HIST 22: American History since 1865

John Semonche

This course spans the history of the United States from the end of the Civil War up to the present, and presents through lectures, discussion and reading an overview of the main themes and events that have shaped the world in which we live. Although the lectures emphasize the creation of an industrial and post-industrial society in which the role of government expands in its relationship to the individual, the course deals with all aspects of the past, including popular culture. The main goal of the course is to engage the interest of students so that they can see themselves as part of the historical picture. From the multimedia lecture outlines, that combine bits of music and video with other pictorial elements, to the computer simulations that make each student a determining participant in three historical episodes, through the paper assignment and tests, the course is designed for maximum interaction of the student with the stuff of history. A text and sourcebook are used, and students will need to do additional reading for the paper required in the course. The paper asks students to do some oral history by interviewing a person and putting that person in a historical context. In addition to the paper, there will be two hour exams and a final. The course will have a web page to which students can go to review the lecture outlines and obtain other relevant course material.