Chapter 13,The Baby Boom and the Age of the Subdivision, pp. 231 - 245
Chapter 14, The Drive-in Culture of Contemporary America, pp. 246 - 271
Notes on the Readings:
Chapter 13:
There is nothing too troublesome here. You’ve seen Leavittown in the suburb DVD, and subdivisions are still springing up all around us. The scale of these is important to consider, as is the employment of the same kinds of mass production techniques as went into the automobile which made them possible.
Chapter 14:
Your generation grew up in an American world where the interstate highway system was a given. Consequently you’re probably not entirely aware about how super roads altered the domestic landscape. This chapter will articulate some of the changes in living patterns these highways caused. I’ve already indicated that a decision by the book designers of Crabgrass Frontier made decisions which made the illustrations for this book less useful than the might have been. You’ll have to hunt for the principal ones in the second picture collection between pages 250 and 251. However, you may not need these illustrations at all. You’ve experienced superhighway suburbs all your lives. We’ll explore a number of phenomena of this era, including box stores, “the mall” and we’ll also see how one can calculate whether a suburban era was largely created in the superhighway era or earlier by the presence (or absence) of a particular landscape feature. Need a hint? Here’s a one word one... “hopscotch”.
One thing you're also going to notice is that some of this drive-in culture which Jackson saw as an everlasting feature may not quite be as everlasting as it seemed. Things like the Drive In Move or the Drive in Restaurant where one ate in his car served by a "car-hop". How many of those are left? Does anyone remember such things?
Starting today, and through the rest of the semester, I want you to start reading House, by Tracy Kidder. You'll see from the nature of the book that it really doesn't work to divide it into chapters. It is the story of a family's decision to move from from a double house to a newly build house on its own land. In it you'll meet the Souweine family, The Weiners, parents of Judith Souweine, who own the land upon which the new house is going to be built. You'll also meet Bill Rawn, the architect for the new house, and a different kind of family all together, "Apple Corps," the small construction company, composed of Jim Locke, Alex Ghiselin, Ned Krutsky, and Richard Gougeon. The Souweine house is pictured below. It was built about 30 years ago, though in style it could have been built 160 years old. I've loved this book for years. It reads like a book of fiction, but it is not. All the characters are real, their names, and the locations are real. When it comes time for you to write about it do not call it a novel. Call it a monograph or simply a book. It will show you the complicated and often emotional side to building a house and turning it into a home. I think you will enjoy it. Previous classes have, very much! From time to time I'll check on how you're doing but leave the discussion of the book for the end of the semester. In the meantime, we're going to watch a documentary entitled The End of Suburbia. Is The American Dream Sustainable, now that we've reached peak Oil? That's something to think about.
No Class Today. School Holiday
Most Christian Denominations have been celebrating "Holy Week" this week.
Sunday the 20th is Palm Sunday
Thursday is called by some Maundy Thursday, when, at the Last Supper,
Holy Communion rituals were begun
This Friday is celebrated as "Good Friday" the date of the crucifixion
Sunday will be Easter Sunday, the day celebrating the resurrection
On Behalf of Roger Williams the man, and Roger Williams the University, have a happy and productive weekend.
