For February's Think Again dialogue, we'll try to get a taste of life during The Great Depression and draw some lessons that have relevance to the current economic downturn.
The question is not whether our experience will be "as bad," or "the same" as the 1930s, but what the voices from that time can teach us today, regardless of the severity, duration, or nature of our crisis.
A few questions to consider as we prepare for the dialogue: What was gained and what was lost in that time? Who was hardest hit - women, blacks, children, white men, migrants, laborers? If all we know about that time comes from artists (writers, journalists, painters, photographers, musicians, etc.), what attention should we give to the creative chroniclers of our day? Feel free to add questions you would like to explore in the comments.
The prep work includes 30 minutes of audio and 30 - 45 minutes of reading/looking at art.
1) Introduction to the book, "First-Person America" by Ann Banks (pdf - sorry for the poor quality)
While this is an introduction to a book from which I have not included any readings, the themes discussed, and the general overview of the value of first-hand accounts from the time is an excellent introduction to the other materials we are listening to and reading. Just read the parts in the red boxes.
2) Studs Terkel interviews
The Chicago Public Radio program "This American Life" compiled about 30 minutes of recordings from interviews Studs Terkel did with people who lived through the depression. The program is one hour long, but the interviews start about five minutes into the program (5:30 - 37:35). You can listen directly from your computer for free by clicking "Full Episode," or download the episode for $1 and listen to it on your MP3 player.
3) Dorthea Lange's "Migrant Mother" (1936) (pdf - sorry for the poor quality)
The story of this iconic photo.
4) Posters from the WPA
Just peruse this site. There are no specific posters assigned.
Here's some background: WPA, and the Federal Art Project
OPTIONAL--------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
In the dark years of the Depression, giant, relentless dust storms overtook the Plains states and parts of Canada due to a combination of drought and erosion from poor agricultural practices. This 2006 book by Timothy Egan contains first-hand accounts from survivors, and makes an interesting argument about the twin threats of natural resource depletion and economic recession. See the Introduction through page 10 and Don Hartwell's experience pp. 242 - 251
For more audio from Studs Terkel, see http://www.studsterkel.org/htimes.php
The question is not whether our experience will be "as bad," or "the same" as the 1930s, but what the voices from that time can teach us today, regardless of the severity, duration, or nature of our crisis.
A few questions to consider as we prepare for the dialogue: What was gained and what was lost in that time? Who was hardest hit - women, blacks, children, white men, migrants, laborers? If all we know about that time comes from artists (writers, journalists, painters, photographers, musicians, etc.), what attention should we give to the creative chroniclers of our day? Feel free to add questions you would like to explore in the comments.
The prep work includes 30 minutes of audio and 30 - 45 minutes of reading/looking at art.
1) Introduction to the book, "First-Person America" by Ann Banks (pdf - sorry for the poor quality)
While this is an introduction to a book from which I have not included any readings, the themes discussed, and the general overview of the value of first-hand accounts from the time is an excellent introduction to the other materials we are listening to and reading. Just read the parts in the red boxes.
2) Studs Terkel interviews
The Chicago Public Radio program "This American Life" compiled about 30 minutes of recordings from interviews Studs Terkel did with people who lived through the depression. The program is one hour long, but the interviews start about five minutes into the program (5:30 - 37:35). You can listen directly from your computer for free by clicking "Full Episode," or download the episode for $1 and listen to it on your MP3 player.
3) Dorthea Lange's "Migrant Mother" (1936) (pdf - sorry for the poor quality)
The story of this iconic photo.
4) Posters from the WPA
Just peruse this site. There are no specific posters assigned.
Here's some background: WPA, and the Federal Art Project
OPTIONAL--------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
In the dark years of the Depression, giant, relentless dust storms overtook the Plains states and parts of Canada due to a combination of drought and erosion from poor agricultural practices. This 2006 book by Timothy Egan contains first-hand accounts from survivors, and makes an interesting argument about the twin threats of natural resource depletion and economic recession. See the Introduction through page 10 and Don Hartwell's experience pp. 242 - 251
For more audio from Studs Terkel, see http://www.studsterkel.org/
Great stuff, and the reading isn't really that time consuming. Love the WPA posters, especially the one asking people to loan their binoculars to the Navy. Haven't finished all of the listening exercise, but I'm definitely interested in seeking out more of these oral histories.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine from grad school created this site:
ReplyDeletehttp://hard-times.alltop.com/
Essentially, she's searching for every single RSS feed on the internet that shares personal stories about these hard times--what Michael Luo of the NY Times calls "Kitchen Table Economics." My friend discovered some pretty neat sites, including "Stuff Unemployed People Like," "Unemployment Haiku Weekly," and "Faces of the Recession"--a photojournalist's interviews with Americans during his two-month journey across the nation.
Enjoy!