Course Description

HI334* American Culture and Society in the 20th Century 1.0

The course examines the United States in a century of global dominance and domestic turmoil. It covers a period when the United States' economy and culture rose to exert a hegemonic influence internationally and yet when the American people were themselves deeply divided culturally and economically. The course will discuss the rise of mass entertainment (movies, radio and television) and the emergence of a spectator culture. It will deal extensively with American music cultures, film and the visual arts. The discussion of cultural change will be interwoven with a history of American society: the struggle for racial equality, the on-going sexual revolution, the drive to preserve American values, the conflict between the ideals of an open society and the intolerance of the foreign, and the pursuit of authenticity in a mass produced age. {C/S}

Official electronic version updated at 10:33 a.m. March 31, 2005

M Watson, Editor Class Timetable