The Beat Begins: America in the 1950s

This seminar on America in the 1950s covers the period from the end of World War II until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We look at the fifties from a variety of angles -- we read and discuss a novel (Jack Kerouac's On the Road); several short stories (James Baldwin's collection Going to Meet the Man); several essays (by Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Irving Howe, and others); a play (Arthur Miller's The Crucible); several poems (by Allen Ginsberg and others); as well as two substantial books about American culture in the 1950s (David Halberstam's The Fifties and Dan Wakefield's New York in the Fifties). We watch and discuss four classic movies -- The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Seven Year Itch, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Rebel Without a Cause -- and a few episodes of 1950s television (The Twilight Zone, e.g.). We listen to and talk about a lot of great music. And we examine the early years of many things we now take for granted and probably cannot imagine living without (television, fast food, advertising, and a national obsession with "homeland security").

This website contains most of the materials used in the course: selected bibliographies; some supplementary materials covering some of the events and issues we discussed; and a substantial list of links to remote websites relevant to the course; and a growing list of student projects from previous semesters. If you're curious, you can read the longer description that appears in the Honors Program course booklet.