Students will undertake three projects of original research and share their reports by mounting them on a World Wide Web site. Through readings/viewings, discussions, class participation, and the completion and presentation of research projects, we will endeavor to to expand our knowledge and understanding of this ubiquitous contemporary cultural form. Part of that process will require us to think about what would constitute an ideal American community today and why certain Americans believe suburbia represents the culmination of the American Dream.

Course Objectives

Students will have the opportunity to develop or refine skills in critical inquiry, communication, cultural knowledge, and self-reflection that are traditionally associated with the life of the mind--and with the humanities and American Studies in particular. But, once acquired, these skills know no boundaries; they will be of tremendous service in a professional career, a business setting, within the family circle, and in activities pursued for personal enrichment.

There are six objectives for the course:

To foster knowledge about American society and culture and the values and beliefs that have given meaning and shape to the experiences of its peoples.
To introduce American Studies as a mode of interdisciplinary inquiry that cultivates "the connecting frame of mind."
To develop skills in analysis, synthesis, and the construction of an argument.
To help students equip themselves with basic skills for doing formal research.
To introduce students to new information technologies and the range of scholarly resources accessible to them via the Internet.
To develop and refine skills in written and oral communication and html.

Attendance: In a seminar, we can't do without your daily participation. Attendance is mandatory.

Readings/Viewings: These form the heart of a seminar: they are our common ground. The success (and everyone's enjoyment) of our discussions will depend on your willingness to complete the reading and viewing assignments on time and to contribute your thoughts and insights through the letters you write in response to them. Please read actively, record your impressions, mark interesting or irritating passages; engage with the authors and come to class ready to contribute at least one good idea about their work and the issues they raise.

Class/Online Discussions: We are committed to enhancing the quality of our classroom time together. During class we will be learning skills needed to complete a particular assignment, presenting course material, reporting the results of projects, discussing readings/viewings, and trying to formulate questions and answers that will help us understand better the American suburban culture in its many dimensions.

Because HONR 259J is an active learning class, students play a large role in shaping the quality of our class time. Nearly everyone has some familiarity with suburbia or suburban culture. Consider your background, experiences (positive and negative), and knowledge a cache of resources from which we can all draw and learn.

Resource Persons: For each starred (*) session on the course calendar, students will serve as the resource persons for that day's discussion. The first task for each resource person will be to craft an epistolary response to the assigned reading, viewing, or discussion materials. Letters will usually be read to the class and they will be collected (in good, old-fashioned hard copies) and compiled and redistributed near the end of the semester. The second task for resource persons will be to help plan the day's activities. Resource persons should plan to meet with Mary or Arthur prior to the class session in which they will serve. This is your chance to structure the class as you like or to point us toward discussion topics or viewpoints that you feel are being overlooked.

Conferences: You are encouraged to schedule at least two office hour conferences with the professor during the course of the semester. I invite you to drop in early in the semester so that I can get to know you. (WARNING: Rare UMCP offer): I will be delighted to address your needs and interests as I come to know them. You may also write me a letter at any time to communicate your ideas or concerns about the class.

Short Assignments: There will be several short assignments over the course of the semester in addition to the projects. Some of these may be "quizlets" or short letter-writing opportunities designed to assist you in digesting material and formulating your own positions on issues. Some will be homework assignments created to get you to practice skills exploring and using the Web. Try to be a good sport about these; they are an important part of the active learning design of the course.

Research Projects/Presentations: HONR 259J features three projects devised to provide opportunities for more intense thought and research on particular aspects of suburbia, present or past. All three projects involve techniques for analyzing American culture and society characteristic of scholarship in American Studies.



For the first project, we will analyze a suburban artifact or group of related artifacts for what it can tell us about suburbia and ordinary life in the American present or past. Students will learn to describe and evaluate the history, form, materials, construction, and function(s) of artifacts, and to study them in their original and contemporary contexts for what they reveal about the suburbanites who used them then and now.

For the second project, students will choose a representation of suburbia--a literary work, film(s), television show(s), or sound recording-- and analyze it for the information and imagery presented concerning issues of race, class, age, sexuality, and/or gender.

Project III will engage students in thinking about what makes an ideal American community. At this point in the semester, we will apply our knowledge of what works and what doesn't in American suburbs to conceptualize a better way of living. Students will learn about nearby Greenbelt, MD, created during the New Deal as an ideal planned community that aimed to foster a healthier way to live and give ordinary white American families a chance at the American Dream. Everyone will complete a research project designed to further our discussions of how Americans in the 21st century might best organize their homes, their families, their lives, and their communities. Will our solutions be suburban? Projects will contribute to an interactive Web site summarizing and linking our conclusions.

Rather than submitting written papers, students will present their work in the form of pages and exhibitions mounted on the World Wide Web for the whole class to read and respond to. In addition, students will have the opportunity to present the fruits of their research verbally and online on the days when projects are due. Failure to proofread and spellcheck projects will cause the instructor to have apoplexy (really)..

Examination: In lieu of a final examination, students will develop a portfolio of the semester's work and mount it on the web. One of the resources we will use for this summary project is our compilation of letters over the course of the semester. The portfolio project will ask you to write a final letter articulating what you have learned about American suburbia and how you have learned it. The portfolio should also include revised, expanded, and improved versions of the projects, and new and appropriate hyperlinks and resources for your class website. The portfolio will be due at the date and time of the final examination.

Robert Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias, 1987
Philip Roth, Goodbye, Columbus, 1959
Roger Silverstone, ed., Visions of Suburbia (excerpts only), 1997
Philip Langdon, A Better Place to Live , 1994
Avalon, Dir: Barry Levinson, 1990 (126 mins.)
A Raisin in the Sun, Dir: Daniel Petrie, 1961 (128 mins.)
Coursepack ($14.80) from BSOS Copy Center, 1105 Tydings Hall

Class participation	15%
Short assignments and Letter-Writing	15%
Project I	15%
Project II	15%
Project III	20%
Portfolio	20%

Late work may receive a lower grade. It is the student's responsibility to get projects completed and mounted on the web well in advance of the deadlines. Be sure to give yourself adequate time for solving technical problems and working around the occasional system crash.

Code of Academic Integrity: All students enrolled in HONR 259J are expected to abide by the university's Code of Academic Integrity which is reprinted in the Undergraduate Catalog. In particular, academic dishonesty (cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism) cannot be tolerated. The definitions for these offenses are printed in the Schedule of Courses and we urge you to familiarize yourselves with them. "Academic dishonesty is a serious offense which may result in suspension or expulsion from the university."

Students with disabilities: Please identify yourselves to the instructors early in the semester so that we can make appropriate arrangements through the Office of Disabled Student Services.