Social History of the United States- Period 1

The United States have exerted an immense influence on the economic, political and cultural development of the rest of the world. Whoever wants to understand the present situation in the world has to study the history of the U.S. How have the U.S. been able to develop such an enormous economic power? How has American society got its present shape? Where do its leading ideals and values come from? These kinds of questions will be discussed in this course, which covers the entire social history of the United States from about 1780 till the present. Key themes to be discussed are, among others: the expansion and abolition of slavery, the relations with Native Americans and the history of the Frontier, the effects of (and the responses to) immigration, the nature of American technology and economic growth, the struggle for social and environmental reforms, the rise of the civil rights movement and the conservative 'backlash'.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.