Presentation Grades

Wow. I just looked at they syllabus and saw that we only have two weeks of class left! So time to talk about the presentations! We can discuss these more in class tomorrow, but again, I can't stress this enough - make them interesting!

I will randomly draw names during class on Thursday and next Tuesday, so please be prepared to go on both of these days. There is a possibility that these presentations will run over into next Thursday, so please plan accordingly!

I was having trouble dealing with the issue of attendance on these two (possibly three days), but here's what I came up with: if you do not have an excused absence, your presentation grade will drop by 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale). We can discuss this in more detail tomorrow. But I cannot stress enough that your attendance, courtesy, and attention to others' presentations is just as important as your own.

I hope to see you all in class tomorrow since I will be going over the grading rubric for the final along with some other details.

The Blog Grades

I know I promised to give you an update of your blog grades this week. I've provided a general rubric instead that will give you the opportunity to decide where your grade is right now and how much more contribution you will have to put into the blog for the remainder of the semester to receive the grade you want. Remember that if you submitted a write-up for the REOlds museum, your blog grade will go up by 1.0 (everything's on a 4.0 grade scale). On the rubric,"***" posts signify that you have gone beyond my expectations for the blog, you have contributed an above average number of comments to other people's blogs, or you have continuously written in-depth blog entries. Therefore, even if you don't meet the minimum amount of blog entries, you may receive a higher grade if your blog was exceptionally well-written or you provided a lot of feedback.
Blog entries will be closed for grading as of 12/6/10. I'm grading on your average overall performance throughout the entire semester, so don't expect to receive a great grade if you had very few entries throughout most of the semester.

Here's the breakdown of the blog grades:

26 (or more) posts
OR
23***posts
----------->4.0

20-25 posts
OR
17***posts
----------->3.0

14-19 posts
OR
11***posts
----------->2.0

8-13 posts-----------> 1.0

less than 8 posts----> 0.0

We will go over this in more detail when we meet again for class on Tuesday November 30. At that time, I can also tell you if your blog entries have gone beyond my expectations and received the "***" rating.

Finally, next Tuesday, I will provide a grading rubric for the final paper. Please be sure to attend class so you can get this from me!

Have a great holiday everyone!

Some financial incentive to do well on your paper...

Every year the Labor History Association presents a prize for the best undergraduate paper on labor history. The winner, in addition to receiving $250.00 will carry the honor of having won a national competition.

I will probably encourage a couple of you to submit your papers, but anyone can enter. I will be willing to work with any of you in the upcoming semester to continue to refine your paper if you are interested in entering the competition. Below is the announcement of the 2009-2010 winner as well as further information about this year's competition:

The New York State Labor History Association is proud to announce that the 2010 Barbara Wertheimer Prize has been awarded to Rose Friedman for her essay, "The IWW and the Mesabi Miners, 1916-1917." The Wertheimer committee was very impressed by Ms. Friedman's sophisticated handling of the idea of “race management” and her thoughtful analysis of the divergent forces at work in the IWW and the Mesabi mines. Her research paper was written for Professor Peter Rachleff at Macalester College.

BARBARA WERTHEIMER PRIZE IN LABOR HISTORY

To recognize serious study in labor and work history among undergraduate students, the New York Labor History Association will award the Barbara Wertheimer Prize of $250.00 for the best research paper written during the 2010-2011 academic year. An abstract of the winning entry will, with permission, be posted on the NYLHA website. Please encourage your best undergraduate students to submit their work.

Papers on any aspect of labor or work history will be considered. Entries will be evaluated on the basis of scholarship and literary merit.

Entrants should send one copy of their paper to:

Brian Greenberg,
Department of History and Anthropology,
Monmouth University,
West Long Branch, NJ 07764.

The deadline is June 15, 2011

Thursday and Tuesday Meeting Schedule

Here is the schedule for Thursday and next Tuesday. Please note that if your name appears to the right of the "/" then you will meet on Tuesday:

Thursday November 18/Tuesday November 23
8:30 – Kristin Cross/Luke Arends
8:40 – Micah Fields/Morgan Saunders
8:50 – Sean Cappello/Emily Hambright
9:00 – Kelsea Raether/Allen Wolfe
9:10 – Hilary Podgers/Amanda Smith
9:20 – Stacie Morrison/Jim LaFave
9:30 – Laura Richards/Marites Woodbury
9:40 – Anna Hardenbergh/Josh Barens
9:50 – Julius Lietuvninkas/Josh Bertolet
10:00 – Jason Allen/

I'm looking forward to reading what you have written so far!

Julian Gabaldon's House

Today during class, we did an in-class activity based upon the 1910 census. For those of you that were there, remember that one of the people we discussed was Julian Gabaldon (he was the merchant that spoke Spanish, wife spoke English, both were born in Mexico and both were labeled "white". Here are two photographs of his home:


Photos Courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society Archives

Some more information that I've written about this from my disseration:
"The Gabaldon's resided in a large, ornate house made of wood, rather than the more common and cheaper adobe material. The house was complete with stained glass windows and a wrap-around porch. In a remote mining town like Clifton, luxuries such as these were difficult to come by and were usually reserved for the wealthiest residents in the town. The Gabaldons also celebrated both their Mexican and American identities. In a photograph taken by the town's photographer, O.A. Risdon, Concepcion stands outside of her home with flags of Mexico and the U.S. decorating the front porch. The Gabaldons' wealth, education and social status provided them with the opportunity to be something besides the 'other'."

Monday - Post-Halloween/Sugar Rush and Back to the Grind

I'm reading quite a few blog posting over the past couple of days that seem to be saying the same thing: everyone's busy with term papers, midterm exams, etc. I know how overwhelming work can get around this time of the semester. I'm also feeling the crunch of being past the mid-semester mark and needing to do a LOT of work for my dissertation chapter. Best of luck to everyone!

I know you're all busy trying to crank out a rough draft for this class as well. The readings for the next couple of weeks are not too long, however, and I'm hoping that you have a chance to finish them and come prepared to class to discuss the readings. I'm preparing some good discussions for this week and next, but they will probably be much more interesting to you if you do the readings! The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction tackles some conceptual ideas that would give you some major bonus points (hint, hint) if you could begin to think about them in your own paper (such as race, citizenship, etc.). The amount of contribution you put into the class and discussion will directly reflect your own performance on your final project.

I'll have lots of primary sources to share this week and next concerning our topic of discussion as well. Here's a newspaper clipping:
New York Times, October 7, 1904

I'll also try to share several of the photographs from Clifton Morenci that I found in the archives while I was there.


Mr. Risdon was the town photographer in this area of Clifton-Morenci at the turn-of-the-twentieth century. His work documents the diverse families and communities that were in this small mining area at this time. The family pictured above is unidentified but speaks to the fact that Arizona's frontier was comprised of people of various backgrounds and ethnic identities. Many of these photos may challenge our own understanding of what communities and families looked like at the turn-of-the-twentieth century.

Back from Detroit!

Hey everyone -

I'm playing catch-up with everyone's blogs. I've finally responded to several posts that I wanted to. I spent the weekend at a conference in Detroit. In case you've never been to one, history conferences consist of a bunch of researchers from all over the country (and sometimes world) discussing a common field. This conference was specifically geared for labor historians and I presented on a section of one of my dissertation chapters. As much as I HATE presenting in front of a group of strangers, the talk went over really well. People were very supportive and I got some great feedback. Plus I got to hear some other great presentations as well.

Remember at the end of the semester, each of you will be responsible for presenting your research in front of the class. In case anyone has any reservations about presenting in front of a group, please remember that we're here to support each other, not criticize! Hopefully, as college students, you've all learned by now that, when it comes to education, all we can do is learn more! I've already learned a lot about labor history from the class just by listening and reading about your research, so please remember how valuable your ideas are. Please don't be afraid to share them!

I'm planning on going over some information about the paper on Tuesday, so please come to class prepared to ask questions and get help! Bring any work you've done so far with you. I'm not going to be judging the amount of work you have, but you may end up getting some valuable help from the class!


That's all for now!