History 277 - Controversies in American Thought

This course explores some of the most explosive controversies to shape modern America – from debates over Darwinism to the so-called “culture wars” – through the lens of intellectual history. Students examine how the emergence of new ideas about science, capitalism, democracy, race and gender have fueled divisive political and cultural conflict in the United States since the mid-19th century. In the process, they wrestle with invigorating intellectual critiques of American life, while thinking historically about the transformative power of ideas, both academic and popular. Enrollment limited to 40. (E)