Race, Culture and the Cold War
HIST 355
Spring 2006
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AFAM 355 |
This course explores culture as an instrument of global diplomacy and its dramatic transformation of superpower relations in the Cold War era. During the Cold War, the dual problems of race and culture in America had to be addressed in an international context as they reshaped the image of American democracy worldwide. Students will examine the intersection of these dynamics in American relations with the Soviet Union and other regions of the world from 1945 to the 1990s. This approach to diplomacy underscores the centrality of Western intellectual forces in diminishing the credibility and appeal of Soviet communism in the Eastern bloc. Accordingly, students will look at how the appropriation of American cultural products dramatically eased U.S.-Soviet political tensions in the midst of such critical Cold War events as the Little Rock crisis, the dispute over the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, American intervention in Vietnam, decolonization in Africa, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Students will become familiar with these issues by examining primary sources that will include not only critical documents of U.S. Cold War diplomacy but also major cultural products like musical theater, movies, and jazz that emanated from the United States, the former Soviet Union, and other regions of the world. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Writing, Writing |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Borstelmann, Thomas. THE COLD WAR AND THE COLOR LINE: AMERICAN RACE RELATIONS IN THE GLOBAL ARENA, 2001.
Caute, David. THE DANCER DEFECTS: THE STRUGGLE FOR CULTURAL SUPREMACY DURING THE COLD WAR, 2003.
Dudziak, Mary L. COLD WAR CIVIL RIGHTS: RACE AND THE IMAGE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, 2000.
Hixson, Walter L. PARTING THE CURTAIN: PROPAGANDA, CULTURE, AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1961, 1997.
Nye, Jr. Joseph S. SOFT POWER: THE MEANS TO SUCCESS IN WORLD POLITICS, 2004.
Plummer, Brenda Gayle, ed. WINDOW ON FREEDOM, 2003.
Wagnleitner, Reinhold, and Elaine Tyler May, eds., HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE: THE FOREIGN POLITICS OF AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE, 2000.
Whitfield, Stephen. THE CULTURE OF THE COLD WAR, 1996.
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Examinations and Assignments:
2 five page papers, final research paper, 10-15 pgs, presentation, class participation. |
| Instructor(s): Davenport,Lisa E. Times: .M..... 07:00PM-09:50PM; Location: PAC136; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 8 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 6 |
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