Photo Album Guidelines: 1950s Topics

Here are some topics and ideas for your 1950s photo essay. NO ONE CAN DO ELVIS PRESLEY. PERIOD. (Otherwise, I'll have more Elvis than I can take.) One of the most successful photo albums that I've recevied used resources from home. This student's grand parents had emigrated to the US in 1940s. She scanned family photographs and juxtaposed them with historical photos from the 1950s and discussed how closely her parent's childhood mirrored American culture in the 1950s. Once again, be aware that doing a good job on this assignment will take some time, so plan and begin early. Several of the topics overlap, so you may discover yourself combining topics. For example, selecting HUAC may lead you to Senator Joseph McCarthy or to the Hollywood blacklist. If you are unsure of the particulars, consult the guidelines for the Civil War photo essay.

1. Jack Kerouac
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower
3. Kitchen Debate: Nixon vs. Khrushchev
4. Sputnik
5. Rebel Without a Cause
6. Brown v Board of Education
7. John Foster Dulles
8. Senator Joseph McCarthy
9. Korean War
10. Levittown
11. The Wild One
12. Operation Wetback
13. Douglas MacArthur
14. HUAC
15. Alger Hiss
16. Julius & Ethel Rosenberg
17. Marshall Plan
18. Andrea Doria
19. Montgomery Bus Boycott
20. James Dean
21. Native American Tribal Termination
22. I Love Lucy
23. $64,000 Question
24. Twenty One
25. hula hoop/Wham-O
26. Buddy Holly
27. Bobby Darin
28. advertising in the 1950s
29. Marilyn Monroe
30. US Steel Strike
31. Peyton Place
32. cars of the 1950s
33. Cuban Revolution
34. bomb shelters
35. Jackson Pollack
36. Barbie                                                             

Some sites that may help get you started:

1. The Literature and Culture of the American 1950s
2. Fifties Web
3. American Cultural History