Andrew Hamsher

As the 19th century drew to a close, American cities began to give birth to a vibrant new mass culture.  Much of this culture manifested itself in new entertainment venues, including amusement parks, zoos, and cinemas.  As the century wore on, these entertainment spaces increased in number and complexity, becoming a familiar part of life in America – and in many other countries as well.  In this course we will explore the history of these spaces, using them as a lens through which to explore larger currents of cultural change. 

This course will be divided into three sections.  The first will explore the early days of amusement spaces as they arose alongside mass culture in American cities.  In the second section of the course we will deal with the new age of amusements that began with the opening of Disneyland in 1955.  The final section of the course will deal with the modern era of amusement spaces, an era defined by the globalization of mass amusements. 

The locations we will be discussing in this class – amusement parks, malls, zoos, and so on – are fun places often understood as frivolous and bereft of meaning.  We will be working to peer beneath the surface of these entertaining spaces, uncovering the extremely rich cultural forces that define and drive them and coming to grips with the way they influence American culture.  We will touch on a wide range of topics, including race, class, and gender roles, shifting understandings of public and private and man and nature, the rise of globalization, and the emergence of a corporately-driven “convergence culture.”  Our ultimate goal is to come to a better understanding of the profound effect seemingly meaningless amusement spaces have on American culture.

Requirements

Attendance and Discussion      20%

Tests      20%

Response Paper      20%

Research Paper       40%

Possible Texts

Susan G. Douglas’s Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience

John F. Kasson’s Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century

Joy S. Kasson’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History

Kathy Peiss’s Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York

Aviad E. Raz’s Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland

Flag(s): Writing

As the 19th century drew to a close, American cities began to give birth to a vibrant new mass culture.  Much of this culture manifested itself in new entertainment venues, including amusement parks, zoos, and cinemas.  As the century wore on, these entertainment spaces increased in number and complexity, becoming a familiar part of life in America – and in many other countries as well.  In this course we will explore the history of these spaces, using them as a lens through which to explore larger currents of cultural change. 

This course will be divided into three sections.  The first will explore the early days of amusement spaces as they arose alongside mass culture in American cities.  In the second section of the course we will deal with the new age of amusements that began with the opening of Disneyland in 1955.  The final section of the course will deal with the modern era of amusement spaces, an era defined by the globalization of mass amusements. 

The locations we will be discussing in this class – amusement parks, malls, zoos, and so on – are fun places often understood as frivolous and bereft of meaning.  We will be working to peer beneath the surface of these entertaining spaces, uncovering the extremely rich cultural forces that define and drive them and coming to grips with the way they influence American culture.  We will touch on a wide range of topics, including race, class, and gender roles, shifting understandings of public and private and man and nature, the rise of globalization, and the emergence of a corporately-driven “convergence culture.”  Our ultimate goal is to come to a better understanding of the profound effect seemingly meaningless amusement spaces have on American culture.

Requirements

Attendance and Discussion           20%

Tests      20%

Response Paper                20%

Research Paper                  40%

Possible Texts

Susan G. Douglas’s Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience

John F. Kasson’s Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century

Joy S. Kasson’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History

Kathy Peiss’s Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York

Aviad E. Raz’s Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland

Flag(s): Writing

As the 19th century drew to a close, American cities began to give birth to a vibrant new mass culture.  Much of this culture manifested itself in new entertainment venues, including amusement parks, zoos, and cinemas.  As the century wore on, these entertainment spaces increased in number and complexity, becoming a familiar part of life in America – and in many other countries as well.  In this course we will explore the history of these spaces, using them as a lens through which to explore larger currents of cultural change. 

This course will be divided into three sections.  The first will explore the early days of amusement spaces as they arose alongside mass culture in American cities.  In the second section of the course we will deal with the new age of amusements that began with the opening of Disneyland in 1955.  The final section of the course will deal with the modern era of amusement spaces, an era defined by the globalization of mass amusements. 

The locations we will be discussing in this class – amusement parks, malls, zoos, and so on – are fun places often understood as frivolous and bereft of meaning.  We will be working to peer beneath the surface of these entertaining spaces, uncovering the extremely rich cultural forces that define and drive them and coming to grips with the way they influence American culture.  We will touch on a wide range of topics, including race, class, and gender roles, shifting understandings of public and private and man and nature, the rise of globalization, and the emergence of a corporately-driven “convergence culture.”  Our ultimate goal is to come to a better understanding of the profound effect seemingly meaningless amusement spaces have on American culture.

Requirements

Attendance and Discussion           20%

Tests      20%

Response Paper                20%

Research Paper                  40%

Possible Texts

Susan G. Douglas’s Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience

John F. Kasson’s Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century

Joy S. Kasson’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History

Kathy Peiss’s Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York

Aviad E. Raz’s Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland

Flag(s): Writing

As the 19th century drew to a close, American cities began to give birth to a vibrant new mass culture.  Much of this culture manifested itself in new entertainment venues, including amusement parks, zoos, and cinemas.  As the century wore on, these entertainment spaces increased in number and complexity, becoming a familiar part of life in America – and in many other countries as well.  In this course we will explore the history of these spaces, using them as a lens through which to explore larger currents of cultural change. 

This course will be divided into three sections.  The first will explore the early days of amusement spaces as they arose alongside mass culture in American cities.  In the second section of the course we will deal with the new age of amusements that began with the opening of Disneyland in 1955.  The final section of the course will deal with the modern era of amusement spaces, an era defined by the globalization of mass amusements. 

The locations we will be discussing in this class – amusement parks, malls, zoos, and so on – are fun places often understood as frivolous and bereft of meaning.  We will be working to peer beneath the surface of these entertaining spaces, uncovering the extremely rich cultural forces that define and drive them and coming to grips with the way they influence American culture.  We will touch on a wide range of topics, including race, class, and gender roles, shifting understandings of public and private and man and nature, the rise of globalization, and the emergence of a corporately-driven “convergence culture.”  Our ultimate goal is to come to a better understanding of the profound effect seemingly meaningless amusement spaces have on American culture.

Requirements

Attendance and Discussion  20%

Tests                  20%

Response Paper                  20%

Research Paper                   40%

Possible Texts

Susan G. Douglas’s Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience

John F. Kasson’s Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century 

Joy S. Kasson’s Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History

Kathy Peiss’s Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York

Aviad E. Raz’s Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland

Flag(s): Writing