Due Date: April 5th and 6th.
List of Topics:
Music: Jazz in the 1950s
Music: Birth of Rock and Roll
Art: Abstract Expressionism
Art: Minimalism
Film: Film in the 1950s
Literature/poetry: Beat Writers
Literature/poetry: New York School Writers
Activism: Early Civil Rights Movement
Activism: 2nd Red Scare
Activism: Women's issues in the 1950s
Architecture: Architecture in the 1950s
Architecture: Growth of suburban culture
Fashion: Fashion in the 1950s
Technology: Home Improvements in the 1950s
Technology: Car Culture in the 1950s
Government in the 1950s: The Interstate Highway System
Government in the 1950s: The McCarthy Hearings
Government in the 1950s: Role in South/Central America
Corporations: Rise of corporate influence in the 1950s
Corporations: Industrialization of agriculture
Corporations: Birth of chain stores / fast food
Guiding question:
Each topic should seek to answer a guiding question. A guiding question is a core question that you, as a researcher, keep coming back to during your research. Many of these guiding questions seek to answer paradoxical or ironic observations. For example: "How did materially wealthy suburban America—which on the outside appears so clean and happy—become so commonly associated with feelings of emptiness and depression?" Guiding questions may also help put your topic into broader context of the time period. For example: "What was the Interstate Highway system's affect on sense of place and community in the 1950s?" To be clear: each presentation should seek to answer a specific guiding question. If you are having difficulty coming up with a guiding question, please see me at extra help.
