| Kommentar |
This course will focus on historical developments of the nineteenth century that have shaped U.S. American history and culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Going back to the two founding documents of the U.S.A., the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the U.S. Constitution (1787), we will explore their relevance for the development of American society in the nineteenth century as well as the relevance of these developments for contemporary U.S. culture and politics. Some of the topics we will discuss include: the ongoing significance of settler colonialism; slavery and reconstruction; abolitionism; feminisms; U.S. imperialism; industrialization and migration. The course will foreground an understanding of ongoing historiographical debates and engage in the interpretation of primary sources. It will also address the question of how an understanding of history is informed by one’s standpoint as well as by social hierarchies. |
