Civil Rights, Vietnam, Women’s Rights, Black Power, Brown Power, and campus activism. Rock ‘n’ Roll, Motown, The Graduate, Woodstock, and Hippies. The 1960s staged some of the most transformative political and cultural developments in American history. This course examines the 1960s as a series of cultural and political battles in which various groups fought over what it means to be an American. We’ll consider the political battles that were waged from the early days of the civil rights movement to the activism on college campuses to the resignation of Richard Nixon. We’ll also consider the cultural battles from the youth culture and black culture origins of rock ‘n’ roll to the popularity of the Beatles to the emergence of a counterculture. Along the way, with a focus on race, ethnicity, and gender, we will pay close attention to those who mobilized for social, political, and cultural change and to those who mobilized in defense of the status quo.

Course Requirements:

The course requires regular participation in lectures and discussion sections.

Discussion section 002 seats are reserved for students in the LSA Honors Program. Please contact the instructor to request an override.