| HISTORY 490 | ||
| Wednesdays, 7:00-9:45 | ||
| http://bss.sfsu.edu/tygiel/hist490/ |
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| Professor Eric Solomon | Professor Jules Tygiel |
| Hum 250, x87405 | Science 224, x81119 or 1604 |
| E-Mail:
esolomon@sfsu.edu |
E-Mail: HIST685@SFSU.EDU |
| Office Hours: Th 10:30-12, 3-4 | Office Hours: TH 2-3, W 6-7 |
THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF BASEBALL
| TEXTS: | William Brashler, Bingo Long and His Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings. |
| Robert Coover, The Universal Baseball Association | |
| Eric Rolfe Greenberg, The Celebrant | |
| Arnold Hano, A Day in the Bleachers | |
| Mark Harris, Bang the Drum Slowly | |
| John Helyar, The Lords of Baseball | |
| Ring Lardner, You Know Me Al | |
| Bernard Malamud, The Natural | |
| Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White | |
| Lawrence Ritter, The Glory of Their Times | |
| Jules Tygiel, Past Time: Baseball As History | |
| (These texts are available at the school bookstore and on reserve at the library.) | |
| Students who wish more background on baseball history
should consult David Voigt's three-volume study, American Baseball or Harold
Seymour's three volumes, Baseball: The Early Years; Baseball: The Golden Age; and Baseball:
The People's Game. See also Ben Rader, Baseball: A History of America's
Game; Charles Alexander, Our Game; Bill James, The
Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract; Joel Zoss and John Bowman, The Untold
Story of Baseball; John Rossi, The National Game: Baseball and
American Culture; Geoffrey Ward/ Ken Burns's Baseball: An
Illustrated History; Allen Schwarz, The Numbers Game: Baseball's
Lifelong Fascination with Statistics; and the historical sections in John Thorn and Pete
Palmer, Total Baseball. For the history of baseball in California
see, Kevin Nelson, The Golden Game. Also check out, Stephen Jay Gould, Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville. For the study of baseball fiction there are useful chapters in Michael Oriard, Dreaming of Heroes; Tristam Coffin, The Old Ball Game; Leverett Smith, The American Dream and the National Game; Wiley Umphlett, American Sports Fiction; and Christian Messenger, Sport and the Spirit of Play in Contemporary American Fiction. See also Cordelia Candelaria, Seeking the Perfect Game: Baseball in American Literature; George Grella, "Baseball and the American Dream," Massachusetts Review (Summer, 1975); and Eric Solomon, "Jews, Baseball and the American Novel," Arete (Spring, 1984). Two 1996 studies are of interest, partly for their bibliographies: Deeane Westbrook, Ground Rules: Baseball and Myth; Timothy Morris, Making the Team: The Cultural Work of Baseball Fiction. See also Jerry Klinkowitz, Writing Baseball. |
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INTERNET AND MULTIMEDIA This course will use resources on the Internet and other types of media (videos, cd-roms) to enhance our understanding of baseball history. The course will be taught in a “smart classroom,” giving us in-room access to the Internet and videos. The online version of this syllabus contains many links to various primary sources: photographs, movies, speeches, songs, advertisements, radio broadcasts, and documents. In addition we will watch film clips from several videos that are not available on the Internet. We will use these materials during the class sessions to give us a broader sense the baseball experience and to stimulate our class discussions. Students will also be able to access these sources via the Internet when studying at home or writing papers. This aspect of the course was made possible by a generous donation from the Society for American Baseball Research and the diligent research performed by Michael Mott.
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| COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: The final
grade will be determined by the results of three 1300-1800 word papers. There will be no
examinations. All papers must be word-processed and double-spaced. Topics for the papers will be handed out at least one week before the due date. Papers are due March 7, April 18, and May 23. Class discussions are an important part of this course. All students are expected to have finished the reading assignments before each class session and discuss the material at all sessions. |
| For Your Information: The faculty union is in the midst of contract negotiations and there is the possibility of a work interruption. Updates on this situation will be provided throughout the course. |
READING ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS SCHEDULE
(The date of the Writer Panels is tentative and may be switched to accommodate the speakers.)
| January 24 | INTRODUCTION: The Origins
of Baseball Guest speaker: David Block |
| January 31 | History: Early
Professionalism and Leagues Readings: Tygiel, Chapters 1-2; Ritter, Chapters 1-4;
Start reading Lardner. |
| February 7 |
Performance: John C. Chalberg as Branch Rickey Literature: Ring Lardner, You Know Me Al Readings: Tygiel, Chapter 5; Helyar, pp. 7-9, 40-50; Peterson, Chapters 14-15; Lardner, (entire book). |
| February 14 | History: The Brotherhood
War and the Big League Readings: Tygiel,
Chapter 3; Peterson, Chapters 2-4; Helyar, pp. 1-5. |
| February 21 | History: 1900-1918 Readings: Ritter, Chapters 1-7, 9, 12, 13; Peterson, Chapters
4-6; start reading Malamud. |
| February 28 | History: The Black Sox Scandal Literature: Bernard Malamud, The
Natural |
| March 7 |
History: The 1920s Readings: Tygiel, Chapter 4; Ritter, Chapters 15-21, 24; Start Reading Harris. FIRST PAPER DUE |
| March 14 | History:
The Landis Years Readings: Tygiel, Chapter 5; Ritter, Chapters 18, 19, 21-23, 25, 26;
Helyar, 40-50; Continue Reading Harris. |
| March 21 | History: The Negro Leagues Literature: Mark Harris, Bang The Drum Slowly Home Video: Rent and watch film version of Bang The Drum Slowly Readings: Tygiel, Chapter 6; Peterson, Chapters
1, 7-12, 16; Harris (entire book). |
| March 28 |
History: The Integration Era Readings: Tygiel, Chapter 7; Peterson, Chapters 13-15. SECOND PAPER DUE |
| April 4 | History: Expansion, Relocation,
and the Second Deadball Era (1950s and 1960s) Literature: Arnold Hano, A Day in the Bleachers Readings: Tygiel, Chapters 7-8; Helyar, pp. 1-83, 247-50, 388-91. |
| April 11 |
Spring Break |
| April 18 | Sportswriters and Other Writers: A
Panel Discussion. Literature: Robert Coover, The Universal Baseball Association Readings: Coover (entire
book). |
| April 25 |
History: 1965-1975 (The
Fight for Free Agency) Readings: Helyar, pp. 15-39, 66-180. |
| May 2 |
History:
1975-1985 (Labor Wars) Readings: Helyar, pp. 181-244, 274-307, 330-353 (pp. 244-73, 308-29 optional); Start Reading Greenberg. |
| May 9 |
History: 1980s (The Age of Romance and Competition) Literature: Eric Rolfe Greenberg, The Celebrant
Readings: Helyar, pp. 354-87, 415-53, 472-93 (388-414, 454-471
optional); Tygiel, Chapter 9; Greenberg (entire book). |
| May 16 |
History: 1990s-Present
Readings: Helyar, pp. 494-514, 553-604 (515-552
optional). |
| May 23 |
THIRD PAPER DUE MEET AT SBC PARK: GIANTS VS. HOUSTON |