Agriculture and the American Mind (8 Week Summer Course)

It is easy to think of agriculture as a static part of society. It often seems a realm untouched by fast-paced modern society, where the “salt of the earth” labor unceasingly to provide the rest of us with our daily bread. In this class we will work to test that image against the changing landscapes of American farming throughout American history. Our goal will be to unearth the myriad ways our industrial capitalist, high-tech, information-based society is deeply and inextricably tied to the agricultural world. It is this connection and its inherent ironies that make agriculture such a powerful idea in American culture. We will explore the ways Americans have imagined the farm and try to come up with our own understandings of agriculture’s place in the modern United States.

Written Work: There will be two short papers for this course. Both require NO outside research. The first (-5pp.) will be an exploration of major themes in the course and will be due by 11am via email on Thursday July 17th. The second will be a comparative historiography essay (7-10pp) of the three following books: 1) White Scourge by Neil Foley 2) Breaking the Land by Pete Daniel, or 3) Dust Bowl by Donald Worster. The same books will be the topic of your group presentation.

Presentation: In Week 6 (July 30th) groups will give a 20 minute presentation critiquing one of the books you are to review for your final essay. This is not just an exercise to torture you. Rather, it is an opportunity to relate these books to issues prevalent in the United States today. More details will follow.

Class Participation: Class Participation, including short reading responses, will comprise 35% of your grade in this class. If you have a lot of trouble participating orally, come talk to me and we will make a written option for you. This is a seminar and the only way for it to work is for you to engage with one another. Periodically I will give reading quizzes and in class writing assignments that will count toward the participation grade.

Reading and Films: In order to do well in participation, you MUST do the reading. There is a lot of reading in this course, and that is part of the reason why it is light on writing. Diligently doing your reading is the only way for this course to be interesting to you or me and it is also the only way to get a good grade. On days marked “Movie Day” we will be watching a film and then holding discussion immediately following.

Field Trip: This class includes a field trip to the Solano County Fair on July 8th if you can make it (this is a Tuesday, but it is the days when all the best blue ribbons will be given out and we don’t want to miss it). I encourage all of you to accompany me to the fair, where we will witness an agricultural festival (for this is what county fairs are) in 3-D. Your first essay will be greatly enhanced if you attend this, or another, county fair because my favorite prompt is built around it. Of course, if you absolutely cannot attend alternate (but not favorite) essay topics can be formulated.

Attendance: To participate, you must attend. To do well, you must participate. If you miss movie day you are expected to watch the movie on your own.  You are only allowed to miss two sessions (including film days) without receiving an incomplete in the course. Contact me in advance if you are missing a day.

Breakdown of Grades: Participation, 35%. Papers, 40%, Presentation, 25%.

Required Texts: The following books are available for purchase in the ASUC bookstore. They are also on reserve at Moffitt library. Note: we will only read excerpts of many of these books, so consider photocopying if you are budget-conscious.

  1. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (2006)
  2. The Culture of Wilderness by Frieda Knobloch (1996)
  3. The Machine in the Garden, by Leo Marx (1964)
  4. Slave Counterpoint, by Philip D. Morgan (1998)
  5. Changes in the Land, by William Cronon (1983)
  6. An Organizer’s Tale: Speeches, by Cesar Chávez (2008)
  7. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)
  8. You will need to gain access to all of the following for the paper and the group presentation:
    1. Breaking the Land by Pete Daniel (1986)
    2. The White Scourge by Neil Foley (1997)
    3. Dust Bowl by Donald Worster (1979)

 

Suggested Texts: The following books are available for purchase in the ASUC bookstore. They are primarily for reference and are not required. They provide extremely useful information.

  1. American Agriculture: A Brief History, by R. Douglas Hurt
  2. Born in the Country: A History of Rural America, by David B. Danbom
  3. A Green and Permanent Land: Ecology and Agriculture in the Twentieth Century, by Randal S. Beeman & James A. Pritchard

 

Schedule

Week 1

June 23rd – Why Study Agriculture?  Introduction and discussion of Wendell Berry’s essay “The Unsettling of America,” which we will read in class.

June 25th – Movie Day: The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

 

Week 2

June 30th – Agriculture & Environmental History: William Cronon, Changes in the Land.

July 2nd – Movie Day – The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005)

Week 3

July 7th – Slavery and agriculture: Philip Morgan, Slave Counterpoint. Introduction and Part I.

July 8th – Trip to Solano County Fair for Livestock and Agriculture Competitions. (And corn dogs.) Don’t forget to read the excerpt from Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder before we depart.

July 9th – No Class due to County Fair Trip: Use this time to work on your first essay which will be much better if you read The Machine in the Garden before you start.

Week 4

 

July 14th – Understanding Agriculture in the 19th century: Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden

July 16th – Movie Day – Days of Heaven (1978) & Forsaken Fields

 

July 17th – Email first essays to me by 11am today!

Week 5

 

July 21st – Agriculture and western expansion: The Culture of Wilderness by Frieda Knobloch

July 23rd – No Class: Use this time to work on your presentations for next Wednesday!

Week 6:

 

July 28th – Movie Day – Our Daily Bread (1934). Extra Credit Due today: 1 page assessment of D.W. Griffith’s A Corner in Wheat (1909). Extra extra extra credit for comparing it to Birth of a Nation (1915). Note: This assignment, if done well, can help make up for an absence.

 

July 30th – Agricultural in the New Deal. PRESENTATION DAY TODAY.  Breaking the Land, The White Scourge & Dust Bowl.

Week 7

 

August 4th – Agriculture and Social Movements. Excerpts (TBA) from Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, and excerpts (TBA) from An Organizer’s Tale: Speeches, by Cesar Chávez

August 6th – No Class – Take this time to work on your Historiography papers. You may also watch Children of the Corn and write a short analysis of the role of the farm in the film.

 

Week 8

 

August 11th – Changing Agriculture: Excerpts (TBA) from The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

August 13th – Movie Day. East of Eden (1955). Historiography papers due in class today. Second extra credit also due.