Social History of the United States

COURSE OBJECTIVE
Getting knowledge and understanding of the social-political, socio-cultural and economic development of the United States from about 1780 to the present; Learning to analyze and evaluate historical debates; Learning to reflect critically on contemporary social problems.

COURSE CONTENT
The United States have exerted an immense influence on the economic, political and cultural development of the rest of the world. Whoever wants to understand the present situation in the world has to study the history of the U.S. How have the U.S. been able to develop such an enormous economic power? How has American society got its present shape? Where do its leading ideals and values come from? These kinds ofquestions will be discussed in this course, which covers the entire social history of the United States from about 1780 till the present. Key themes to be discussed are, among others: the expansion and abolition of slavery, the relations with Native Americans and the history of the Frontier, the effects of (and the responses to) immigration, the nature of American technology and economic growth, the struggle for social and environmental reforms, the rise of the civil rights movement and the conservative 'backlash'.

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures and discussions in class.

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
Written exam; grading from 0-10.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Basic knowledge of general history of the 19th and 20th centuries.