SOCI 005 - American Society

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Humanities & Social Science Sector. Class of 2010 & beyond. Bosk. Also fulfills General Requirement in Society for Class of 2009 and prior. What is American Society The literary critic, Leslie Fielder once wrote,"...to be and American...precisely to imagine a destiny rather than to inherit one; since we have always been, insofar as we are Americans at all, inhabitants of myth rather than history..." The myths that we inherit form the basis of American civil religion. In this course we will explore the elements of the myth that form the basis of the civil religion as well as the facts on the ground that contradict our conceptions of American Society: Examples of mythic elements and their contradiction that we will explore are: A nation founded to pursue liberty and freedom yet allowed slavery, equality of opportunity and persistent structural inequality, and a welcoming of the Immigrant coupled with a suspicion of the outsider.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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