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Title: Hull House: The house that Jane built Reference: Director, Tim Ward; producer & writer,
Elayne Goldstein. Abstract: In 1889, amidst the slums of Chicago, Jane Addams opened Hull House to aid the poor, largely immigrant residents of the neighbourhood. She was joined by several other young women whose collective efforts turned Hull House into a major center for social reform activities. This docudrama uses excerpts from the public writings and private papers of Addams and her associates, to tell their story in their own words. Library of Congress subjects: Reviews and Numerical Ratings (3.5) My students in 2040 loved that tape. It gave them a feel for the history of the period in a way that is hard to do in a lecture. The political contributions of Hull House are clearly and lucidly illustrated, bringing alive the significance of the theoretical/analytic contributions of Jane Addams and her colleagues to the understanding of urban form and urban problems. This tape brought social theory to life. A praxis tape. It will be of use to anyone teaching about Jane Addams and interested in situating her work in historical context. Lorna Weir (2) The subject of this film is fascinating. Nevertheless the narrator is very pretentious and irritating. Poverty & gender are presented as basic givens rather than a result of historical constructions. This liberal perspective could possibly be augmented by a critical class discussion, as there is very useful historical information in this film. Sarah Newman (3) This video focuses on the dedication of five women who mobilize against industrial poverty, human misery, and social injustices overall. Inspired by Jane Addams, Hull House was an institution of social welfare and community development built in the middle of a poor community. I was intrigued by the approach of settling among the poor, sharing their existence and ideas of culture. This is something that similar social movements could learn from. I was able to connect with the story through the dramatization: it was a useful addition, and they did a wonderful job at capturing the women’s reality. Like the Tina Machida video, this video really exemplifies the power of collective consciousness and, as such, mobilization. Through the women’s expertise and leadership & organizational styles, they accomplish a lot. I would recommend this video. Marsha McQueen (undergraduate) (3) A generally credible dramatization of the reflections
and concerns of women working in Hull House, with photographs &
news reports on municipal & world events, providing effective counterpoint.
The origins of an impressive range of social movements - including those
to reform child labour law, laws for underage offenders, sanitation,
suffrage, & medical care - as well as the union movement are mentioned.
The video is of particular value for showing how the applied dimension
of sociology became a feminized discipline of “social work”
(a great book on this is Rosalind Rosenberg’s Beyond Separate
Spheres: Intellectual Roots of Modern Feminism). Kathy Bischoping
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