HSTY 117 - Exploring American History Through Biography

Institution:

Case Western Reserve University

Subject:

Description:

This discussion and lecture class uses various forms of biography to explore issues of American Identity throughout the course of American history. The class will discuss how certain biographies have created archetypal American identities, and how issues such as race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and historical context have shaped the writing, reading and purpose of biography. The last third of the class will consider the process of "national memory," the way the United States has decide to remember its past. Here the "biography" is collective, and created by myriad strands of mass culture woven together to create a national mythology. We will explore the works of those striving to pull apart these different strands, and explore what these memories tell us about established national identity. Students will explore biographical process through their assignments, and consider such questions as: How do American biographies influence our understanding of what it means to be American? How does biographical medium affect the message? Can we accept biography as history? This course investigates biography as a constructed genre that comes in a variety of forms, including autobiography, biographical novels, oral histories, and film. Offered as AMST 117 and HSTY 117.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.case.edu

Phone Number:

(216) 368-2000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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