AUTO MOBILITY

People and Environment

ISS 310 Section 001H
Tuesday/Thursday 12:40 to 2:30 p.m.
175 Brody Hall
 AUTO MOBILITY
Dr. Tim Retzloff (retzloff@msu.edu)
Office Hours: Tuesday, 3:00-4:30 p.m., and by appointment
250 Old Horticulture

Goals
1) Learn a lot
2) Have a blast
3) Get enthused about transportation
4) Leave this class excited to make informed decisions about driving, car ownership,
and automotive policy

After taking this class, students will

* understand that the American embrace of cars was not strictly consumer choice.
* be critical of traffic solutions that rely on constructing more roads.
* be critical of solutions that reject driving altogether.
* think about the social and environmental implications of sprawl.
* know a lot about the history of automotive technology and innovation.
* understand how driving is shaped by gender, sexuality, and race.
* have experience writing for a public audience.
* realize the personal financial costs of car ownership.
* think about driving in relation to climate change.
* care about all of the above.

About
This version of ISS 310, People and Environment is a class about the automobile as it relates
to social and physical environments, summed up in the class title: Auto Mobility. The
emergence of the car as the dominant mode of travel in the United States is hugely
important, but its really only the beginning of what well be talking about. Well be talking
about its invention; car safety; sprawl; auto work; cars and race, class, gender, and sexuality;
marketing; car culture; downsizing; the relationship of cars to climate change; globalization;
and innovation. One of the biggest lessons of the class is that the reality of modern
automobile use is hugely complex. And the future of cars is even more so.

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This class is going to be fun and interesting. It will also be demanding. You can expect roughly
150 pages of thought-provoking, conversation-sparking reading a week (sometimes slightly
less, sometimes slightly more), in addition to projects, field trips, field work, regular writing,
and a final website that will tie it all together. This class will make you a more interesting
person who will go on to lead a richer life. But you have to be willing to do the work.

Books
* Rudi Volti, Cars and Culture: The Life Story of a Technology (2006)
* Christopher W. Wells, Car Country: An Environmental History (2012)
* Amy Goldstein, Janesville: An American Story (2017)
* Additional course readings as assigned

Special Policies
* This is a screen-free class. No laptops, phones, tablets, etc. Occasional exceptions, as
noted.
* Bring hard copies of all assigned readings and any other relevant materials to every class.
* Unless otherwise noted, all projects should be posted to individual blogs before class and/or
are due in hard copy at the beginning of class; the smaller assignments and the Car News
postings are due via your website only.

Grades
Grade Percentage 4-point scale Grade Percentage 4-point scale
A+ 98-100% 4.0 C 73-76% 2.0

A 93-97% 4.0 C-/D+ 67-72% 1.5

A-/B+ 87-92% 3.5 D 63-66% 1.0

B 83-86% 3.0 D- 60-62% 0.5

B-/C+ 77-82% 2.5 F Below 60% 0

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 Class Component Percentage of grade
Participation and Attendance 20% [100 pts]
Small Assignments 10% [5 @ 10 pts each = 50 pts]
Car News 10% [5 @ 10 pts each = 50 pts]
Quizzes 5% [5 @ 5 pts each = 25 pts]
Auto Autobiography 5% [25 pts]
Car Country Email 5% [25 pts]
Podcast Exploration Paper 10% [50 pts]
Green Book Itinerary 5% [25 pts]
Automotive Policy Op-Ed 5% [25 pts]
Final Presentation & Website (w/updated Autobiography) 10% [50 pts]
Podcast and related assignments 15% [75 pts]
Total 100% [500 pts]

Projects & Assignments

Your biggest assignments for this class will be a series of projects. The projects are designed
to be fun and provocative and to get you talking, thinking, arguing, and out of your seats.
First, youll turn in papers and create a preliminary blog page for each project. After you get
comments on your papers, youll rewrite them to act as polished site content for your final
blogs (see below).

Small assignments are due through your class blog, not in hard copy. (As an exception, youll
need to turn in the debate points for the meat debate in hard copy.) All assignments are due
by the start of class unless otherwise stated.

Every project and assignment (except the Automotive Policy Op-Ed) must make reference to
at least two class readings.

Projects Small Assignments

Auto Autobiography Class Blog Outline
Car Country Email Landscape Impact Photo
Podcast Prep Paper Car Ad
Green Book Itinerary Car Budget
Automotive Policy Op-Ed Mobility Diary
Podcast Final Project & Related Assignments Debate Points & Class Debate

Throughout the semester there will also be additional tasks and mini-writing assignments,
such as reading abstracts, in-class exercises, and group activities, all of which well talk
about in class. All additional assignments will be considered as part of your Participation
grade.
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 Word Length Due Date
Class Blog Outline Sept. 10 (11:59 p.m.)
Auto Autobiography (*) 750-1,250 Sept. 12
Landscape Impact Photo 250-500 Sept. 19
Car Country Email (*) 750-1,000 Sept. 26
Car Ad 250-500 Sept. 28
Podcast Exploration Paper (*) 1,000-1,500 Oct. 12
Green Book Itinerary (*) 750-1,000 Oct. 19
Car Budget 500 Oct. 26
Mobility Diary 250-500 Nov. 2
Automotive Policy Op-Ed (*) 700-800 Nov. 9
Debate Points & Class Debate (*) Nov. 16
Podcast, First Draft Nov. 20 (11:59 p.m.)
Podcast, Second Draft Nov. 29 (11:59 p.m.)
Addition to Autobiography 500 Dec. 5 or 7
Podcast, Finished Dec. 5 or 7
Podcast Page on Blog 250 Dec. 5 or 7
(*) = Assignments marked with a star must be submitted in hard copy at the start of class.
Other assignments must be posted to blogs before the start of class, unless otherwise
noted.

Car News
One of your semester-long assignments is to stay abreast of news related to our class. On the
five following dates, youll post a recent news article on your blog before class, along with a
hefty paragraph on how the news relates to all class readings assigned for that day. Well also
be talking about the news in class.

News related to Due Date

Car Safety Sept. 14
Auto Infrastructure Sept. 21
Auto Jobs Oct. 5
Auto Emissions Oct. 31
Driverless Cars Nov. 28

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Student Blogs
Each student will create an individual blog through Weebly (a free service), which will be
linked to our class website: auto-mobility.weebly.com. Youll send me a link to the basic
outline of your blog by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10. At that early stage, it will need to
have just four basic elements: 1) a Home page with a title and image; 2) a Car News page;
3) an Assignments page; and 4) a Projects page. All pages can be empty at that time.

As you complete work over the semester, youll upload it to your blog (and well work
together during class on any questions that arise in creating and designing the blogs). For
example, each time you find a news story, youll upload it to your Car News page along with
a paragraph tying it into the readings, so your final blog will have links to five news stories
with an explanatory paragraph for each. When you complete an assignment like the Family
Car Photo, youll upload that under the Assignments page. And each time you complete a
project, youll create a new page under the Projects tab, so that at the end youll have an
Auto Autobiography page, a Car Country page, a Podcast Exploration page, a Green Book
Itinerary page, and a My Podcast page.

On one of the last two days of class, you will give an individual presentation on your finished
blog. Finishing the blog will involve four tasks: 1) Polishing the writing of all sections,
reflecting comments youve gotten from me on your papers along with any other
improvements youd like to make; 2) Updating your Auto Autobiography to include a new
section (500 words) on how this class has changed your thoughts on automobiles; 3)
Uploading your finished podcast; 4) Completing a page for the podcast, with 250 words of
text. Design is also a component of your blog: at a minimum, it should look neat and
professional, and ideally it will be dynamic and visually interesting, with design elements that
deepen and enhance the story youre telling.

Car Activity Extra Credit

You have the chances to add 10 points of extra credit on your final cumulative score for the
course by attending a car-related activity and contributing to our class activity blog. These
include, but are not limited to:

Visiting the REO Museum in Lansing

Touring the abandoned Packard factory in Detroit
Attending an antique auto show
Taking a test drive of a 2018 vehicle
Riding the bumper cars at an amusement park
Attending an auto race

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Attendance Policy
Attendance is required in every class this semester. Thats because in a seminar like this, its
not only you who misses out when youre not there: the class itself changes. The experience
of everyone is richest when everyone is present, everyone is prepared, and everyone
participates. If you attend every class, youll get Perfect Attendance Extra Credit, with two
points added to your final average. However, for every class you miss after the first two, two
points will be subtracted from your final average.

Special Needs
Students who require special assistance with any aspect of this course are encouraged to see
me as early in the semester as possible to make necessary accommodations.

Quizzes
Over the semester I will give six quizzes, a mix of reading and preparation quizzes. Quizzes
will not be announced in advance. For the preparation quizzes, you get a full 5 points if you
have a hard copy of all assigned readings with you, and a 0 if you dont. Likewise, the reading
quizzes will consist of one or two questions that should be easy if you did the reading and
impossible if you didnt. You cannot make up a quiz, but at the end of the semester I will drop
your lowest grade. If you get 5 points on all six of the quizzes, then you will get an extra 5
points on your final average.

Academic Honesty
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any use of someone elses ideas or words without proper
acknowledgment of credit, will result in serious penalties up to and including a failing course
grade. All students should be familiar with the universitys Policies, Regulations and
Ordinances Regarding Academic Honesty and Integrity
(https://www.msu.edu/~ombud/academic-integrity/index.html).

A word about email

Email calls for a different writing style than text messages, especially when youre writing to a
professor or professional contact. Here are a few general guidelines: You should start by

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 addressing the person youre writing by name. Use a greeting, just like you would in real life:
Hello Dr. Retzloff, Hi Prof. Retzloff, Dear Professor Retzloffanything in that ballpark is
great. If you write simply Dear Professor dont be surprised by a response of Dear
Student.

When youre signing off (and this is even more important), you must say who you are. Your
name is all it takes, and if you sign off with Thank you, or Sincerely, or something like that,
even better. If youre asking a question (and especially if youre asking a favor), please
remember to use a question mark. Use words like please and thank you when
appropriate. In general, remember your manners on email just as you would in person.

WEEK 1

Thursday, August 31st: Introduction

Introductions. Syllabus.
Listen: Extra Mile The Moth Radio Hour, March 7, 2017 [6 minutes]
Activity: Find Somebody
Watch: Adam Ruins Cars, Adam Ruins Everything, TruTV [22 minutes]

WEEK 2

Tuesday, September 5th: Invention

Discuss: Upcoming Auto Autobiography project and starting your Class Blog

Read prior to class: Rudi Volti, Cars and Culture, pp. 1-63, 157-159

Thursday, September 7th: Early Innovation

Discuss: Class Blog progress

Mini Lecture: Fords

DUE: Outline of Class Blog, with link emailed to me by Sun., Sep 10 at 11:59 p.m.

Read prior to class: Cars and Culture, pp. 65-156

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 WEEK 3

Tuesday, September 12th: Car Safety

Discuss: How did the Auto Autobiography go?

Prepare: Car News, and how it works
Discuss: Upcoming Landscape Impact Photo assignment
Listen: Surprising Stats About Child Seats TED Talk

DUE: Auto Autobiography

Read prior to class: Ralph Nader, The Sporty Corvair

Brian Manzullo, Detroit Has the Best Drivers in America, Study Says
Listen prior to class: The Strange History of the Stop Signal, CarStuff Podcast

Thursday, September 14th: Car Safety

Discuss: Upcoming Car Country Email project

Discuss: Car News
Watch: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test films

DUE: One recent news article related to car safety and a paragraph about its
relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Christopher Wells, Car Country, pp. xix-xxxiv, 35-122

WEEK 4

Tuesday, September 19th: The Built Environment

Activity: Group Analysis of Landscape Impact Photos

Discuss: Upcoming Car Ads assignment
Update: Car Country Email project

DUE: Landscape Impact Photo (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Car Country, pp. 125-199

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Thursday, September 21st: Infrastructure

Discuss: The Car News

Discuss: Car Ads assignment
Mini Lecture: Drive-In Culture
Activity: Road Maps

DUE: One recent news article related to automotive infrastructure and a paragraph
about its relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Car Country, pp. 201-252

WEEK 5

Tuesday, September 26th: Suburbanization

Discuss: How the Car Country Email project went

Mini Lecture: Sprawl
Update: Car Ads assignment
Watch:

DUE: Car Country Email

Read prior to class: Car Country, 253-295

Thursday, September 28th: Marketing

Discuss: Car Ads

DUE: Car Ads assignment (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Kettering, Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied

Listen to prior to class: 129 Cars, This American Life, PRX [74 minutes]

WEEK 6

Tuesday, October 3rd: Auto Work

Watch: With Babies and Banners [45 minutes]

Discuss: Upcoming Podcast Exploration Paper
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 Read prior to class: Stephen Meyer, The Degradation of Work Revisited

Thursday, October 5th: Auto Work

Discuss: Car News

Update: Podcast Exploration Paper

DUE: One recent news article related to automotive jobs and a paragraph about its
relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Ben Hamper, I, Rivethead

WEEK 7

Tuesday, October 10th: Gender

Update: Podcast Exploration Paper progress

Discuss: Green Book Itinerary project

Read prior to class: Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat
Margaret Walsh, Gender and the Automobile in the United States

Thursday, October 12th: Podcasts 101

Discuss: Why good podcasts work

Update: Green Book Itinerary

DUE: Podcast Exploration Paper

WEEK 8

Tuesday, October 17th: Sexuality

Update: Green Book Itinerary

Discuss: Upcoming Podcast Progress Report

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 Read prior to class: Tim Retzloff, Cars and Bars
Chris Lizotte, Out on the Highway: Cars, Community, and the Gay Driver

Thursday, October 19th: Driving while Black

Discuss: How did Green Book Itineraries go?

Prepare: Divide into groups for the Jigsaw activity in the next class

DUE: Green Book Itinerary

Read prior to class: Paul Gilroy, Driving While Black

Thomas J. Sugrue, Driving While Black
Cotten Seiler, So That We as a Race Might Have Something Authentic
to Travel By

WEEK 9

Tuesday, October 24th: Car Culture

Discuss: Upcoming Car Budget assignment

Discuss: Car News

DUE: Podcast Progress Report (hard copy)

Read prior to class: John S.W. Sinda, From Good ol Boys to National Spectacle:
Motives and Identification Among Young NASCAR Fans

Thursday, October 26th: Costs

Discuss: How did the Car Budget assignment go?

Discuss: Upcoming Mobility Diary
Prepare: Bring laptops to next class

DUE: Car Budget (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Erin Stepp, AAA Reveals True Cost of Vehicle Ownership
Your Driving Costs, 2017 edition

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 WEEK 10

Tuesday, October 31st: Environmental Impact

Discuss: Upcoming Automotive Policy Op-Ed

Discuss: Progress on Podcasts
Watch: The Clean Room, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Prepare: Divide into groups for the Jigsaw activity in the next class

DUE: One recent news article discussing auto emissions and its relevance to our
readings (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Martin V. Melosi, The Automobile and Environment

in American History
David Rosner & Gerald Markowitz, Deadly Fuel
Jane Holtz Kay, Harm to Health and Breath
Jack Ewing, Engineering a Deception: What Led to Volkswagens
Diesel Scandal

Thursday, November 2nd: Auto Dependence

Discuss: How did the Mobility Diary go?

Update: Podcasts
Prepare: Make sure you come to next class with podcast material to work on.

DUE: Mobility Diary (posted to individual blogs before class)

Listen to prior to class: Big Cities Move Away from Car-Based Planning,
The Diane Rehm Show [48 minutes]

Jigsaw Reading Assignment

________________________________________

Everyone reads prior to class:

Taras Grescoe, Another Good Reason to Make Cities Car-Free

Partner A reads prior to class:

Jess Staufenberg, Norway to 'Completely Ban Petrol Powered Cars by 2025'
Paul Eisenstein, These Countries Want to Ban All Vehicles That Run
on Gas or Diesel

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 Partner B reads prior to class:
Amy Held, France Plans to Ban Sale of Diesel And Gas Vehicles By 2040
Stephen Castle, Britain to Ban New Diesel and Gas Cars by 2040

WEEK 11

Tuesday, November 7th: Globalization

Discuss: How did Automotive Policy Op-Eds go?

DUE: Automotive Policy Op-Ed

Read prior to class: Jeffrey Rothstein, Gloablization and Union Decline

Amy Goldstein, Janesville, pp. 1-61
Thursday, November 9th: Podcast Workshop

Update: Podcasts
Workshop: In-class podcast workshop

Read prior to class: Janesville, pp. 62-120

Prepare: Be prepared for this podcast workshop and have material ready to work on
in class.

WEEK 12

Tuesday, November 14th: Vincent Chin

Update: Podcasts
Activity: Divide into debate groups and strategize

Listen to prior to class: Remembering Vincent Chin, Stateside,

Michigan Radio [10 minutes]
Read prior to class: Janesville, pp. 121-183
Prepare: Be working on podcasts and final websites

Thursday, November 16th: Debate

Update: Podcasts. Divide into groups to peer-edit each others podcasts next class.
Prepare: Hand out podcast peer-evaluation forms.

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 Activity: Debate in class: Gas-powered vehicles Pro & Con
Watch: The Last Truck (2009) [first 22 of 42 minutes]

DUE: Debate points, for and against X (hard copy)

Read prior to class: Janesville, pp. 184-242

Prepare: Be working on podcasts and final websites

WEEK 13

Tuesday, November 21st:

Watch: The Last Truck (2009) [last 20 of 42 minutes]

In-class workshop: Podcasts and websites. Laptops allowed in class today.
Workshop: Peer-critiquing the podcasts-in-progress.

DUE: Podcast (first draft), posted to blogs by Monday, Nov. 20 at 11:59 p.m.

Read prior to class: Janesville, pp. 243-316

Prepare: Be working on podcasts and final websites.

Thursday, November 23rd: Thanksgiving

NO CLASS! EAT WELL AND WITH THANKS!

WEEK 14

Tuesday, November 28th: Driverless Cars

Discuss: Cars News

DUE: One recent news article discussing driverless cars and a paragraph about its
relevance to our readings (posted to individual blogs before class)

Read prior to class: Robert Moor, What Happens to American Myth When You
Take the Driver Out of It?
Prepare: Be working on podcasts and final websites

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Thursday, November 30th: Future Innovation

Activity: Cars for 2050

Workshop: Evaluation of Peers Podcasts

DUE: Podcast (polished second draft), posted to blogs by Wednesday, Nov. 29

at 11:59 p.m.

Read prior to class: Technology Roadmaps whitepaper

Listen to prior to class: "Silicon Valley vs Detroit," 1A, NPR [48 minutes]
Prepare: Be working on podcasts and final websites.

WEEK 15

Tuesday, December 5th:

Individual Presentations on polished Websites.

DUE for those presenting today: Final Podcasts; Podcast Blog Page; addition to Auto
Autobiography, final Website

Thursday, December 7th:

Individual Presentations on polished Websites.

DUE for those presenting today: Final Podcasts; Podcast Blog Page; addition to Auto
Autobiography, final website

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