Subject: Utah Phillips College Credit course
From:
Mark Ross
Date: 06 May 11 - 03:55 PM
Westminster College in Salt Lake City is giving a month long course on the life & work of U.Utah Phillips, The Golden Voice of the Great SouthWest. I will be speaking to the class and giving a concert with Larry Hanks & Deborah Robins on Thursday May 12.
Here's the syllabus for the class;
"The Long Memory: The Songs and Stories of Utah Phillips"
History 300 AA01
May 2011
Syllabus and Class Schedule
"Yes, the long memory is the most radical idea in this country. It is the loss of that long memory which deprives our people of that connective flow of thoughts and events that clarifies our vision, not of where we're going, but where we want to go." - Bruce "U. Utah" Phillips, from http://www.thelongmemory.com/
Class hours: T/Th 12:00-3:00 p.m.
Classroom: HWAC 353
Instructor: Dr. Bob Seltzer
Office: Gore 104 Email: bseltzer@westminstercollege.edu
Phone: 832-2552
Office hours:
Instructor: Dr. Jeff Nichols
Office: Foster 417
Phone: 832-2392 Email: jnichols@westminstercollege.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
ADA COMPLIANCE POLICY
Note: Westminster College seeks to provide equal access to the college's programs, services, and activities to people with disabilities as defined by the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you have a disability for which you will need accommodations in this class, please let me know as soon as possible. You will also be required to provide documentation of your disability to the Services for Students with Disabilities program in the START Center in Carleson Hall at 832-2280.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This class explores the music, legacy, and long memory of the late, great Bruce "U. Utah" Phillips (1935-2008). Utah was a singer, songwriter, storyteller, and activist for labor and homeless causes. He rightly believed that our remembered history should include ordinary people that too often get ignored or forgotten. In that spirit, we will use Utah's music and spoken words in class to explore a variety of topics, including:
Labor history
Anarchism
Poverty and homelessness
Joe Hill
Hobo/railroad culture
The Industrial Workers of the World
The Catholic Worker's movement
Enola Gay/Hiroshima
Political/social activism, from the 1960s to today
The relationship of folk music to "history"
LEARNING GOALS
Students will learn:
1. about the life and influence of Bruce Phillips
2. about the nature of the industrial workforce in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
3. about the conditions which brought about the Industrial Workers of the World
4. about anarchism
5. about the folk music tradition and community
6. how to communicate in a variety of formats: informal discussion, written journals, blog
GRADING CRITERIA
1. Journals (due NLT 4:00 pm Friday, returned following Tuesday) - 30 points
2. Finding/bringing in present-day folk song (due 19 May) - 10 points
3. Blogging (at least weekly, NLT 4:00 pm Friday) - 30 points
4. Attendance/in-class participation (includes attendance at concerts) - 30 points
Total /100 points
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
You will keep a journal emailed (Word format) to the instructors no later than 4:00 p.m. each Friday; we will return them the following Tuesday.
Included in this journal will be comments, evaluations, and reflections on assigned readings, in-class discussions, music, lectures, guests, and/or films, as well as in- and out-of-class activities of everything we've done since the previous journal. You should record your course-related thoughts, observations, personal insights, and other relevant comments.
The goal of the journal is to encourage you to think in ways that facilitate analysis, synthesis, reflection, and evaluation. You will be evaluated on the quality, not just the quantity of your journal entries, although we expect that you will make entries based on each and every one of the class materials. You will, of course, not be punished for disagreement or comments that indicate opinions that differ from those of the authors, your classmates, a guest, or the instructors.
Format for Your Journal:
Journal entry date __________________
Reading notes:
Reading title:
Reactions/reflections/analysis/comments:
Did the author present information new to you? Did you agree or disagree with it (that is, do you think the author supported his/her points adequately)? If you disagree, why?
Film notes:
Film title/production information:
What was the film's subject? How did it make its points?
Personal reactions/analysis/comments:
Did the author present information new to you? Did you agree or disagree with it? If so, how?
Class lecture/discussion:
Did the lecture/discussion raise any questions in your mind?
Were there any points of agreement? Disagreement?
Were there any unanswered questions?
Additional reflections/reactions/analysis/comments?
Class guests:
Did the guests raise any unanswered questions?
Were there points of agreement? Disagreement?
Additional reflections/reactions/analysis/comments?
Synthesis and evaluation:
How do readings/lectures/films/discussions/guests relate to:
Information you have previously learned? Your other courses? Your experience?
What other information would you like to study about this topic?
FOLK OR PROTEST SONG
There are thousands of contemporary artists making folk music today. There are thousands more (and some are the same people) who make "protest" songs. Find one – or better yet, write one yourself – and bring it to class. You can bring it as a CD, MP-3, YouTube video, or perform it yourself. Due NLT class, 19 May (but if you do it earlier, we can listen to it earlier and you can be done with this assignment).
BLOGGING
Folklorists and historians are always interested in the preservation of material. We will preserve this class by creating a blog where we can post links to our reading, links to the music of Utah Phillips and others, and related historical material. Each student is required to post to the blog at least twice weekly (roughly corresponding with our two classes); each week's blog postings are due NLT 4:00 pm each Friday. Your reflective journal can inform your blog post; remember that while the journal is class material-specific, the blog can be seen by the world. http://maylongmemory.blogspot.com/
ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION
We expect every student to attend each of 8 classes and to be prepared to discuss the readings and converse with and ask questions of the instructors and our guests. You are also expected to attend both concerts, on May 12 and May 17.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF SUBJECTS, READINGS, AND GUESTS
Like life itself, this schedule is provisional and subject to change in the event of illness, opportunity, and acts of God. Except for first day, you are expected to come to class having already read the assigned reading for the day.
Tuesday Thursday
May 3
Readings:
Richard White, "The Economic Structure of
the West," pp. 280-84, 288-96, 346-51
Subjects:
Class introduction
Class themes/subjects
Graded assignments
Guests/subjects: May 5 Readings: FBI file, Bruce Phillips "John Holway, Pinkerton, views Battle of Homestead" "Eugene V. Debs on Pullman" Subjects: The early years of Utah's folk music career Utah's influence, legacy Folk music community Guests:
Utah's general biography Duncan Phillips David Phillips Caffé Lena, Saratoga Springs, New York, via Skype Assignment: turn in reflective journal (based on first two classes; due NLT 4:00 pm Friday) At least two postings to class blog, same deadline
May 10
Readings:
Polly Stewart, "Urban Pioneers: The Folk
Music Revival in Utah, 1959-1966"
London, "Something Rotten in Idaho"
Western Federation of Miners
Mother Jones
Guests/subjects:
Mike Iverson – Utah and folk music as social
activism.
Polly Stewart on folklore and folk "process." May 12 Readings: Leon Livingstone, "America's Most Celebrated Tramp" Ed Paulsen in Studs Terkel Guests/subjects: Folk music Railroad/hobo culture Larry Hanks Deborah Robbins Mark Ross Evening: atrium concert with above Assignment: turn in reflective journal (due NLT 4:00 pm Friday) At least two postings to class blog, same deadline
May 17
Readings:
Luigi Galleani
John Mitchell, United Mine Workers
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, IWW
Guests/subjects: Rosalie Sorrels
Phillips' early performing career
Phillips in SLC
folk music generally
May 19 Readings: Catholic Worker documents Ammon Hennacy documents Guests/subjects: Kate Macleod - Catholic Workers Folk music, folk process Folk and protest music today
Evening: concert with: Rosalie Sorrels and friends Assignment: last day to bring present-day folk or protest song to class; recording or performance - turn in reflective journal (due NLT 4:00 pm Friday) At least two postings to class blog, same deadline
May 24
Readings:
Solidarity Forever documents
Wobblies!, The IWW Lives
http://www.iww.org/en
Read at least three postings on present-day
labor issues
Guests/subjects:
Tony Roehrig, IWW and labor
Mike Garcia, IWW and labor
May 26 Readings: The Mexico Reader documents http://www.kued.org/productions/joehill/ read all of "Joe Hill's story" and "Legal Battle" http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/ Read at least three postings on present-day labor issues Guests/subjects: Ken Sanders, Joe Hill and 1960s to 2010s protest Will Bagley, folk music and history Dave Stanley, folk music and history Assignment: turn in reflective journal (due NLT 4:00 pm Friday) At least two postings to class blog, same
And here's a link to blog that the students must contribute towards;
http://maylongmemory.blogspot.com/
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