This survey course will consider U.S. history from 1865 to the present. It will place particular emphasis on understanding how "everyday people" understood the major social, political, economic, and cultural developments that shaped this nation in the wake of the Civil War: from Reconstruction to the Great Depression and the New Deal; from world war to the Cold War and the 1960s; from the administrations of Reagan to those of Obama and Trump. As an R&E class we will consider how notions of race informed those understandings and shaped policies and laws.
Course Requirements:
There will be a midterm, a final, and a short paper
Intended Audience:
This class is geared toward undergraduate students who are interested in US history, race and ethnic studies, migration, social justice, and the nation's changing demographics
Class Format:
Lecture and discussion