Streetcar Research Project

A Streetcar Named Desire

Research Project

In order to fully understand the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, we must first understand the defining characteristics of the era from which it emerged. Thus, in groups of 4-5 people you will research one of the below topics and create a 5 minute Power Point presentation that you will present to the class. The presentation must feature many images, it must be memorized and dynamic, and it must be written in your own words. This means that it may NOT simply consist of a series of copy-pasted passages. At the end of the presentation you must have a works cited page (bibliography) and the research must be derived from at least 3 reliable, trustworthy sources.

Topics

1. New Orleans in the 1940s & 1950s; population, economics/ prosperity, the history leading up to this era (You may also discuss North America in general, or the American South in specific as part of this topic)

2. Social norms, customs, practices in the 1940s & 1950s. Also look at what was popular among young people, various trends of the time, etc

3. Gender relations, issues, dynamics in the 1940s & 1950s. (North America)

4. Sexuality in the 1940s & 1950s; sexual identity, sexual mores (customs, norms, and behaviors that are acceptable to a society or social group.), etc. (North America)

5. Race relations in the 1940s & 1950s; equality? The state of civil rights? Laws? (North America)

6. Laws in the 1940s & 1950s; particularly relating to spousal abuse, rape, assault, etc. Also look at the Jim Crow Laws in the south.

7. North America in the 1940s & 1950s versus Present day North America; an extensive compare and contrast.

8. Treatment of the mentally ill in the 1940s & 1950s; look especially at the conditions of sanitariums, ECT/ EST, lobotomies, etc.

After each group has presented we should have a foundational understanding of what it meant to be alive in North America in general and New Orleans in particular during this period of time.

Resources

A general overview of the era, brief video:

http://study.com/academy/lesson/post-war-american-life-culture-of-the-late-1940s-1950s.html

A general overview of the 1940s:

http://www.retrowaste.com/1940s/

Truths and Myths of the era:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1992-08-23/news/9208210266_1_non-family-households-1950-and-1960-median-age

Male and Female standards of beauty throughout history:

http://www.medicaldaily.com/history-body-image-america-how-ideal-female-and-male-body-has-changed-over-time-360492

Topic 1 Resource:

http://economics.about.com/od/useconomichistory/a/post_war.htm

Topic 2 Resource:

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-117.htm

Topic 3 Resource:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html

Topic 4 Resource:

http://www.research.ufl.edu/publications/explore/v10n1/extract4.html

Topic 5 Resources:

http://racialinjustice.eji.org/timeline/1940s/

http://comptalk.fiu.edu/1950s_civil_rights_developments.htm

Topic 6 Resource:

http://www.infoplease.com/us/immigration/legislation-timeline.html

(Also check out link 2 in topic 5)

Topic 7 Resources:

http://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/18/opinion/the-50-s-family-and-today-s.html

http://wilsonquarterly.com/quarterly/the-post-obama-world/a-refugee-looks-back-what-the-1940s-teach-us-about-todays-crisis/

Topic 8 Resources:

http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/history/

http://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/

A Streetcar Named Desire

Research Project Rubric

Names:_________________________________________

Content

-Is the topic thoroughly researched?

-Have the main questions of the project been answered?

-Is the content adequately elaborated?

/25

Delivery

-Are your voices audible?

-Do you make eye contact with the class?

-Do you appear knowledgeable about the topic?

-Is the content more or less memorized?

-Does each group member equally contribute to the presentation?

/20

Visual

-Is the PowerPoint visually appealing?

-Does the PowerPoint feature relevant images?

-Is the PowerPoint logically organized?

Additional Comments:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Total /50

Westmount High School

Welcome to Mr. Barnes' website