Cold War Cultures: The Good Life

HIST 368

Scarboro / Spring 2015

   Komar and Melamid, Air Superiority (From the American Dream Series), 1997

 I.  Course Description

World (Cold) War: the Cultures of the Cold War

This course explores the cold war as a global ideological phenomenon premised on differing visions of the “good life.”  Each actor in the cold war was continually engaged in defining what it meant to live well: how to balance the sometimes competing demands of individuals and society, to arrive at correct understandings of consumption and leisure, to accommodate the needs of the public and private spheres.  How these understandings were envisioned, enforced and transformed through culture will be the focus of our investigation.  How did people live the cold war?  What were its comforts and horrors?  How were the intentions of Moscow and Washington met in the streets of Kabul, Prague and Paris?  How were these conceptions of the good life expressed through official, unofficial and dissident culture?

Special attention will be paid to Europe as a central field of contestation over these questions.  As Europeans rebuilt from the devastation of the Second World War, they were forced to accommodate themselves to the military, economic and cultural power of the Soviet Union and the United States.  How did Europeans come to terms with the constraints of the cold war?  What opportunities did it afford?  How did it transform the meaning of “Europe”? How does the end of the cold war and its result impact our understanding of it as a historical period?

We will trace the Cold War’s development through movies, architecture, visual art and novels and through competing visions of the “good life” manifested in consumer culture and leisure: art galleries (both public and private), vacations, housing, washing machines, automobiles and televisions.

II. Purpose:

A. Objectives for the student:

This course will ask the student to make sense of the cold war as a historical phenomenon.  He or she is to become familiar with the major cultural, social, political and economic trends of the cold war and to be able to interpret them in historical context.  Students will engage with understandings of the cultures of the cold war from a wide range of genres, historiographic traditions and methodologies in order to gage historical roots, impact and transformations of cold war culture.  Central to the course is the principle that in taking the class the student will become familiar with historical methodology and thinking.  He or she should be able to locate, evaluate and interpret historical sources and place them in context.  The course’s paper will ask the student to critically engage and evaluate primary and secondary sources and present analyses of them in clear and persuasive writing.  These everyday tools of the historian will serve the student well in any field he or she chooses to enter. 

B.  General Learning Outcomes for the Student:

In addition to the more content-related objectives described above, this course has some general liberal-learning goals of developing academic skills. It is expected that successful completion of this course will help you improve your ability to: manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles; to understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated; to frame questions so as to more clearly clarify a problem topic or issue; to compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position; to organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in written form; to obtain practice in selecting and presenting information and arguments within a restricted environment, especially the limitations of time in exams

III. General Requirements

A. Course Readings:  

Us:

Gaddis, John Lewis, The Cold War: A New History, Penguin, 2005.

Wilson, Sloan, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, De Capo Press, 4^th ed., 2002.

Them:

Erofeev, Venedikt, Moscow to the End of the Line, trans. by H. William Tjalsma, Northwestern University Press, 1992.

Kotkin, Stephen, Uncivil Society: 1989 and the Implosion of the Communist Establishment, Modern Library, 2010.

Zubok, V. M., A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev, University of North Carolina Press, 2008.

Other Readings will be available on the course moodle site <<http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=805 >>.

B. Course Films 

The films for the course are an intrinsic part of the course--they will be the centerpiece of class discussion on the week they are shown, and viewing them is a requirement for the course.   All of these films are on reserve at the King’s College library.  Some are available on-line via www.hulu.com please see the link below.  A subscription to Netflix <<www.netflix.com>> (shared or otherwise) is an inexpensive way to watch the films on your own time. 

Us:

Loader and Rafferty, Atomic Café, 2002.  <<http://www.hulu.com/watch/122397/atomic-cafe>>

Milius, Red Dawn, 1984.

Them:

Menshov, Moscow does not believe in Tears, 1979.

Pichul, Little Vera, 1988.

C. Group Work: Paper

The primary written assignment in this class is a 10-12 paper on the topic of cold war cultures that incorporates both primary and secondary sources.  Much of this work will be done collaboratively within a group.  On the first day of class you will chose two to three other people with whom you will be working closely together both in researching your paper and in preparing and presenting your final group project.  There will be four groups total each focusing on one of eight historiographical problems within the structure of the Cold War: 1) Origins; 2) Competing Systems and the Good Life; 3) Fantasies; and 4) Collapse.  Each of your individual papers will be on the same general topic.  Your paper will be written in several steps much of it collaboratively:

1)  On the first day of the semester you will be assigned the general topic of your paper and end of semester presentation and the group with whom you will be working with closely all semester. 

2)  On February 23^rd your group will turn in a set of five historical questions associated with your topic.  What are the big questions that historians as about (for example) the origins of the Cold War?  The collapse of the Soviet bloc?  Each question should include references to at least three related secondary sources. 

3)  On March 23^rd your group will turn in a combined annotated bibliography of secondary sources.  This will consist of a minimum of 50 sources and be the basis of your first draft of the paper your historiographical essay.

      Each of the sources will need to be annotated outlining both the source’s thesis and a brief description of how it informs your group’s set of historical questions. 

4)  The historiographical essay is due in class on April 1^st.  This essay (which will be incorporated into your final paper) will synthesize the historical scholarship on your topic against which you will situate your own readings of your primary sources.  This essay will need to be a minimum of 5 pages.  Besides a hard copy for me, you will need to e-mail copies to each member of your group. 

5)  On April 8^th your group will turn in a combined annotated bibliography of primary sources.  This will consist of a minimum of 50 sources and be the basis of your first draft of the paper your historiographical essay.

      Each of the sources will need to be annotated outlining both the source’s thesis and a brief description of how it informs your group’s set of historical questions. 

6)   Also on April 8^th your group will critique one another’s historiographical essays in an in-class workshop.  You will need to bring a typed set of questions and comments for each of your group-mates’ papers for each workshop.   Your participation in each of these workshops is factored into your class participation grade.

7)  On April 13^th you will turn in your second rough draft of your paper which will focus on interpreting and integrating primary sources within the framework of your historiographical understanding.  This draft should be unique (that is not include sections from your historiographical essay) and a minimum of 8 pages.  Besides a hard copy for me, you will need to e-mail copies to each member of your group. 

8)  On April 20^th your group will critique one another’s synthesis drafts, workshop individual and group theses and prepare for the end of semester presentations.  You will need to bring a typed set of questions and comments for each of your group-mates’ papers for each workshop.   Your participation in each of these workshops is factored into your class participation grade.

10)  Your final paper of 10-12 pages is due the last day of class April 29^th.

Each stage and component of the paper are to be turned in both in paper form (in class) and electronically via turnitin on the course moodle site. 

You will also be responsible for grading your group mates’ performance during your work together this semester which will be factored into the final grade.

D. Group Work: Presentation

The last two class meetings will consist of your group presenting your research.  Each presentation will last 20 minutes and incorporate a central thesis (linking all group papers together).  Each member of the group will present their findings—highlighting historiographical debates (including those with their group-mates), findings in primary source materials, and their individual thesis.  No later than 5:00 the evening before their presentation the group must email me the following:

            1) The group’s (singular) powerpoint presentation

            2) A written outline of the presentation including: a) group thesis and b) individual thesis for each group member

E. Group Work: Class Workshops on Historiography and Primary Sources

In addition to the workshops critiquing one-another’s papers, your group will also be responsible for leading two class discussions: the first discussing historiographical debates emerging from secondary sources uncovered in researching your paper, the second discussing primary sources.  This will entail several stages:

First, you will need to choose 2-3 sources for each workshop.  These will need to be turned into me no later than one week prior to your workshop.  I will have them scanned in and placed on the course moodle site for the class to access.

You will need to prepare a set of 8-10 questions placing the sources in dialogue with one another.  How do these sources raise differing historiographical perspectives on your topic?  Where are the arguments?  What are the big questions?  How do the primary sources help inform our understanding of your topic—the origins of the Cold War? Reasons for it ending the way it did? How do the primary sources work in dialogue with the secondary literature?  These questions must be emailed to me no later than 5:00 the evening before the workshop.

Finally, your group will lead class discussion  

F. Exams:

This course will have two exams the first due on March 16^th and the second due during exam week.  These exams will consist of questions from the course syllabus, identifications and source readings. 

G.  Leading Class Discussion and Participation

As well as providing you with the methodological and analytical tools for engaging in historical thinking, this class will ask you to actively take part in a larger conversation of historical issues within the class.  I expect this class to allow us to delve deeply into the historical topics of each week’s readings.  To that end you need to make sure that you arrive to class on time ready to discuss the weekly readings, having carefully read and thought over the material.  You must take an active role in the class discussions.  Thus a portion of your grade will depend on your in-class performance and presence. 

As part of this class participation, prior to each class discussion you will be responsible for turning in a written description (no more than a paragraph) of the thesis of the class readings.  These will collected at the beginning of class and no late assignments will be accepted.

In a class of this nature it goes without saying that a classroom environment in which everyone feels comfortable is essential.  You should treat your fellow classmates with respect, listen carefully to their comments and respond to them in a polite manner. 

H.  Grading:

It is your responsibility to understand why you have achieved a certain grade, and what steps you can take to maintain or improve your grade.  You should consult with the instructor during office hours or by appointment before and after exams and written assignments.

For your protection, in case of errors in record keeping, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade.

      Your final grade will be based on the following percentages

Your grade distribution for class assignments is as follows:

I. Academic Integrity:

The Department of History adheres to guidelines on academic integrity outlined in the Student Conduct Code in the Student Handbook: 

http://www.kings.edu/student_handbook/studentregulations_rights/conductcode.htm

Cheating and plagiarism will be penalized in accord with the penalties and procedures indicated in that source.  All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the definition of these infractions of academic honesty. 

J. Absences:

I will regularly take attendance in this class. Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official. You should consult with the professor about making up missed work in advance or as soon as possible after your return.  Other absences are unexcused and will lower the class participation portion of your grade. After any absence, you are responsible for requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments from me or borrowing notes from other students. If you miss an exam, contact me as possible. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.

K.  Dissabilities:

King’s College and I will make every effort to accommodate students with a bona-fide disability that impacts on their ability to learn the course material.  Please meet with me privately so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help in the learning process.

IV. Course Schedule

Course Introduction

Monday, January 12^th

Part I: Setting the Stage—The “Cold” in Cold War

Structure of the Cold War: Cultures and Subjectivities

Wednesday, January 14^th 

Question: How was the Cold War an ideological struggle?  How was it a struggle about competing subjectivities?  What role does culture play?

Soviet Ideologies: Marx to “Socialism in One Country” to the "Soviet Zone"

Friday, January 16^th

Question: How did Soviet authorities define the good society?  How did they seek to implement it in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union?

American Ideologies: Middle Class Manifest Destiny

Monday, January 19^th

Question:  How did American authorities define the good society?  How did they seek to implement it in Western Europe and the United States?

Historiographical Problems in Cold War Cultures I:  Origins

Wednesday, January 21st 

Question: How do Gaddis and Zubok understand the origins of the Cold War?

**Readings:    1)  Gaddis, “Prologue” and “The Return of Fear,” 1-48

2)  Zubok, “The Soviet People and Stalin Between War and Peace” and “Stalin’s Road to the Cold War,” 1-61

Atomic Freeze

Friday, January 23^rd 

Question: What role did the development of the atomic bomb play in the development of the Cold War? Atomic Parity?  How does Gaddis understand its importance?

**Readings:    Gaddis, “Deathboats and Lifeboats,” 48-82

***Sources for Workshop in Historiography: Group 1 / Origins due 5:00***

Discussion:  Atomic Café

Monday, January 26^th

Question: What role did the development of the atomic bomb play in the development of the Cold War? Atomic Parity?  How do Loader and Raferty understand its importance?

**Film: Loader and Raferty, Atomic Café

***Sources for Workshop in Primary Sources: Group 1 / Origins due 5:00***

Sovietization and Normalization

Wednesday, January 28^th 

Question: How are we to understand sovietization and normalization?  What were the structures undergirding these processes?

*Readings:      1) Gaddis, “Command vs. Spontaneity,” 83-119

                        2) Zubok, “Stalemate in Germany,” 62-93

Workshop in Historiography: Origins

Friday, January 30^th

*Readings: TBA

Workshop in Primary Source Readings: Origins

Monday, February 2nd

*Readings: TBA

Part II: Official Solaces (and Discontents)

Kitchen Debates

Wednesday, February 4th 

Question: What role does consumption play in developing the Soviet and American vision of the good life?  What are the perils and possibilities of tying visions of the good society to vacations and refrigerators?

*Readings: Zubok, “Kremlin Politics and ‘Peaceful Coexistence” and “The Nuclear

Education of Khruschev,” 94-162

Levittown and Blocks

Friday, February 6^th

Question: How do the Soviet Union and the United States approach the problem of housing?  How does it reflect the differences in their visions of the “good life?”  Similarities?

Discussion:  Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Monday, February 9^th

Question: How does Wilson understand the American good life of the 1950s?  How does this relate to the Cold War?

**Reading: Wilson, Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Fissures

Wednesday, February 11^th 

Question:  What were the challenges to the Soviet system in Eastern Europe in the 1950s and 1960s?  How did the Soviet Union address them?

1968 Paris and Prague

Friday, February 13^th

Question:  What were the challenges to the American system in the 1950s and 1960s?  How were they addressed?

Triumph of Irony: Socialist Realism to Sots Art / Campbell’s Suit to Soup Cans

Monday, February 16^th

Question:  How are Sots Art and Pop Art ironic?  What political role did irony play in the Cold War? 

***Sources for Workshop in Historiography: Group 2 / The Good Life due 5:00***

Discussion: Moscow to the End of the Line

Wednesday, February 18^th 

Question: How does Erofeev understand the Soviet good life of the 1960s and 1970s?

**Reading: Erofeev, Moscow to the End of the Line

***Sources for Workshop in Primary Sources: Group 2 / Good Life due 5:00***

Discussion: Moscow does not believe in Tears

Friday, February 20^th

Question: How does Menshov understand the soviet good life of the late 1970s?  What tensions emerge from official visions?

**Film: Menshov, Moscow does not believe in Tears

Workshop in Historiography: Competing Systems and the Good Life

Monday, February 23^rd 

*Readings: TBA

***Historical Questions due in class***

Workshop in Primary Source Readings: Competing Systems and the Good Life

Wednesday, February 25^th 

*Readings: TBA

Part III: Cold War Fantasies

Historiographical Problems in Cold War Cultures II: Terror and Pleasure

Friday, February 27^th

**Reading:     1) Gaddis, “The Emergence of Autonomy” and “The Recovery of Equity,”

119-194

2) Zubok, “The Soviet Home front: First Cracks,” “Brezhnev and the Road to

 Détente” and “Détente’s Decline and Soviet Overreach,”163-264

Discussion: Red Dawn

Monday, March 9^th

Question: How does Milius understand the course of the Cold War?  How is Red Dawn a product of its era? 

**Film: Milius, Red Dawn

Cold War, Hot War

Wednesday, March 11^th

Question: How did the Cold War play out in the “Third World?”

From Russia with Love

Friday, March 13^th

Question: What is meant by cold war fantasies? What ideological work do they engage in?

***Sources for Workshop in Historiography: Group 3 / Fantasies due 5:00***

Cold War Dirty War America and Latin America

Monday, March 16^th

Question: How did the Cold War play out in Latin America? How did the interests of superpowers align with the interests of local actors? 

***Midterm Exam***

***Sources for Workshop in Primary Sources: Group 3 / Fantasies due 5:00***

Vietnam and Afghanistan

Wednesday, March 18^th

Question:  How were the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan Cold War conflicts?

Workshop in Historiography: Cold War Fantasies

Friday, March 20^th

*Readings: TBA

Workshop in Primary Source Readings: Cold War Fantasies

Monday, March 23^rd

*Readings: TBA

***Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Sources***

Part IV: Collapse

Historiographical Problems in Cold War Cultures III: Collapse

Wednesday, March 25^th

Question: How do Zubok and Gaddis understand the collapse of Communism?

**Reading:     1) Gaddis, “Actors” and “The Triumph of Hope,” 195-257

2) Zubok, “The Old Guard’s Exit” and “Gorbachev and the End of Soviet Power,” 265-335

Stagnation

Friday, March 27^th

Question: How was stagnation reveal the both the achievement and limits of the Soviet vision of the good society?  What accounts for the systems seeming permanence and retrospective vulnerability? 

Discussion: Power of the Powerless!?

Monday, March 30^th 

Question:  What does Havel mean by the Power of the Powerless?  What is a post-totalitarian state?  What are the implications?

**Reading: Havel, “The Power of the Powerless” (moodle)

Discussion: Little Vera

Wednesday, April 1^st

**Film: Pinchul, Little Vera

Question: How does Pinchul understand the Soviet good society of the mid to late 1980s?

***Historiographical Draft Due***

Paper Workshop: Historiographical Draft

Wednesday, April 8^th

***Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources due***

***Sources for Workshop in Historiography: Group 4 / Collapse due 5:00***

Discussion: Uncivil Society

Friday, April 10^th

Question: How does Kotkin understand the collapse of the Soviet system?

**Reading: Kotkin, Uncivil Society

***Sources for Workshop in Primary Sources: Group 4 / Collapse due 5:00***

1989

Monday April 13^th

Question:  Why does Communism collapse in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe?

***Synthesis Draft / Thesis Due***

Workshop in Historiography: Collapse

Wednesday, April 15^th

*Readings: TBA

Workshop in Primary Source Readings: Collapse

Friday, April 17^th

*Readings: TBA

Paper Workshop: Synthesis and Thesis

Monday, April 20^th

No Class: “The Pleasures of Backwardness” Conference, University of California, Berkeley

Wednesday, April 22^nd

No Class: “The Pleasures of Backwardness” Conference, University of California, Berkeley

Friday, April 24^th

Class Presentations

Monday, April 27^th

Class Presentations

Wednesday, April 29^th

Group Schedule

Group 1: Origins

Members:

Joshua Berman                        joshuaberman441@kings.edu

Tony Cardone                         anthonycardone@kings.edu

Niall Croke                             niallcroke@kings.edu

Mike Drake                             michaeldrake@kings.edu

Tim Hands                              timothyhands@kings.edu

Important Dates:

Friday, January 23^rd                2-3 sources in the secondary literature due in class

Monday, January 26^th              2-3 primary sources due in class

Thursday, January 29^th            Questions for class discussion: Historiography

Friday, January 30^th                Workshop in Historiography: Origins

Sunday, February 1^st               Questions for class discussion: Primary sources Analysis

Monday, February 2^nd             Workshop in Primary Source Analysis: Origins                                          

Group 2: Competing Systems and the “Good Life”

Members:

Colin Henry                            colinhenry@kings.edu

Dave Javick                           davidjavick@kings.edu

Kyle Mahalick                        kylemahalick@kings.edu

Jay McDonnell                       jamesmcdonnell@kings.edu

Important Dates:

Monday, February 16^th            2-3 sources in the secondary literature due in class

Wednesday, February 18^th      2-3 primary sources due in class

Sunday, February 22^nd            Questions for class discussion: Historiography

Monday, February 23^rd           Workshop in Historiography: Good Life

Tuesday, February 24^th           Questions for class discussion: Primary Source Analysis

Wednesday, February 25^th      Workshop in Primary Source Analysis: Good Life

Group 3: Cold War Fantasies

Members:

Ryan McGoff                          ryanmcgoff@kings.edu

James Nixon                           jamesnixon@kings.edu

Natalie Pacileo                       nataliepacileo@kings.edu

Aaron Perez                            aaronperez@kings.edu

Important Dates:

Friday, March 13^th                    2-3 sources in the secondary literature due in class

Monday, March 16^th                 2-3 primary sources due in class

Thursday, March 19^th              Questions for class discussion: Historiography

Friday, March 20^th                  Workshop in Historiography: Fantasies

Sunday, March 22^nd                 Questions for class discussion: Primary Source Analysis

Monday, March 23^rd                Workshop in Primary Source Analysis: Fantasies

Group 4: Collapse

Members:

Keyana Robinson                   keyanarobinson@kings.edu

Jarred Stagen                          jarredstagen@kings.edu

Ryan Tobin                             ryantobin@kings.edu

Christine Wickiser                 christinewickiser@kings.edu

Important Dates:

Wednesday, April 8^th             2-3 sources in the secondary literature due in class

Friday, April 10^th                       2-3 primary sources due in class

Tuesday, April 14^th                 Questions for class discussion: Historiography

Wednesday, April 15^th          Workshop in Historiography: Collapse

Thursday, April 16^th              Questions for class discussion: Primary Source Analysis

Friday, April 17^th                    Workshop in Primary Source Analysis: Collapse