In this course I worked individually with a historian of social and legal movements in the United States in the Twentieth Century. Together my professor and I developed a syllabus based on my idiosyncratic interests and her expertise. We began with several theoretical/historiographic texts on the development of law in the United States in the 20th century. Next I read a set of monographs on how women, African-Americans and labor activists interacted and changed the law in the twentieth century. Finally, I focused on several texts that sketched the history of the public schools in the United States and wrote a reflective 20 page paper on the effects of that history on the developing role of the teacher in American society. I examined the role that the teacher plays in maintaining the social order, shaping adolescents and preparing them for life in the United States.

The first two thirds of this course will nicely supplement any course on life in the United States in the 20th century. I have already found it useful as I taught an Advanced Placement course in United States history this spring. Students in that class found it interesting that different groups of people experienced the social changes of the US differently and developed novel ways of making themselves heard in a society that was not crafted with their interests in mind.

In addition, the study I made of the public schools colored the way I taught US history. On the one hand it made it possible for me to tell the story of how the lives of young people have changed over the century as their lives in school changed. On the other hand, it helped me discuss with my students how the social role they now play in society is not the same as that played by students in other parts of the century. This is helpful both in teaching US history classes and in speaking to students about their concerns for themselves as a group (e.g. for less restriction, for greater voice in their schools, and for a meaning place in society).