HIST121 CM - United States History Since 1945

The period since the end of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb has dramatically shaped the current politics, culture and society of the United States. This course provides a topical and thematic approach to this period in order to understand the contemporary implications of the recent past. The course will pay particular attention the relationship between domestic affairs and foreign policy and to the connections between politics and popular culture. Topics include the Cold War, Vietnam, suburbanization, mass consumer culture, the fate of liberalism and the origins of conservatism, the social movements of the Left and the Right, globalization, and immigration policy, the culture wars, U.S. military interventions abroad, and the War on Terror. Through primary and secondary texts, movies, television shows, and music our shared aim is to gain a nuanced understanding of both the past and present.

Offered: Every other year

Credit: 1

Course Number: HIST121 CM