Course Description
A survey of American foreign relations since 1914.
Athena Title
US Foreign Relation Since 1914
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of U.S. foreign policy 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 U.S. foreign policy has shaped global politics and identities, 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
- The U.S. and the World in 1914
- The U.S. and World War I
- Woodrow Wilson and World War I
- The U.S. and the Great Powers in the Interwar Period
- U.S. Entry into World War II
- War and Diplomacy
- Preparing for the Postwar World
- The Origins of the Cold War
- The Rise of East Asia
- The Korean War & International Politics
- The Korean War & the Red Scare
- The Cold War & the Third World
- Ike, Khrushchev & Nuclear Weapons
- JFK, the Third World, & Berlin
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- Vietnam
- Détente & Rapprochement
- Ford, Carter, & the Illusion of US Decline
- US & the Middle East
- Reagan, Gorbachev, & Bush #1
- Politics & Economics
- Clinton and Defining America's Role in the Post-Cold War World
- Bush 2 and Preemption
- Historical Analogy, Iraq & Vietnam
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
