HSTY 388 - The United States in the World

Institution:

Case Western Reserve University

Subject:

Description:

Traditional accounts of American history usually stay within the geographical boundaries of the modern United States. Recent historical research, however, has found that many well known events of the past, from the Revolution to Progressive Era social reforms to the environmental movement, make more sense when examined from a global perspective. Through approaches variously known as "transnational history," "International history," "global history," and "borderlands history," historians have come to redefine the United States' role in the world. This course offers an introduction to this literature. Motivating questions range over time and topic: How were the Americans a product of Early Modern globalization? Was (or is) the United States an empire? How has the meaning of this term changed over time? What role have racial issues played in American involvement overseas as well as at home? How have the global flows of commodities shaped economic development? How was the American Civil War actually a global event? How was domestic social policy shaped by the exchange of ideas across the globe? How did American ideas about political rights and the consumer economy become globalized? How did Americans use new forms of media technologies to interpret and affect people from other parts of the world? This is not a course in the history of American diplomacy (though diplomacy will often come up), nor is it a history of American warfare abroad (though war, too, will often come up as well). Instead, it is a broad, thematic survey of the ways that American ideas, institutions, and people have shaped--and been shaped by--the rest of the world. Primary emphasis is placed on reading and discussing recent historical work: books and articles, but also essays, fiction, and visual art as well.

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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