American Studies 209 - Culture Wars in U.S. Education

EDST 210/AMST209: The United States is in a moment of heightened conflict over what is taught in schools and universities and who should control those decisions. This course studies these “culture wars” in U.S. education in the present, and their historical antecedents in the past. Americans have long disagreed about how religion, sex, race, parental authority, gender, science, ethnicity, language, and free speech should feature in education, and this class will examine how schools became a central battleground in cultural disagreements. This course will encourage students to grapple with contemporary conflicts in American education by interrogating and critiquing the perspectives of all sides.

Topics include sex education, race and education, tensions between student rights and
parental rights, and expert control versus democratic decision-making.

How to handle overenrollment: Education Studies majors are prioritized.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on written work, readings, oral presentations, group work, and class participation.