Designed as an interdisciplinary course, the work we do in this class is part history, part visual culture analysis, and part cultural anthropology.<\/p>\n
The Liberty Bell. Lincoln. Barbie. Route 66. Disneyland. Elvis. Ali. These are all American Icons. This class explores iconic images of America as a way to understand the central myths, promises, and ideas behind the nation \u2013 ideas about freedom, individuality, democracy, mobility, second chances, masculinity and femininity, race, and class. Each unit will focus on an individual icon, its origins, what it represented, and how this representation has changed over time and place. The course will invite a critical analysis of these icons and their economic and cultural impact in a global context.<\/p>\n
Sample Icons with links to relevant web sources:<\/p>\n
Betsy Ross<\/strong><\/p>\n Laurel Thatcher Ulrich\u2019s history of the Betsy Ross Legend: http:\/\/www.common-place.org\/vol-08\/no-01\/ulrich\/<\/a><\/p>\n John Henry<\/strong><\/p>\n From the Smithsonian:\u00a0Prison: Camp B, Parchman Farm, Mississippi, 1947<\/a>; Dance Tune: Hillsville, VA<\/a> (1959); Ed Lewis Version<\/a>, Camp B, Parchman Farm (1959); Odetta via Spotify; Willie Turner<\/a> (1955)<\/p>\n The West<\/strong><\/p>\n Timothy O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s West: http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/photo\/2012\/05\/the-american-west-150-years-ago\/100304\/<\/a> ; and explore The Third View: http:\/\/www.thirdview.org\/3v\/home\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n Also Sherman Alexie’s “War Dances” http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2009\/08\/10\/war-dances<\/a><\/p>\n The Wizard of Oz<\/strong><\/p>\n 1900 edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<\/em><\/a>, by L. Frank Baum<\/p>\n The Migrant Mother<\/strong><\/p>\n Library of Congress, \u201cDorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview\u201d ttp:\/\/www.loc.gov\/rr\/print\/list\/128_migm.html<\/a> and this follow-up piece on Florence Owens Thompson: http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/roadshow\/fts\/kansascity_201307F03.html<\/a><\/p>\n Wonder Woman<\/strong><\/p>\n Jill Lepore’s “The Last Amazon,” http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2014\/09\/22\/last-amazon<\/a><\/p>\n Rosie the Riveter<\/strong><\/p>\n The website for Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park<\/a>\u00a0 Read\/or listen to one of the Rosie Oral Histories\u00a0at the Bancroft Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rocky<\/strong><\/p>\n Edgar Allan Poe<\/strong><\/p>\n On\u00a0Edgar Allan Poe and Philadelphia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cThe Great Poe Debate\u201d<\/a> from 1\/13\/2009<\/p>\n The Road<\/strong><\/p>\n