Welcome to American History

I am Richard Evans, a US citizen living and teaching in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Welcome to American History, offered through Blue Hill College.

History 2270 provides a topical and thematic approach to post-1945 United States history, including Cold War politics and culture; national security and imperialism in American foreign policy; the rise of bipartisanship in American politics and the changing face of Liberal/Conservative power; social movements of the Left and the Right; the relationships between mass consumer culture, countercultures and youth subcultures; and the era of globalization and its discontents. The course explores issues of American national identity and the changing boundaries of American citizenship with emphasis on the intersection of politics, culture, and society in modern U.S. history.

We will engage questions such as: How has the "frontier mythology" shaped postwar America? How did the Cold War reshape politics and popular culture in the United States? What happened to the power base of organized labor? How have civil rights, feminism, environmentalism, the Christian Right, and other grassroots movements changed American society? Why did the United States lose in Vietnam? Can the federal government win the "War on Drugs"? Were the Seventies more important than the Sixties? Will the "culture wars" ever end? How are Latinos and other immigrant groups changing contemporary politics? Did the ideology of American Exceptionalism reclaimed by Ronald Reagan and on display in two wars in the Middle East overcome the "Vietnam Syndrome"? Is it accurate to speak of an "American Empire" in the global arrangements that have replaced the Cold War framework? Did the 1990s really mark the triumph of the "new economy"? How have the September 11 attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic meltdown of the last three years, and the recent election of Barrack Obama as President changed the perception of the United States by its citizens and others?

Requirements: Students are expected to attend lectures regularly and to be prepared and participate actively in the class meetings. Students also should consult the course web page routinely for reading material, graded assignments, research links, class updates, and general course information. A number of assignments are written. For convenience and to spare paper students have the option of sending their assignments to the Instructor via email.

Films: We will watch two films/documentaries during regularly scheduled class meetings. Students should analyze films with the same rigor as reading assignments—as historical documents and as cultural texts—taking notes in preparation for discussion section and in anticipation of graded assignments. Most of the films also are available in area video stores.

Film #1 Week 2 Doctor Strangelove
Film #2 Week 8 Flight 93

Please note: these films may change depending on availability.

Graded Assignments: The guidelines for graded assignments also will be posted on the course web page in a timely fashion. Anything covered in the course—reading assignments, films, and lectures—is fair game for the final exam, although it will be tilted toward material after the midterm. All four components listed below must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course:
Ø Discussion: consistent attendance, active participation (10%)
Ø A total of two, 3-page research papers, which will expand on the subjects of weeks 1-6 (10% each for a total of 20%)
Ø 3 page midterm, take-home essay assignment, based on course readings, discussion and lecture (20%)
Ø 5 page research paper, based on primary and secondary sources (25%)
Ø Comprehensive final exam take-home essay assignment, based on course readings, discussion and lecture (25%)

Readings: Readings will either be handed out as copies during class, posted on the class web site, or a link provided on the class web site.

Course Outline
May 5: Course Introduction – A View of US History 1945 to Present
May 7: The Ideology of American Exceptionalism
Readings:
Thomas Friedman, "A Manifesto for the Fast World," New York Times Magazine (March 28, 1999) [WP]
Michael Ignatieff, "The Burden," New York Times Magazine (Jan. 5, 2003) {WP]
May 12: The Frontier Mythology, The Atomic Age, Discussion Project #1 – Cold War Memories
May 14: Film, Doctor Strangelove
May 19: Liberalism and the Social Contract, The Fate of Organized Labor
May 21: Culture of Consensus and Subcultures of Dissent
Essay #1 Due
May 26: The South, the Nation and the "Great Society"
May 28: The Vietnam War and the New Left, Discussion Project #2 -
Reading:
Students for a Democratic Society, The Port Huron Statement (1962—excerpt) [WP]
Midterm Essay Due: by 11:00 p.m.
June 2: Sixties Legacies: The "Vietnam Syndrome" and Countercultural Cycles
June 4: Political Realignment: Rise of Conservatism and "Morning in America"
Essay #2 Due
June 9: The Sexual Revolution, Feminism and Culture Wars
June 11: The New World Order, Star Wars and March 22: Imperial Encounters
Reading: Ronald Reagan, "Evil Empire" and "Star Wars" speeches (1983) [WP]
June 16: Home Front: The War on Drugs, Immigration and Identity Politics Discussion Project #3 – Immigration
First Draft Final Essay Due
June 18: The “New Economy," Living Wages, Environmentalism and Walmart
June 23: Consumer Nation: The MTV Generation, Globalization and its Discontents
Final Draft Final Essay Due
June 25: Back to the Future, September 11, The U.S. in the Middle East
Film: Flight 93
Final Take Home Exam Due