Week 2 questions: Riis, Davidge, Grant, Adams, Wharton
What do the readings for today tell us about the attitude of people in the 1890s toward children?
What does Jacob Riis mean when he recommends trading “the policeman’s club for a boys’ club”? Why does he believe this to be a useful swap?
Are the boys’ clubs admired by Riis and the young women’s clubs of the Davidge article working toward the same ends? Explain.
What is the role of “women of leisure” in girls’ clubs? What is expected of the working girls in the club? Why?
Throughout the readings for today, is there a prevailing attitude toward women of leisure? Explain any commonalities or inconsistencies among the authors’ views.
Again and again, Davidge uses the word “systematic.” Why is this concept so important to her (and others of her era)? Do we see this concept at play in the other readings? Explain.
What does Adams most admire in the White City? Why?
What extremes does Adams fear? Are they related to the extremes feared by Grant?
Compare Adams’s analysis of the White City with Grant’s claims about New York. Do the men reach similar or divergent conclusions? Explain.
Imagine a conversation between Davidge and Grant. Would they find common ground when they talk about city dwellers? Explain.
Whom does Grant see as the ideal American, and why?
What argument is Grant making about the place of materialism in American culture and life?
The editor of The American 1890s: a Cultural Reader notes that Wharton’s short story “The Pelican” provides “insights into the complicated relations among social standing, perceived economic necessity, and cultural authority.” What does this mean?
How do the roles of Mrs. Amyot and the women to whom she lectures differ from those of the women of leisure in Davidge’s article?
What is the attitude of the writers towards people who wish to make a profit?
Grant makes pretty explicit whom he believes to be the ideal American and what he believes about the average American. How do you think Adams, Davidge, and Riis would describe an ideal American? How would they describe or identify an average American? What role do cities play in shaping these visions?
What does Jacob Riis mean when he recommends trading “the policeman’s club for a boys’ club”? Why does he believe this to be a useful swap?
Are the boys’ clubs admired by Riis and the young women’s clubs of the Davidge article working toward the same ends? Explain.
What is the role of “women of leisure” in girls’ clubs? What is expected of the working girls in the club? Why?
Throughout the readings for today, is there a prevailing attitude toward women of leisure? Explain any commonalities or inconsistencies among the authors’ views.
Again and again, Davidge uses the word “systematic.” Why is this concept so important to her (and others of her era)? Do we see this concept at play in the other readings? Explain.
What does Adams most admire in the White City? Why?
What extremes does Adams fear? Are they related to the extremes feared by Grant?
Compare Adams’s analysis of the White City with Grant’s claims about New York. Do the men reach similar or divergent conclusions? Explain.
Imagine a conversation between Davidge and Grant. Would they find common ground when they talk about city dwellers? Explain.
Whom does Grant see as the ideal American, and why?
What argument is Grant making about the place of materialism in American culture and life?
The editor of The American 1890s: a Cultural Reader notes that Wharton’s short story “The Pelican” provides “insights into the complicated relations among social standing, perceived economic necessity, and cultural authority.” What does this mean?
How do the roles of Mrs. Amyot and the women to whom she lectures differ from those of the women of leisure in Davidge’s article?
What is the attitude of the writers towards people who wish to make a profit?
Grant makes pretty explicit whom he believes to be the ideal American and what he believes about the average American. How do you think Adams, Davidge, and Riis would describe an ideal American? How would they describe or identify an average American? What role do cities play in shaping these visions?
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 10:37 PM
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