PROBLEMS IN INT'L HISTORY

The 1970s were a pivotal decade for the United States, both as a society and a superpower. Runaway spending and an energy crisis brought on the worst recession since the 1930s, revealing the tenuous basis of American prosperity and ending the spectacular “postwar boom.” The Vietnam War’s conclusion and revelations of CIA perfidies prompted soul-searching and eventually human rights as a new justification for U.S. foreign policy, yet those rights—and who deserved them—remained unclear. A radical “New Left” and “New Right” challenged the political center, each with lasting (though disproportionate) impacts on American politics.

This course will explore these and other major changes in American society and foreign relations in the 20th century through the lens of  the 1970s. Familiarity with the contours of post-1945 American and/or international history is useful, but there are no requirements beyond an interest in the readings, topics, and current affairs.