Modern United States History

This course focuses on United States history from the end of the Civil War, and the 1890s in particular, to the present. One line of inquiry examines the major transformations of United States society in terms of politics, the economy, and culture. Another line of inquiry zooms in on the evolving power, status, and role of the United States in a global context.

Much of the emphasis of this course is on the nexus between both lines of enquiry and examines how a changing United States has impacted the world and how a morphing world has transformed the United States. The course pays special attention to key periods like the quest for empire at the turn of the century, the First World War, the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cold War, 9/11, and the Great Recession. In doing so, the course will explore various key concepts, from the imperial presidency, laissez-faire economics, and the melting pot to informal empire, Wilsonianism, the American Century, soft power, the End of History, and the Post-American World.