Summer Session I, 2006

Instructor: Leslie Madsen-Brooks
e-mail: ljmadsen@ucdavis.edu
Office hours:1-2 and 4-5 Monday & by appt., 2140A Hart Hall
Mailbox: 2134A Hart Hall

Course description

Frequently, objects reveal as much, or more, about a culture as do the stories and other texts produced by it.  In this course, we will learn to analyze objects to determine what they might tell us about about American culture.  In addition to looking at everyday objects, we will look at the way artifacts are displayed in museums, and we’ll talk to average people who collect objects to see what they reveal about American culture.

This course requires you to think critically and imaginatively about the objects you encounter everyday.  I hope you find the process both challenging and fun.

Course materials

Second Hand by Michael Zadoorian

Course reader, available at Navin’s

Course requirements

The day-to-day requirements of this class are simple: do the required reading, reflect on it, and come to class prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Reading responses

To prepare yourself to participate in class, I ask you to type up one or two paragraphs on the day’s reading assignments.  These paragraphs should engage with issues in the readings rather than summarize them.  I will collect these paragraphs at the end of each class meeting.  These brief assignments, done properly, should help you become comfortable with asking and answering the kinds of questions you’ll need to address in your class papers.

Attendance and participation

Your presence in class is very important.  I allow each student two absences, no questions asked.  After that, you will need to clear absences with me; each unexcused absence will lower your participation grade significantly.  If you come to class late, come see me after class to be sure I have noted your attendance in my grade book.

Because this is a small class, participation in class discussion and small group work constitutes a significant portion of your grade: 10%.  To receive an “A” for your participation, you must participate meaningfully in class every day.  Merely attending class will earn you a “C-” for participation.

Written work

I expect you to be ready to hand in your papers at the beginning of class.  Please use 12-point Times or Times New Roman font and staple your papers.  Any assignment turned in after the beginning class is late, and will be marked down one-third of a grade (e.g., B- to C+) for each day that passes (including weekend days) before you turn it in.

I take your writing very seriously, and I hope you do as well.  I do not accept rewrites of graded assignments for a new grade.  Upon request, I will schedule generous extra office hours to meet with students by appointment the days before a paper is due, so you will have ample opportunity to write a strong paper.

Quizzes

I may give simple quizzes on a day’s reading material.  If it becomes apparent to me from your quiz scores or daily responses to the readings that you have failed to do several reading assignments, your participation grade will suffer.  Students who do not read the material usually cannot make meaningful contributions to discussions.

Grading

Daily reading responses: 10%

Class participation: 10%

First paper: 20%

Second paper: 20%

Final exam: 20%

Final group project: 20%

Grades for each individual assignment will be posted on MyUCDavis.

Resources

I will be available during my office hours to address your concerns with the class and assignments.  I encourage you to come see me if you feel you have not been offered a chance to participate in class discussion, you are troubled by a particular assignment, you would like to talk more with me about an issue raised in class, or you have concerns about your performance in the course.

I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, assignments, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.  Please see me after class or during my office hours.

Plagiarism

A student commits plagiarism not only if she turns in someone else’s work as her own, but also if she borrows others’ ideas or phrases without giving them credit.  We can discuss this in class if anyone has any questions.  Please note that any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment may receive an F on the assignment or in the course and may be subject to academic discipline by the university.

I am interested in your thoughts and your creative and analytical work.  Please share them with me!

Course Schedule

June 26: Introduction to material culture studies

The Body & the Home

June 28: Miller, “The Many Figures of Eve” (corsets). First paper assigned.

June 30: Holstein, “Sewing and Sowing” (Amish quilts)

Jul 3: Holiday.  Class does not meet.

July 5: Werbel, “The Foley Food Mill”; Lupton, “Power Tool for the Dining Room: The Electric Carving Knife”

July 7: Lileks, “Gallery of Regrettable Food: Myths of the Grill”: http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/hungryman/index.html (read entire series)

The Museum

July 10: Gould, “Seeing Eye to Eye, Through a Glass Clearly” (aquariums) and Mitchell, “On the Evolution of Images,” “Frames, Skeletons, Constitutions,” “Dinosaurs Moralized,” “Pale-ontology, or It’s Not Easy Being Green,” and “A Schematic of Dinosaur Images.”  First paper due. Second paper and final project assigned.

July 12: Kohn, “History and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution’s Enola Gay Exhibition”

July 14: Merrill, Ladd, and Ferguson, “The Return of the Ahayu:da”

Collectors & Collecting

July 17: Belk, excerpts from Collecting in a Consumer Society

July 19: Votolato, “Industrial Drama: The Custom Car Myth”

July 21: Robertson, “The Collection Just Grows and Grows”; Dubin, “Who’s That Girl?  The World of Barbie Deconstructed”; Atwood, “Five Poems for Dolls”  Second paper due.

Alternative Approaches to Material Culture

July 24: Baker, Chapter 6 (on milk delivery); O’Brien, “Suburbs”; and listen to “The House on Loon Lake” at http://www.thislife.org (either do a search for “Loon Lake” or go to Episode 199, 11/16/01.  You can hear this hour-long radio show for free using Real Audio, which is a free download.)

July 26: Second Hand, 1-86

July 28: Second Hand, 86-176

July 31: Second Hand, 177-end

Wrap-Up

August 2: Final exam, in-class

August 4: Final presentations and course evaluations

AMS 21: Objects and Everyday Life

Summer Session I, 2005

Instructor: Leslie Madsen-Brooks
e-mail: ljmadsen@ucdavis.edu
Office hours: 3-4 MW & by appt.
Mailbox: 2134A Hart Hall

Course description

Frequently, objects reveal as much, or more, about a culture as do the stories and other texts produced by it.  In this course, we will learn to analyze objects to determine what they might tell us about about American culture.  In addition to looking at everyday objects, we will look at the way artifacts are displayed in museums, and we’ll talk to average people who collect objects to see what they reveal about American culture.

This course requires you to think critically and imaginatively about the objects you encounter everyday.  I hope you find the process both challenging and fun.

Course materials

Second Hand by Michael Zadoorian

Course reader, available at Navin’s

Course requirements

The day-to-day requirements of this class are simple: do the required reading, reflect on it, and come to class prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Reading responses

To prepare yourself to participate in class, I ask you to type up one or two paragraphs on the day’s reading assignments.  These paragraphs should engage with issues in the readings rather than summarize them.  I will collect these paragraphs at the end of each class meeting.  These brief assignments, done properly, should help you become comfortable with asking and answering the kinds of questions you’ll need to address in your class papers.

Attendance and participation

Your presence in class is very important.  I allow each student two absences, no questions asked.  After that, you will need to clear absences with me; each unexcused absence will lower your participation grade significantly.  If you come to class late, come see me after class to be sure I have noted your attendance in my grade book.

Because this is a small class, participation in class discussion and small group work constitutes a significant portion of your grade: 10%.  To receive an “A” for your participation, you must participate meaningfully in class every day.  Merely attending class will earn you a “C-” for participation.

Written work

I expect you to be ready to hand in your papers at the beginning of class.  Please use 12-point Times or Times New Roman font and staple your papers.  Any assignment turned in after the beginning class is late, and will be marked down one-third of a grade (e.g., B- to C+) for each day that passes (including weekend days) before you turn it in.

I take your writing very seriously, and I hope you do as well.  I do not accept rewrites of graded assignments for a new grade.  I schedule generous extra office hours to meet with students by appointment the days before a paper is due, so you will have ample opportunity to write a strong paper.

Quizzes

I may give simple quizzes on a day’s reading material.  If it becomes apparent to me from your quiz scores or daily responses to the readings that you have failed to do several reading assignments, your participation grade will suffer.  Students who do not read the material usually cannot make meaningful contributions to discussions.

Grading

Daily reading responses: 10%

Class participation: 10%

First paper: 20%

Second paper: 20%

Final exam: 20%

Final group project: 20%

Grades for each individual assignment will be posted on MyUCDavis.

Resources

I will be available during my office hours to address your concerns with the class and assignments.  I encourage you to come see me if you feel you have not been offered a chance to participate in class discussion, you are troubled by a particular assignment, you would like to talk more with me about an issue raised in class, or you have concerns about your performance in the course.

I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, assignments, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.  Please see me after class or during my office hours.

Plagiarism

A student commits plagiarism not only if she turns in someone else’s work as her own, but also if she borrows others’ ideas or phrases without giving them credit.  We can discuss this in class if anyone has any questions.  Please note that any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment may receive an F on the assignment or in the course and may be subject to academic discipline by the university.

I am interested in your thoughts and your creative and analytical work.  Please share them with me!

Course Schedule

June 27: Introduction to material culture studies

The Body & the Home

June 29: Miller, “The Many Figures of Eve” (corsets). First paper assigned.

July 1: Holstein, “Sewing and Sowing” (Amish quilts)

July 4: Holiday.  Class does not meet.

July 6: Werbel, “The Foley Food Mill”; Lupton, “Power Tool for the Dining Room: The Electric Carving Knife”

July 8: Lileks, “Gallery of Regrettable Food: Myths of the Grill”: http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/hungryman/index.html (read entire series)

The Museum

July 11: Gould, “Seeing Eye to Eye, Through a Glass Clearly” (aquariums) and Mitchell, “On the Evolution of Images,” “Frames, Skeletons, Constitutions,” “Dinosaurs Moralized,” “Pale-ontology, or It’s Not Easy Being Green,” and “A Schematic of Dinosaur Images.”  First paper due. Second paper and final project assigned.

July 13: Kohn, “History and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution’s Enola Gay Exhibition”

July 15: Merrill, Ladd, and Ferguson, “The Return of the Ahayu:da”

Collectors & Collecting

July 18: Belk, excerpts from Collecting in a Consumer Society

July 20: Votolato, “Industrial Drama: The Custom Car Myth”

July 22: Robertson, “The Collection Just Grows and Grows”; Dubin, “Who’s That Girl?  The World of Barbie Deconstructed”; Atwood, “Five Poems for Dolls”  Second paper due.

Alternative Approaches to Material Culture

July 25: Baker, Chapter 6 (on milk delivery); O’Brien, “Suburbs”; and listen to “The House on Loon Lake” at http://www.thislife.org (either do a search for “Loon Lake” or go to Episode 199, 11/16/01.  You can hear this hour-long radio show for free using Real Audio, which is a free download.)

July 27: Second Hand, 1-86

July 29: Second Hand, 86-176

August 1: Second Hand, 177-end

Wrap-Up

August 3: Final exam, in-class

August 5: Final presentations and course evaluations

Summer Session II, 2006

Instructor:                         Leslie Madsen-Brooks

e-mail:                         ljmadsen@ucdavis.edu

Office hours:                         noon – 2 p.m. Monday and by appointment, 2140A Hart Hall

Mailbox:                         2134A Hart Hall

Class blog:                         http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com/

Course description

What do American communities look like, and why?  How did today’s communities come to be as they are?  What values do they express, and how?

These questions will guide our exploration of American culture over the next six weeks.  In attempting to answer them, we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on history, fiction, autobiography, film, photography, food studies, and more.  In addition to engaging with a variety of course materials, you’ll be called upon to think about your relationship to your own communities, past and present.

This course requires you to think critically and imaginatively about the places, food, and material culture you encounter everyday.  I hope you find the process both challenging and fun.

Course materials

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki

Course reader, available at Navin’s

Course requirements

The day-to-day requirements of this class are simple: do the required reading, reflect on it, and come to class prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Attendance and participation

Your presence in class is very important.  We have only 12 class meetings, one of which is dedicated to the final exam.  Therefore, I allow each student only one absence, no questions asked.  After that, you will need to clear absences with me; each unexcused absence will lower your participation grade significantly.  If you come to class late, come see me after class to be sure I have noted your attendance in my grade book.

Participation in class discussion and small group work constitutes a significant portion of your grade: 15%.  To receive an “A” for your participation, you must participate meaningfully in class every day.  Merely attending class will earn you a “C-” for participation.

Blog

This class maintains a blog at http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com.  We will discuss in class how to use this technology and what quantity and quality of participation I expect.  Blog posts will be assigned on Mondays and must be posted by the following Friday.  Your blog posts will count toward your blog writing assignments grade; your comments on blog posts contribute to your class participation grade.

Written work

I expect you to be ready to hand in your work at the beginning of class.  Please use 12-point Times or Times New Roman font and staple your papers.  Any assignment turned in after the beginning of class is late, and will be marked down one-third of a grade (e.g., B- to C+) for each day that passes (including weekend days) before you turn it in.

I take your writing very seriously, and I hope you do as well.  I do not accept rewrites of graded assignments for a new grade.  Upon request, I will schedule generous extra office hours to meet with students by appointment the days before a paper is due, so you will have ample opportunity to write a strong paper.  Please note: I am not your editor or proofreader.  I will help you craft a thoughtful argument and outline, and I’ll critique a paragraph or two, but I don’t read entire drafts.

Quizzes

I may give simple quizzes on a day’s reading material.  If it becomes apparent to me from your quiz scores or daily responses to the readings that you have failed to do several reading assignments, your participation grade will suffer.  Students who do not read the material usually cannot make meaningful contributions to discussions.

Grading

Class participation: 15%

Blog writing assignments: 25%

Paper: 20%

Final exam: 20%

Final group project: 20%

Grades for each individual assignment will be posted on MyUCDavis.

Resources

I will be available during my office hours to address your concerns with the class and assignments.  I encourage you to come see me if you feel you have not been offered a chance to participate in class discussion, you are troubled by a particular assignment, you would like to talk more with me about an issue raised in class, or you have concerns about your performance in the course.

I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, assignments, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.  Please see me after class or during my office hours.

Plagiarism

A student commits plagiarism not only if she turns in someone else’s work as her own, but also if she borrows others’ ideas or phrases without giving them credit.  We can discuss this in class if anyone has any questions.  Please note that any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment may receive an F on the assignment or in the course and may be subject to academic discipline by the university.

I am interested in your thoughts and your creative and analytical work.  Please share them with me!

Course Schedule

INTRODUCTION

Mon., Aug. 7:

• Introduction to the course and class blog.

Wed., Aug. 9:

• Annie Dillard, excerpts from An American Childhood (reader)
• Paule Marshall, “The Making of a Writer: From the Poets in the Kitchen” (reader)

Fri., Aug. 11: Blog post #1 due by 5 p.m.

BUILDING COMMUNITIES

Mon., Aug. 14:

• Thomas Frank, “Deep in the Heart of Redness” from What’s the Matter with Kansas? (reader)
• First paper assigned.
• Group project assigned.

Wed., Aug. 16:

• Cotton Mather, “Christian Behavior at Home and in the Community,” from Bonifacius (reader)
• Louisa May Alcott, “Transcendental Wild Oats”
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, excerpt from Farewell to Manzanar (reader)

Fri., Aug. 18: Blog post #2 due by 5 p.m.

SUBURBAN SPRAWL

Mon., Aug 21:

• Peter Bacon Hales, “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb,” http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown.html  (explore the site)
• David Beers, “Invasion,” from Blue Sky Dream (reader)
• “In Support of Sprawl: A controversial architecture historian proposes that suburbia is a good thing,” http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/arts/Content?oid=oid:78291

Case Study: Lakewood, California

Wed., Aug. 23:

• D.J. Waldie, excerpt from Holy Land (reader)

• John M. Broder, “Lakewood Journal; 50 Years Later, a Still-Proud Suburb Is Starting to Fray,” http://tinyurl.com/lw8ma

Fri., Aug. 25: Blog post #3 due by 5 p.m.

URBAN LIFE

Mon., Aug. 28:

• Walt Whitman, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (reader)
• Joan Didion, “Los Angeles Notebook” (reader)
• James Rojas, “The Enacted Environment: Examining the Streets and Yards of Los Angeles” (reader)
• Jonathon Tilove, “The Edge” from Along Martin Luther King: Travels on America’s Main Street (reader)
• First paper due

Case study: Detroit

Wed., Aug 30:

• “8 Mile – The Gates of Detroit,” http://tinyurl.com/hckby  (Click on “Detour” icon at bottom right to learn more.  Continue to click it on each site until you’ve finished the tour of 8 Mile.)
• Jeff Byles, “Disappeared Detroit,” http://www.lostmag.com/issue2/detroit.php
• Detroitblog, “Wild Kingdom,” http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=287
• Kate Stohr, “In the Capital of the Car, Nature Stakes a Claim,” http://www.energybulletin.net/148.html

Fri., Sept. 1: Blog post #4 due by 5 p.m.

FOOD AS CULTURE

Mon., Sept. 4:

• Robb Walsh, “Texas Barbecue in Black and White” from Cornbread Nation 2 (reader)

• Kathleen LeBesco, “There’s Always Room for Resistance: Jell-O, Gender, and Social Class” (reader)
• Group project due (presentations in class)

Wed., Sept. 6:

• Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats

Fri., Sept. 8: Blog post #5 due by 5 p.m..

Mon., Sept. 11:

• Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats

Wed., Sept. 13:

• Course evaluations
• Final exam (2 hours)

AMS 10: Introduction to American Studies

Fall 2006

Instructor:                         Leslie Madsen-Brooks

Teaching Assistants:            Stacy Jameson and JeeEun Song

e-mail:                         ljmadsen@ucdavis.edu

Office hours:                         12:30-1:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 2133 Hart Hall

Mailbox:                         2134A Hart Hall

Course description

How do Americans imagine and create their communities?  What can we learn about American communities’ habits, beliefs, and values by taking a close look at the places Americans live and the food they eat?

These questions will guide our exploration of American culture over the next ten weeks.  In attempting to answer them, we will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on history, fiction, poetry, autobiography, film, photography, food studies, and more.  In addition to engaging with a variety of course materials, you’ll be called upon to think about your relationship to your own communities, past and present.

This course requires you to think critically and imaginatively about the places, food, and material culture you encounter everyday.  I hope you find the process both challenging and fun.

Course materials

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki, available at Memorial Union bookstore

Course reader, available at Navin’s

Course requirements

The day-to-day requirements of this class are simple: do the required reading, reflect on it, and come to class prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Attendance and participation

Your presence in lecture and section is very important.  Participation in discussion section constitutes a significant portion of your grade: 15%.  To receive an A for your participation, you must participate meaningfully in class every day.  Merely attending class will earn you a C- for participation.

Class website

The class website, where I will post relevant course materials as well as lecture images and relevant internet links, is at http://introamericanstudies.blogspot.com.  Should you have something you’d like to contribute to the website—by sharing your musings on readings, recommending resources related to the class, etc.—please e-mail them to me and I’ll post them for you.  Such contributions, if meaningful, will count toward your participation grade.

Written work

I expect you to be ready to hand in your work at the beginning of class.  Please use 12-point Times or Times New Roman font and staple your papers.  Any assignment turned in after the beginning of class is late, and will be marked down one-third of a grade (e.g., B- to C+) for each day that passes (including weekend days) before you turn it in.

I take your writing very seriously, and I hope you do as well.  I do not accept rewrites of graded assignments for a new grade.  Upon request, I will schedule generous extra office hours to meet with students by appointment the days before a paper is due, so you will have ample opportunity to write a strong paper.  Please note: I am not your editor or proofreader.  I will help you craft a thoughtful argument and outline, and I’ll critique a paragraph or two, but I don’t read entire drafts.  The same applies to your teaching assistants.

Quizzes

Your TAs and I may give simple quizzes on a day’s reading material.  If it becomes apparent to us from your quiz scores or daily responses to the readings that you have failed to do several reading assignments, your participation grade will suffer.  Students who do not read the material usually cannot make meaningful contributions to discussions.

Grading

Class participation: 15%

Practice paper: 15%

First paper: 25%

Second Paper: 25%

Final exam: 20%

Grades for each individual assignment will be posted on MyUCDavis.  There are no opportunities for extra credit.

Resources

I will be available during my office hours to address your concerns with the class and assignments.  I encourage you to come see me if you feel you have not been offered a chance to participate in class discussion, you are troubled by a particular assignment, you would like to talk more with me about an issue raised in class, or you have concerns about your performance in the course.  Your TAs will also be happy to listen to such concerns.

I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, assignments, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.  Please see me after class or during my office hours.

Plagiarism

A student commits plagiarism not only if she turns in someone else’s work as her own, but also if she borrows others’ ideas or phrases without giving them credit.  We can discuss this in class if anyone has any questions.  Please note that any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment may receive an F on the assignment or in the course and may be subject to academic discipline by the university.

I am interested in your thoughts and your creative and analytical work.  Please share them with me!

Course Schedule

INTRODUCTION

Thursday, September 28: Margaret Atwood, “How to Tell One Country from Another”

IMAGINING AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
Tuesday, October 3:

• Robert Penn Warren, “Founding Fathers, Early Nineteenth-Century Style, Southeast U.S.A.”
• John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity”

Thursday, October 5:

• J. Hector St. Jean De Crèvecoeur, Excerpts from “Letters from an American Farmer”
• William Carlos Williams, “Voyage of The Mayflower” from In The American Grain

Tuesday, October 10:

• Louisa May Alcott, “Transcendental Wild Oats”
• View M. Night Shyamalan’s  The Village before coming to class

Thursday, October 12: Class does not meet.

Tuesday, October 17:

• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, excerpt from Farewell to Manzanar (reader)
• Lisa See, “The Mission Family Gets a Daughter-in-Law” (excerpt from On Gold Mountain)

Thursday, October 19: Thomas Frank, “Deep in the Heart of Redness” from What’s the Matter with Kansas?

EXPLORING AMERICAN PLACES
Tuesday, October 24: David Beers, “Invasion,” from Blue Sky Dream

Thursday, October 26: Case study: Lakewood

• D.J. Waldie, excerpt from Holy Land
• John M. Broder, “Lakewood Journal; 50 Years Later, a Still-Proud Suburb Is Starting to Fray,” http://tinyurl.com/lw8ma
• Practice paper due

Tuesday, October 31: Case study: Los Angeles

• Joan Didion, “Los Angeles Notebook”
• James Rojas, “The Enacted Environment: Examining the Streets and Yards of Los Angeles”
• Jimmy Santiago Baca, Excerpt from “Meditations on the South Valley” (XVII)

Thursday, November 2: Case study: Detroit

• “8 Mile – The Gates of Detroit,” http://tinyurl.com/hckby  (Click on the “Detour” icon at bottom right to learn more.  Continue to click it on each site until you’ve finished the tour of 8 Mile.)
• Detroitblog, “Wild Kingdom,” http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=287
• Kate Stohr, “In the Capital of the Car, Nature Stakes a Claim,” http://www.energybulletin.net/148.html
• Philip Levine, “Growth”

Tuesday, November 7: Medley of American voices and places

Read two of the following groups poems carefully, and skim the rest:

• Elizabeth Bishop, “At the Fishhouses” and “The Moose”
• Robert Lowell, “For the Union Dead” and Langston Hughes, “The South”
• Amy Clampitt, “Iola, Kansas” and “Portola Valley” and Jane Kenyon, “American Triptych”; “Main Street: Tilton, New Hampshire”; and “The Sick Wife”
• Garrett Hongo, “96 Tears” and Louise Erdrich, “Indian Boarding School”

A TASTE OF AMERICAN FOOD
Thursday, November 9:

• Robb Walsh, “Texas Barbecue in Black and White” from Cornbread Nation 2
• Langston Hughes, “Lunch in a Jim Crow Car”
• First paper due

Tuesday, November 14:

• Kathleen LeBesco, “There’s Always Room for Resistance: Jell-O, Gender, and Social Class”

Thursday, November 16: homework assignment from Jee-Eun

Tuesday, November 21: Janet Siskand,”The Invention of Thanksgiving: A Ritual of American Nationality”

Thursday, November 23: Thanksgiving.  Class does not meet.

Tuesday, November 28:

• Harry Botsford, “Outdoor Hospitality: The Gentleman Plays with Fire,” from Esquire’s Handbook for Host
• Allen Salkin, “Pimp my Grill: Lavish Models appeal to a primal male urge” New York Times May 28, 2006

Thursday, November 30: No reading. Second paper due.

Tuesday, December 5: Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meats (1^st half of novel)

Thursday, December 7: Ozeki, MYOM (2^nd half)

Wednesday, December 13: Final exam, 8 a.m.

leslie -at- lesliemadsenbrooks.com

CURRENT POSITIONS

Coordinator, Faculty and TA Programs
Teaching Resources Center, UC Davis

Faculty Liaison, Accessibility in Teaching and Learning
Information and Educational Technology, UC Davis

EDUCATION

2006
Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Cultural Studies
Designated Emphasis, Feminist Theory

Dissertation: To Study, To Control, and to Love: Women Scientists in American Natural History Institutions, 1880-1950

Dissertation Committee: Carolyn de la Peña, American Studies, Chair; Jay Mechling, American Studies; Catherine Kudlick, History

Comprehensive Examinations: Museum Studies; Feminist Theory; American Cultural Landscapes (June 2004)

2004
M.A., University of California, Davis
Cultural Studies

1998           
M.A., University of California, Davis
English – Creative Writing

1997           
B.A., Grinnell College, Iowa
English, with honors

SCHOLARSHIP

2009
“Challenging ‘Top-Down’ Science? Women’s Participation in American Natural History Museum Work, 1870-1920.” Journal of Women’s History 21.2 (Summer 2009)

2009
“Museums” entry for Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. (forthcoming).

2009
“The History of American Science as Activism.” Invited essay, News & Views, Forum for the History of Science in America.  Available at http://americanscience.blogspot.com/2009/01/history-of-american-science-as-activism.html

2009
“More Thoughtful Museum Learning:  How Professional Development Through Social Media Can  Strengthen Cultural Institutions.”  Invited essay, WestMuse, Western Museums Association.  Available at http://westmuse.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/more-thoughtful-learning-how-professional-development-through-social-media-can-strengthen-cultural-institutions/

2008
Review of Everyday eBay. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies.  http://rccs.usfca.edu/bookinfo.asp?ReviewID=559&BookID=402

PAPER PRESENTATIONS and PANELS

2009
“Beyond Fear 2.0: Social Media, Literacies, and the World Beyond Walls.” With Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting) and Barbara Sawhill (Oberlin).
New Media Consortium summer conference, Monterey, CA

2008
“Who’s Afraid of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and the Big Bad CMS? A Digi-Drama About Fear 2.0.” With Barbara Ganley (Middlebury), Laura Blankenship (Bryn Mawr), Martha Burtis (University of Mary Washington), and Barbara Sawhill (Oberlin).
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative conference, San Antonio, TX

2006
“Democratizing American Science? Women Scientists’ Outreach to Amateur Clubs, 1880-1930.”
Western Association of Women’s Historians conference, Monterey, CA

2006
“Scrambled Eggs: Consumption and Anxiety at the Market.”
Founding Food Studies Conference, UC Davis.

2004
“Historical Trends in Recruiting Women in Science Museums.”
Association of Science and Technology Centers conference, San José, CA

2004
“Transforming Museum Science: Women’s Networks and Alliances from 1870.”
Crossroads in Cultural Studies conference, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2003
“Space Wands and Table Saws: Tools and Rules for Girls at California’s Science Centers.”
Cultural Studies Colloquium, UC Davis

2002
“Democratic Science: Toward a New Model of Scientific Outreach at UC Davis.”
Interdisciplinary Graduate Symposium, UC Davis

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2007 – 2010          
Adjunct Professor, John F. Kennedy University, Museum Studies
Museum Issues I: History and Theory of Museums (fall quarter – yearly)
Master’s thesis projects (winter and spring quarters 2009)

2007 – 2010
Lecturer, UC Davis, School of Education
EDU 398: Seminar in College Teaching (yearly)

2009                
Lecturer, UC Davis, School of Education
FYS 002: First-Year Seminar (Collectors and Collecting)

2006
Lecturer, UC Davis, American Studies
AMS 10: Introduction to American Studies
AMS 110: A Decade in American Civilization: The 1950s

2004-2006
Instructor, UC Davis, American Studies
AMS 101: Women in U.S. Science
AMS 21: Objects and Everyday Life
AMS 110: A Decade in American Civilization: The 1890s

2002-2006
Teaching Assistant, UC Davis, American Studies
AMS 21: Objects and Everyday Life (with Carolyn de la Peña, 3x)
AMS 1B: Religion in American Lives (with Ruth Frankenberg, 2x)
AMS 10: Introduction to American Studies (with Carolyn de la Peña, Adam Golub, and Eric Smoodin, 3x)

2005
Teaching Assistant, Biotechnology
BIT 171: Professional Ethics in Biotechnology and Genomics (with John Yoder)

2005
Teaching Assistant, Technocultural Studies
TCS 001: Introduction to Technocultural Studies (with Bob Ostertag)

2001-2002          
Instructor, UC Davis, English
ENL 1: Expository Writing

2000-2001          
Instructor, California State University, Long Beach, Summer Bridge Program
Writing Skills

1999-2000           
Instructor, University of Iowa, English
Interpretation of Literature

GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS

2008 – present       
Spencer and Teagle foundations grant
to investigate visual literacy in undergraduate education at UC Davis; with Jon Wagner, Professor of Education

2004
Smithsonian Graduate Fellowship
to support research in Smithsonian Institution archives and libraries

2004-2006
UC Davis Graduate Research Fellowship
to support travel to archives in support of dissertation

2004
UC Davis Cultural Studies Program travel grant

2002-2003
UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research
to pursue study of science centers and gender in California

SERVICE

Status of Women at Davis Advisory Committee (chair in 2009-10)

Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women, University of California (2009-present)

Electronic Accessibility Steering Committee (chair of subcommittee on teaching and learning, 2009-present)

University of California Consortium on Information Technology Accessibility (2009-present)

Campus Council on Community and Diversity (2009-present)

Center for Accessible Technologies  Committee (2009-present)

Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Program grants advisory committee (chair, 2007-present)

Chancellor’s Teaching Fellowship advisory committee (chair, 2008-present)

Teaching Assistant Development Program grants advisory committee (2007-present)

Contributing editor, Research and Academia, BlogHer.org (2006-present)

Graduate admissions committee, Cultural Studies, UC Davis (2004)

Graduate student handbook committee, Cultural Studies, UC Davis (2004)

HONORS AND AWARDS

Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, UC Davis (2006)

Feminist Essay Prize, UC Davis (2003)

Phi Beta Kappa Scholar’s Award, Grinnell College (1997)

After spending three years advising faculty, grad students, and postdocs about teaching, my perspective on teaching is considerably more nuanced.  Thanks to the hundreds of faculty who have come to me for help, who have confided in me, and who have trusted me to interview their students, I have a much broader, and more seasoned, perspective on teaching, and the place of teaching, at the large research university.

In a typical teaching philosophy statement, I would (1) state my learning objectives for my students, (2) illustrate how I used assignments and activities to fulfill those learning objectives, (3), state how I evaluated student learning outcomes, and (4) make some grandiose statements about interactive, student-centered learning.  However, in the past three years I’ve read more than a hundred of these, and I fear a certain tedium sets in after reading more than a few.  Accordingly, I will address these teaching concepts, but less directly, through vignettes that I hope illustrate my commitment to teaching all students, my deep thinking about the relationship between theory and praxis, and my very practical approaches to common classroom challenges.

Dealing with that guy

When I encourage faculty to incorporate more interactive learning opportunities into their courses, they frequently express the fear that students won’t talk, and that they’ll find themselves stuck in an awkward silence in front of a hundred or more students.  In my classroom, however, the challenge is less getting students to speak than to encourage one student to talk less.  Almost every undergraduate course I’ve taught has had “that guy,” a student—and 90 percent of the time it’s a young white man—who sits in the first or second row of the classroom, two or three seats to my left, and who must comment on everything, to the point that the students sitting behind him are rolling their eyes.

My approach to such a student is to take him aside after class and recruit him to my cause of reaching all learners, of ensuring all voices get heard.  I thank him for the comments that have been spot on—and I cite those specifically—and then tell him that some students need more time to formulate their thoughts before speaking.  Would he mind waiting a bit before speaking so that these students can get a chance to participate?  I tell him to feel free to e-mail me with any thoughts he didn’t get a chance to share.  So far, this tactic has worked every time, and it’s clear from their contributions to class that these students become better listeners and more critical thinkers as a result of that listening.

Learning with students with disabilities

Both because I’ve found most students respond well to images and video and because I’m a visual learner myself, my classes tend to be highly visual in nature.  I may share a dozen or more images during a single class meeting.  When I first had a blind student in my classroom, however, I realized this practice needed to be supplemented with better audio description and alternative ways of accessing the material.  I was fortunate that the student was willing to work with me and was forgiving of my failure to plan for visually impaired students when I developed the course.

The experience of working with this student, and since then with other students with physical and learning disabilities, made me become interested in the universal design for learning, a set of principles that call for giving learners multiple ways of acquiring information and knowledge, of engaging with material presented during class time, and of demonstrating what they have learned.  I’m now chairing the teaching and learning subcommittee of the campus’s electronic accessibility steering committee, where I have the opportunity to ask hard questions about—and provide tentative answers to—campus policies.  For example, UC Davis’s new general education requirements call for students to demonstrate visual and oral literacy.  How does a blind student develop visual literacy, and how might we measure it?  How does a student who does not speak demonstrate mastery of oral expression?  I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and students in addressing these issues.

Helping the general education student research and write papers

The departments in which I have taught tend to offer a large number of courses that help students fulfill the GE writing requirement.  Accordingly, my classes tend to have a large number of non-majors who have not had sufficient opportunities to write argumentative papers or undertake research.  One fifth-year managerial economics student who confessed to me that she had not written a thesis statement since fall quarter of her first year, and I suspect she was not alone in this experience.  Such students pose a special challenge, and I meet it by spending extra time helping students search the library’s databases, by offering multiple extra office hours (as many as 30 hours one week when I was a graduate student), and by partnering with reference and instructional librarians.

It also means I spend a portion of each course reviewing the principles of writing with my students.  Some faculty have told me they don’t have time for such instruction as they have too much material to “cover.”  My experience has been the opposite; by encouraging students to undertake research on topics related to the class (but not explicitly covered during it), and then asking students to share their research with the class, students are exposed to far more material, and have a more meaningful engagement with it, than they would if I had simply lectured or had them read about it.  My classes are about discovering and uncovering, not “covering.”

My goal in every course is to make myself approachable to students and yet ultimately dispensable.  I teach my students to ask thoughtful questions, conduct research, and express themselves through multiple media.  I design my classes to help students learn to better engage with the world, with the hope that they will take steps toward effecting positive change in it.

My past and current projects include:

* developing and teaching university courses in writing, literature, American studies, museum studies, and pedagogy
* overhauling an outdoor education curriculum for elementary-school students
* designing several hands-on science exhibits for preK-6 students
* delivering hands-on science lessons to elementary school students
* editing social studies textbooks for middle-school English language learners
* ghostwriting a workbook to guide and inspire martial artists
* developing an oceanography curriculum for a homeschool publisher
* presenting workshops on digital teaching and learning at faculty development symposia and conferences
* course observation and feedback
* program evaluation
* a white paper on blogging in higher education

My current areas of specialty are the uses of digital media in teaching and learning, museum education and exhibition development, and informal science education.

Contact me today at leslie -at- lesliemadsenbrooks -dot- com to discuss your projects.