Course Description
American intellectual and cultural history from 1865-1945. Explores ideas and culture in America in the period following the Civil War through the end of World War II.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to attend all undergraduate
class sessions, and to meet regularly with the instructor to
discuss their research. In addition to preparing a more
extensive research paper than the undergraduates, graduate
students will draft weekly critical assessments of the
readings. Graduate students will also be expected to lead
discussions and to formally present their research to the class.
Athena Title
AM INTELL 1865-1945
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
American intellectual and cultural history from 1865-1945. Explores ideas and culture in America in the period following the Civil War through the end of World War II. In addition to studying the history of ideas in this complex period, this course will examine the manifestation of those thoughts in art, literature, music, and material culture. 1) Students will develop an understanding of the major ideas and cultural movements of the periods. 2) Students will learn to research ideas and culture using primary and secondary resources. 3) Students will engage in verbal and written analysis and interpretation of texts, images, and sounds using critical thinking skills.
Topical Outline
Introduction to Intellectual History Reconstruction and Commemoration The Ideology of World’s Fairs in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era The American City Immigration Realism African American Thought and Culture to 1910 Progressives and Pragmatists The Rise of the Modern The Great Migration and the Ascendancy of Harlem The Harlem Renaissance The Useable Past The Great Depression The New Deal and the Culture of the WPA The Meaning of Modernism America and World War II