This course will introduce students to the major questions and issues of nineteenth century U.S. history. Students will explore and critically analyze secondary literature and primary sources pertaining to the events of the long nineteenth century and the people who experienced them. This course will explore themes such as gender and sexuality; race and racialization; immigration, naturalization, and citizenship; expansion and colonization; and economic development and urbanization.
Rather than focusing on a particular set of facts or truths to be memorized, this course emphasizes the development of skills central to the work of historians: comprehension and integration of multiple historiographical perspectives; critical thinking about evidence; effective written and oral communication; and media literacy. The goal of this course is to train students to think critically about how the past is told while inspiring students to continue learning beyond this classroom and after our semester together comes to an end.
- Teacher: Anna Nguyen