 |
| Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle and Alabama. |
The students did a fairly good job of comparing the lives of nineteenth century geologist Clarence King and Eliza Potter, a hairdresser who lived during the same century. Michael decided they were similarly challenged when it came to the issue of
character. “Eliza was a horrible gossip,” Michael wrote, adding that “Clarence
lived a double life.” He also detected how they both reflected the ways in
which interracial relationships were a part of nineteenth century life. “Eliza
Potter was a mixed race woman,” he said, and “Clarence King [was having] a
relationship with an African American woman." His words in this regard resonate
as my own research reveals the degree to which black-white unions occurred
- forcibly or otherwise - throughout this century even though many white Americans generally saw
people of color as being inferior. No matter their station or skin color, nineteenth century city dwellers like King and Potter battled loneliness, something
Gunther Barth pointed out in his attention to nineteenth century
urban culture. Indeed,
Aaron noted how "both [individuals] seemed to be characterized by loneliness despite the fact that they
were surrounded by people.” Added Evelyn, both “Clarence and Eliza…find
themselves lonely” although for different reasons. King’s home was the “primeval
forest” unlike Eliza who boasted about her house “in the heart of the city” of
Cincinnati. Regan saw how both individuals “used their loneliness as [a]
motivation to seek…adventures.” Said Anne Marie, they were “born travelers.
They live[d] to tell the tales of their adventures over land and sea.” That said, A.J.
rightly observed that Eliza had to be more careful than King because she was a
woman of mixed race. Wrote A.J., “She went through some bad times, which she
was either a part of or witnessed "[For example], she got off a boat in
New Orleans, but [did not] stay long for fear of being sold into slavery.”
Ultimately, both people, as Ryan wrote, “did whatever pleased and made them
happy.” In this way, they captured “American life. We like to do whatever makes
us happy even if that leaves us alone.”
While I was generally pleased with their responses, helping the students better synthesize all that has been
learned this semester has been my biggest challenge. As they looked for meaning
in the movements of King and Potter, it would have been great to see them
invoke some of what Barth teaches about nineteenth century American life.
As the semester ends, we turn to working
collectively on our class video about buildings in Tuscaloosa. The idea is to find
the nineteenth century “city” in Tuscaloosa’s history (and perhaps in Alabama's history. The above photo features the Gulf of Mexico, which touches the shores of Mobile, a critical southern and urban port in this state). Along the way, the
students will be revising their essays about the building they randomly
selected. It is my hope that they work harder to make connections between
course readings and indeed outings – last week, they had a scavenger hunt at
the
Eugene Allen Smith Photography exhibit at the
Alabama Museum of Natural History; Anne Marie and Lewis finished first and with the most correct answers - and their own research.
This past Wednesday, the students visited Smith Hall, home of the Alabama's Museum of Natural History. There, they went on a scavenger hunt, which challenged them to make linkages between emerging urban life and natural life. It's hard to build industry if you don't know what's out there. Eugene Allen Smith, a former UA professor, naturalist and geologist, spent a lot of time surveying the state of Alabama around the turn of the century. With his help, the state was able to build industry on coal and iron among other things.
His life poses interesting tensions with Clarence King, first president of the United States Geological Survey from 1879-1891. King took his own survey crew west to help government's efforts to better understand the continent's landscape and resources.
Afterwards, the students and I gathered under a covered seated area where they completed the words to a fictitious vaudeville play. Indeed, they are continuing to learn how emerging urban life permitted Americans to better balance work with leisure life. Last week, they were made aware of how historian Gunther Barth's conception of a growing "common humanity" in urban culture reveals how some people were ridiculed at the expense of others. When they made their own scripts, it was funny to hear them focusing on a "common humanity" to which most in Tuscaloosa can relate: one revolving around Alabama's football team. I look forward to sharing excerpts from their scripts in an upcoming posting. For now, Roll Tide as we prepare to play Tennessee today! Congrats to Morgan Johnson and Christopher Edmundson for being the first to answer the scavenger hunt questions, which mostly revolved around Smith's life via a museum exhibit.
