - American Professional Football Association established
1920 - Green Bay Packers founded
1958 - Colts/Giants NFL Championship Game
1967 - Super Bowl I
1970 - NFL/AFL Merger
1970 - Monday Night Football Debuts
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Links to the Readings
The Invention of Christmas:
The Creation of a Consumer Christmas: An Interview With Stephen Nissenbaum
"The Man Who Invented Christmas", Les Standiford, WSJ
'Twas The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Moore
The Evolution of American Comedy:
"Blackface Minstrelsy", University of Virginia
Amos 'n Andy blackface example, YouTube
"Vaudeville", University of Virginia
"The Existential Clown", James Parker, The Atlantic Monthly
Wisconsin's Showmen:
"Ringlingville, U.S.A.", Jerry Apps, Wisconsin History Magazine
"The Bonds He Did Not Break: Harry Houdini and Wisconsin", Kimberly Louagie, Wisconsin Magazine of History
Sin, Jazz and Tourism in New Orleans:
"Ned Sublette on New Orleans", Bomb Magazine Interview
"The Disneyfication of New Orleans" J. Mark Souther, Journal of American History
"The Day The Music Died", BBC
"Tipitina", Professor Longhair, YouTube
"Walking to New Orleans", Fats Domino, YouTube
Rock, Rap and the Soul of America:
"Greil Marcus's Mystery Train", WNYC interview
"Do The James Brown!", Rock and Rap Confidential
"Everyday Struggle", The Nation
Fast Food Nation:
"Ray Kroc and the Fast Food Industry", Forbes Magazine
"Excerpt: The Hamburger: A History", New York Magazine
"A History of Hamburgers", OnPoint Radio Broadcast
"Farmer in Chief", Michael Pollan, NYT
Gambling: Our National Obsession:
"Gambling in America", The State of California
"The History of Gambling in the United States", The State of California
"A Cut In The Wages Of Sin", The Economist
"Gambling Can Be Addictive, For City Governments", Ariella Cohen, The Next American City
Self-Help From Ben Franklin to Oprah Winfrey:
Ben Franklin: Self-Improvement, PBS
"Self-Help", Excerpt, Samuel Smiles
"Progressivism Sweeps the Nation", USHistory.org
The Twelve Steps to Serenity, Alcoholics Anonymous
"Self-Improvement Market in U.S. Worth $9.6 Billion", PRWeb
"New Year, New You? Nice Try", NYT
The Mythic West:
The Western: An Overview", Images Journal
"30 Great Westerns: Stagecoach", Gary Jacobson
"Stagecoach" trailer, YouTube
"30 Great Westerns: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", Grant Tracy
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", final scene, YouTube
"Unforgiven" review, Roger Ebert
Disney's America:
Neal Gabler: Inside Walt Disney, NPR Audio Interview
"Steamboat Willie", YouTube
"The Three Little Pigs", YouTube
"Future Schlock", P.J. O'Rourke, The Atlantic Monthly
Yesterland Tomorrowland Links
The Burden of Superman:
"The Birth of the Comic Book: Gerard Jones Interview", NPR
Action Comics #1
First Max Fleischer Superman Cartoon, 1941, YouTube
Past Visions of a Present Future:
Science Fiction: The Early History", H. Bruce Franklin
"Science Fiction Doesn't Have To Be Gloomy, Does It", Damien Walter, The Guardian
The Creation of a Consumer Christmas: An Interview With Stephen Nissenbaum
"The Man Who Invented Christmas", Les Standiford, WSJ
'Twas The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Moore
The Evolution of American Comedy:
"Blackface Minstrelsy", University of Virginia
Amos 'n Andy blackface example, YouTube
"Vaudeville", University of Virginia
"The Existential Clown", James Parker, The Atlantic Monthly
Wisconsin's Showmen:
"Ringlingville, U.S.A.", Jerry Apps, Wisconsin History Magazine
"The Bonds He Did Not Break: Harry Houdini and Wisconsin", Kimberly Louagie, Wisconsin Magazine of History
Sin, Jazz and Tourism in New Orleans:
"Ned Sublette on New Orleans", Bomb Magazine Interview
"The Disneyfication of New Orleans" J. Mark Souther, Journal of American History
"The Day The Music Died", BBC
"Tipitina", Professor Longhair, YouTube
"Walking to New Orleans", Fats Domino, YouTube
Rock, Rap and the Soul of America:
"Greil Marcus's Mystery Train", WNYC interview
"Do The James Brown!", Rock and Rap Confidential
"Everyday Struggle", The Nation
Fast Food Nation:
"Ray Kroc and the Fast Food Industry", Forbes Magazine
"Excerpt: The Hamburger: A History", New York Magazine
"A History of Hamburgers", OnPoint Radio Broadcast
"Farmer in Chief", Michael Pollan, NYT
Gambling: Our National Obsession:
"Gambling in America", The State of California
"The History of Gambling in the United States", The State of California
"A Cut In The Wages Of Sin", The Economist
"Gambling Can Be Addictive, For City Governments", Ariella Cohen, The Next American City
Self-Help From Ben Franklin to Oprah Winfrey:
Ben Franklin: Self-Improvement, PBS
"Self-Help", Excerpt, Samuel Smiles
"Progressivism Sweeps the Nation", USHistory.org
The Twelve Steps to Serenity, Alcoholics Anonymous
"Self-Improvement Market in U.S. Worth $9.6 Billion", PRWeb
"New Year, New You? Nice Try", NYT
The Mythic West:
The Western: An Overview", Images Journal
"30 Great Westerns: Stagecoach", Gary Jacobson
"Stagecoach" trailer, YouTube
"30 Great Westerns: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", Grant Tracy
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", final scene, YouTube
"Unforgiven" review, Roger Ebert
Disney's America:
Neal Gabler: Inside Walt Disney, NPR Audio Interview
"Steamboat Willie", YouTube
"The Three Little Pigs", YouTube
"Future Schlock", P.J. O'Rourke, The Atlantic Monthly
Yesterland Tomorrowland Links
The Burden of Superman:
"The Birth of the Comic Book: Gerard Jones Interview", NPR
Action Comics #1
First Max Fleischer Superman Cartoon, 1941, YouTube
Past Visions of a Present Future:
Science Fiction: The Early History", H. Bruce Franklin
"Science Fiction Doesn't Have To Be Gloomy, Does It", Damien Walter, The Guardian
Greetings
This is the blog for current and former students of History 449: Popular Culture in America, 1800 to the Present, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with lecturer Alexander Shashko. You will find important information about the course on this site, including links to readings throughout the semester. Welcome.
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