BA American Studies

This second-year module explores Cold War America from a cultural and social perspective, examining how the varying ways in which everyday lives were, and were not, governed by the ideological battle between the US and the Soviet Union. This course will examine different historical interpretations of the Cold War in conjunction with a ‘de-centring approach’—prioritising attention to non-state actors as opposed to a narrow focus on US policy, policy-makers, or the US state.

The module begins in the 1950s, when the Red Scare was at its pinnacle, and ends in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which marked the end of the Cold War. The module explores the depth of impact of the ideological battle between the US and the Soviet Union in the day to day lives of ordinary Americans. It prompts students to consider the benefits of a ‘de-centred’ approach, and how such makes us rethink the Cold War-era more generally. In what ways can we identify how individuals, culture, and society influence and are influenced by one another during the Cold War? The module is designed for students to scrutinise the broader social and cultural structures——such as race, class, religion, gender, and sexuality——which American citizens either upheld or dismantled as they navigated the Cold War era and America’s rise to global ascendancy during these decades.

• To study US Cold War history from a cultural and social perspective

• To develop an interdisciplinary and transnational understanding of how non-state actors responded to and acted independently from the Cold War

•  To introduce new categories of historical actors, such as youth, students, musicians, and artists

• To engage with scholarship, primary sources, literature, and autobiography about the experiences of non-state actors in order to make comprehensive arguments

• To enhance analytic and interpretive skills; broaden IT skills; and train in research methods (such as oral history, life writing, material culture, archival records, etc) according to the primary sources they will be engaging with throughout the module.

This module will enhance the analytical and critical thinking skills of students, as well as their ability to undertake advanced historical research, and to present clear historical arguments. Students will improve their ability to work individually, as well as to work collaboratively in small groups, which will strengthen their communication and organisation skills.

They will think creatively about problem solving, learning how to find high-quality historical sources, determining what kind of sources to use for the assessment tasks, and also how to interpret them and present their research findings. They will also think creatively about history and public engagement.

The class will be taught as a weekly 2-hour lecture/ workshop, and a 1-hour seminar.

• Possess an understanding of how American culture and society were affected by the Cold War and America’s quest for world power
• To understand how race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality informed ideals of American belonging and identity
• The ability to interpret a vast array of sources - including primary, secondary material, as well as written and audio/visual sources.

• To strengthen critical thinking and critical analytic skills  
• To be able to make clear historical arguments supported by diverse sources and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks.

• To strengthen experience with interdisciplinary research and approaches 
• To gain experience with multimedia digital archives
• Improved IT skills

• To strengthen research and interpretation skills
• To strengthen writing skills

Kevin Mattson, We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America (Oxford University Press, 2020)

James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son (New York, 1961)

Margaret Randall, To Change the World: My Years in Cuba (Rutgers University Press, 2009)

Jennifer Helgren, American Girls and Global Responsibility: A New Relation to the World During the Early Cold War (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2017)

Leerom Medovoi, Rebels: Youth and the Cold War Origins of Identity (Durham, NCL Duke University Press, 2005).

Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009)

Thomas Shaw and Anita Klemke, Black Monk Time (Carson City, NV: Carson Street Pub., 1993)

Penny von Eschen, Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War (Harvard University Press, 2004)

Jonathan Bell (ed.), Beyond the Politics of the Closet: Gay Rights and the American State since the 1970s (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020)

Sarah B. Snyder, From Selma to Moscow: How Human Rights Activists Transformed U.S. Foreign Policy (Columbia University Press, 2018)