explore the social and political history of the United States in the 1960s
examine its relevance to the US today
examine debates over race, gender and sexuality during the 1960s
improve students' abilities to read original sources (in English translation) and use them to construct their own argument
Topics will include:
An appreciation of how public discourse on questions relating to race, gender and sexuality shaped the development of social and political attitudes during this period
The Cold War at home
JFK
The Civil Rights Movement
The Politics of the great society and its critics
The Vietnam war at home and abroad
Feminism and the Women's Rights Movement
Riots and Rebellions: the polarization of American society and politics
The rise of the New Right
The sixties legacy
Convenor
Dr Zoe Colley
Teaching
This module will be taught by direct contact with students for a total of three hours a week.
Lectures will serve the purpose of delivering a broad overview of the themes and issues relating to weekly topics, and seminars will further explore certain aspects of the topic.
Assessment
This module is assessed as follows:
Journal 35%
Presentation 15%
Essay 50%
Reading
Thomas Paterson., Major Problems in American History Since 1945. (2007).
David Farber., The Columbia Guide to America in the Sixties. (2003).
Peter Levy., America in the Sixties - Right, Left and Centre, A Documentary History. (1998).
Richard Goodwin., Remembering America in the Sixties: A Voice from the Sixties. (1998).
Mark Lytle., America's Uncivil Wars: The Sixties Era from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon. (2005).
Michael Heale., The Sixties in America: History, Politics and Protest. (2011).
Douglas Miller., On Our Own: America in the Sixties. (1995).