A comparative and multi-faceted history of the Cold War, with equal attention to the Soviet and American sides. Without neglecting global and geopolitical topics, this course emphasizes the meaning of the Cold War in the lives of regular people, Soviet and American, as they navigate a grand historical movement.
Athena Title
Cold War U.S. and U.S.S.R.
Pre or Corequisite
One course in HIST or POLS or INTL or CMLT or RUSS
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the Cold War experience in American and Soviet lives by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of Cold War shaped diverse social, cultural, and political identities and attitudes across the Soviet Union and the United States, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
Capitalism and Western-style liberal democracy
Marxism and Marxism-Leninism
Soviet and American anti-imperialism before and after WWI
Red Scare and anticommunism in the interwar period
Great Depression and the Soviet alternative
Alliance and rivalry before and after WWII
Experience of WWII in both (future) Cold War powers
Origins of the Cold War
Culture of the “High Cold War” in the US and USSR
Nuclear and Space races and their stakes
Cold War interventions (esp. Cuba, Vietnam, Eastern Europe)
Civil Rights Movement in global/Cold War perspective
