Two History Analysis Papers on Two Different Books
This assignment is to write two analysis of the last two monographs assigned for this course- the Cowie, or Jenkins books. You need to:
Briefly describe the scope of the book- what, when, where and whom is the book about?
Summarize the thesis of the book- what is the author's argument?
Analyze and criticize the author's argument- what evidence does she use to support her thesis? Is it persuasive? Why or why not? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the work?
The paper needs to be 4 double spaced pages each, 12 pt Times New Roman font, with standard margins. It should be formatted according to the University of Chicago style and uploaded as a Word document. Use footnotes for your citations. You do not need to append a separate bibliography or works cited page.
You may consult external reviews of the book, though this is not required. However, if you do so, you must cite the review properly, whether you have quoted directly from the review or simply summarized any part of that review. Failure to cite external reviews that you have consulted is plagiarism, and will result in a referral to the Committee on Academic Misconduct.
As history is both a science and an art, you will be graded not only on the vigor of your analysis, but also on the clarity and style of your writing. Grammar, spelling and punctuation, and quality of prose will be graded. If you have any concerns about these areas of writing, please take advantage of the university's writing center. https://cstw(dot)osu(dot)edu/writing-center
Grading Rubric:
Accuracy and thoroughness of your description of the book's scope and argument. 25%
Quality and rigor of your analysis of the book's thesis, strengths and weaknesses. 35%
Writing mechanics- grammar, spelling, punctuation, citation and formatting. 20%
Quality, clarity and flow of your prose. 20%
Due Dates: If you are writing on Cowie's book, it is due Sunday, Nov, 25th. If you are writing on Jenkin's book, it is due Sunday, Dec. 2nd.
Book Analysis
Student
Course
Professor
Date
Capital Moves
Capital moves by Jefferson Cowie are a piece written to provide vital perspectives and a better understanding of the economy of the United States of America during the 20th century. Cowie argues that the deindustrialization of the northeast did not begin in the 20th century rather was an ongoing process that had its genesis in the gradual postwar era and continued throughout the globalization period in the 20th century. The book widely touches on several themes including gender, class, globalization, and community. There is a comprehensive study of each community looking at them during, before, and after RCA to show the differences and similarities of each effectively. His study is focused on the political and economic repercussion of management and labor ability to extend to local, regional, national, and international boundaries. Cowie looks at the implications of a global economy and the influence it has on the local community, class, and nation's relationships. There are also narratives on globalization where Capital Moves meticulously look at RCA establishment in Camden until it reached across the border to Mexico's Jurez. Cowie explains the scenario where social change occurrence at local levels influences capital investment relocation. He observes that the unsettling trends of globalization are also not a new phenomenon.
The thesis statement of the book is mainly to show why and how industry migrated within national boundaries before crossing them; the author Cowie shows the many issues associated with globalization and their relationship with the historical roots of the twentieth century. It is a social history narrative of capital migration through four given communities.
Cowie uses a real-life example of the RCA television and radio factories. In his example, Cowie carefully gives out a chronological account in regards to how the RCA center of production moved from the New Jersey (Camden) to Indian, to Memphis, to Tennessee and later to Mexico (Juarez) during the 20th century. The said moves were gradual and started because of the RCA trying to escape the made agreements between them and the labor. They wanted to move into a free market where they could compete and where the market demanded low prices. Cowie notes that communities chosen by the RCA had a huge number of young unemployed women and was nonindustrial.
Confirm the idea of culture and gender Cowie observed that there is a contradictory event on unskilled jobs and low wages on jobs offered to women by RCA. The first base was that RCA developed a gendered division of labor in a way that they could take advantage of the disadvantaged of women. However, this was a plus to the culture as women who were oppressed got new social and economic opportunities, which made them become more assertive workers and changed the culture. He places women in the heart of the story for both the deindustrialization and industrialization as women were the first to be absorbed in the electronics firms and they were also the most dispensable workers in the chain of production. He notes that;
"The fact that women were the first to be absorbed into electronics assembly and the most disposable workers in the chain of production places women at the heart of the story of both industrialization and deindustrialization."[Cowie, Jefferson. Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-year Quest for Cheap Labor. New York: The New Press, 1999.]
The book agrees that RCA moves were greatly motivated by the desire to obtain compliant labor that was cheap. In the new areas, the focus was to hire single young women.
At every site, RCA is shown to acquire positions where it can control labor, and if it was no longer the situation, it would move. Whenever the organization moved its activities into a new local economy, the community around was always transformed into a new place of conflict with the organization. The moves were met to provide the organization with a superfluity of cheap labor. Cowie affront Herbert's new labor history that laid emphasis on studying workers within their cultures and criticized old Labor history fascination on union organization. He observes that historians from the school (Gutman) spent much time studying the public and ignored the area that looks at industrial location choices.
Cadem was the preferred choice of the company as it had a weak union. There was an industrial peace, and there were a huge number of cheap laborers mainly young women. The organization was known for hiring differential young women who were between the age of 17-23 and single. The Wagner Act of 1936 passed by the Roosevelt government changed this. RCA was then required to join the Union (UE), and that is when the company made the daring decision of moving to Indiana.
The author has given out a provocative piece of scholarship, and the magnificent chart of the migratory path for the radio corporation from one location to the other as evidence was convincing enough. The comparative social history of the four communities showed how people live altered capital coming in and capital moving out — the journey from Camden to its debut in Mexico. The RCA capital journey does not only show the existence of disciplinary barriers but also touches on social science, geography, and historical myths.
However, Cowie's work on Capital Moves raises a few questions. For example, who was in control for the capital journey? In normal situations, Unions are liable for the consequence but the union portrayed in the narrative was not colossal, and in every case, a new union represented RCA. RCA is observed fleeing the militant labor culture while it was on its starchier Bloomington to 1998, this confers that when they were making location decisions, there were prospects of labor groups, which accepted the management prerogatives, but official sanctions did not contain the laborer's impulse for labor justice. RCA is shown menacing workers by intimidating them with threats that cheap, passive labor can be found elsewhere.
Although the popular book has achieved a lot, it is not without its flaw, Cowie has successfully observed the crisscrossing spatial borders effectively, but his behavior over the place-bound developments that developed slowly over time was too dense. The account of the book gives very little information about the how and why Camden workers freed between the initial phase of out-migration and the recorded final destination.
"Decade of nightmares" by Philip Jenkins
Philip Jenkins wrot...