THE 1960s (ONLINE SYNCHRONOUS)
HIST 890 sec. 01

This seminar will examine one of the most tumultuous decades in modern U.S. history – the 1960s. We will begin by exploring the early 1960s when the nation elected its youngest and first “television” President - John F. Kennedy – and an era of liberal idealism seemed at hand. During Kennedy’s brief White House years came a growing challenge to racial segregation posed by the Civil Rights Movement, an arms race that led the nation to the brink of nuclear war, and the early escalation of U.S.  involvement in the Vietnam War.  Kennedy’s shocking assassination in 1963 ushered in further upheaval even as President Lyndon Johnson sought to broaden and fulfill liberal reform ideals. The struggle for racial equality moved from South to North, student protest activism took shape on college campuses, new movements including women’s and gay liberation emerged and a backlash against these changes altered the political landscape by the decade’s end. We will draw on first-hand accounts, television and film clips, interpretive works by historians and other critical commentators to gain a deeper understanding of this decisive decade. We’ll also reflect on its consequences for the times in which we live. Group I in the History major.