American Studies 239 - Colloquium: The Culture Wars
Colq: The Culture Wars
Spring
2026
01
4.00
Lane Hall-Witt
M W 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM
Smith College
AMS-239-01-202603
lhallwit@smith.edu
This course places the “Culture Wars” – U.S. political battles waged over issues such as race, gender, sexuality, the family, abortion, education, guns, climate change and even the “non-partisan” COVID-19 pandemic – into the context of recent U.S. history. The goal of the course is to invite students to think critically about the workings of the Culture Wars within America’s democratic political system and about the impact of the Culture Wars on the broader sweep of life in the U.S. The course pays particular attention to the ways power relationships are manifested, and contested, through the Culture Wars. Enrollment limited to 20.