Author Archives: David Parsons

The road to “Dirty Wars”

by David Parsons

 

After viewing the 2013 documentary Dirty Wars, let’s go back in time to see if we can determine the events and developments that led to the situation described in the film.

Chapter 18 of Freeman’s American Empire is about the 1990s era in the United States, focusing mainly on the administration of President Bill Clinton.  Write a brief blog entry that attempts to connect an argument that Freeman makes in this chapter to the phenomena shown in Dirty Wars.  How did the Clinton 1990s contribute to the privatized, often illegal, secret wars that dominate U.S. foreign policy today?

 

 

Chapter 17: “I’m Running Out of Demons”

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 17. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 17” so you can get credit for your post!

Chapter 16: Cold War Redux

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 16. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 16” so you can get credit for your post!

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

by David Parsons

When Arcade Fire, a Canadian indie rock band, burst onto the popular American music scene in 2004, I can remember actively resisting liking their music. The whole media announcement of the band as THE voice of suburban disenchantment and hipster ennui struck me as kind of false and constructed.

But then I actually listened to their music, and found myself falling in love with it despite myself. The song above, taken from the album of the same name, is a perfect distillation of why I like this band so much. They’ve taken an overplayed concept (suburbs as secret dystopia) and made it seem fresh and vibrant with simple lyrics (“In the suburbs I learned to drive, and you told me we’d never survive) that somehow capture a disturbing tone without being sentimental or cheesy.

Obviously, being raised in the suburbs of Southern California, imbued with a subtle but undeniable sense of impending doom, has a lot to do with my attitude toward this song and all of Arcade Fire’s work. At the end, when lead singer Win Butler harmonizes the refrain with the rest of the band, “Sometimes I can’t believe it/I’m moving past the feeling,” the song emerges as a kind of personal classic for me, rendering all of those confusing emotions into a couple mysterious lines that paint a haunting picture of growing up in a certain place and time.

Chapter 13: The Politics of Stagnation

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 13. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 13” so you can get credit for your post!

Chapter 12: The Landscape of Decline

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 12. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 12” so you can get credit for your post!

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Chapters 1 and 3

by David Parsons

South Bronx playground, 1970s

Jeff Chang spends a lot of time writing about the Bronx and its importance in the beginnings of hip hop. Let’s try to bring out some of the highlights of the history he creates.

For 9/27, write a brief (1-3 paragraph) blog post that points out a particular historical development in the Bronx.  Pay attention to what others have posted and try to write about something different (but, of course, related).

Course Syllabus

by David Parsons

History 3460:  American Politics and Society Since Vietnam

Instructor:  Dr. David Parsons

e-mail: parsonsdlp@gmail.com

F 11:10am-2:05pm VC 10180

Office Hours: TH 10:00-11:00am VC 5-250 C

* * *

Welcome to History 3460! This course will examine the major political, economic, and social trends in American life in the years since the end of the Vietnam War. Beginning with the energy crises, stagflation, and economic uncertainty of the Ford and Carter years, we will continue into the 1980s, studying the Reagan administration’s transformative social and economic policies, before concluding in the 1990s with a consideration of globalization and the digital revolution. Topics will include deindustrialization, deregulation, foreign policy, “trickle down” economics, the Wal-Mart business model, “culture wars,” and the dot com crash. We will be using two popular music genres born during this era, hip-hop and grunge, to draw connections between the politics, economics, and culture of American society. Students will need to keep up with the reading each week and attend all classes in order to do well in the course.  The course goals are to give students: 1) A deeper understanding of the recent history of the United States; 2) Basic knowledge about how to read, write about, and analyze history; 3) A desire to continue learning about history and a sense that history is relevant to our world today.

Reading:

This course is reading intensive and its success will depend largely on the active participation of everyone in the class. Most class meetings will involve some discussion. Please do the reading and complete the course blog assignments before you come to class each week.. Please remember to bring the book(s) that we are discussing with you to each class meeting.

There are three required books for this course:  

1.  Joshua Freeman, American Empire: 1945-2000 (Penguin, 2012) 

2.  Jeff Chang, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop:  A History of the Hip-Hop Generation (St. Martin’s Press, 2005)

3.  Mark Yarm, Everybody Loves Our Town:  An Oral History of Grunge (Three Rivers Press, 2011)

These books are available at Shakespeare Books on 23rd Street, as well as online (probably the cheapest option is alibris.com).  There may also be additional readings distributed as class handouts or available on the course blog.

Course Blog: 

An important component of the course will be your participation in a collaborative online environment, which can be found at blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his3460fall2013. Detailed instructions on how (and when) to contribute will be shared in class.  The course blog is meant to provide a place for you to participate in the larger class discussion and to collaborate with your classmates in thinking about the course material. Since much of that material will be audio/visual, the web will be particularly important for sharing ideas and drawing connections between culture and politics.

Grading:

The grading scheme for the course—which will be discussed further as the semester progresses—is listed below, followed by the class, reading, and assignment schedule for the entire semester.  In addition to the listed grading scheme, attendance will be taken each class and students with excessive absences will be graded accordingly. 

Attendance/Participation 25%

Course Blog 30%

Midterm Essay 20%

Final Paper 25% 

Course Schedule:

            *all course meetings are on Friday**

Week 1: 8/30                 

Course Introduction                                                                    

Week 2:   9/6

*No class meeting*

Reading:

Freeman, Introduction, Prologue, and Chapter 8

Week 3:  9/13                 

*No class meeting*

Reading:

Freeman, Chapter 9

Week 4:  9/20

Reading:

Freeman, Chapter 10

 Week 5:  9/27

Reading:

Chang, Prelude and Chapters 1 and 3

Week 6:  10/4

Reading:

Freeman, Chapters 12 and 13

Week 7:  10/11

Reading:

Freeman, Chapters 14 and 15                                                                                                                                                           

Week 8:  10/18

Reading:

Chang, Chapters 9-11

 

Week 9:  10/25

Reading:  Chang, Chapters 12-13

**MIDTERM ESSAY IN CLASS**                              

Week 10:  11/1

Reading:

Freeman, Chapters 16-17                                          

Week 11:  11/8

Reading:

Freeman, Chapter 18                 

Week 12:  11/15                                                                       

Reading:

Freeman, Chapter 19 and Epilogue 

Week 13:  11/22

Reading:

Yarm, Selected Passages                                                                                          

Week 14:  11/29

*No class meeting* 

Week 15:  12/6

Reading:

Yarm, Selected Passages

Week 16:  12/13

Reading:

Yarm, Selected Passages

**FINAL PAPER DUE 12/20**

 

                                                                                                            

Chapter 10: Sixties to Seventies, Dreams to Nightmares

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 10. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 10” so you can get credit for your post!

 

Chapter 9: Apocalypse Now

by David Parsons

Instructions:  Let’s try to generate a list of the key terms and concepts in this chapter. For the category assigned to your group (see Blog Group List), each group member should produce at least one blog post from Chapter 9. Use the “New Post” function to start creating your entry. The title of your post should be the name of the term; pay attention to the other posts so you avoid repeating terms. A post should consist of :

(1) a specific person, event, organization, or institution,

(2) a (brief) relevant quote from the text

(3) a short (no longer than one paragraph) summary of how the term fits into Freeman’s argument about the era. Why does he mention it? 

IMPORTANT:  Be sure to categorize your post under “American Empire, Ch. 9” so you can get credit for your post!