Spring 2004

AMS 390 • Cultures of American Radicalism

Course Description

This course will consider the milieu of various twentieth-century political and cultural radicals, or, broadly speaking, the Socialist and “Lyrical Left” in the 1910s, the “Old Left” in the 1930s, and the “New Left” in the 1960s. We’ll explore the ways in which these various “Lefts” were linked and differentiated—ideologically, generationally and geographically—by examining literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical expressions; we’ll also give special attention to the racial, ethnic, religious, and gender dimensions of various movements. Throughout, the course will attempt to take stock of the “special American conditions” that have given rise to and also limited the development of radical impulses in the United States, and and it will consider, too, the larger impact of dissent upon American culture and society.

Texts

Readings (usually one book per week) may include*: John Patrick Diggins, The Rise and Fall of the American Left Christine Stansell, American Moderns John Reed, Ten Days that Shook the World Rebecca Zurier, Art for The Masses William Maxwell, New Negro, Old Left Mike Gold, Jews Without Money Douglas Wixson, Worker Writer in America Paul Mishler, Raising Reds Robbie Lieberman, My Song is My Weapon William Alexander, Film on the Left Peter Kuznick, Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists as Political Activists in the 1930s Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle Kate Weigand, Red Feminism E.L.Doctorow, The Book of Daniel Doug Rossinow, The Politics of Authenticity Sara Evans, Personal Politics Michael Denning, The Cultural Front Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature

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