This course will focus on historical developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that have shaped U.S. American history and culture of the present. Going back to the two founding documents of the U.S.A., the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the U.S. Constitution (1787), we will explore their relevance for the development of American society in the nineteenth century as well as the relevance of these developments for contemporary U.S. culture and politics. Some of the topics we will discuss include: Jacksonian democracy; slavery and reconstruction; feminisms; industrialization, migrations, McCarthyism; The Civil Rights Movement. The course will foreground an understanding of ongoing historiographical debates and engage in the interpretation of primary sources. It will particularly address moments and catalysts of crisis in American democracy.
Registration: You should register for the class through Agnes so that I can send you the Moodle key.
Reading:
Course Requirements:
Students will prepare the texts, participate in class discussions, and submit one written assignment about a historical source (2 pp). MAP (Multimedia exam): In a group, students will create and present a conference poster on one topic from U.S. American history. Individually, they will write a short essay on one of their poster's sources (2 pp).
Die Veranstaltung wurde 1 mal im Vorlesungsverzeichnis SoSe 2026 gefunden:
